New Carbocyclic Amino Acid Derivatives Inhibit Infection Caused by Highly Pathogenic Influenza A Virus Strain (H5N1)

Metabolic Profiling, Antiviral Activity and the Microbiome of Some Mauritian Soft Corals

Soft corals, recognized as sessile marine invertebrates, rely mainly on chemical, rather than physical defense, by secreting intricate secondary metabolites with plausible pharmaceutical implication. Their ecological niche encompasses a diverse community of symbiotic microorganisms which potentially contribute to the biosynthesis of these bioactive metabolites. The emergence of new viruses and heightened viral resistance underscores the urgency to explore novel pharmacological reservoirs. Thus, marine organisms, notably soft corals and their symbionts, have drawn substantial attention. In this study, the chemical composition of four Mauritian soft corals: Sinularia polydactya, Cespitularia simplex, Lobophytum patulum, and Lobophytum crassum was investigated using LC-MS techniques. Concurrently, Illumina 16S metagenomic sequencing was used to identify the associated bacterial communities in the named soft corals. The presence of unique biologically important compounds and vast microbial communities found therein was further followed up to assess their antiviral effects against SARS-CoV-2 and HPV pseudovirus infection. Strikingly, among the studied soft corals, L. patulum displayed an expansive repertoire of unique metabolites alongside a heightened bacterial consort. Moreover, L. patulum extracts exerted some promising antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 and HPV pseudovirus infection, and our findings suggest that L. patulum may have the potential to serve as a therapeutic agent in the prevention of infectious diseases, thereby warranting further investigation.

Synthetic Analogues of Aminoadamantane as Influenza Viral Inhibitors-In Vitro, In Silico and QSAR Studies

A series of nineteen amino acid analogues of amantadine (Amt) and rimantadine (Rim) were synthesized and their antiviral activity was evaluated against influenza virus A (H3N2). Among these analogues, the conjugation of rimantadine with glycine illustrated high antiviral activity combined with low cytotoxicity. Moreover, this compound presented a profoundly high stability after in vitro incubation in human plasma for 24 h. Its thermal stability was established using differential and gravimetric thermal analysis. The crystal structure of glycyl-rimantadine revealed that it crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pbca space group. The structure–activity relationship for this class of compounds was established, with CoMFA (Comparative Molecular Field Analysis) 3D-Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships (3D-QSAR) studies predicting the activities of synthetic molecules. In addition, molecular docking studies were conducted, revealing the structural requirements for the activity of the synthetic molecules.