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Risner KH, Tieu KV, Wang Y, Getz M, Bakovic A, Bhalla N, Nathan SD, Conway DE, Macklin P, Narayanan A, Alem F. Maraviroc inhibits SARS-CoV-2 multiplication and s-protein mediated cell fusion in cell culture. bioRxiv 2022:2020.08.12.246389. [PMID: 32817953 PMCID: PMC7430595 DOI: 10.1101/2020.08.12.246389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
In an effort to identify therapeutic intervention strategies for the treatment of COVID-19, we have investigated a selection of FDA-approved small molecules and biologics that are commonly used to treat other human diseases. A investigation into 18 small molecules and 3 biologics was conducted in cell culture and the impact of treatment on viral titer was quantified by plaque assay. The investigation identified 4 FDA-approved small molecules, Maraviroc, FTY720 (Fingolimod), Atorvastatin and Nitazoxanide that were able to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection. Confocal microscopy with over expressed S-protein demonstrated that Maraviroc reduced the extent of S-protein mediated cell fusion as observed by fewer multinucleate cells in the context of drug-treatment. Mathematical modeling of drug-dependent viral multiplication dynamics revealed that prolonged drug treatment will exert an exponential decrease in viral load in a multicellular/tissue environment. Taken together, the data demonstrate that Maraviroc, Fingolimod, Atorvastatin and Nitazoxanide inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in cell culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth H. Risner
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, George Mason University, Manassas, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Katie V. Tieu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Yafei Wang
- Intellegent Systems Engineering, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, United States of America
| | - Michael Getz
- Intellegent Systems Engineering, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, United States of America
| | - Allison Bakovic
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, George Mason University, Manassas, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Nishank Bhalla
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, George Mason University, Manassas, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Steven D. Nathan
- Advanced Lung Disease and Lung Transplant Program, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Fairfax, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Daniel E. Conway
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Paul Macklin
- Intellegent Systems Engineering, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, United States of America
| | - Aarthi Narayanan
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, George Mason University, Manassas, Virginia, United States of America
- American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Farhang Alem
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, George Mason University, Manassas, Virginia, United States of America
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Bakovic A, Risner K, Bhalla N, Alem F, Chang TL, Weston WK, Harness JA, Narayanan A. Brilacidin Demonstrates Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 in Cell Culture. Viruses 2021; 13:271. [PMID: 33572467 PMCID: PMC7916214 DOI: 10.3390/v13020271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the newly emergent causative agent of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), has resulted in more than two million deaths worldwide since it was first detected in 2019. There is a critical global need for therapeutic intervention strategies that can be deployed to safely treat COVID-19 disease and reduce associated morbidity and mortality. Increasing evidence shows that both natural and synthetic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), also referred to as Host Defense Proteins/Peptides (HDPs), can inhibit SARS-CoV-2, paving the way for the potential clinical use of these molecules as therapeutic options. In this manuscript, we describe the potent antiviral activity exerted by brilacidin-a de novo designed synthetic small molecule that captures the biological properties of HDPs-on SARS-CoV-2 in a human lung cell line (Calu-3) and a monkey cell line (Vero). These data suggest that SARS-CoV-2 inhibition in these cell culture models is likely to be a result of the impact of brilacidin on viral entry and its disruption of viral integrity. Brilacidin demonstrated synergistic antiviral activity when combined with remdesivir. Collectively, our data demonstrate that brilacidin exerts potent inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 against different strains of the virus in cell culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison Bakovic
- National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA; (A.B.); (K.R.); (N.B.); (F.A.)
| | - Kenneth Risner
- National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA; (A.B.); (K.R.); (N.B.); (F.A.)
| | - Nishank Bhalla
- National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA; (A.B.); (K.R.); (N.B.); (F.A.)
| | - Farhang Alem
- National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA; (A.B.); (K.R.); (N.B.); (F.A.)
| | - Theresa L. Chang
- Public Health Research Institute, Rutgers, New Jersey Medical School, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA;
| | - Warren K. Weston
- Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc., Wakefield, MA 01880, USA; (W.K.W.); (J.A.H.)
| | - Jane A. Harness
- Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc., Wakefield, MA 01880, USA; (W.K.W.); (J.A.H.)
| | - Aarthi Narayanan
- National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA; (A.B.); (K.R.); (N.B.); (F.A.)
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Ahmed A, Siman-Tov G, Keck F, Kortchak S, Bakovic A, Risner K, Lu TK, Bhalla N, de la Fuente-Nunez C, Narayanan A. Human cathelicidin peptide LL-37 as a therapeutic antiviral targeting Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus infections. Antiviral Res 2019; 164:61-69. [PMID: 30738837 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2019.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2018] [Revised: 01/20/2019] [Accepted: 02/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV), a new world alphavirus belonging to the Togaviridae family, causes periodic disease outbreaks in humans and equines with high associated mortality and morbidity. VEEV is highly infectious via the aerosol route and so has been developed as a biological weapon (Hawley and Eitzen, 2001). Despite its current classification as a category B select agent, there are no FDA approved vaccines or therapeutics to counter VEEV infections. Here we utilize a naturally occurring host defense peptide, LL-37, as a therapeutic strategy to inhibit VEEV multiplication in infected cells. LL-37 has previously demonstrated activity against several viruses by directly interacting with viral particles and indirectly by establishing an antiviral state in the host cell. We show that LL-37 exhibited potent antiviral activity against VEEV by inhibiting viral replication. Genomic RNA copies of the TC-83 strain of VEEV and viral titers were significantly reduced compared to non-treated controls. LL-37 also inhibited the virulent Trinidad Donkey (TrD) strain of VEEV. Entry assays revealed a robust reduction of viral RNA copies at the early stages of TC-83 infection. Pre-incubation of cells with LL-37 and TC-83 resulted in a strong inhibitory response, indicating that LL-37 impacts early stages of the infectious process. Confocal and electron microscopy images confirmed the aggregation of viral particles, which potentially accounts for entry prevention and hence reduced viral infection. LL-37 treatment also modulated type I interferon (IFN) expression in infected cells. LL-37 treatment dramatically increased IFNβ1 expression in treated cells in a time-dependent manner. Our results establish LL-37 as a relevant and novel potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of VEEV infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aslaa Ahmed
- National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Disease, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA, USA
| | - Gavriella Siman-Tov
- National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Disease, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA, USA
| | - Forrest Keck
- National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Disease, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA, USA
| | - Stephanie Kortchak
- National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Disease, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA, USA
| | - Allison Bakovic
- National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Disease, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA, USA
| | - Kenneth Risner
- National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Disease, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA, USA
| | - Timothy K Lu
- Synthetic Biology Group, MIT Synthetic Biology Center; The Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics; Research Laboratory of Electronics, Department of Biological Engineering, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Nishank Bhalla
- National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Disease, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA, USA
| | - Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez
- Synthetic Biology Group, MIT Synthetic Biology Center; The Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics; Research Laboratory of Electronics, Department of Biological Engineering, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Aarthi Narayanan
- National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Disease, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA, USA
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Keck F, Kortchak S, Bakovic A, Roberts B, Agrawal N, Narayanan A. Direct and indirect pro-inflammatory cytokine response resulting from TC-83 infection of glial cells. Virulence 2018; 9:1403-1421. [PMID: 30101649 PMCID: PMC6141141 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2018.1509668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2018] [Accepted: 07/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) is a neurotropic arbovirus that is highly infectious as an aerosol and can result in an encephalitic phenotype in infected individuals. VEEV infections are known to be associated with robust inflammation that eventually contributes to neurodegenerative phenotypes. In this study, we utilize the TC-83 strain of VEEV, which is known to induce the expression of IL-6, IL-8, and other pro-inflammatory cytokines. We had previously demonstrated that TC-83 infection resulted in changes in mitochondrial function, eventually resulting in mitophagy. In this manuscript, we provide data that links upstream mitochondrial dysfunction with downstream pro-inflammatory cytokine production in the context of microglia and astrocytoma cells. We also provide data on the role of bystander cells, which significantly contribute to the overall inflammatory load. Use of a mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant, mitoquinone mesylate, greatly reduced the inflammatory cytokine load and ameliorated bystander cell inflammatory responses more significantly than a broad-spectrum anti-inflammatory compound (BAY 11-7082). Our data suggest that the inflammatory mediators, especially IL-1β, may prime naïve cells to infection and lead to increased infection rates in microglial and astrocytoma cells. Cumulatively, our data suggest that the interplay between mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammatory events elicited in a neuronal microenvironment during a TC-83 infection may contribute to the spread of infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Forrest Keck
- National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, George Mason University, Manassas, VA, USA
| | - Stephanie Kortchak
- National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, George Mason University, Manassas, VA, USA
| | - Allison Bakovic
- National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, George Mason University, Manassas, VA, USA
| | | | - Nitin Agrawal
- Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Aarthi Narayanan
- National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, George Mason University, Manassas, VA, USA
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Druzijanic N, Juricic J, Bakovic A, Kraljevic D. Modified intraparietal vagotomy in the treatment of perforated duodenal ulcer. Hepatogastroenterology 1997; 44:1346-50. [PMID: 9356853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIMS The purpose of this study was to introduce modified intraparietal vagotomy as a safe procedure and a method of choice in the treatment of perforated duodenal ulcers. METHODOLOGY Eighty-six patients with perforated duodenal ulcers underwent oversewing of the perforated ulcer and modified intraparietal selective vagotomy. The site of perforation was sewn over and an abdominal cavity lavage was performed. The posterior vagal nerve was resected, and a modified intraparietal anterior vagotomy was performed. During the postoperative period, after twenty days, six months and one year, respectively, we analyzed the following data: body weight, signs of gastroesophageal reflux, subjective discomfort, early postoperative complications, gastroduodenoscopic findings, basal acid output (BAO), and maximal acid output stimulated by pentagastrin (PAO). RESULTS There was no mortality in our group, the post-operative morbidity was insignificant, and the duration of operation was shorter in comparison to other vagotomy methods. BAO and PAO values were similar to those in the literature when proximal selective vagotomy (PSV) was performed. There were no cases of duodenogastric or gastroesophageal reflux nor re-occurrence of ulcer disease, as confirmed by gastroduodenoscopy. According to the modified Visick's criteria, 94% of the patients followed-up were classified as group 1. CONCLUSION We consider the modified intraparietal vagotomy to be the method of choice in the treatment of perforated duodenal ulcers because of the simple surgical technique involved, the shorter duration of surgery, and the avoidance of standard PSV complications. The surgery can be performed even by a less experienced surgeon, independently of the patient's age and condition. This modification is suitable for laparoscopic surgery.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Druzijanic
- Clinical Hospital Split, Department of Abdominal Surgery Krizine, Split, Republic of Croatia
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