1
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Puxeddu M, Donalisio M, Bugert JJ, Corona A, Cocomazzi P, Milani M, Hucke F, Arduino I, Esposito F, Moretti P, Ortore MG, Nalli M, Manetto S, Mazzoccanti G, Bigogno C, Dondio G, Sciò P, Coluccia A, Fracella M, Antonelli G, Lembo D, Tramontano E, Silvestri R, Mastrangelo E, La Regina G. 4-(3-Phenylsulfonylindol-2-yl)-1-(pyridin-2-yl)piperazinyl-methanones as Potent Inhibitors of both SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-OC43 Viruses. ACS Infect Dis 2024; 10:3158-3175. [PMID: 39096289 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.4c00108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/05/2024]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-OC43 belong to the same β genus of the Coronaviridae family. SARS-CoV-2 was responsible for the recent COVID-19 pandemic, and HCoV-OC43 is the etiological agent of mild upper respiratory tract infections. SARS-COV-2 and HCoV-OC43 co-infections were found in children with respiratory symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. The two β-coronaviruses share a high degree of homology between the 3CLpro active sites, so much so that the safer HCoV-OC43 has been suggested as a tool for the identification of new anti-SARS-COV-2 agents. Compounds 5 and 24 inhibited effectively both Wuhan and British SARS-CoV-2 patient isolates in Vero E6 cells and the HCoV-OC43 in MRC-5 cells at low micromolar concentrations. The inhibition was apparently exerted via targeting the 3CLpro active sites of both viruses. Compounds 5 and 24 at 100 μM inhibited the SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro activity of 61.78 and 67.30%, respectively. These findings highlight 5 and 24 as lead compounds of a novel class of antiviral agents with the potential to treat SARS-COV-2 and HCoV-OC43 infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michela Puxeddu
- Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia - Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Manuela Donalisio
- Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, Regione Gonzole 10, I-10043 Orbassano, Turin, Italy
| | - Joachim Jakob Bugert
- Institut für Mikrobiologie der Bundeswehr, Neuherbergstrasse 11, D-80937 München, Germany
| | - Angela Corona
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, S.P. 8 Monserrato, Sestu Km 0.700, I-09042 Monserrato, Italy
| | - Paolo Cocomazzi
- Biophysics Institute, CNR-IBF, Via Corti 12, I-20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Mario Milani
- Biophysics Institute, CNR-IBF, Via Corti 12, I-20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Friederike Hucke
- Institut für Mikrobiologie der Bundeswehr, Neuherbergstrasse 11, D-80937 München, Germany
| | - Irene Arduino
- Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, Regione Gonzole 10, I-10043 Orbassano, Turin, Italy
| | - Francesca Esposito
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, S.P. 8 Monserrato, Sestu Km 0.700, I-09042 Monserrato, Italy
| | - Paolo Moretti
- DISVA, Department of Life Sciences and Environment, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, I-60131 Ancona, Italy
| | - Maria Grazia Ortore
- DISVA, Department of Life Sciences and Environment, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, I-60131 Ancona, Italy
| | - Marianna Nalli
- Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia - Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Simone Manetto
- Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia - Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Giulia Mazzoccanti
- Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia - Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Bigogno
- Aphad SrL, Via della Resistenza 65, 20090 Buccinasco, Italy
| | - Giulio Dondio
- Aphad SrL, Via della Resistenza 65, 20090 Buccinasco, Italy
| | - Pietro Sciò
- Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia - Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Antonio Coluccia
- Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia - Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Matteo Fracella
- Laboratory of Virology, Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Guido Antonelli
- Laboratory of Virology, Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - David Lembo
- Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, Regione Gonzole 10, I-10043 Orbassano, Turin, Italy
| | - Enzo Tramontano
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, S.P. 8 Monserrato, Sestu Km 0.700, I-09042 Monserrato, Italy
| | - Romano Silvestri
- Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia - Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy
| | | | - Giuseppe La Regina
- Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia - Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy
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2
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Rut W, Groborz K, Sun X, Hilgenfeld R, Drag M. Profiling of coronaviral M pro and enteroviral 3C pro specificity provides a framework for the development of broad-spectrum antiviral compounds. Protein Sci 2024; 33:e5139. [PMID: 39150063 PMCID: PMC11328108 DOI: 10.1002/pro.5139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2024] [Revised: 07/04/2024] [Accepted: 07/20/2024] [Indexed: 08/17/2024]
Abstract
The main protease from coronaviruses and the 3C protease from enteroviruses play a crucial role in processing viral polyproteins, making them attractive targets for the development of antiviral agents. In this study, we employed a combinatorial chemistry approach-HyCoSuL-to compare the substrate specificity profiles of the main and 3C proteases from alphacoronaviruses, betacoronaviruses, and enteroviruses. The obtained data demonstrate that coronavirus Mpros exhibit overlapping substrate specificity in all binding pockets, whereas the 3Cpro from enterovirus displays slightly different preferences toward natural and unnatural amino acids at the P4-P2 positions. However, chemical tools such as substrates, inhibitors, and activity-based probes developed for SARS-CoV-2 Mpro can be successfully applied to investigate the activity of the Mpro from other coronaviruses as well as the 3Cpro from enteroviruses. Our study provides a structural framework for the development of broad-spectrum antiviral compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wioletta Rut
- Department of Chemical Biology and Bioimaging, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Groborz
- Department of Chemical Biology and Bioimaging, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Xinyuanyuan Sun
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Rolf Hilgenfeld
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems Site, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Marcin Drag
- Department of Chemical Biology and Bioimaging, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw, Poland
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3
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Dampalla CS, Kim Y, Zabiegala A, Howard DJ, Nguyen HN, Madden TK, Thurman HA, Cooper A, Liu L, Battaile KP, Lovell S, Chang KO, Groutas WC. Structure-Guided Design of Potent Coronavirus Inhibitors with a 2-Pyrrolidone Scaffold: Biochemical, Crystallographic, and Virological Studies. J Med Chem 2024; 67:11937-11956. [PMID: 38953866 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
Zoonotic coronaviruses are known to produce severe infections in humans and have been the cause of significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 was the largest and latest contributor of fatal cases, even though MERS-CoV has the highest case-fatality ratio among zoonotic coronaviruses. These infections pose a high risk to public health worldwide warranting efforts for the expeditious discovery of antivirals. Hence, we hereby describe a novel series of inhibitors of coronavirus 3CLpro embodying an N-substituted 2-pyrrolidone scaffold envisaged to exploit favorable interactions with the S3-S4 subsites and connected to an invariant Leu-Gln P2-P1 recognition element. Several inhibitors showed nanomolar antiviral activity in enzyme and cell-based assays, with no significant cytotoxicity. High-resolution crystal structures of inhibitors bound to the 3CLpro were determined to probe and identify the molecular determinants associated with binding, to inform the structure-guided optimization of the inhibitors, and to confirm the mechanism of action of the inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chamandi S Dampalla
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas 67260, United States
| | - Yunjeong Kim
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine & Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, United States
| | - Alexandria Zabiegala
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine & Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, United States
| | - Dennis J Howard
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas 67260, United States
| | - Harry Nhat Nguyen
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas 67260, United States
| | - Trent K Madden
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas 67260, United States
| | - Hayden A Thurman
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas 67260, United States
| | - Anne Cooper
- Protein Structure and X-ray Crystallography Laboratory, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66047, United States
| | - Lijun Liu
- Protein Structure and X-ray Crystallography Laboratory, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66047, United States
| | - Kevin P Battaile
- NYX, New York Structural Biology Center, Upton, New York 11973, United States
| | - Scott Lovell
- Protein Structure and X-ray Crystallography Laboratory, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66047, United States
| | - Kyeong-Ok Chang
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine & Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, United States
| | - William C Groutas
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas 67260, United States
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4
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Zhang W, Xiao L, Li D, Hu Y, Yu W. New Strategies for Responding to SARS-CoV-2: The Present and Future of Dual-Target Drugs. J Med Chem 2024; 67:11522-11542. [PMID: 38967785 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in millions of deaths, posing a serious threat to public health and safety. Rapid mutations of SARS-CoV-2 and complex interactions among multiple targets during infection pose a risk of expiry for small molecule inhibitors. This suggests that the traditional concept of "one bug, one drug" could be ineffective in dealing with the coronavirus. The dual-target drug strategy is expected to be the key to ending coronavirus infections. However, the lack of design method and improper combination of dual-targets poses obstacle to the discovery of new dual-target drugs. In this Perspective, we summarized the profiles concerning drug design methods, structure-activity relationships, and pharmacological parameters of dual-target drugs for the treatment of COVID-19. Importantly, we underscored how target combination and rational drug design illuminate the development of dual-target drugs for SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenyi Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Lecheng Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Dianyang Li
- School of Basic Medicine and Clinical Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Yuxuan Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Wenying Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
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5
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Xing Y, Zhang H, Wang Y, Zong Z, Bogyo M, Chen S. DNA encoded peptide library for SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease covalent inhibitor discovery and profiling. RSC Chem Biol 2024; 5:691-702. [PMID: 38966676 PMCID: PMC11221529 DOI: 10.1039/d4cb00097h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Covalent protease inhibitors serve as valuable tools for modulating protease activity and are essential for investigating the functions of protease targets. These inhibitors typically consist of a recognition motif and a covalently reactive electrophile. Substrate peptides, featuring residues capable of fitting into the substrate pockets of proteases, undergo chemical modification at the carbonyl carbon of the P1 residue with an electrophile and have been widely applied in the development of covalent inhibitors. In this study, we utilized a DNA-encoded peptide library to replicate peptide binder sequences and introduced a vinyl sulfone warhead at the C-termini to construct the DNA-encoded peptide covalent inhibitor library (DEPCIL) for targeting cysteine proteases. Screening results toward 3CL protease demonstrated the efficacy of this library, not only in identifying protease inhibitors, but also in discovering amino acids that can conform to aligned protease pockets. The identified peptide sequences provide valuable insight into the amino acid preferences within substrate binding pockets, and our novel technology is indicative of the potential for similar strategies to discover covalent inhibitors and profile binding preferences of other proteases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuyu Xing
- Biotech Drug Research Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai 201203 China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences No. 19A Yuquan Road Beijing 100049 China
| | - Huiya Zhang
- Biotech Drug Research Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai 201203 China
| | - Yanhui Wang
- Biotech Drug Research Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai 201203 China
| | - Zhaoyun Zong
- Biotech Drug Research Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai 201203 China
| | - Matthew Bogyo
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford CA USA
| | - Shiyu Chen
- Biotech Drug Research Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai 201203 China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences No. 19A Yuquan Road Beijing 100049 China
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6
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Krismer L, Schöppe H, Rauch S, Bante D, Sprenger B, Naschberger A, Costacurta F, Fürst A, Sauerwein A, Rupp B, Kaserer T, von Laer D, Heilmann E. Study of key residues in MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 main proteases for resistance against clinically applied inhibitors nirmatrelvir and ensitrelvir. NPJ VIRUSES 2024; 2:23. [PMID: 38933182 PMCID: PMC11196219 DOI: 10.1038/s44298-024-00028-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is an epidemic, zoonotically emerging pathogen initially reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012. MERS-CoV has the potential to mutate or recombine with other coronaviruses, thus acquiring the ability to efficiently spread among humans and become pandemic. Its high mortality rate of up to 35% and the absence of effective targeted therapies call for the development of antiviral drugs for this pathogen. Since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, extensive research has focused on identifying protease inhibitors for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2. Our intention was therefore to assess whether these protease inhibitors are viable options for combating MERS-CoV. To that end, we used previously established protease assays to quantify inhibition of SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV and other main proteases. Nirmatrelvir inhibited several of these proteases, whereas ensitrelvir was less broadly active. To simulate nirmatrelvir's clinical use against MERS-CoV and subsequent resistance development, we applied a safe, surrogate virus-based system. Using the surrogate virus, we previously selected hallmark mutations of SARS-CoV-2-Mpro, such as T21I, M49L, S144A, E166A/K/V and L167F. In the current study, we selected a pool of MERS-CoV-Mpro mutants, characterized the resistance and modelled the steric effect of catalytic site mutants S142G, S142R, S147Y and A171S.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Krismer
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020 Austria
| | - Helge Schöppe
- Institute of Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI), University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020 Austria
| | - Stefanie Rauch
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020 Austria
| | - David Bante
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020 Austria
| | - Bernhard Sprenger
- Institute of Biochemistry, University of Innsbruck, CMBI – Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020 Austria
| | - Andreas Naschberger
- Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE) Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Anna Fürst
- Institute of Molecular Immunology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, 81675 Germany
| | - Anna Sauerwein
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020 Austria
| | - Bernhard Rupp
- Division of Genetic Epidemiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020 Austria
| | - Teresa Kaserer
- Institute of Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI), University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020 Austria
| | - Dorothee von Laer
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020 Austria
| | - Emmanuel Heilmann
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020 Austria
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7
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Kenward C, Vuckovic M, Paetzel M, Strynadka NCJ. Kinetic comparison of all eleven viral polyprotein cleavage site processing events by SARS-CoV-2 main protease using a linked protein FRET platform. J Biol Chem 2024; 300:107367. [PMID: 38750796 PMCID: PMC11209022 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2024] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The main protease (Mpro) remains an essential therapeutic target for COVID-19 post infection intervention given its critical role in processing the majority of viral proteins encoded by the genome of severe acute respiratory syndrome related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Upon viral entry, the +ssRNA genome is translated into two long polyproteins (pp1a or the frameshift-dependent pp1ab) containing all the nonstructural proteins (nsps) required by the virus for immune modulation, replication, and ultimately, virion assembly. Included among these nsps is the cysteine protease Mpro (nsp5) which self-excises from the polyprotein, dimerizes, then sequentially cleaves 11 of the 15 cut-site junctions found between each nsp within the polyprotein. Many structures of Mpro (often bound to various small molecule inhibitors or peptides) have been detailed recently, including structures of Mpro bound to each of the polyprotein cleavage sequences, showing that Mpro can accommodate a wide range of targets within its active site. However, to date, kinetic characterization of the interaction of Mpro with each of its native cleavage sequences remains incomplete. Here, we present a robust and cost-effective FRET based system that benefits from a more consistent presentation of the substrate that is also closer in organization to the native polyprotein environment compared to previously reported FRET systems that use chemically modified peptides. Using this system, we were able to show that while each site maintains a similar Michaelis constant, the catalytic efficiency of Mpro varies greatly between cut-site sequences, suggesting a clear preference for the order of nsp processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Calem Kenward
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Centre for Blood Research, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Marija Vuckovic
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Centre for Blood Research, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Mark Paetzel
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
| | - Natalie C J Strynadka
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Centre for Blood Research, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
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8
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Taefehshokr N, Lac A, Vrieze AM, Dickson BH, Guo PN, Jung C, Blythe EN, Fink C, Aktar A, Dikeakos JD, Dekaban GA, Heit B. SARS-CoV-2 NSP5 antagonizes MHC II expression by subverting histone deacetylase 2. J Cell Sci 2024; 137:jcs262172. [PMID: 38682259 PMCID: PMC11166459 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.262172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 interferes with antigen presentation by downregulating major histocompatibility complex (MHC) II on antigen-presenting cells, but the mechanism mediating this process is unelucidated. Herein, analysis of protein and gene expression in human antigen-presenting cells reveals that MHC II is downregulated by the SARS-CoV-2 main protease, NSP5. This suppression of MHC II expression occurs via decreased expression of the MHC II regulatory protein CIITA. CIITA downregulation is independent of the proteolytic activity of NSP5, and rather, NSP5 delivers HDAC2 to the transcription factor IRF3 at an IRF-binding site within the CIITA promoter. Here, HDAC2 deacetylates and inactivates the CIITA promoter. This loss of CIITA expression prevents further expression of MHC II, with this suppression alleviated by ectopic expression of CIITA or knockdown of HDAC2. These results identify a mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 limits MHC II expression, thereby delaying or weakening the subsequent adaptive immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nima Taefehshokr
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and the Western Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Centre, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 5C1
| | - Alex Lac
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and the Western Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Centre, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 5C1
| | - Angela M. Vrieze
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and the Western Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Centre, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 5C1
| | - Brandon H. Dickson
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and the Western Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Centre, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 5C1
| | - Peter N. Guo
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and the Western Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Centre, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 5C1
| | - Catherine Jung
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and the Western Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Centre, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 5C1
| | - Eoin N. Blythe
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and the Western Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Centre, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 5C1
- Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 3K7
| | - Corby Fink
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and the Western Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Centre, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 5C1
- Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 3K7
| | - Amena Aktar
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and the Western Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Centre, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 5C1
| | - Jimmy D. Dikeakos
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and the Western Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Centre, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 5C1
- Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 3K7
| | - Gregory A. Dekaban
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and the Western Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Centre, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 5C1
- Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 3K7
| | - Bryan Heit
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and the Western Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Centre, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 5C1
- Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 3K7
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9
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Rasul HO, Thomas NV, Ghafour DD, Aziz BK, Salgado M G, Mendoza-Huizar LH, Candia LG. Searching possible SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors in constituents from herbal medicines using in silico studies. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024; 42:4234-4248. [PMID: 37349945 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2220040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023]
Abstract
The largest threat to civilization since the Second World War is the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Therefore, there is an urgent need for innovative therapeutic medicines to treat COVID-19. Reusing bio-actives is a workable and efficient strategy in the battle against new epidemics because the process of developing new drugs is time-consuming. This research aimed to identify which herbal remedies had the highest affinity for the receptor and assess a variety of them for potential targets to suppress the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. The use of AutoDock Vina for structure-based virtual screening was done first due to the importance of protein interactions in the development of drugs. Molecular docking was used in the comparative study to assess 89 different chemicals from medicinal herbs. To anticipate their effectiveness against the primary protease of SARS-CoV-2, more analysis was done on the ADMET profile, drug-likeness, and Lipinski's rule of five. The next step involved three replicas of 100 ns-long molecular dynamics simulations on the potential candidates, which were preceded by calculations of the binding free energy of MM-GBSA. The outcomes showed that Achyrodimer A, Cinchonain Ib, Symphonone F, and Lupeol acetate all performed well and had the highest 6LU7 binding affinities. Using RMSD, RMSF, and protein-ligand interactions, the stability of the protein-ligand complex was assessed. The studies indicate that bioactive substances obtained from herbal medicines may function as a COVID-19 therapeutic agent, necessitating additional wet lab research to confirm their therapeutic potential, efficacy, and pharmacological capacity against the condition.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hezha O Rasul
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Science, Charmo University, Chamchamal, Sulaimani, Iraq
| | - Noel Vinay Thomas
- Department of BioMedical Science, College of Science, Komar University of Science and Technology, Sulaimani, Iraq
| | - Dlzar D Ghafour
- Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Science, Komar University of Science and Technology, Sulaimani, Iraq
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimani, Iraq
| | - Bakhtyar K Aziz
- Department of Nanoscience and Applied Chemistry, College of Science, Charmo University, Chamchamal, Sulaimani, Iraq
| | | | - L H Mendoza-Huizar
- Academic Area of Chemistry, Mineral de la Reforma, Autonomous University of Hidalgo State, Hidalgo, México
| | - Lorena Gerli Candia
- Departamento de Química Ambiental, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile
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10
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Yan Y, Liu H, Wu D, Gu Z, Guo W, Yao H, Lin K, Li X. Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 3C-like protease inhibitors as lead compounds against SARS-CoV-2. Future Med Chem 2024; 16:887-903. [PMID: 38618977 PMCID: PMC11249163 DOI: 10.4155/fmc-2024-0015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Background: The epidemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 swept the world in 2019. The 3C-like protease (3CLpro) of SARS-CoV-2 plays a key role in viral replication, and its inhibition could inhibit viral replication. Materials & methods: The virtual screen based on receptor-ligand pharmacophore models and molecular docking were conducted to obtain the novel scaffolds of the 3CLpro. The molecular dynamics simulation was also carried out. All compounds were synthesized and evaluated in biochemical assays. Results: The compound C2 could inhibit 3CLpro with a 72% inhibitory rate at 10 μM. The covalent docking showed that C2 could form a covalent bond with the Cys145 in 3CLpro. Conclusion: C2 could be a potent lead compound of 3CLpro inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong Yan
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Hanwen Liu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Di Wu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Zhihao Gu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
- Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies and School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, 201210, China
| | - Wenhao Guo
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Hequan Yao
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Kejiang Lin
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Xuanyi Li
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
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11
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Shurtleff VW, Layton ME, Parish CA, Perkins JJ, Schreier JD, Wang Y, Adam GC, Alvarez N, Bahmanjah S, Bahnck-Teets CM, Boyce CW, Burlein C, Cabalu TD, Campbell BT, Carroll SS, Chang W, de Lera Ruiz M, Dolgov E, Fay JF, Fox NG, Goh SL, Hartingh TJ, Hurzy DM, Kelly MJ, Klein DJ, Klingler FM, Krishnamurthy H, Kudalkar S, Mayhood TW, McKenna PM, Murray EM, Nahas D, Nawrat CC, Park S, Qian D, Roecker AJ, Sharma V, Shipe WD, Su J, Taggart RV, Truong Q, Wu Y, Zhou X, Zhuang N, Perlin DS, Olsen DB, Howe JA, McCauley JA. Invention of MK-7845, a SARS-CoV-2 3CL Protease Inhibitor Employing a Novel Difluorinated Glutamine Mimic. J Med Chem 2024; 67:3935-3958. [PMID: 38365209 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c02248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
As SARS-CoV-2 continues to circulate, antiviral treatments are needed to complement vaccines. The virus's main protease, 3CLPro, is an attractive drug target in part because it recognizes a unique cleavage site, which features a glutamine residue at the P1 position and is not utilized by human proteases. Herein, we report the invention of MK-7845, a novel reversible covalent 3CLPro inhibitor. While most covalent inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3CLPro reported to date contain an amide as a Gln mimic at P1, MK-7845 bears a difluorobutyl substituent at this position. SAR analysis and X-ray crystallographic studies indicate that this group interacts with His163, the same residue that forms a hydrogen bond with the amide substituents typically found at P1. In addition to promising in vivo efficacy and an acceptable projected human dose with unboosted pharmacokinetics, MK-7845 exhibits favorable properties for both solubility and absorption that may be attributable to the unusual difluorobutyl substituent.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark E Layton
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Craig A Parish
- Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey 07065, United States
| | - James J Perkins
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - John D Schreier
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Yunyi Wang
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Gregory C Adam
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Nadine Alvarez
- Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, New Jersey 07110, United States
| | | | | | | | | | - Tamara D Cabalu
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Brian T Campbell
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Steven S Carroll
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Wonsuk Chang
- Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey 07065, United States
| | | | - Enriko Dolgov
- Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, New Jersey 07110, United States
| | - John F Fay
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Nicholas G Fox
- Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey 07065, United States
| | - Shih Lin Goh
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | | | - Danielle M Hurzy
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Michael J Kelly
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Daniel J Klein
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | | | | | - Shalley Kudalkar
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Todd W Mayhood
- Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey 07065, United States
| | - Philip M McKenna
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Edward M Murray
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Debbie Nahas
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | | | - Steven Park
- Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, New Jersey 07110, United States
| | | | | | - Vijeta Sharma
- Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, New Jersey 07110, United States
| | - William D Shipe
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Jing Su
- Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey 07065, United States
| | - Robert V Taggart
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Quang Truong
- Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey 07065, United States
| | - Yin Wu
- Viva Biotech Ltd., Shanghai 201318, China
| | - Xiaoyan Zhou
- Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey 07065, United States
| | | | - David S Perlin
- Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, New Jersey 07110, United States
| | - David B Olsen
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - John A Howe
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - John A McCauley
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
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12
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Bhat ZA, Khan MM, Rehman A, Iqbal J, Sanjeev BS, Madhumalar A. MD simulations indicate Omicron P132H of SARS-CoV-2 M pro is a potential allosteric mutant involved in modulating the dynamics of catalytic site entry loop. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 262:130077. [PMID: 38346625 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.130077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 main protease Mpro, essential for viral replication is an important drug target. It plays a critical role in processing viral polyproteins necessary for viral replication assembly. One of the predominant SARS-CoV-2 Mpro mutations of Omicron variant is Pro132His. Structurally, this mutation site is located ∼22 Å away from the catalytic site. The solved crystal structure of this mutant in complex with inhibitors as well as its reported catalytic efficiency did not show any difference with respect to the wild type. Thus, the mutation was concluded to be non-allosteric. Based on microsecond long MD simulation of the Pro132His mutant and wild type, we show that Pro132His mutation affects the conformational equilibrium with more population of conformational substates having open catalytic site, modulated by the dynamics of the catalytic site entry loop, implying the allosteric nature of this mutation. The structural analysis indicates that rearrangement of hydrogen bonds between His132 and adjacent residues enhances the dynamics of the linker, which in turn is augmented by the inherent dynamic flexibility of the catalytic pocket entry site due to the presence of charged residues. The altered dynamics leading to loss of secondary structures corroborate well with the reported compromised thermal stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahoor Ahmad Bhat
- Multidisciplinary Centre for Advanced Research and Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India
| | - Mohd Muzammil Khan
- Multidisciplinary Centre for Advanced Research and Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India
| | - Ayyub Rehman
- Multidisciplinary Centre for Advanced Research and Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India
| | - Jawed Iqbal
- Multidisciplinary Centre for Advanced Research and Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India
| | - B S Sanjeev
- Department of Applied Sciences, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Prayagraj -211012, India
| | - Arumugam Madhumalar
- Multidisciplinary Centre for Advanced Research and Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India.
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13
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Janin YL. On the origins of SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors. RSC Med Chem 2024; 15:81-118. [PMID: 38283212 PMCID: PMC10809347 DOI: 10.1039/d3md00493g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024] Open
Abstract
In order to address the world-wide health challenge caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 3CL protease/SARS-CoV-2 main protease (SARS-CoV-2-Mpro) coded by its nsp5 gene became one of the biochemical targets for the design of antiviral drugs. In less than 3 years of research, 4 inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2-Mpro have actually been authorized for COVID-19 treatment (nirmatrelvir, ensitrelvir, leritrelvir and simnotrelvir) and more such as EDP-235, FB-2001 and STI-1558/Olgotrelvir or five undisclosed compounds (CDI-988, ASC11, ALG-097558, QLS1128 and H-10517) are undergoing clinical trials. This review is an attempt to picture this quite unprecedented medicinal chemistry feat and provide insights on how these cysteine protease inhibitors were discovered. Since many series of covalent SARS-CoV-2-Mpro inhibitors owe some of their origins to previous work on other proteases, we first provided a description of various inhibitors of cysteine-bearing human caspase-1 or cathepsin K, as well as inhibitors of serine proteases such as human dipeptidyl peptidase-4 or the hepatitis C protein complex NS3/4A. This is then followed by a description of the results of the approaches adopted (repurposing, structure-based and high throughput screening) to discover coronavirus main protease inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yves L Janin
- Structure et Instabilité des Génomes (StrInG), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, INSERM, CNRS, Alliance Sorbonne Université 75005 Paris France
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14
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Kushwaha ND, Mohan J, Kushwaha B, Ghazi T, Nwabuife JC, Koorbanally N, Chuturgoon AA. A comprehensive review on the global efforts on vaccines and repurposed drugs for combating COVID-19. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 260:115719. [PMID: 37597435 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/21/2023]
Abstract
The recently discovered coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2, is a highly contagious and potentially lethal viral infection that was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. Since the beginning of the pandemic, an unprecedented number of COVID-19 vaccine candidates have been investigated for their potential to manage the pandemic. Herein, we reviewed vaccine development and the associated research effort, both traditional and forward-looking, to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of their technology, in addition to their efficacy limitations against mutant SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, we report repurposed drug discovery, which mainly focuses on virus-based and host-based targets, as well as their inhibitors. SARS-CoV-2 targets include the main protease (Mpro), and RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRp), which are the most well-studied and conserved across coronaviruses, enabling the development of broad-spectrum inhibitors of these enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Narva Deshwar Kushwaha
- Discipline of Medical Biochemistry, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Science, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA.
| | - Jivanka Mohan
- Discipline of Medical Biochemistry, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Science, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Babita Kushwaha
- Discipline of Medical Biochemistry, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Science, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Terisha Ghazi
- Discipline of Medical Biochemistry, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Science, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Joshua C Nwabuife
- Discipline of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4000, South Africa
| | - Neil Koorbanally
- School of Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4000, South Africa
| | - Anil A Chuturgoon
- Discipline of Medical Biochemistry, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Science, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
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15
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Tam NM, Nguyen TH, Pham MQ, Hong ND, Tung NT, Vu VV, Quang DT, Ngo ST. Upgrading nirmatrelvir to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Mpro via DeepFrag and free energy calculations. J Mol Graph Model 2023; 124:108535. [PMID: 37295158 PMCID: PMC10233213 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmgm.2023.108535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The first oral drug for the treatment of COVID-19, Paxlovid, has been authorized; however, nirmatrelvir, a major component of the drug, is reported to be associated with some side effects. Moreover, the appearance of many novel variants raises concerns about drug resistance, and designing new potent inhibitors to prevent viral replication is thus urgent. In this context, using a hybrid approach combining machine learning (ML) and free energy simulations, 6 compounds obtained by modifying nirmatrelvir were proposed to bind strongly to SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. The structural modification of nirmatrelvir significantly enhances the electrostatic interaction free energy between the protein and ligand and slightly decreases the vdW term. However, the vdW term is the most important factor in controlling the ligand-binding affinity. In addition, the modified nirmatrelvir might be less toxic to the human body than the original inhibitor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nguyen Minh Tam
- Faculty of Basic Sciences, University of Phan Thiet, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan, Viet Nam
| | - Trung Hai Nguyen
- Laboratory of Biophysics, Institute for Advanced Study in Technology, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam; Faculty of Pharmacy, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
| | - Minh Quan Pham
- Institute of Natural Products Chemistry, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Viet Nam; Graduate University of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Viet Nam
| | - Nam Dao Hong
- University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
| | - Nguyen Thanh Tung
- Graduate University of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Viet Nam; Institute of Materials Science, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Viet Nam.
| | - Van V Vu
- NTT Hi-Tech Institute, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
| | - Duong Tuan Quang
- Department of Chemistry, Hue University, Thua Thien Hue Province, Hue City, Viet Nam.
| | - Son Tung Ngo
- Laboratory of Biophysics, Institute for Advanced Study in Technology, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam; Faculty of Pharmacy, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.
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16
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Liu M, Li J, Liu W, Yang Y, Zhang M, Ye Y, Zhu W, Zhou C, Zhai H, Xu Z, Zhang G, Huang H. The S1'-S3' Pocket of the SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Is Critical for Substrate Selectivity and Can Be Targeted with Covalent Inhibitors. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202309657. [PMID: 37609788 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202309657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
The main protease (Mpro ) of SARS-CoV-2 is a well-characterized target for antiviral drug discovery. To date, most antiviral drug discovery efforts have focused on the S4-S1' pocket of Mpro ; however, it is still unclear whether the S1'-S3' pocket per se can serve as a new site for drug discovery. In this study, the S1'-S3' pocket of Mpro was found to differentially recognize viral peptidyl substrates. For instance, S3' in Mpro strongly favors Phe or Trp, and S1' favors Ala. The peptidyl inhibitor D-4-77, which possesses an α-bromoacetamide warhead, was discovered to be a promising inhibitor of Mpro , with an IC50 of 0.95 μM and an antiviral EC50 of 0.49 μM. The Mpro /inhibitor co-crystal structure confirmed the binding mode of the inhibitor to the S1'-S3' pocket and revealed a covalent mechanism. In addition, D-4-77 functions as an immune protectant and suppresses SARS-CoV-2 Mpro -induced antagonism of the host NF-κB innate immune response. These findings indicate that the S1'-S3' pocket of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro is druggable, and that inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 Mpro can simultaneously protect human innate immunity and inhibit virion assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Laboratory of Structural Biology and Drug Discovery, Laboratory of Ubiquitination and Targeted Therapy, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, China
| | - Jihui Li
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Laboratory of Structural Biology and Drug Discovery, Laboratory of Ubiquitination and Targeted Therapy, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, China
| | - Wenqi Liu
- National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518112, China
| | - Ying Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Laboratory of Structural Biology and Drug Discovery, Laboratory of Ubiquitination and Targeted Therapy, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, China
| | - Manman Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Laboratory of Structural Biology and Drug Discovery, Laboratory of Ubiquitination and Targeted Therapy, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, China
| | - Yuxin Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Laboratory of Structural Biology and Drug Discovery, Laboratory of Ubiquitination and Targeted Therapy, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, China
| | - Wenning Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Laboratory of Structural Biology and Drug Discovery, Laboratory of Ubiquitination and Targeted Therapy, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, China
| | - Cuiyan Zhou
- National Protein Science Facility, School of Life Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Hongbin Zhai
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Laboratory of Structural Biology and Drug Discovery, Laboratory of Ubiquitination and Targeted Therapy, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, China
| | - Zhengshuang Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Laboratory of Structural Biology and Drug Discovery, Laboratory of Ubiquitination and Targeted Therapy, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, China
| | - Guoliang Zhang
- National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518112, China
| | - Hao Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Laboratory of Structural Biology and Drug Discovery, Laboratory of Ubiquitination and Targeted Therapy, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, China
- Institute of Chemical Biology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518132, China
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17
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Yang Y, Zhang C, Qian X, Jia F, Liang S. Computational study on the mechanisms of inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 M pro by aldehyde warheads based on DFT. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:26308-26315. [PMID: 37747304 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp03394e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 main protease, Mpro, plays a crucial role in the virus replication cycle, making it an important target for antiviral research. In this study, a simplified model obtained through truncation is used to explore the reaction mechanism of aldehyde warhead compounds inhibiting Mpro at the level of density functional theory. According to the calculation results, proton transfer (P_T)-nucleophilic attack (N_A) is the rate-determining step in the entire reaction pathway. The water molecule that plays a catalytic role occupies the oxyanion hole, which is unfavorable for the aldehyde warhead to approach the Cys145 SH. Through a hypothetical study of substituting the main chain NH with methylene, it is further confirmed that the P_T-N_A is a proton transfer-dominated process accompanied by a nucleophilic attack reaction. In this process, the oxyanion hole serves only to stabilize the aldehyde oxygen anion and therefore does not have a significant impact on the activation free energy barrier of the step. Our research results provide a unique perspective for understanding the covalent inhibition reaction of the Mpro active site. This study also offers theoretical guidance for the design of new Mpro covalent inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongsheng Yang
- School of Pharmacy and Institute of Pharmacy, North Sichuan Medical College, Sichuan, China.
| | - Chenghua Zhang
- School of Pharmacy and Institute of Pharmacy, North Sichuan Medical College, Sichuan, China.
| | - Xingcan Qian
- School of Pharmacy and Institute of Pharmacy, North Sichuan Medical College, Sichuan, China.
| | - Feiyun Jia
- School of Pharmacy and Institute of Pharmacy, North Sichuan Medical College, Sichuan, China.
| | - Shiwei Liang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, North Sichuan Medical College, Sichuan, China
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18
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Shakibay Senobari Z, Masoumian Hosseini M, Teimouri MB, Rezayan AH, Samarghandian S, Hekmat A. Chromone-embedded peptidomimetics and furopyrimidines as highly potent SARS-CoV-2 infection inhibitors: docking and MD simulation study. BMC Res Notes 2023; 16:224. [PMID: 37735703 PMCID: PMC10515067 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-023-06508-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by SARS-CoV-2. Pharmaceutical companies aim to control virus spread through effective drugs. This study investigates chromone compound derivatives' ability to inhibit viral entry and prevent replication. METHOD This study investigated the inhibitory effect of chromone-embedded peptidomimetics and furopyrimidines on 7BZ5 from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV-2, Homo sapiens, and 6LU7 from Bat SARS-like CoV using molecular docking. The crystal structure of these proteins was obtained from the Protein Data Bank, and the inhibition site was determined using ligand binding interaction options. The 3D structure was protonated and energetically minimised using MOE software. Chromone derivatives were designed in three dimensions, and their energy was minimised using MOE 2019. The molecular drug-likeness was calculated using SwissADME, Lipinski and Benigni-Bossa's rule, and toxicity was calculated using Toxtree v3.1.0 software. Compounds with pharmacological properties were selected for molecular docking, and interactions were assessed using MOE 2019. MD simulations of Mpro-ch-p complexes were performed to evaluate root mean square fluctuations (RMSF) and measure protein stability. RESULT The pharmacokinetic tests revealed that chromone derivatives of the peptidomimetic family have acceptable pharmacokinetic activity in the human body. Some compounds, such as Ch-p1, Ch-p2, Ch-p6, Ch-p7, Ch-p12, and Ch-p13, have pronounced medicinal properties. Molecular docking revealed high affinity for binding to SARS-CoV-2 protease. Ch-p7 had the highest binding energy, likely due to its inhibitory property. A 10 ns molecular dynamics study confirmed the stability of the protein-ligand complex, resulting in minimal fluctuations in the system's backbone. The MM-GBSA analysis revealed free energies of binding of - 19.54 kcal/mol. CONCLUSIONS The study investigated the inhibition of viral replication using chromone derivatives, finding high inhibitory effects in the peptidomimetic family compared to other studies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mohsen Masoumian Hosseini
- Department of Biochemistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
- Department of E-Learning in Medical Science, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
| | | | - Ali Hossein Rezayan
- Department of Life Science Engineering, Faculty of New Sciences & Technologies, University of Tehran, Tehran, 1417466191, Iran
| | - Saeed Samarghandian
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences, Neyshabur, Iran
| | - Azadeh Hekmat
- Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
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19
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Lin C, Jiang H, Li W, Zeng P, Zhou X, Zhang J, Li J. Structural basis for the inhibition of coronaviral main proteases by ensitrelvir. Structure 2023; 31:1016-1024.e3. [PMID: 37421945 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2023.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Revised: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/10/2023]
Abstract
Main protease (Mpro) is a highly conserved cysteine protease that plays a vital role in the replication of coronaviruses, making it an attractive pan-coronaviral therapeutic target. Ensitrelvir (S-217622), developed by Shionogi, is the first orally active non-covalent, non-peptidic SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitor, which also displays antiviral efficacy against other human coronaviruses as well as SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) and variants of interest (VOIs). Here, we report the crystal structures of the main proteases from SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-2 VOC/VOIs, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and HCoV-NL63 bound to the inhibitor S-217622. A detailed analysis of these structures illuminates key structural determinants essential for inhibition and elucidates the binding modes of the main proteases from different coronaviruses. Given the importance of the main protease for the treatment of coronaviral infection, structural insights obtained from this study could accelerate the design of novel antivirals with broad-spectrum efficacy against different human coronaviruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Lin
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, China
| | - Haihai Jiang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Wenwen Li
- Shenzhen Crystalo Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shenzhen 518118, China; Jiangxi Jmerry Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Ganzhou 341000, China
| | - Pei Zeng
- Jiangxi Jmerry Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Ganzhou 341000, China
| | - Xuelan Zhou
- Jiangxi Jmerry Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Ganzhou 341000, China
| | - Jin Zhang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China.
| | - Jian Li
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, China.
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20
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Pattaro-Júnior JR, Araújo IG, Moraes CB, Barbosa CG, Philippsen GS, Freitas-Junior LH, Guidi AC, de Mello JCP, Peralta RM, Fernandez MA, Teixeira RR, Seixas FAV. Antiviral activity of Cenostigma pluviosum var. peltophoroides extract and fractions against SARS-CoV-2. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:7297-7308. [PMID: 36069130 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2120078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Few extracts of plant species from the Brazilian flora have been validated from a pharmacological and clinical point of view, and it is important to determine whether their traditional use is proven by pharmacological effects. Cenostigma pluviosum var. peltophoroides is one of those plants, which belongs to the Fabaceae family that is widely used in traditional medicine and is very rich in tannins. Due to the lack of effective drugs to treat severe cases of Covid-19, the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 (Mpro) becomes an attractive target in the research for new antivirals since this enzyme is crucial for virus replication and does not have homologs in humans. This study aimed to prospect inhibitor candidates among the compounds from C. pluviosum extract, by virtual screening simulations using SARS-CoV-2 Mpro as target. Experimental validation was made by inhibitory proteolytic assays of recombinant Mpro and by antiviral activity with infected Vero cells. Docking simulations identify four compounds with potential inhibitory activity of Mpro present in the extract. The compound pentagalloylglucose showed the best result in proteolytic kinetics experiments, with suppression of recombinant Mpro activity by approximately 60%. However, in experiments with infected cells ethyl acetate fraction and sub-fractions, F2 and F4 of C. pluviosum extract performed better than pentagalloylglucose, reaching close to 100% of antiviral activity. The prominent activity of the extract fractions in infected cells may be a result of a synergistic effect from the different hydrolyzable tannins present, performing simultaneous action on Mpro and other targets from SARS-CoV-2 and host.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Renato Pattaro-Júnior
- Laboratory of Structural Biochemistry, Departamento de Tecnologia, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Umuarama, PR, Brazil
| | - Ingrid Garcia Araújo
- Laboratory of Structural Biochemistry, Departamento de Tecnologia, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Umuarama, PR, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | | - Ana Carolina Guidi
- PalaFito Laboratory, Departamento de Farmácia, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brazil
| | | | - Rosane Marina Peralta
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, PR, Brazil
| | - Maria Aparecida Fernandez
- Laboratório de Organização Funcional do Núcleo, Departamento de Biotecnologia, Genética e Biologia Celular, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brazil
| | - Róbson Ricardo Teixeira
- Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, Brazil
| | - Flavio Augusto Vicente Seixas
- Laboratory of Structural Biochemistry, Departamento de Tecnologia, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Umuarama, PR, Brazil
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21
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Leonard RA, Rao VN, Bartlett A, Froggatt HM, Luftig MA, Heaton BE, Heaton NS. A low-background, fluorescent assay to evaluate inhibitors of diverse viral proteases. J Virol 2023; 97:e0059723. [PMID: 37578235 PMCID: PMC10506478 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00597-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Multiple coronaviruses (CoVs) can cause respiratory diseases in humans. While prophylactic vaccines designed to prevent infection are available for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), incomplete vaccine efficacy, vaccine hesitancy, and the threat of other pathogenic CoVs for which vaccines do not exist have highlighted the need for effective antiviral therapies. While antiviral compounds targeting the viral polymerase and protease are already in clinical use, their sensitivity to potential resistance mutations as well as their breadth against the full range of human and preemergent CoVs remain incompletely defined. To begin to fill that gap in knowledge, we report here the development of an improved, noninfectious, cell-based fluorescent assay with high sensitivity and low background that reports on the activity of viral proteases, which are key drug targets. We demonstrate that the assay is compatible with not only the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro protein but also orthologues from a range of human and nonhuman CoVs as well as clinically reported SARS-CoV-2 drug-resistant Mpro variants. We then use this assay to define the breadth of activity of two clinically used protease inhibitors, nirmatrelvir and ensitrelvir. Continued use of this assay will help define the strengths and limitations of current therapies and may also facilitate the development of next-generation protease inhibitors that are broadly active against both currently circulating and preemergent CoVs. IMPORTANCE Coronaviruses (CoVs) are important human pathogens with the ability to cause global pandemics. Working in concert with vaccines, antivirals specifically limit viral disease in people who are actively infected. Antiviral compounds that target CoV proteases are already in clinical use; their efficacy against variant proteases and preemergent zoonotic CoVs, however, remains incompletely defined. Here, we report an improved, noninfectious, and highly sensitive fluorescent method of defining the sensitivity of CoV proteases to small molecule inhibitors. We use this approach to assay the activity of current antiviral therapies against clinically reported SARS-CoV-2 protease mutants and a panel of highly diverse CoV proteases. Additionally, we show this system is adaptable to other structurally nonrelated viral proteases. In the future, this assay can be used to not only better define the strengths and limitations of current therapies but also help develop new, broadly acting inhibitors that more broadly target viral families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca A. Leonard
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Vishwas N. Rao
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Alexandria Bartlett
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Heather M. Froggatt
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Micah A. Luftig
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Duke Center for Virology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Brook E. Heaton
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Nicholas S. Heaton
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Duke Center for Virology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
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22
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Ou J, Lewandowski EM, Hu Y, Lipinski AA, Aljasser A, Colon-Ascanio M, Morgan RT, Jacobs LMC, Zhang X, Bikowitz MJ, Langlais PR, Tan H, Wang J, Chen Y, Choy JS. A yeast-based system to study SARS-CoV-2 Mpro structure and to identify nirmatrelvir resistant mutations. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1011592. [PMID: 37651467 PMCID: PMC10499260 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Revised: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) is a major therapeutic target. The Mpro inhibitor, nirmatrelvir, is the antiviral component of Paxlovid, an orally available treatment for COVID-19. As Mpro inhibitor use increases, drug resistant mutations will likely emerge. We have established a non-pathogenic system, in which yeast growth serves as an approximation for Mpro activity, enabling rapid identification of mutants with altered enzymatic activity and drug sensitivity. The E166 residue is known to be a potential hot spot for drug resistance and yeast assays identified substitutions which conferred strong nirmatrelvir resistance and others that compromised activity. On the other hand, N142A and the P132H mutation, carried by the Omicron variant, caused little to no change in drug response and activity. Standard enzymatic assays confirmed the yeast results. In turn, we solved the structures of Mpro E166R, and Mpro E166N, providing insights into how arginine may drive drug resistance while asparagine leads to reduced activity. The work presented here will help characterize novel resistant variants of Mpro that may arise as Mpro antivirals become more widely used.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin Ou
- Department of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, The Catholic University of America, Washington, Washington DC, United States of America
| | - Eric M. Lewandowski
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
| | - Yanmei Hu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Austin A. Lipinski
- Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Ali Aljasser
- Department of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, The Catholic University of America, Washington, Washington DC, United States of America
| | - Mariliz Colon-Ascanio
- Department of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, The Catholic University of America, Washington, Washington DC, United States of America
| | - Ryan T. Morgan
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
| | - Lian M. C. Jacobs
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
- Drug Discovery Department, Moffit Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
| | - Xiujun Zhang
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
| | - Melissa J. Bikowitz
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
| | - Paul R. Langlais
- Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Haozhou Tan
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Jun Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Yu Chen
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
| | - John S. Choy
- Department of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, The Catholic University of America, Washington, Washington DC, United States of America
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23
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Hetmann M, Langner C, Durmaz V, Cespugli M, Köchl K, Krassnigg A, Blaschitz K, Groiss S, Loibner M, Ruau D, Zatloukal K, Gruber K, Steinkellner G, Gruber CC. Identification and validation of fusidic acid and flufenamic acid as inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 replication using DrugSolver CavitomiX. Sci Rep 2023; 13:11783. [PMID: 37479788 PMCID: PMC10362000 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39071-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023] Open
Abstract
In this work, we present DrugSolver CavitomiX, a novel computational pipeline for drug repurposing and identifying ligands and inhibitors of target enzymes. The pipeline is based on cavity point clouds representing physico-chemical properties of the cavity induced solely by the protein. To test the pipeline's ability to identify inhibitors, we chose enzymes essential for SARS-CoV-2 replication as a test system. The active-site cavities of the viral enzymes main protease (Mpro) and papain-like protease (Plpro), as well as of the human transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2), were selected as target cavities. Using active-site point-cloud comparisons, it was possible to identify two compounds-flufenamic acid and fusidic acid-which show strong inhibition of viral replication. The complexes from which fusidic acid and flufenamic acid were derived would not have been identified using classical sequence- and structure-based methods as they show very little structural (TM-score: 0.1 and 0.09, respectively) and very low sequence (~ 5%) identity to Mpro and TMPRSS2, respectively. Furthermore, a cavity-based off-target screening was performed using acetylcholinesterase (AChE) as an example. Using cavity comparisons, the human carboxylesterase was successfully identified, which is a described off-target for AChE inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Hetmann
- Innophore, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Graz, Austria
| | - C Langner
- Diagnostic and Research Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - V Durmaz
- Innophore, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - K Köchl
- Innophore, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | | | - S Groiss
- Diagnostic and Research Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - M Loibner
- Diagnostic and Research Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - D Ruau
- NVIDIA, Santa Clara, CA, USA
| | - K Zatloukal
- Diagnostic and Research Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - K Gruber
- Innophore, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Graz, Austria
- Field of Excellence BioHealth - University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - G Steinkellner
- Innophore, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- Field of Excellence BioHealth - University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - C C Gruber
- Innophore, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
- Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Graz, Austria.
- Field of Excellence BioHealth - University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
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24
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Sjaarda CP, Lau L, Simpson JT, Fattouh R, Biondi MJ, Maguire F, Campigotto A, Feng Y, Tozer K, Wong H, Sung WWL, Kim S, Marshall CR, Sheth PM, Kozak R. Prevalence of Low-Frequency, Antiviral Resistance Variants in SARS-CoV-2 Isolates in Ontario, Canada, 2020-2023. JAMA Netw Open 2023; 6:e2324963. [PMID: 37477915 PMCID: PMC10362469 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.24963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Importance Nirmatrelvir-ritonavir is an oral antiviral medication that improves outcomes in SARS-CoV-2 infections. However, there is concern that antiviral resistance will develop and that these viruses could be selected for after treatment. Objective To determine the prevalence of low-frequency SARS-CoV-2 variants in patient samples that could be selected for by nirmatrelvir-ritonavir. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective cohort study was conducted at 4 laboratories that serve community hospitals, academic tertiary care centers, and COVID-19 assessment centers in Ontario, Canada. Participants included symptomatic or asymptomatic patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus and submitted virus samples for diagnostic testing between March 2020 and January 2023. Exposure SARS-CoV-2 infection. Main Outcomes and Measures Samples with sufficient viral load underwent next-generation genome sequencing to identify low-frequency antiviral resistance variants that could not be identified through conventional sequencing. Results This study included 78 866 clinical samples with next-generation whole-genome sequencing data for SARS-CoV-2. Low-frequency variants in the viral nsp5 gene were identified in 128 isolates (0.16%), and no single variant associated with antiviral resistance was predominate. Conclusions and Relevance This cohort study of low-frequency variants resistant to nirmatrelvir-ritonavir found that these variants were very rare in samples from patients with SARS-CoV-2, suggesting that selection of these variants by nirmatrelvir-ritonavir following the initiation of treatment may also be rare. Surveillance efforts that involve sequencing of viral isolates should continue to monitor for novel resistance variants as nirmatrelvir-ritonavir is used more broadly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Calvin P. Sjaarda
- Division of Microbiology, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lynette Lau
- Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jared T. Simpson
- Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ramzi Fattouh
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mia J. Biondi
- School of Nursing, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | | | - Yujia Feng
- Laboratory Medicine and Molecular Diagnostics, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kyla Tozer
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Henry Wong
- Division of Microbiology, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Sean Kim
- Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Prameet M. Sheth
- Division of Microbiology, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Robert Kozak
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Shared Hospital Laboratory, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Laboratory Medicine and Molecular Diagnostics, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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25
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Slanina H, Madhugiri R, Wenk K, Reinke T, Schultheiß K, Schultheis J, Karl N, Linne U, Ziebuhr J. Conserved Characteristics of NMPylation Activities of Alpha- and Betacoronavirus NiRAN Domains. J Virol 2023; 97:e0046523. [PMID: 37199624 PMCID: PMC10308930 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00465-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Coronavirus genome replication and expression are mediated by the viral replication-transcription complex (RTC) which is assembled from multiple nonstructural proteins (nsp). Among these, nsp12 represents the central functional subunit. It harbors the RNA-directed RNA polymerase (RdRp) domain and contains, at its N terminus, an additional domain called NiRAN which is widely conserved in coronaviruses and other nidoviruses. In this study, we produced bacterially expressed coronavirus nsp12s to investigate and compare NiRAN-mediated NMPylation activities from representative alpha- and betacoronaviruses. We found that the four coronavirus NiRAN domains characterized to date have a number of conserved properties, including (i) robust nsp9-specific NMPylation activities that appear to operate largely independently of the C-terminal RdRp domain, (ii) nucleotide substrate preference for UTP followed by ATP and other nucleotides, (iii) dependence on divalent metal ions, with Mn2+ being preferred over Mg2+, and (iv) a key role of N-terminal residues (particularly Asn2) of nsp9 for efficient formation of a covalent phosphoramidate bond between NMP and the N-terminal amino group of nsp9. In this context, a mutational analysis confirmed the conservation and critical role of Asn2 across different subfamilies of the family Coronaviridae, as shown by studies using chimeric coronavirus nsp9 variants in which six N-terminal residues were replaced with those from other corona-, pito- and letovirus nsp9 homologs. The combined data of this and previous studies reveal a remarkable degree of conservation among coronavirus NiRAN-mediated NMPylation activities, supporting a key role of this enzymatic activity in viral RNA synthesis and processing. IMPORTANCE There is strong evidence that coronaviruses and other large nidoviruses evolved a number of unique enzymatic activities, including an additional RdRp-associated NiRAN domain, that are conserved in nidoviruses but not in most other RNA viruses. Previous studies of the NiRAN domain mainly focused on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and suggested different functions for this domain, such as NMPylation/RNAylation of nsp9, RNA guanylyltransferase activities involved in canonical and/or unconventional RNA capping pathways, and other functions. To help resolve partly conflicting information on substrate specificities and metal ion requirements reported previously for the SARS-CoV-2 NiRAN NMPylation activity, we extended these earlier studies by characterizing representative alpha- and betacoronavirus NiRAN domains. The study revealed that key features of NiRAN-mediated NMPylation activities, such as protein and nucleotide specificity and metal ion requirements, are very well conserved among genetically divergent coronaviruses, suggesting potential avenues for future antiviral drug development targeting this essential viral enzyme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heiko Slanina
- Institute of Medical Virology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | | | - Kai Wenk
- Institute of Medical Virology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Tess Reinke
- Institute of Medical Virology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Karin Schultheiß
- Institute of Medical Virology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Julia Schultheis
- Institute of Medical Virology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Nadja Karl
- Institute of Medical Virology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Uwe Linne
- Mass Spectrometry Facility, Department of Chemistry, Philipps University, Marburg, Germany
| | - John Ziebuhr
- Institute of Medical Virology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
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26
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Luo J, Wang W, Jiang H, Li W, Zeng P, Wang J, Zhou X, Zou X, Chen S, Wang Q, Zhang J, Li J. Crystal structures of main proteases of SARS-CoV-2 variants bound to a benzothiazole-based inhibitor. Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai) 2023; 55:1257-1264. [PMID: 37357528 PMCID: PMC10448042 DOI: 10.3724/abbs.2023053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Main protease (M pro) serves as an indispensable factor in the life cycle of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as well as its constantly emerging variants and is therefore considered an attractive target for antiviral drug development. Benzothiazole-based inhibitors targeting M pro have recently been investigated by several groups and proven to be promising leads for coronaviral drug development. In the present study, we determine the crystal structures of a benzothiazole-based inhibitor, YH-53, bound to M pro mutants from SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) or variants of interest (VOIs), including K90R (Beta, B.1.351), G15S (Lambda, C.37), Y54C (Delta, AY.4), M49I (Omicron, BA.5) and P132H (Omicron, B.1.1.529). The structures show that the benzothiazole group in YH-53 forms a C-S covalent bond with the sulfur atom of catalytic residue Cys145 in SARS-CoV-2 M pro mutants. Structural analysis reveals the key molecular determinants necessary for interaction and illustrates the binding mode of YH-53 to these mutant M pros. In conclusion, structural insights from this study offer more information to develop benzothiazole-based drugs that are broader spectrum, more effective and safer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiqing Luo
- College of Pharmaceutical SciencesGannan Medical UniversityGanzhou341000China
| | - Weiwei Wang
- Shanghai Advanced Research InstituteChinese Academy of SciencesShanghai201204China
| | - Haihai Jiang
- School of Basic Medical SciencesNanchang UniversityNanchang330031China
| | - Wenwen Li
- Shenzhen Crystalo Biopharmaceutical Co.Ltd.Shenzhen518118China
- Jiangxi Jmerry Biopharmaceutical Co.Ltd.Ganzhou341000China
| | - Pei Zeng
- Jiangxi Jmerry Biopharmaceutical Co.Ltd.Ganzhou341000China
| | - Jie Wang
- Jiangxi Jmerry Biopharmaceutical Co.Ltd.Ganzhou341000China
| | - Xuelan Zhou
- Jiangxi Jmerry Biopharmaceutical Co.Ltd.Ganzhou341000China
| | - Xiaofang Zou
- Jiangxi Jmerry Biopharmaceutical Co.Ltd.Ganzhou341000China
| | | | - Qisheng Wang
- Shanghai Advanced Research InstituteChinese Academy of SciencesShanghai201204China
| | - Jin Zhang
- School of Basic Medical SciencesNanchang UniversityNanchang330031China
| | - Jian Li
- College of Pharmaceutical SciencesGannan Medical UniversityGanzhou341000China
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27
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Choudhary P, Singh T, Amod A, Singh S. Evaluation of phytoconstituents of Tinospora cordifolia against K417N and N501Y mutant spike glycoprotein and main protease of SARS-CoV-2- an in silico study. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:4106-4123. [PMID: 35467486 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2062787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused appalling conditions over the globe, which is currently faced by the entire human population. One of the primary reasons behind the uncontrollable situation is the lack of specific therapeutics. In such conditions, drug repurposing of available drugs (viz. Chloroquine, Lopinavir, etc.) has been proposed, but various clinical and preclinical investigations indicated the toxicity and adverse side effects of these drugs. This study explores the inhibition potency of phytochemicals from Tinospora cordifolia (Giloy) against SARS CoV-2 drugable targets (spike glycoprotein and Mpro proteins) using molecular docking and MD simulation studies. ADMET, virtual screening, MD simulation, postsimulation analysis (RMSD, RMSF, Rg, SASA, PCA, FES) and MM-PBSA calculations were carried out to predict the inhibition efficacy of the phytochemicals against SARS CoV-2 targets. Tinospora compounds showed better binding affinity than the corresponding reference. Their binding affinity ranges from -9.63 to -5.68 kcal/mole with spike protein and -10.27 to -7.25 kcal/mole with main protease. Further 100 ns exhaustive simulation studies and MM-PBSA calculations supported favorable and stable binding of them. This work identifies Nine Tinospora compounds as potential inhibitors. Among those, 7-desacetoxy-6,7-dehydrogedunin was found to inhibit both spike (7NEG) and Mpro (7MGS and 6LU7) proteins, and Columbin was found to inhibit selected spike targets (7NEG and 7NX7). In all the analyses, these compounds performed well and confirms the stable binding. Hence the identified compounds, advocated as potential inhibitors can be taken for further in vitro and in vivo experimental validation to determine their anti-SARS-CoV-2 potential.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Princy Choudhary
- Applied Science Department, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Tanu Singh
- Applied Science Department, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Ayush Amod
- Applied Science Department, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Sangeeta Singh
- Applied Science Department, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
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28
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Dehury B, Mishra S, Pati S. Structural insights into SARS-CoV-2 main protease conformational plasticity. J Cell Biochem 2023. [PMID: 37099673 DOI: 10.1002/jcb.30409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2023]
Abstract
The spread of different severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants underscores the need for insights into the structural properties of its structural and non-structural proteins. The highly conserved homo-dimeric chymotrypsin-like protease (3CL MPRO ), belonging to the class of cysteine hydrolases, plays an indispensable role in processing viral polyproteins that are involved in viral replication and transcription. Studies have successfully demonstrated the role of MPRO as an attractive drug target for designing antiviral treatments because of its importance in the viral life cycle. Herein, we report the structural dynamics of six experimentally solved structures of MPRO (i.e., 6LU7, 6M03, 6WQF, 6Y2E, 6Y84, and 7BUY including both ligand-free and ligand-bound states) at different resolutions. We have employed a structure-based balanced forcefield, CHARMM36m through state-of-the-art all-atoms molecular dynamics simulations at µ-seconds scale at room temperature (303K) and pH 7.0 to explore their structure-function relationship. The helical domain-III responsible for dimerization mostly contributes to the altered conformational states and destabilization of MPRO . A keen observation of the high degree of flexibility in the P5 binding pocket adjoining domain II-III highlights the reason for observation of conformational heterogeneity among the structural ensembles of MPRO . We also observe a differential dynamics of the catalytic pocket residues His41, Cys145, and Asp187, which may lead to catalytic impairment of the monomeric proteases. Among the highly populated conformational states of the six systems, 6LU7 and 7M03 forms the most stable and compact MPRO conformation with intact catalytic site and structural integrity. Altogether, our findings from this extensive study provides a benchmark to identify physiologically relevant structures of such promising drug targets for structure-based drug design and discovery of potent drug-like compounds having clinical potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Budheswar Dehury
- Division of Bioinformatics, ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Sarbani Mishra
- Division of Bioinformatics, ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Sanghamitra Pati
- Division of Bioinformatics, ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
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29
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Dampalla CS, Miller MJ, Kim Y, Zabiegala A, Nguyen HN, Madden TK, Thurman HA, Machen AJ, Cooper A, Liu L, Battaile KP, Lovell S, Chang KO, Groutas WC. Structure-guided design of direct-acting antivirals that exploit the gem-dimethyl effect and potently inhibit 3CL proteases of severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Eur J Med Chem 2023; 254:115376. [PMID: 37080108 PMCID: PMC10105399 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 04/08/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023]
Abstract
The high morbidity and mortality associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, the etiological agent of COVID-19, has had a major impact on global public health. Significant progress has been made in the development of an array of vaccines and biologics, however, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and breakthrough infections are an ongoing major concern. Furthermore, there is an existing paucity of small-molecule host and virus-directed therapeutics and prophylactics that can be used to counter the spread of SARS-CoV-2, and any emerging and re-emerging coronaviruses. We describe herein our efforts to address this urgent need by focusing on the structure-guided design of potent broad-spectrum inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3C-like protease (3CLpro or Main protease), an enzyme essential for viral replication. The inhibitors exploit the directional effects associated with the presence of a gem-dimethyl group that allow the inhibitors to optimally interact with the S4 subsite of the enzyme. Several compounds were found to potently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV 3CL proteases in biochemical and cell-based assays. Specifically, the EC50 values of aldehyde 1c and its corresponding bisulfite adduct 1d against SARS-CoV-2 were found to be 12 and 10 nM, respectively, and their CC50 values were >50 μM. Furthermore, deuteration of these compounds yielded compounds 2c/2d with EC50 values 11 and 12 nM, respectively. Replacement of the aldehyde warhead with a nitrile (CN) or an α-ketoamide warhead or its corresponding bisulfite adduct yielded compounds 1g, 1eand1f with EC50 values 60, 50 and 70 nM, respectively. High-resolution cocrystal structures have identified the structural determinants associated with the binding of the inhibitors to the active site of the enzyme and, furthermore, have illuminated the mechanism of action of the inhibitors. Overall, the high Safety Index (SI) (SI=CC50/EC50) displayed by these compounds suggests that they are well-suited to conducting further preclinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chamandi S Dampalla
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS, 67260, USA
| | - Matthew J Miller
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS, 67260, USA
| | - Yunjeong Kim
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine & Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
| | - Alexandria Zabiegala
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine & Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
| | - Harry Nhat Nguyen
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS, 67260, USA
| | - Trent K Madden
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS, 67260, USA
| | - Hayden A Thurman
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS, 67260, USA
| | - Alexandra J Machen
- Protein Structure and X-ray Crystallography Laboratory, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66047, USA
| | - Anne Cooper
- Protein Structure and X-ray Crystallography Laboratory, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66047, USA
| | - Lijun Liu
- Protein Structure and X-ray Crystallography Laboratory, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66047, USA
| | | | - Scott Lovell
- Protein Structure and X-ray Crystallography Laboratory, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66047, USA
| | - Kyeong-Ok Chang
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine & Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA.
| | - William C Groutas
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS, 67260, USA.
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30
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Gupta A, Sahu N, Singh VK, Sinha RP. Evolutionary aspects of mutation in functional motif and post-translational modifications in SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro (Mpro): an in-silico study. JOURNAL OF PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2023; 14:1-11. [PMID: 37361001 PMCID: PMC10099016 DOI: 10.1007/s42485-023-00105-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
SARS CoV-2 is the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic. The main protease is one of the most prominent pharmacological targets for developing anti-COVID-19 therapeutic drugs (Mpro); SARS-CoV-2 replication is dependent on this component. SARS CoV-2's Mpro/cysteine protease is quite identical to SARS CoV-1's Mpro/cysteine protease. However, there is limited information on its structural and conformational properties. The present study aims to perform a complete in silico evaluation of Mpro protein's physicochemical properties. The motif prediction, post-translational modifications, effect of point mutation, and phylogenetic links were studied with other homologs to understand the molecular and evolutionary mechanisms of these proteins. The Mpro protein sequence was obtained in FASTA format from the RCSB Protein Data Bank. The structure of this protein was further characterized and analyzed using standard bioinformatics methods. According to Mpro's in-silico characterization, the protein is a basic, non-polar, and thermally stable globular protein. The outcomes of the phylogenetic and synteny study showed that the protein's functional domain amino acid sequence is substantially conserved. Furthermore, it has undergone many changes at the motif level over time from porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus to SARS-CoV 2, possibly to achieve various functions. Several post-translational modifications (PTMs) were also observed, and the possibilities of changes in Mpro protein exhibit additional orders of peptidase function regulation. During heatmap development, the effect of a point mutation on the Mpro protein was seen. This protein's structural characterization will aid in a better understanding of its function and mechanism of action. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42485-023-00105-9.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit Gupta
- Laboratory of Photobiology and Molecular Microbiology, Centre of Advanced Study in Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005 India
| | - Niharika Sahu
- Laboratory of Photobiology and Molecular Microbiology, Centre of Advanced Study in Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005 India
| | - Vinay Kumar Singh
- Centre for Bioinformatics, School of Biotechnology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005 India
| | - Rajeshwar P. Sinha
- Laboratory of Photobiology and Molecular Microbiology, Centre of Advanced Study in Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005 India
- University Center for Research and Development (UCRD), Chandigarh University, Chandigarh, India
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31
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Huang C, Shuai H, Qiao J, Hou Y, Zeng R, Xia A, Xie L, Fang Z, Li Y, Yoon C, Huang Q, Hu B, You J, Quan B, Zhao X, Guo N, Zhang S, Ma R, Zhang J, Wang Y, Yang R, Zhang S, Nan J, Xu H, Wang F, Lei J, Chu H, Yang S. A new generation M pro inhibitor with potent activity against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2023; 8:128. [PMID: 36928316 PMCID: PMC10018608 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-023-01392-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/05/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, particularly the Omicron variant and its sublineages, continually threaten the global public health. Small molecule antivirals are an effective treatment strategy to fight against the virus. However, the first-generation antivirals either show limited clinical efficacy and/or have some defects in pharmacokinetic (PK) properties. Moreover, with increased use of these drugs across the globe, they face great pressure of drug resistance. We herein present the discovery and characterization of a new generation antiviral drug candidate (SY110), which is a potent and selective inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro). This compound displayed potent in vitro antiviral activity against not only the predominant SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sublineage BA.5, but also other highly pathogenic human coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV. In the Omicron-infected K18-hACE2 mouse model, oral treatment with SY110 significantly lowered the viral burdens in lung and alleviated the virus-induced pathology. Importantly, SY110 possesses favorable PK properties with high oral drug exposure and oral bioavailability, and also an outstanding safety profile. Furthermore, SY110 exhibited sensitivity to several drug-resistance Mpro mutations. Collectively, this investigation provides a promising new drug candidate against Omicron and other variants of SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chong Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Huiping Shuai
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Jingxin Qiao
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Yuxin Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Rui Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Anjie Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Lingwan Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Zhen Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Yueyue Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Chaemin Yoon
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Qiao Huang
- Key Laboratory of Drug Targeting and Drug Delivery Systems, Ministry of Education, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Bingjie Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Jing You
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Baoxue Quan
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Xiu Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Nihong Guo
- Key Laboratory of Drug Targeting and Drug Delivery Systems, Ministry of Education, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Shiyu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Drug Targeting and Drug Delivery Systems, Ministry of Education, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Ronggang Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Jiahao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Yifei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Ruicheng Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Shanshan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Jinshan Nan
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Haixing Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Falu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Jian Lei
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China.
| | - Hin Chu
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
| | - Shengyong Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China.
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32
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Rong Y, Zhang C, Gao WC, Zhao C. Optimization of the expression of the main protease from SARS-CoV-2. Protein Expr Purif 2023; 203:106208. [PMID: 36403706 PMCID: PMC9673008 DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2022.106208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The main protease (Mpro) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) plays a vital role in viral replication. To study the function of Mpro and screen inhibitors targeting Mpro, it is necessary to prepare high-purity and high-activity Mpro. In this study, four types of SARS-CoV-2 Mpros containing different termini were prepared, and their activities were determined successfully. The results showed that the activity of wild-type (WT) Mpro was the highest, and the additional residues at the N-terminus but not at the C-terminus had a major effect on the enzyme activity. To explain this, the alignment of structures of different forms of Mpro was determined, and the additional residues at the N-terminus were found to interfere with the formation of the substrate binding pocket. This study confirms the importance of the natural N-terminus to the activity of Mpro and suggests that WT-GPH6 (Mpro with eight additional residues at the C-terminus) can be used as a substitute for authentic Mpro to screen inhibitors. In short, this study provides a reference for the expression and purification of new coronaviruses confronted in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Rong
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, People's Republic of China
| | - Chaofeng Zhang
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, People's Republic of China.
| | - Wen-Chao Gao
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, People's Republic of China
| | - Cheng Zhao
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, People's Republic of China.
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33
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Tyagi R, Paul A, Raj VS, Ojha KK, Kumar S, Panda AK, Chaurasia A, Yadav MK. A Drug Repurposing Approach to Identify Therapeutics by Screening Pathogen Box Exploiting SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease. Chem Biodivers 2023; 20:e202200600. [PMID: 36597267 DOI: 10.1002/cbdv.202200600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 12/03/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus -2 (SARS-CoV-2) and is responsible for a higher degree of morbidity and mortality worldwide. There is a smaller number of approved therapeutics available to target the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and the virus is evolving at a fast pace. So, there is a continuous need for new therapeutics to combat COVID-19. The main protease (Mpro ) enzyme of SARS-CoV-2 is essential for replication and transcription of the viral genome, thus could be a potent target for the treatment of COVID-19. In the present study, we performed an in-silico screening analysis of 400 diverse bioactive inhibitors with proven antibacterial and antiviral properties against Mpro drug target. Ten compounds showed a higher binding affinity for Mpro than the reference compound (N3), with desired physicochemical properties. Furthermore, in-depth docking and superimposition revealed that three compounds (MMV1782211, MMV1782220, and MMV1578574) are actively interacting with the catalytic domain of Mpro . In addition, the molecular dynamics simulation study showed a solid and stable interaction of MMV178221-Mpro complex compared to the other two molecules (MMV1782220, and MMV1578574). In line with this observation, MM/PBSA free energy calculation also demonstrated the highest binding free energy of -115.8 kJ/mol for MMV178221-Mpro compound. In conclusion, the present in silico analysis revealed MMV1782211 as a possible and potent molecule to target the Mpro and must be explored in vitro and in vivo to combat the COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rashmi Tyagi
- Center for Drug Design Discovery and Development (C4D), SRM University, Delhi-NCR, Sonepat, 131 029, Haryana, India
| | - Anubrat Paul
- Center for Drug Design Discovery and Development (C4D), SRM University, Delhi-NCR, Sonepat, 131 029, Haryana, India
| | - V Samuel Raj
- Center for Drug Design Discovery and Development (C4D), SRM University, Delhi-NCR, Sonepat, 131 029, Haryana, India
| | - Krishna Kumar Ojha
- Department of Bioinformatics, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, 824 236, Bihar, India
| | - Sunil Kumar
- ICAR-Indian Agriculture Statistical Research Institute, New Delhi, India, 110012
| | - Aditya K Panda
- Department of Biosciences and Bioinformatics, Khallikote University, Berhampur, 761008, Odisha, India
| | - Anurag Chaurasia
- ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi, 221305, UP, India
| | - Manoj Kumar Yadav
- Center for Drug Design Discovery and Development (C4D), SRM University, Delhi-NCR, Sonepat, 131 029, Haryana, India
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, SRM University, Delhi-NCR, Rajiv Gandhi Education City, Sonepat, 131 029, Haryana, India
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34
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Dong J, Varbanov M, Philippot S, Vreken F, Zeng WB, Blay V. Ligand-based discovery of coronavirus main protease inhibitors using MACAW molecular embeddings. J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2023; 38:24-35. [PMID: 36305272 PMCID: PMC9621234 DOI: 10.1080/14756366.2022.2132486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Ligand-based drug design methods are thought to require large experimental datasets to become useful for virtual screening. In this work, we propose a computational strategy to design novel inhibitors of coronavirus main protease, Mpro. The pipeline integrates publicly available screening and binding affinity data in a two-stage machine-learning model using the recent MACAW embeddings. Once trained, the model can be deployed to rapidly screen large libraries of molecules in silico. Several hundred thousand compounds were virtually screened and 10 of them were selected for experimental testing. From these 10 compounds, 8 showed a clear inhibitory effect on recombinant Mpro, with half-maximal inhibitory concentration values (IC50) in the range 0.18–18.82 μM. Cellular assays were also conducted to evaluate cytotoxic, haemolytic, and antiviral properties. A promising lead compound against coronavirus Mpro was identified with dose-dependent inhibition of virus infectivity and minimal toxicity on human MRC-5 cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Dong
- Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, P. R. China
| | - Mihayl Varbanov
- Université de Lorraine, CNRS, Nancy, France
- Laboratoire de Virologie, CHRU de Nancy Brabois, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France
| | | | | | - Wen-bin Zeng
- Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, P. R. China
| | - Vincent Blay
- Department of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
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35
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Sultan A, Ali R, Ishrat R, Ali S. Anti-HIV and anti-HCV small molecule protease inhibitors in-silico repurposing against SARS-CoV-2 M pro for the treatment of COVID-19. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022; 40:12848-12862. [PMID: 34569411 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2021.1979097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is a global health emergency warranting development and implementation of targeted treatment. The enzyme main protease (Mpro; also known as 3C-like protease) is emerging as an attractive drug target. This enzyme plays an indispensable role in processing the translated polyproteins of viral RNA. Inhibiting the activity of Mpro would wedge viral replication. To facilitate the discovery of targeted therapy for COVID-19, we carried out the structure-assisted repurposing of existing protease inhibiting small molecules to target SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. Based on the structure of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, here we report the small drug molecule namely saquinavir as its potent inhibitor. Findings support the premise that this promising antiviral protease inhibiting small drug molecule can be validated and implemented for the treatment and clinical management of COVID-19 pandemic disease.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armiya Sultan
- Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central University), New Delhi, India
| | - Rafat Ali
- Computational Laboratory, Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central University), New Delhi, India
| | - Romana Ishrat
- Computational Laboratory, Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central University), New Delhi, India
| | - Sher Ali
- Department of Life Sciences, Sharda University, Greater Noida, UP, India
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Discovery and mechanism of action of Thonzonium bromide from an FDA-approved drug library with potent and broad-spectrum inhibitory activity against main proteases of human coronaviruses. Bioorg Chem 2022; 130:106264. [PMCID: PMC9643332 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2022.106264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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He MF, Liang JH, Shen YN, Zhang JW, Liu Y, Yang KY, Liu LC, Wang J, Xie Q, Hu C, Song X, Wang Y. Glycyrrhizin Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Entry into Cells by Targeting ACE2. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:1706. [PMID: 36362861 PMCID: PMC9697465 DOI: 10.3390/life12111706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Revised: 10/22/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious and pathogenic disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Early in this epidemic, the herbal formulas used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) were widely used for the treatment of COVID-19 in China. According to Venn diagram analysis, we found that Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma is a frequent herb in TCM formulas against COVID-19. The extract of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma exhibits an anti-SARS-CoV-2 replication activity in vitro, but its pharmacological mechanism remains unclear. We here demonstrate that glycyrrhizin, the main active ingredient of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, prevents the coronavirus from entering cells by targeting angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Glycyrrhizin inhibited the binding of the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 to ACE2 in our Western blot-based assay. The following bulk RNA-seq analysis showed that glycyrrhizin down-regulated ACE2 expression in vitro which was further confirmed by Western blot and quantitative PCR. Together, we believe that glycyrrhizin inhibits SARS-CoV-2 entry into cells by targeting ACE2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Feng He
- Foshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Foshan 528000, China
| | - Jian-Hui Liang
- Center for Translation Medicine Research and Development, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Yan-Ni Shen
- Center for Translation Medicine Research and Development, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
- Key Laboratory of Structure-Based Drug Design & Discovery, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China
| | - Jin-Wen Zhang
- Center for Translation Medicine Research and Development, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Ying Liu
- College of Pharmacy, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen 518118, China
| | - Kuang-Yang Yang
- Foshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Foshan 528000, China
| | - Li-Chu Liu
- Foshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Foshan 528000, China
| | - Junyi Wang
- Bluewood Associates Co., Ltd., Suzhou 215134, China
| | - Qian Xie
- Center for Translation Medicine Research and Development, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Chun Hu
- Key Laboratory of Structure-Based Drug Design & Discovery, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China
| | - Xun Song
- College of Pharmacy, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen 518118, China
| | - Yan Wang
- Center for Translation Medicine Research and Development, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
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38
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Duan X, Lacko LA, Chen S. Druggable targets and therapeutic development for COVID-19. Front Chem 2022; 10:963701. [PMID: 36277347 PMCID: PMC9581228 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2022.963701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which is caused by SARS-CoV-2, is the biggest challenge to the global public health and economy in recent years. Until now, only limited therapeutic regimens have been available for COVID-19 patients, sparking unprecedented efforts to study coronavirus biology. The genome of SARS-CoV-2 encodes 16 non-structural, four structural, and nine accessory proteins, which mediate the viral life cycle, including viral entry, RNA replication and transcription, virion assembly and release. These processes depend on the interactions between viral polypeptides and host proteins, both of which could be potential therapeutic targets for COVID-19. Here, we will discuss the potential medicinal value of essential proteins of SARS-CoV-2 and key host factors. We summarize the most updated therapeutic interventions for COVID-19 patients, including those approved clinically or in clinical trials.
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Hu X, Lin C, Xu Q, Zhou X, Zeng P, McCormick PJ, Jiang H, Li J, Zhang J. Structural Basis for the Inhibition of Coronaviral Main Proteases by a Benzothiazole-Based Inhibitor. Viruses 2022; 14:v14092075. [PMID: 36146880 PMCID: PMC9505605 DOI: 10.3390/v14092075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Revised: 09/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The ongoing spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused hundreds of millions of cases and millions of victims worldwide with serious consequences to global health and economies. Although many vaccines protecting against SARS-CoV-2 are currently available, constantly emerging new variants necessitate the development of alternative strategies for prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Inhibitors that target the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2, an essential enzyme that promotes viral maturation, represent a key class of antivirals. Here, we showed that a peptidomimetic compound with benzothiazolyl ketone as warhead, YH-53, is an effective inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV Mpros. Crystal structures of Mpros from SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV bound to the inhibitor YH-53 revealed a unique ligand-binding site, which provides new insights into the mechanism of inhibition of viral replication. A detailed analysis of these crystal structures defined the key molecular determinants required for inhibition and illustrate the binding mode of Mpros from other coronaviruses. In consideration of the important role of Mpro in developing antivirals against coronaviruses, insights derived from this study should add to the design of pan-coronaviral Mpro inhibitors that are safer and more effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohui Hu
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Cheng Lin
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, China
| | - Qin Xu
- Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201204, China
| | - Xuelan Zhou
- Shenzhen Crystalo Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shenzhen 518118, China
- Jiangxi Jmerry Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Ganzhou 341000, China
| | - Pei Zeng
- Shenzhen Crystalo Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shenzhen 518118, China
- Jiangxi Jmerry Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Ganzhou 341000, China
| | - Peter J. McCormick
- Centre for Endocrinology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Haihai Jiang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
- Correspondence: (H.J.); (J.L.); (J.Z.)
| | - Jian Li
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, China
- Correspondence: (H.J.); (J.L.); (J.Z.)
| | - Jin Zhang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
- Correspondence: (H.J.); (J.L.); (J.Z.)
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40
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Santos ES, Silva PC, Sousa PSA, Aquino CC, Pacheco G, Teixeira LFLS, Araujo AR, Sousa FBM, Barros RO, Ramos RM, Rocha JA, Nicolau LAD, Medeiros JVR. Antiviral potential of diminazene aceturate against SARS-CoV-2 proteases using computational and in vitro approaches. Chem Biol Interact 2022; 367:110161. [PMID: 36116513 PMCID: PMC9476334 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2022.110161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Diminazene aceturate (DIZE), an antiparasitic, is an ACE2 activator, and studies show that activators of this enzyme may be beneficial for COVID-19, disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the in silico and in vitro affinity of diminazene aceturate against molecular targets of SARS-CoV-2. 3D structures from DIZE and the proteases from SARS-CoV-2, obtained through the Protein Data Bank and Drug Database (Drubank), and processed in computer programs like AutodockTools, LigPlot, Pymol for molecular docking and visualization and GROMACS was used to perform molecular dynamics. The results demonstrate that DIZE could interact with all tested targets, and the best binding energies were obtained from the interaction of Protein S (closed conformation −7.87 kcal/mol) and Mpro (−6.23 kcal/mol), indicating that it can act both by preventing entry and viral replication. The results of molecular dynamics demonstrate that DIZE was able to promote a change in stability at the cleavage sites between S1 and S2, which could prevent binding to ACE2 and fusion with the membrane. In addition, in vitro tests confirm the in silico results showing that DIZE could inhibit the binding between the spike receptor-binding domain protein and ACE2, which could promote a reduction in the virus infection. However, tests in other experimental models with in vivo approaches are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esley S Santos
- Laboratory of Pharmacology of Inflammation and Gastrointestinal Disorders (LAFIDG), Post-graduation Program in Biotechnology, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba, PI, Brazil; Medicinal Plants Research Center (NPPM), Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Brazil
| | - Priscila C Silva
- Laboratory of Pharmacology of Inflammation and Gastrointestinal Disorders (LAFIDG), Post-graduation Program in Biotechnology, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba, PI, Brazil
| | - Paulo S A Sousa
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry and Biotechnology, QUIMEBIO, Federal University of Maranhão, São Bernardo, MA, Brazil; Biodiversity and Biotechnology Research Center, BIOTEC, Post-graduation Program in Biotechnology, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba, PI, Brazil
| | - Cristhyane C Aquino
- Postgraduate Program in Medical Sciences, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
| | - Gabriella Pacheco
- Laboratory of Pharmacology of Inflammation and Gastrointestinal Disorders (LAFIDG), Post-graduation Program in Biotechnology, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba, PI, Brazil; Medicinal Plants Research Center (NPPM), Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Brazil
| | - Luiz F L S Teixeira
- Laboratory of Pharmacology of Inflammation and Gastrointestinal Disorders (LAFIDG), Post-graduation Program in Biotechnology, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba, PI, Brazil; Biodiversity and Biotechnology Research Center, BIOTEC, Post-graduation Program in Biotechnology, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba, PI, Brazil
| | - Alyne R Araujo
- Biodiversity and Biotechnology Research Center, BIOTEC, Post-graduation Program in Biotechnology, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba, PI, Brazil
| | - Francisca B M Sousa
- Laboratory of Pharmacology of Inflammation and Gastrointestinal Disorders (LAFIDG), Post-graduation Program in Biotechnology, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba, PI, Brazil
| | - Romulo O Barros
- Research Laboratory in Information Systems, Department of Information, Environment, Health and Food Production, Federal Institute of Piauí, LaPeSI/IFPI, Teresina, Piauí, Brazil
| | - Ricardo M Ramos
- Research Laboratory in Information Systems, Department of Information, Environment, Health and Food Production, Federal Institute of Piauí, LaPeSI/IFPI, Teresina, Piauí, Brazil
| | - Jefferson A Rocha
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry and Biotechnology, QUIMEBIO, Federal University of Maranhão, São Bernardo, MA, Brazil; Biodiversity and Biotechnology Research Center, BIOTEC, Post-graduation Program in Biotechnology, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba, PI, Brazil
| | - Lucas A D Nicolau
- Laboratory of Pharmacology of Inflammation and Gastrointestinal Disorders (LAFIDG), Post-graduation Program in Biotechnology, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba, PI, Brazil; Biodiversity and Biotechnology Research Center, BIOTEC, Post-graduation Program in Biotechnology, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba, PI, Brazil
| | - Jand V R Medeiros
- Laboratory of Pharmacology of Inflammation and Gastrointestinal Disorders (LAFIDG), Post-graduation Program in Biotechnology, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba, PI, Brazil; Medicinal Plants Research Center (NPPM), Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Brazil; Biodiversity and Biotechnology Research Center, BIOTEC, Post-graduation Program in Biotechnology, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba, PI, Brazil.
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X-ray crystallographic characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease polyprotein cleavage sites essential for viral processing and maturation. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5196. [PMID: 36057636 PMCID: PMC9440467 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32854-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the pathogen that causes COVID-19, produces polyproteins 1a and 1ab that contain, respectively, 11 or 16 non-structural proteins (nsp). Nsp5 is the main protease (Mpro) responsible for cleavage at eleven positions along these polyproteins, including at its own N- and C-terminal boundaries, representing essential processing events for viral assembly and maturation. Using C-terminally substituted Mpro chimeras, we have determined X-ray crystallographic structures of Mpro in complex with 10 of its 11 viral cleavage sites, bound at full occupancy intermolecularly in trans, within the active site of either the native enzyme and/or a catalytic mutant (C145A). Capture of both acyl-enzyme intermediate and product-like complex forms of a P2(Leu) substrate in the native active site provides direct comparative characterization of these mechanistic steps as well as further informs the basis for enhanced product release of Mpro’s own unique C-terminal P2(Phe) cleavage site to prevent autoinhibition. We characterize the underlying noncovalent interactions governing binding and specificity for this diverse set of substrates, showing remarkable plasticity for subsites beyond the anchoring P1(Gln)-P2(Leu/Val/Phe), representing together a near complete analysis of a multiprocessing viral protease. Collectively, these crystallographic snapshots provide valuable mechanistic and structural insights for antiviral therapeutic development. The SARS-CoV-2 protease Mpro is essential for viral replication. Here, the authors have determined the structures of Mpro in complex with 10 of the 11 viral cleavage sequences including a covalent acyl-enzyme intermediate, providing mechanistic and structural insights for antiviral development.
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Pekel H, Ilter M, Sensoy O. Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 main protease: a repurposing study that targets the dimer interface of the protein. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022; 40:7167-7182. [PMID: 33847241 PMCID: PMC8054500 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2021.1910571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Accepted: 02/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) was firstly reported in Wuhan, China, towards the end of 2019, and emerged as a pandemic. The spread and lethality rates of the COVID-19 have ignited studies that focus on the development of therapeutics for either treatment or prophylaxis purposes. In parallel, drug repurposing studies have also come into prominence. Herein, we aimed at having a holistic understanding of conformational and dynamical changes induced by an experimentally characterized inhibitor on main protease (Mpro) which would enable the discovery of novel inhibitors. To this end, we performed molecular dynamics simulations using crystal structures of apo and α-ketoamide 13b-bound Mpro homodimer. Analysis of trajectories pertaining to apo Mpro revealed a new target site, which is located at the homodimer interface, next to the catalytic dyad. Thereafter, we performed ensemble-based virtual screening by exploiting the ZINC and DrugBank databases and identified three candidate molecules, namely eluxadoline, diosmin, and ZINC02948810 that could invoke local and global conformational rearrangements which were also elicited by α-ketoamide 13b on the catalytic dyad of Mpro. Furthermore, ZINC23881687 stably interacted with catalytically important residues Glu166 and Ser1 and the target site throughout the simulation. However, it gave positive binding energy, presumably, due to displaying higher flexibility that might dominate the entropic term, which is not included in the MM-PBSA method. Finally, ZINC20425029, whose mode of action was different, modulated dynamical properties of catalytically important residue, Ala285. As such, this study presents valuable findings that might be used in the development of novel therapeutics against Mpro.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanife Pekel
- Department of Pharmacy Services, Vocational School of Health Services, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Regenerative and Restorative Medicine Research Center (REMER), Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technologies (SABITA), Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Metehan Ilter
- Graduate School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Ozge Sensoy
- Regenerative and Restorative Medicine Research Center (REMER), Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technologies (SABITA), Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Department of Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey
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SARS-CoV-2 infection: Pathogenesis, Immune Responses, Diagnosis. JOURNAL OF PURE AND APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.22207/jpam.16.3.20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
COVID-19 has emerged as the most alarming infection of the present time instigated by the virus SARS-CoV-2. In spite of advanced research technologies, the exact pathophysiology and treatment of the condition still need to be explored. However, SARS-CoV-2 has several structural and functional similarities that resemble SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV which may be beneficial in exploring the possible treatment and diagnostic strategies for SARS-CoV-2. This review discusses the pathogen phenotype, genotype, replication, pathophysiology, elicited immune response and emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2 and their similarities with other similar viruses. SARS-CoV-2 infection is detected by a number of diagnostics techniques, their advantages and limitations are also discussed in detail. The review also focuses on nanotechnology-based easy and fast detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Various pathways which might play a vital role during SARS-CoV-2 infection have been elaborately discussed since immune response plays a major role during viral infections.
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Proteolytic Processing of the Coronavirus Replicase Nonstructural Protein 14 Exonuclease Is Not Required for Virus Replication but Alters RNA Synthesis and Viral Fitness. J Virol 2022; 96:e0084122. [PMID: 35924922 PMCID: PMC9400476 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00841-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Coronaviruses (CoVs) initiate replication by translation of the positive-sense RNA genome into the replicase polyproteins connecting 16 nonstructural protein domains (nsp1-16), which are subsequently processed by viral proteases to yield mature nsp. For the betacoronavirus murine hepatitis virus (MHV), total inhibition of translation or proteolytic processing of replicase polyproteins results in rapid cessation of RNA synthesis. The nsp5-3CLpro (Mpro) processes nsps7-16, which assemble into functional replication-transcription complexes (RTCs), including the enzymatic nsp12-RdRp and nsp14-exoribonuclease (ExoN)/N7-methyltransferase. The nsp14-ExoN activity mediates RNA-dependent RNA proofreading, high-fidelity RNA synthesis, and replication. To date, the solved partial RTC structures, biochemistry, and models use or assume completely processed, mature nsp. Here, we demonstrate that in MHV, engineered deletion of the cleavage sites between nsp13-14 and nsp14-15 allowed recovery of replication-competent virus. Compared to wild-type (WT) MHV, the nsp13-14 and nsp14-15 cleavage deletion mutants demonstrated delayed replication kinetics, impaired genome production, altered abundance and patterns of recombination, and impaired competitive fitness. Further, the nsp13-14 and nsp14-15 mutant viruses demonstrated mutation frequencies that were significantly higher than with the WT. The results demonstrate that cleavage of nsp13-14 or nsp14-15 is not required for MHV viability and that functions of the RTC/nsp14-ExoN are impaired when assembled with noncleaved intermediates. These data will inform future genetic, structural, biochemical, and modeling studies of coronavirus RTCs and nsp 13, 14, and 15 and may reveal new approaches for inhibition or attenuation of CoV infection. IMPORTANCE Coronavirus replication requires proteolytic maturation of the nonstructural replicase proteins to form the replication-transcription complex. Coronavirus replication-transcription complex models assume mature subunits; however, mechanisms of coronavirus maturation and replicase complex formation have yet to be defined. Here, we show that for the coronavirus murine hepatitis virus, cleavage between the nonstructural replicase proteins nsp13-14 and nsp14-15 is not required for replication but does alter RNA synthesis and recombination. These results shed new light on the requirements for coronavirus maturation and replication-transcription complex assembly, and they may reveal novel therapeutic targets and strategies for attenuation.
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A Multistage In Silico Study of Natural Potential Inhibitors Targeting SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23158407. [PMID: 35955547 PMCID: PMC9369012 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23158407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Among a group of 310 natural antiviral natural metabolites, our team identified three compounds as the most potent natural inhibitors against the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (PDB ID: 5R84), Mpro. The identified compounds are sattazolin and caprolactin A and B. A validated multistage in silico study was conducted using several techniques. First, the molecular structures of the selected metabolites were compared with that of GWS, the co-crystallized ligand of Mpro, in a structural similarity study. The aim of this study was to determine the thirty most similar metabolites (10%) that may bind to the Mpro similar to GWS. Then, molecular docking against Mpro and pharmacophore studies led to the choice of five metabolites that exhibited good binding modes against the Mpro and good fit values against the generated pharmacophore model. Among them, three metabolites were chosen according to ADMET studies. The most promising Mpro inhibitor was determined by toxicity and DFT studies to be caprolactin A (292). Finally, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies were performed for caprolactin A to confirm the obtained results and understand the thermodynamic characteristics of the binding. It is hoped that the accomplished results could represent a positive step in the battle against COVID-19 through further in vitro and in vivo studies on the selected compounds.
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Engineering and Characterization of Avian Coronavirus Mutants Expressing Fluorescent Reporter Proteins from the Replicase Gene. J Virol 2022; 96:e0065322. [PMID: 35862676 PMCID: PMC9327687 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00653-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is an avian coronavirus that causes infectious bronchitis, an acute and highly contagious respiratory disease of chickens. IBV evolution under the pressure of comprehensive and widespread vaccination requires surveillance for vaccine resistance, as well as periodic vaccine updates. Reverse genetics systems are very valuable tools in virology, as they facilitate rapid genetic manipulation of viral genomes, thereby advancing basic and applied research. We report here the construction of an infectious clone of IBV strain Beaudette as a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC). The engineered full-length IBV clone allowed the rescue of an infectious virus that was phenotypically indistinguishable from the parental virus. We used the infectious IBV clone and examined whether an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) can be produced by the replicase gene ORF1 and autocatalytically released from the replicase polyprotein through cleavage by the main coronavirus protease. We show that IBV tolerates insertion of the EGFP ORF at the 3' end of the replicase gene, between the sequences encoding nsp13 and nsp16 (helicase, RNA exonuclease, RNA endonuclease, and RNA methyltransferase). We further show that EGFP is efficiently cleaved from the replicase polyprotein and can be localized in double-membrane vesicles along with viral RNA polymerase and double-stranded RNA, an intermediate of IBV genome replication. One of the engineered reporter EGFP viruses were genetically stable during passage in cultured cells. We demonstrate that the reporter EGFP viruses can be used to study virus replication in host cells and for antiviral drug discovery and development of diagnostic assays. IMPORTANCE Reverse genetics systems based on bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) are the most valuable systems in coronavirus research. Here, we describe the establishment of a reverse genetics system for the avian coronavirus strain Beaudette, the most intensively studied strain. We cloned a copy of the avian coronavirus genome into a BAC vector and recovered infectious virus in permissive cells. We used the new system to construct reporter viruses that produce enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). The EGFP coding sequence was inserted into 11 known cleavage sites of the major coronavirus protease in the replicase gene ORF1. Avian coronavirus tolerated the insertion of the EGFP coding sequence at three sites. The engineered reporter viruses replicated with parental efficiency in cultured cells and were sufficiently genetically stable. The new system facilitates functional genomics of the avian coronavirus genome but can also be used for the development of novel vaccines and anticoronaviral drugs.
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Antonopoulou I, Sapountzaki E, Rova U, Christakopoulos P. The Inhibitory Potential of Ferulic Acid Derivatives against the SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease: Molecular Docking, Molecular Dynamics, and ADMET Evaluation. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10081787. [PMID: 35892687 PMCID: PMC9329733 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10081787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 is an appealing target for the development of antiviral compounds, due to its critical role in the viral life cycle and its high conservation among different coronaviruses and the continuously emerging mutants of SARS-CoV-2. Ferulic acid (FA) is a phytochemical with several health benefits that is abundant in plant biomass and has been used as a basis for the enzymatic or chemical synthesis of derivatives with improved properties, including antiviral activity against a range of viruses. This study tested 54 reported FA derivatives for their inhibitory potential against Mpro by in silico simulations. Molecular docking was performed using Autodock Vina, resulting in comparable or better binding affinities for 14 compounds compared to the known inhibitors N3 and GC376. ADMET analysis showed limited bioavailability but significantly improved the solubility for the enzymatically synthesized hits while better bioavailability and druglikeness properties but higher toxicity were observed for the chemically synthesized ones. MD simulations confirmed the stability of the complexes of the most promising compounds with Mpro, highlighting FA rutinoside and compound e27 as the best candidates from each derivative category.
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Genetic Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 M
pro
Reveals High Sequence and Structural Conservation Prior to the Introduction of Protease Inhibitor Paxlovid. mBio 2022; 13:e0086922. [PMID: 35862764 PMCID: PMC9426535 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00869-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to represent a global health emergency as a highly transmissible, airborne virus. An important coronaviral drug target for treatment of COVID-19 is the conserved main protease (Mpro). Nirmatrelvir is a potent Mpro inhibitor and the antiviral component of Paxlovid. The significant viral sequencing effort during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic represented a unique opportunity to assess potential nirmatrelvir escape mutations from emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2. To establish the baseline mutational landscape of Mpro prior to the introduction of Mpro inhibitors, Mpro sequences and its cleavage junction regions were retrieved from ~4,892,000 high-quality SARS-CoV-2 genomes in the open-access Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) database. Any mutations identified from comparison to the reference sequence (Wuhan-Hu-1) were catalogued and analyzed. Mutations at sites key to nirmatrelvir binding and protease functionality (e.g., dimerization sites) were still rare. Structural comparison of Mpro also showed conservation of key nirmatrelvir contact residues across the extended Coronaviridae family (α-, β-, and γ-coronaviruses). Additionally, we showed that over time, the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro enzyme remained under purifying selection and was highly conserved relative to the spike protein. Now, with the emergency use authorization (EUA) of Paxlovid and its expected widespread use across the globe, it is essential to continue large-scale genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro evolution. This study establishes a robust analysis framework for monitoring emergent mutations in millions of virus isolates, with the goal of identifying potential resistance to present and future SARS-CoV-2 antivirals.
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Doan LH, Chu LW, Huang ZY, Nguyen AT, Lee CY, Huang CL, Chang YF, Hsieh WY, Nguyen TTH, Lin CH, Su CL, Chuang TH, Lai JM, Wang FS, Yang CJ, Liu HK, Ping YH, Huang CYF. Virofree, an Herbal Medicine-Based Formula, Interrupts the Viral Infection of Delta and Omicron Variants of SARS-CoV-2. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:905197. [PMID: 35860023 PMCID: PMC9289459 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.905197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains a threat with the emergence of new variants, especially Delta and Omicron, without specific effective therapeutic drugs. The infection causes dysregulation of the immune system with a cytokine storm that eventually leads to fatal acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and further irreversible pulmonary fibrosis. Therefore, the promising way to inhibit infection is to disrupt the binding and fusion between the viral spike and the host ACE2 receptor. A transcriptome-based drug screening platform has been developed for COVID-19 to explore the possibility and potential of the long-established drugs or herbal medicines to reverse the unique genetic signature of COVID-19. In silico analysis showed that Virofree, an herbal medicine, reversed the genetic signature of COVID-19 and ARDS. Biochemical validations showed that Virofree could disrupt the binding of wild-type and Delta-variant spike proteins to ACE2 and its syncytial formation via cell-based pseudo-typed viral assays, as well as suppress binding between several variant recombinant spikes to ACE2, especially Delta and Omicron. Additionally, Virofree elevated miR-148b-5p levels, inhibited the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 (Mpro), and reduced LPS-induced TNF-α release. Virofree also prevented cellular iron accumulation leading to ferroptosis which occurs in SARS-CoV-2 patients. Furthermore, Virofree was able to reduce pulmonary fibrosis-related protein expression levels in vitro. In conclusion, Virofree was repurposed as a potential herbal medicine to combat COVID-19. This study highlights the inhibitory effect of Virofree on the entry of Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2, which have not had any effective treatments during the emergence of the new variants spreading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ly Hien Doan
- Institute of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Institute of Biotechnology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Li-Wei Chu
- Department and Institute of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Zi-Yi Huang
- Program in Molecular Medicine, College of Life Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
- ASUS Intelligent Cloud Services, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Anh Thuc Nguyen
- Institute of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Taiwan National Graduate Program in Molecular Medicine, Academia Sinica, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Yin Lee
- Institute of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Immunology Research Center, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Ling Huang
- Institute of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | | | - Wen-Yu Hsieh
- Division of Basic Chinese Medicine, National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine (NRICM), Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Trang Thi Huyen Nguyen
- Institute of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chao-Hsiung Lin
- Institute of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Life Sciences and Institute of Genome Sciences, College of Life Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Aging and Health Research Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Li Su
- Graduate Program of Nutrition Science, School of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Tsung-Hsien Chuang
- Immunology Research Center, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Taiwan
| | - Jin-Mei Lai
- Department of Life Science, College of Science and Engineering, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Feng-Sheng Wang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Jui Yang
- Department of Internal Medicine, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Hui-Kang Liu
- Division of Basic Chinese Medicine, National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine (NRICM), Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan
- Ph.D. Program in the Clinical Drug Development of Herbal Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Traditional Herbal Medicine Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yueh-Hsin Ping
- Department and Institute of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Institute of Biophotonics, College of Biomedical Science and Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chi-Ying F. Huang
- Institute of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Program in Molecular Medicine, College of Life Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Taiwan National Graduate Program in Molecular Medicine, Academia Sinica, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Biotechnology and Laboratory Science in Medicine, School of Biomedical Science and Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
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50
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Fé LXSGM, Cipolatti EP, Pinto MCC, Branco S, Nogueira FCS, Ortiz GMD, Pinheiro ADS, Manoel EA. Enzymes in the time of COVID-19: An overview about the effects in the human body, enzyme market, and perspectives for new drugs. Med Res Rev 2022; 42:2126-2167. [PMID: 35762498 PMCID: PMC9350392 DOI: 10.1002/med.21919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Revised: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The rising pandemic caused by a coronavirus, resulted in a scientific quest to discover some effective treatments against its etiologic agent, the severe acute respiratory syndrome‐coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). This research represented a significant scientific landmark and resulted in many medical advances. However, efforts to understand the viral mechanism of action and how the human body machinery is subverted during the infection are still ongoing. Herein, we contributed to this field with this compilation of the roles of both viral and human enzymes in the context of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. In this sense, this overview reports that proteases are vital for the infection to take place: from SARS‐CoV‐2 perspective, the main protease (Mpro) and papain‐like protease (PLpro) are highlighted; from the human body, angiotensin‐converting enzyme‐2, transmembrane serine protease‐2, and cathepsins (CatB/L) are pointed out. In addition, the influence of the virus on other enzymes is reported as the JAK/STAT pathway and the levels of lipase, enzymes from the cholesterol metabolism pathway, amylase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, and glyceraldehyde 3‐phosphate dehydrogenase are also be disturbed in SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Finally, this paper discusses the importance of detailed enzymatic studies for future treatments against SARS‐CoV‐2, and how some issues related to the syndrome treatment can create opportunities in the biotechnological market of enzymes and the development of new drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luana Xavier Soares Gomes Moura Fé
- Departamento de Biotecnologia Farmacêutica, Faculdade de Farmácia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde (CCS), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)-Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Eliane Pereira Cipolatti
- Departamento de Biotecnologia Farmacêutica, Faculdade de Farmácia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde (CCS), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)-Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Departamento de Engenharia Química, Instituto de Tecnologia, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Martina Costa Cerqueira Pinto
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Centro de Tecnologia (CT), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Chemical Engineering Program, Instituto Alberto Luiz Coimbra de Pós-graduação e Pesquisa de Engenharia (COPPE), Centro de Tecnologia (CT), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Suema Branco
- Biofísica Ambiental, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Centro de Ciências da Saúde (CCS), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Fábio César Sousa Nogueira
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Centro de Tecnologia (CT), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Gisela Maria Dellamora Ortiz
- Departamento de Fármacos e Medicamentos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde (CCS), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)-Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Anderson de Sá Pinheiro
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Centro de Tecnologia (CT), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Evelin Andrade Manoel
- Departamento de Biotecnologia Farmacêutica, Faculdade de Farmácia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde (CCS), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)-Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Centro de Tecnologia (CT), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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