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Stegmann KM, Dickmanns A, Heinen N, Blaurock C, Karrasch T, Breithaupt A, Klopfleisch R, Uhlig N, Eberlein V, Issmail L, Herrmann ST, Schreieck A, Peelen E, Kohlhof H, Sadeghi B, Riek A, Speakman JR, Groß U, Görlich D, Vitt D, Müller T, Grunwald T, Pfaender S, Balkema-Buschmann A, Dobbelstein M. Inhibitors of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase cooperate with Molnupiravir and N4-hydroxycytidine to suppress SARS-CoV-2 replication. iScience 2022; 25:104293. [PMID: 35492218 PMCID: PMC9035612 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The nucleoside analog N4-hydroxycytidine (NHC) is the active metabolite of the prodrug molnupiravir, which has been approved for the treatment of COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 incorporates NHC into its RNA, resulting in defective virus genomes. Likewise, inhibitors of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) reduce virus yield upon infection, by suppressing the cellular synthesis of pyrimidines. Here, we show that NHC and DHODH inhibitors strongly synergize in the inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro. We propose that the lack of available pyrimidine nucleotides upon DHODH inhibition increases the incorporation of NHC into nascent viral RNA. This concept is supported by the rescue of virus replication upon addition of pyrimidine nucleosides to the media. DHODH inhibitors increased the antiviral efficiency of molnupiravir not only in organoids of human lung, but also in Syrian Gold hamsters and in K18-hACE2 mice. Combining molnupiravir with DHODH inhibitors may thus improve available therapy options for COVID-19. Molnupiravir and DHODH inhibitors are approved drugs, facilitating clinical testing The combination may allow lower drug doses to decrease possible toxic effects Inhibitors of nucleotide biosynthesis may boost antiviral nucleoside analogs
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim M Stegmann
- Institute of Molecular Oncology, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus von Liebig Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Antje Dickmanns
- Institute of Molecular Oncology, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus von Liebig Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Natalie Heinen
- Department of Molecular and Medical Virology, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Claudia Blaurock
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Tim Karrasch
- Institute of Molecular Oncology, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus von Liebig Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Angele Breithaupt
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany
| | | | - Nadja Uhlig
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Valentina Eberlein
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Leila Issmail
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Simon T Herrmann
- Department of Molecular Biochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Balal Sadeghi
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Alexander Riek
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Institute of Animal Welfare and Animal Husbandry, Celle, Germany
| | - John R Speakman
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK
| | - Uwe Groß
- Institute of Medical Microbiology and Virology, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany
| | - Dirk Görlich
- Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Thorsten Müller
- Department of Molecular Biochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.,Institute of Psychiatric Phenomics and Genomics (IPPG), Organoid laboratory, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Germany
| | - Thomas Grunwald
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stephanie Pfaender
- Department of Molecular and Medical Virology, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Anne Balkema-Buschmann
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Matthias Dobbelstein
- Institute of Molecular Oncology, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus von Liebig Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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Hahn F, Wangen C, Häge S, Peter AS, Dobler G, Hurst B, Julander J, Fuchs J, Ruzsics Z, Überla K, Jäck HM, Ptak R, Muehler A, Gröppel M, Vitt D, Peelen E, Kohlhof H, Marschall M. IMU-838, a Developmental DHODH Inhibitor in Phase II for Autoimmune Disease, Shows Anti-SARS-CoV-2 and Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Efficacy In Vitro. Viruses 2020; 12:E1394. [PMID: 33291455 DOI: 10.3390/v12121394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Revised: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The ongoing pandemic spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) demands skillful strategies for novel drug development, drug repurposing and cotreatments, in particular focusing on existing candidates of host-directed antivirals (HDAs). The developmental drug IMU-838, currently being investigated in a phase 2b trial in patients suffering from autoimmune diseases, represents an inhibitor of human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) with a recently proven antiviral activity in vitro and in vivo. Here, we established an analysis system for assessing the antiviral potency of IMU-838 and DHODH-directed back-up drugs in cultured cell-based infection models. By the use of SARS-CoV-2-specific immunofluorescence, Western blot, in-cell ELISA, viral yield reduction and RT-qPCR methods, we demonstrated the following: (i) IMU-838 and back-ups show anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity at several levels of viral replication, i.e., protein production, double-strand RNA synthesis, and release of infectious virus; (ii) antiviral efficacy in Vero cells was demonstrated in a micromolar range (IMU-838 half-maximal effective concentration, EC50, of 7.6 ± 5.8 µM); (iii) anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity was distinct from cytotoxic effects (half-cytotoxic concentration, CC50, >100 µM); (iv) the drug in vitro potency was confirmed using several Vero lineages and human cells; (v) combination with remdesivir showed enhanced anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity; (vi) vidofludimus, the active determinant of IMU-838, exerted a broad-spectrum activity against a selection of major human pathogenic viruses. These findings strongly suggest that developmental DHODH inhibitors represent promising candidates for use as anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics.
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