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Cummings J, Zhou Y, Lee G, Zhong K, Fonseca J, Cheng F. Alzheimer's disease drug development pipeline: 2024. Alzheimers Dement (N Y) 2024; 10:e12465. [PMID: 38659717 PMCID: PMC11040692 DOI: 10.1002/trc2.12465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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] [Received: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION New therapies to prevent or delay the onset of symptoms, slow progression, or improve cognitive and behavioral symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are needed. METHODS We interrogated clinicaltrials.gov including all clinical trials assessing pharmaceutical therapies for AD active in on January 1, 2024. We used the Common Alzheimer's Disease Research Ontology (CADRO) to classify the targets of therapies in the pipeline. RESULTS There are 164 trials assessing 127 drugs across the 2024 AD pipeline. There were 48 trials in Phase 3 testing 32 drugs, 90 trials in Phase 2 assessing 81 drugs, and 26 trials in Phase 1 testing 25 agents. Of the 164 trials, 34% (N = 56) assess disease-modifying biological agents, 41% (N = 68) test disease-modifying small molecule drugs, 10% (N = 17) evaluate cognitive enhancing agents, and 14% (N = 23) test drugs for the treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms. DISCUSSION Compared to the 2023 pipeline, there are fewer trials (164 vs. 187), fewer drugs (127 vs. 141), fewer new chemical entities (88 vs. 101), and a similar number of repurposed agents (39 vs. 40). Highlights In the 2024 Alzheimer's disease drug development pipeline, there are 164 clinical trials assessing 127 drugs.The 2024 Alzheimer's disease drug development pipeline has contracted compared to the 2023 Alzheimer pipeline with fewer trials, fewer drugs, and fewer new chemical entities.Drugs in the Alzheimer's disease drug development pipeline target a wide array of targets; the most common processes targeted include neurotransmitter receptors, inflammation, amyloid, and synaptic plasticity.The total development time for a potential Alzheimer's disease therapy to progress from nonclinical studies to FDA review is approximately 13 years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Cummings
- Chambers‐Grundy Center for Transformative NeuroscienceDepartment of Brain HealthSchool of Integrated Health SciencesUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)Las VegasNevadaUSA
| | - Yadi Zhou
- Genomic Medicine InstituteLerner Research Institute, Cleveland ClinicClevelandOhioUSA
| | - Garam Lee
- Chambers‐Grundy Center for Transformative NeuroscienceDepartment of Brain HealthSchool of Integrated Health SciencesUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)Las VegasNevadaUSA
| | - Kate Zhong
- Chambers‐Grundy Center for Transformative NeuroscienceDepartment of Brain HealthSchool of Integrated Health SciencesUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)Las VegasNevadaUSA
| | - Jorge Fonseca
- Howard R Hughes College of EngineeringDepartment of Computer ScienceUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)Las VegasNevadaUSA
| | - Feixiong Cheng
- Genomic Medicine InstituteLerner Research Institute, Cleveland ClinicClevelandOhioUSA
- Department of Molecular MedicineCleveland Clinic Lerner College of MedicineCase Western Reserve UniversityClevelandOhioUSA
- Case Comprehensive Cancer CenterCase Western Reserve University School of MedicineClevelandOhioUSA
- Cleveland Clinic Genome CenterLerner Research Institute, Cleveland ClinicClevelandOhioUSA
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Voronin D, Tricoche N, Peguero R, Kaminska AM, Ghedin E, Sakanari JA, Lustigman S. Repurposed Drugs That Activate Autophagy in Filarial Worms Act as Effective Macrofilaricides. Pharmaceutics 2024; 16:256. [PMID: 38399310 PMCID: PMC10891619 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16020256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis are two neglected tropical diseases caused by filarial nematodes that utilize insect vectors for transmission to their human hosts. Current control strategies are based on annual or biannual mass drug administration (MDA) of the drugs Ivermectin or Ivermectin plus Albendazole, respectively. These drug regimens kill the first-stage larvae of filarial worms (i.e., microfilariae) and interrupt the transmission of infections. MDA programs for these microfilaricidal drugs must be given over the lifetime of the filarial adult worms, which can reach 15 years in the case of Onchocerca volvulus. This is problematic because of suboptimal responses to ivermectin in various endemic regions and inefficient reduction of transmission even after decades of MDA. There is an urgent need for the development of novel alternative treatments to support the 2030 elimination goals of onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis. One successful approach has been to target Wolbachia, obligatory endosymbiotic bacteria on which filarial worms are dependent for their survival and reproduction within the human host. A 4-6-week antibiotic therapy with doxycycline, for example, resulted in the loss of Wolbachia that subsequently led to extensive apoptosis of somatic cells, germline, embryos, and microfilariae, as well as inhibition of fourth-stage larval development. However, this long-course regimen has limited use in MDA programs. As an alternative approach to the use of bacteriostatic antibiotics, in this study, we focused on autophagy-inducing compounds, which we hypothesized could disturb various pathways involved in the interdependency between Wolbachia and filarial worms. We demonstrated that several such compounds, including Niclosamide, an FDA-approved drug, Niclosamide ethanolamine (NEN), and Rottlerin, a natural product derived from Kamala trees, significantly reduced the levels of Wolbachia in vitro. Moreover, when these compounds were used in vivo to treat Brugia pahangi-infected gerbils, Niclosamide and NEN significantly decreased adult worm survival, reduced the release of microfilariae, and decreased embryonic development depending on the regimen and dose used. All three drugs given orally significantly reduced Wolbachia loads and induced an increase in levels of lysosome-associated membrane protein in worms from treated animals, suggesting that Niclosamide, NEN, and Rottlerin were effective in causing drug-induced autophagy in these filarial worms. These repurposed drugs provide a new avenue for the clearance of adult worms in filarial infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis Voronin
- Systems Genomics Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, Division of Intramural Research, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA;
| | - Nancy Tricoche
- Molecular Parasitology, New York Blood Center, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Ricardo Peguero
- Molecular Parasitology, New York Blood Center, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Anna Maria Kaminska
- Molecular Parasitology, New York Blood Center, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Elodie Ghedin
- Systems Genomics Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, Division of Intramural Research, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA;
| | - Judy A. Sakanari
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA;
| | - Sara Lustigman
- Molecular Parasitology, New York Blood Center, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA
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Gazzin A, Leoni C, Viscogliosi G, Borgini F, Perri L, Iacoviello M, Piglionica M, De Pellegrin M, Ferrero GB, Bartuli A, Zampino G, Buonuomo PS, Resta N, Mussa A. Work-Up and Treatment Strategies for Individuals with PIK3CA-Related Disorders: A Consensus of Experts from the Scientific Committee of the Italian Macrodactyly and PROS Association. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:2134. [PMID: 38136956 PMCID: PMC10742781 DOI: 10.3390/genes14122134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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: 11/05/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
PIK3CA-related disorders encompass many rare and ultra-rare conditions caused by somatic genetic variants that hyperactivate the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway, which is essential for cell cycle control. PIK3CA-related disorders include PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum (PROS), PIK3CA-related vascular malformations and PIK3CA-related non-vascular lesions. Phenotypes are extremely heterogeneous and overlapping. Therefore, diagnosis and management frequently involve various health specialists. Given the rarity of these disorders and the limited number of centers offering optimal care, the Scientific Committee of the Italian Macrodactyly and PROS Association has proposed a revision of the most recent recommendations for the diagnosis, molecular testing, clinical management, follow-up, and treatment strategies. These recommendations give insight on molecular diagnosis, eligible samples, preferable sequencing, and validation methods and management of negative results. The purpose of this paper is to promote collaboration between health care centers and clinicians with a joint shared approach. Finally, we suggest the direction of present and future research studies, including new systemic target therapies, which are currently under evaluation in several clinical trials, such as specific inhibitors that can be employed to downregulate the signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Gazzin
- Clinical Pediatric Genetics Unit, Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Torino, Regina Margherita Children’s Hospital, 10126 Torino, Italy; (A.G.); (A.M.)
- Postgraduate School of Pediatrics, University of Torino, 10126 Torino, Italy
| | - Chiara Leoni
- Center for Rare Diseases and Birth Defects, Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy; (G.V.); (L.P.); (G.Z.)
| | - Germana Viscogliosi
- Center for Rare Diseases and Birth Defects, Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy; (G.V.); (L.P.); (G.Z.)
| | - Federica Borgini
- Italian Macrodactyly and PROS Association, 27010 San Genesio ed Uniti (PV), Italy;
| | - Lucrezia Perri
- Center for Rare Diseases and Birth Defects, Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy; (G.V.); (L.P.); (G.Z.)
| | - Matteo Iacoviello
- Medical Genetics Unit, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy; (M.I.); (M.P.); (N.R.)
| | - Marilidia Piglionica
- Medical Genetics Unit, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy; (M.I.); (M.P.); (N.R.)
| | - Maurizio De Pellegrin
- Pediatric Orthopedic Unit, Piccole Figlie Hospital, 43125 Parma, Italy
- Department of Orthopedics, ASST Ospedale Papa Giovanni XXIII, 24127 Bergamo, Italy
| | | | - Andrea Bartuli
- Rare Disease and Medical Genetics Unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy; (A.B.); (P.S.B.)
| | - Giuseppe Zampino
- Center for Rare Diseases and Birth Defects, Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy; (G.V.); (L.P.); (G.Z.)
- Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Paola Sabrina Buonuomo
- Rare Disease and Medical Genetics Unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy; (A.B.); (P.S.B.)
| | - Nicoletta Resta
- Medical Genetics Unit, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy; (M.I.); (M.P.); (N.R.)
| | - Alessandro Mussa
- Clinical Pediatric Genetics Unit, Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Torino, Regina Margherita Children’s Hospital, 10126 Torino, Italy; (A.G.); (A.M.)
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Carter C, Airas J, Gladden H, Miller BR, Parish CA. Exploring the disruption of SARS-CoV-2 RBD binding to hACE2. Front Chem 2023; 11:1276760. [PMID: 37954960 PMCID: PMC10635427 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1276760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic was declared due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Viral infection is caused by the interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) and the human ACE2 receptor (hACE2). Previous computational studies have identified repurposed small molecules that target the RBD, but very few have screened drugs in the RBD-hACE2 interface. When studies focus solely on the binding affinity between the drug and the RBD, they ignore the effect of hACE2, resulting in an incomplete analysis. We screened ACE inhibitors and previously identified SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors for binding to the RBD-hACE2 interface, and then conducted 500 ns of unrestrained molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of fosinopril, fosinoprilat, lisinopril, emodin, diquafosol, and physcion bound to the interface to assess the binding characteristics of these ligands. Based on MM-GBSA analysis, all six ligands bind favorably in the interface and inhibit the RBD-hACE2 interaction. However, when we repeat our simulation by first binding the drug to the RBD before interacting with hACE2, we find that fosinopril, fosinoprilat, and lisinopril result in a strongly interacting trimeric complex (RBD-drug-hACE2). Hydrogen bonding and pairwise decomposition analyses further suggest that fosinopril is the best RBD inhibitor. However, when lisinopril is bound, it stabilizes the trimeric complex and, therefore, is not an ideal potential drug candidate. Overall, these results reveal important atomistic interactions critical to the binding of the RBD to hACE2 and highlight the significance of including all protein partners in the evaluation of a potential drug candidate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camryn Carter
- Department of Chemistry, Gottwald Center for the Sciences, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Justin Airas
- Department of Chemistry, Gottwald Center for the Sciences, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Haley Gladden
- Department of Chemistry, Gottwald Center for the Sciences, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Bill R Miller
- Department of Chemistry, Truman State University, Kirksville, MO, United States
| | - Carol A Parish
- Department of Chemistry, Gottwald Center for the Sciences, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, United States
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Halma MTJ, Tuszynski JA, Marik PE. Cancer Metabolism as a Therapeutic Target and Review of Interventions. Nutrients 2023; 15:4245. [PMID: 37836529 PMCID: PMC10574675 DOI: 10.3390/nu15194245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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: 08/28/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer is amenable to low-cost treatments, given that it has a significant metabolic component, which can be affected through diet and lifestyle change at minimal cost. The Warburg hypothesis states that cancer cells have an altered cell metabolism towards anaerobic glycolysis. Given this metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells, it is possible to target cancers metabolically by depriving them of glucose. In addition to dietary and lifestyle modifications which work on tumors metabolically, there are a panoply of nutritional supplements and repurposed drugs associated with cancer prevention and better treatment outcomes. These interventions and their evidentiary basis are covered in the latter half of this review to guide future cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew T. J. Halma
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- EbMC Squared CIC, Bath BA2 4BL, UK
| | - Jack A. Tuszynski
- Department of Physics, University of Alberta, 11335 Saskatchewan Dr NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2M9, Canada
- Department of Data Science and Engineering, The Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
- DIMEAS, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, I-1029 Turin, Italy
| | - Paul E. Marik
- Frontline COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, Washington, DC 20036, USA
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Das S, Kumar S. Exploring the mechanisms of long COVID: Insights from computational analysis of SARS-CoV-2 gene expression and symptom associations. J Med Virol 2023; 95:e29077. [PMID: 37675861 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.29077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
Long coronavirus disease (COVID) has emerged as a global health issue, affecting a substantial number of people worldwide. However, the underlying mechanisms that contribute to the persistence of symptoms in long COVID remain obscure, impeding the development of effective diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. In this study, we utilized computational methods to examine the gene expression profiles of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and their associations with the wide range of symptoms observed in long COVID patients. Using a comprehensive data set comprising over 255 symptoms affecting multiple organ systems, we identified differentially expressed genes and investigated their functional similarity, leading to the identification of key genes with the potential to serve as biomarkers for long COVID. We identified the participation of hub genes associated with G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are essential regulators of T-cell immunity and viral infection responses. Among the identified common genes were CTLA4, PTPN22, KIT, KRAS, NF1, RET, and CTNNB1, which play a crucial role in modulating T-cell immunity via GPCR and contribute to a variety of symptoms, including autoimmunity, cardiovascular disorders, dermatological manifestations, gastrointestinal complications, pulmonary impairments, reproductive and genitourinary dysfunctions, and endocrine abnormalities. GPCRs and associated genes are pivotal in immune regulation and cellular functions, and their dysregulation may contribute to the persistent immune responses, chronic inflammation, and tissue abnormalities observed in long COVID. Targeting GPCRs and their associated pathways could offer promising therapeutic strategies to manage symptoms and improve outcomes for those experiencing long COVID. However, the complex mechanisms underlying the condition require continued study to develop effective treatments. Our study has significant implications for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying long COVID and for identifying potential therapeutic targets. In addition, we have developed a comprehensive website (https://longcovid.omicstutorials.com/) that provides a curated list of biomarker-identified genes and treatment recommendations for each specific disease, thereby facilitating informed clinical decision-making and improved patient management. Our study contributes to the understanding of this debilitating disease, paving the way for improved diagnostic precision, and individualized therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanisha Das
- Department of Diagnostic & Allied Health Science, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Management and Science University, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Suresh Kumar
- Department of Diagnostic & Allied Health Science, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Management and Science University, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
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Tandra G, Yoone A, Mathew R, Wang M, Hales CM, Mitchell CS. Literature-Based Discovery Predicts Antihistamines Are a Promising Repurposed Adjuvant Therapy for Parkinson's Disease. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:12339. [PMID: 37569714 PMCID: PMC10418861 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241512339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a movement disorder caused by a dopamine deficit in the brain. Current therapies primarily focus on dopamine modulators or replacements, such as levodopa. Although dopamine replacement can help alleviate PD symptoms, therapies targeting the underlying neurodegenerative process are limited. The study objective was to use artificial intelligence to rank the most promising repurposed drug candidates for PD. Natural language processing (NLP) techniques were used to extract text relationships from 33+ million biomedical journal articles from PubMed and map relationships between genes, proteins, drugs, diseases, etc., into a knowledge graph. Cross-domain text mining, hub network analysis, and unsupervised learning rank aggregation were performed in SemNet 2.0 to predict the most relevant drug candidates to levodopa and PD using relevance-based HeteSim scores. The top predicted adjuvant PD therapies included ebastine, an antihistamine for perennial allergic rhinitis; levocetirizine, another antihistamine; vancomycin, a powerful antibiotic; captopril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor; and neramexane, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor agonist. Cross-domain text mining predicted that antihistamines exhibit the capacity to synergistically alleviate Parkinsonian symptoms when used with dopamine modulators like levodopa or levodopa-carbidopa. The relationship patterns among the identified adjuvant candidates suggest that the likely therapeutic mechanism(s) of action of antihistamines for combatting the multi-factorial PD pathology include counteracting oxidative stress, amending the balance of neurotransmitters, and decreasing the proliferation of inflammatory mediators. Finally, cross-domain text mining interestingly predicted a strong relationship between PD and liver disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriella Tandra
- Laboratory for Pathology Dynamics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
- Neural Engineering Center, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Amy Yoone
- Laboratory for Pathology Dynamics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Rhea Mathew
- Laboratory for Pathology Dynamics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
- College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Minzhi Wang
- Laboratory for Pathology Dynamics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
- Neural Engineering Center, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
- College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Chadwick M. Hales
- Department of Neurology and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA;
| | - Cassie S. Mitchell
- Laboratory for Pathology Dynamics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
- Neural Engineering Center, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
- Machine Learning Center at Georgia Tech, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
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Arrighi F, Granese A, Chimenti P, Guglielmi P. Novel therapeutic opportunities for Toxoplasma gondii, Trichomonas vaginalis and Giardia intestinalis infections. Expert Opin Ther Pat 2023; 33:211-245. [PMID: 37099697 DOI: 10.1080/13543776.2023.2206017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/28/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Toxoplasma gondii, Trichomonas vaginalis and Giardia intestinalis are the causative agents of Toxoplasmosis, Trichomoniasis and Giardiasis, three important infections threatening human health and affecting millions of people worldwide. Although drugs and treatment are available to fight these protozoan parasites, side-effects and increasing drug resistance, require continuous efforts for the development of novel effective drugs. AREAS COVERED The patents search was carried out in September/October 2022 with four official scientific databases (Espacenet, Scifinder, Reaxys, Google Patents). Treatments for Toxoplasmosis, Trichomoniasis and Giardiasis (2015-2022) have been grouped according to their chemotypes. In particular, novel chemical entities have been reported and investigated for their structure-activity relationship, when accessible. On the other hand, drug repurposing, extensively exploited to obtain novel anti-protozoal treatment, has been in-depth described. Finally, natural metabolites and extracts have also been reported. EXPERT OPINION T. gondii, T. vaginalis and G. intestinalis are protozoan infections usually controlled by immune system in immunocompetent patients; however, they could represent a threatening health for immunocompromised people. The needs of novel effective drugs, endowed with new mechanisms of actions arises from the increasing drug resistance affecting antibiotic as well as antiprotozoal therapies. In this review different therapeutic approaches to treat protozoan infections have been reported.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Arrighi
- Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Arianna Granese
- Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Paola Chimenti
- Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Guglielmi
- Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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Cummings J, Zhou Y, Lee G, Zhong K, Fonseca J, Cheng F. Alzheimer's disease drug development pipeline: 2023. Alzheimers Dement (N Y) 2023; 9:e12385. [PMID: 37251912 PMCID: PMC10210334 DOI: 10.1002/trc2.12385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 57.0] [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] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Introduction Drugs that prevent the onset, slow progression, or improve cognitive and behavioral symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are needed. Methods We searched ClinicalTrials.gov for all current Phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical trials for AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) attributed to AD. We created an automated computational database platform to search, archive, organize, and analyze the derived data. The Common Alzheimer's Disease Research Ontology (CADRO) was used to identify treatment targets and drug mechanisms. Results On the index date of January 1, 2023, there were 187 trials assessing 141 unique treatments for AD. Phase 3 included 36 agents in 55 trials; 87 agents were in 99 Phase 2 trials; and Phase 1 had 31 agents in 33 trials. Disease-modifying therapies were the most common drugs comprising 79% of drugs in trials. Twenty-eight percent of candidate therapies are repurposed agents. Populating all current Phase 1, 2, and 3 trials will require 57,465 participants. Discussion The AD drug development pipeline is advancing agents directed at a variety of target processes. HIGHLIGHTS There are currently 187 trials assessing 141 drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD).Drugs in the AD pipeline address a variety of pathological processes.More than 57,000 participants will be required to populate all currently registered trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Cummings
- Department of Brain HealthChambers‐Grundy Center for Transformative NeuroscienceSchool of Integrated Health SciencesUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)Las VegasNevadaUSA
- Department of Computer ScienceHoward R. Hughes College of EngineeringUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)Las VegasNevadaUSA
| | - Yadi Zhou
- Genomic Medicine InstituteLerner Research InstituteCleveland ClinicClevelandOhioUSA
| | - Garam Lee
- Department of Brain HealthSchool of Integrated Health SciencesUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)Las VegasNevadaUSA
| | - Kate Zhong
- Department of Brain HealthChambers‐Grundy Center for Transformative NeuroscienceSchool of Integrated Health SciencesUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)Las VegasNevadaUSA
- Department of Computer ScienceHoward R. Hughes College of EngineeringUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)Las VegasNevadaUSA
| | - Jorge Fonseca
- Department of Molecular MedicineCleveland Clinic Lerner College of MedicineCase Western Reserve UniversityClevelandOhioUSA
| | - Feixiong Cheng
- Genomic Medicine InstituteLerner Research InstituteCleveland ClinicClevelandOhioUSA
- Department of Molecular MedicineCleveland Clinic Lerner College of MedicineCase Western Reserve UniversityClevelandOhioUSA
- Case Comprehensive Cancer CenterCase Western Reserve University School of MedicineClevelandOhioUSA
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Tachoua W, Kabrine M, Mushtaq M, Selmi A, Ul-Haq Z. Highlights in TMPRSS2 inhibition mechanism with guanidine derivatives approved drugs for COVID-19 treatment. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:12908-12922. [PMID: 36709428 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2169762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [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: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) has been identified as a critical key for the entry of coronaviruses into human cells by cleaving and activating the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. To block the TMPRSS2 function, 18 approved drugs, containing the guanidine group were tested against TMPRSS2's ectodomain (7MEQ). Among these drugs, Famotidine, Argatroban, Guanadrel and Guanethidine strongly binds with TMPRSS2 S1 pocket with estimated Fullfitness energies of -1847.12, -1630.87, -1605.81 and -1600.52 kcal/mol, respectively. A significant number of non-covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions were detected in protein-ligand complexes. In addition, the ADMET analysis revealed a perfect concurrence with the aptitude of these drugs to be developed as an anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics. Further, MD simulation and binding free energy calculations were performed to evaluate the dynamic behavior and stability of protein-ligand complexes. The results obtained herein highlight the enhanced stability and good binding affinities of the Argatroban and Famotidine towards the target protein, hence might act as new scaffolds for TMPRSS2 inhibition.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wafa Tachoua
- Nature and Life Sciences department, University of Algiers Benyoucef Benkhedda, Algiers, Algeria
| | - Mohamed Kabrine
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Science and Technology Houari Boumediene, Algiers, Algeria
| | - Mamona Mushtaq
- Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, ICCBS, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Ahmed Selmi
- Faculty of Sciences of Gafsa, University of Gafsa, Gafsa, Tunisia
| | - Zaheer Ul-Haq
- Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, ICCBS, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan
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11
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Gupta AK, Kumar M. An integrative approach toward identification and analysis of therapeutic targets involved in HPV pathogenesis with a focus on carcinomas. Cancer Biomark 2023; 36:31-52. [PMID: 36245368 DOI: 10.3233/cbm-210413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Persistent infection of high-risk HPVs is known to cause diverse carcinomas, mainly cervical, oropharyngeal, penile, etc. However, efficient treatment is still lacking. OBJECTIVE Identify and analyze potential therapeutic targets involved in HPV oncogenesis and repurposing drug candidates. METHODS Integrative analyses were performed on the compendium of 1887 HPV infection-associated or integration-driven disrupted genes cataloged from the Open Targets Platform and HPVbase resource. Potential target genes are prioritized using STRING, Cytoscape, cytoHubba, and MCODE. Gene ontology and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis are performed. Further, TCGA cancer genomic data of CESC and HNSCC is analyzed. Moreover, regulatory networks are also deduced by employing NetworkAnalyst. RESULTS We have implemented a unique approach for identifying and prioritizing druggable targets and repurposing drug candidates against HPV oncogenesis. Overall, hundred key genes with 44 core targets were prioritized with transcription factors (TFs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) regulators pertinent to HPV pathogenesis. Genomic alteration profiling further substantiated our findings. Among identified druggable targets, TP53, NOTCH1, PIK3CA, EP300, CREBBP, EGFR, ERBB2, PTEN, and FN1 are frequently mutated in CESC and HNSCC. Furthermore, PIK3CA, CCND1, RFC4, KAT5, MYC, PTK2, EGFR, and ERBB2 show significant copy number gain, and FN1, CHEK1, CUL1, EZH2, NRAS, and H2AFX was marked for the substantial copy number loss in both carcinomas. Likewise, under-explored relevant regulators, i.e., TFs (HINFP, ARID3A, NFATC2, NKX3-2, EN1) and miRNAs (has-mir-98-5p, has-mir-24-3p, has-mir-192-5p, has-mir-519d-3p) is also identified. CONCLUSIONS We have identified potential therapeutic targets, transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulators to explicate HPV pathogenesis as well as potential repurposing drug candidates. This study would aid in biomarker and drug discovery against HPV-mediated carcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit Kumar Gupta
- Virology Unit and Bioinformatics Centre, Institute of Microbial Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Chandigarh, India
| | - Manoj Kumar
- Virology Unit and Bioinformatics Centre, Institute of Microbial Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Chandigarh, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
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12
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Singh B. Bedaquiline in Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: A Mini-Review. Curr Mol Pharmacol 2023; 16:243-253. [PMID: 36919348 DOI: 10.2174/1874467215666220421130707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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: 12/25/2021] [Revised: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes a contagious pulmonary disease with a high mortality rate in developing countries. However, the recommendation of DOTS (approved by WHO) was effective in treating tuberculosis, but nowadays, resistance from the first line (MDR-TB) and the second line (XDR-TB) drugs is highly common. Whereas, the resistance is a result of factors like poor patient constancy due to the long duration of therapy and co-infection with HIV. The approval of bedaquiline under an accelerated program for the treatment of MDR-TB has revealed its effectiveness in clinical trials as a therapeutic novel molecule. BDQ selectively inhibits the ATP synthase of bacterium and reduces ATP production. Additionally, the poor pharmacokinetic properties raised provocations in the MDR therapy, but the use of targeted drug delivery can solve the hurdles. While the preclinical and clinical studies included in this review are strongly suggesting the usefulness of BDQ in MDR-TB and XDR-TB, the repurposing of different drug classes in resistant TB is opening new opportunities to manage the disease conditions. In this review, we have summarized the examples of pipeline drugs and repurposed molecules with preclinical formulation developments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baljinder Singh
- Department of Pharmaceutics, UIPS, Punjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India
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13
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Ansari MA, Alomary MN, Jamal QMS, Almoshari Y, Salawi A, Almahmoud SA, Khan J. State-of-the-art Tools to Elucidate the Therapeutic Potential of TAT-peptide (TP) Conjugated Repurposing Drug Against SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoproteins. Curr Pharm Des 2022; 28:3706-3719. [PMID: 36278465 DOI: 10.2174/1381612829666221019144259] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In late 2019, a highly infectious and pathogenic coronavirus was recognized as Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes acute respiratory disease, threatening human health and public safety. A total of 448,327,303 documented cases and 6,028,576 deaths have been reported as of March 8th 2022. The COVID-19 vaccines currently undergoing clinical trials or already in use should provide at least some protection against SARS-CoV-2; however, the emergence of new variations as a result of mutations may lessen the effectiveness of the currently available vaccines. Since the efficacy of available drugs and vaccines against COVID-19 is notably lower, there is an urgent need to develop a potential drug to treat this deadly disease. The SARS-CoV-2 spike (SCoV-SG) is the foremost drug target among coronaviruses. OBJECTIVE The major objectives of the current study are to conduct a molecular docking study investigation of TAT-peptide47-57(GRKKRRQRRRP)-conjugated remodified therapeutics such as ritonavir (RTV), lopinavir (LPV), favipiravir (FPV), remdesivir (RMV), hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), molnupiravir (MNV) and nirmatrelvir (NMV) with (SCoV-SG) structure. METHODS Molecular docking analysis was performed to study the interaction of repurposed drugs and drugs conjugated with the TAT-peptide with target SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein (PDB ID: 6VYB) using Auto- Dock. Further docking investigation was completed with PatchDock and was visualized by the discovery of the studio visualizer 2020. RESULTS TAT-peptides are well-characterized immune enhancers that are used in intracellular drug delivery. The results of molecular docking analysis showed higher efficiency and significantly enhanced and improved interactions between TP-conjugated repurposed drugs and the target sites of the SCoV-SG structure. CONCLUSION The study concluded that TP-conjugated repurposed drugs may be effective in preventing COVID- 19, and therefore, in vitro, in vivo, and clinical trial studies are required in detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Azam Ansari
- Department of Epidemic Disease Research, Institute for Research and Medical Consultation (IRMC), Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, 31441, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammad N Alomary
- National Centre for Biotechnology, King Abdulaziz City for Sciences and Technology (KACST), P.O. Box 6086, Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia
| | - Qazi Mohammad Sajid Jamal
- Department of Health Informatics, College of Public Health and Health Informatics, Qassim University, Al Bukayriyah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Yosif Almoshari
- Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Jazan University, Jazan, 45142, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed Salawi
- Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Jazan University, Jazan, 45142, Saudi Arabia
| | - Suliman A Almahmoud
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Buraidah 51452, Saudi Arabia
| | - Johra Khan
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia
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Pineda E, Singh J, Pineda MV, Umanzor JG, Baires F, Benitez LG, Burgos C, Sekhon AK, Crisp N, Lewis AS, Radwanski J, Bermudez M, Barjun KS, Diaz O, Palou E, Escalante RE, Hernandez CI, Stevens ML, Eberhard D, Sierra M, Alvarado T, Videa O, Sierra-Hoffman M, Valerio-Pascua F. Impact of fluvoxamine on outpatient treatment of COVID-19 in Honduras in a prospective observational real-world study. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:1054644. [PMID: 36532727 PMCID: PMC9748291 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.1054644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 09/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted millions of lives globally. While COVID-19 did not discriminate against developed or developing nations, it has been a significant challenge for third world countries like Honduras to have widespread availability of advanced therapies. The concept of early treatment was almost unheard of when early outpatient treatments utilizing repurposed drugs in Latin American countries began showing promising results. One such drug is fluvoxamine, which has shown tremendous potential in two major studies. As a direct result, fluvoxamine was added to the standard of care in a major medical center outpatient COVID-19 clinic. Methods: This is a prospective observational study performed at the Hospital Centro Médico Sampedrano (CEMESA) in San Pedro Sula, Cortes, Honduras in the COVID-19 outpatient clinic. All patients were at least 15 years of age who had presented with mild or moderate signs and symptoms of COVID-19, and who also had a documented positive SARS-CoV-2 antigen or Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) were included in the study. These patients then were all prescribed fluvoxamine. The cohort of patients who decided to take fluvoxamine were compared for primary endpoints of mortality and hospitalization risk to the cohort who did not take fluvoxamine. Patients were then monitored for 30 days with the first follow up at 7 days and the second follow up at 10-14 days of symptom onset. Categorical variables were compared by Pearson Chi-square test. The Relative risk was calculated using regression models. Continuous variables were compared by t-test and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Results: Out of total 657 COVID-19 cases, 594 patients took fluvoxamine and 63 did not take fluvoxamine. A total of five patients (0.76 percent) died, with only one death occurring in the fluvoxamine group. Patients who received fluvoxamine had a significantly lower relative risk of mortality (RR 0.06, p 0.011, 95% CI 0.007-0.516). There was a lower relative risk of hospitalization in the patients who in the fluvoxamine group. (-10 vs. 30 hospitalizations, RR 0.49, p = 0.035, 95% CI 0.26-0.95). There was 73 percent reduction in relative risk of requiring oxygen in the fluvoxamine group (RR 0.27, p < 0.001, 95% CI 0.14-0.54 Mean lymphocytes count on the first follow-up visit was significantly higher in the fluvoxamine group (1.72 vs. 1.38, Δ 0.33, p 0.007, CI 0.09-0.58). Conclusion: The results of our study suggest that fluvoxamine lowers the relative risk of death, hospitalization, and oxygen requirement in COVID 19 patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estela Pineda
- Department of Internal Medicine Hospital CEMESA, San Pedro Sula, Honduras
| | - Jarmanjeet Singh
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
| | - Miguel Vargas Pineda
- Department of Internal Medicine Hospital Mario Catarino Rivas, San Pedro Sula, Honduras
| | - Jose Garay Umanzor
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital Mario Catarino Rivas, San Pedro Sula, Honduras
| | - Fernando Baires
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
| | - Luis G. Benitez
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
| | - Cesar Burgos
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
| | | | - Nicole Crisp
- Wound Care Department El Campo Memorial Hospital, El Campo, TX, United States
| | - Anita S. Lewis
- Pharmacy Department El Campo Memorial Hospital, El Campo, TX, United States
| | - Jana Radwanski
- Pharmacy Department Citizens Hospital, Victoria, TX, United States
| | - Marco Bermudez
- Department of Medicine SBH Health System, Bronx, NY, United States
| | - Karen Sanchez Barjun
- Department of Internal Medicine Hospital Mario Catarino Rivas, San Pedro Sula, Honduras
| | - Oscar Diaz
- Department of Critical Care Hospital Regional del Norte Instituto Hondureño de Seguridad Social, San Pedro Sula, Honduras
| | - Elsa Palou
- Internal Medicine Department, Facultad de Ciencas Médicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
| | - Rossany E. Escalante
- Department of Medicine, Facultad de Ciencas Médicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
| | | | - Mark L. Stevens
- Research Department, Texas A&M College of Medicine, Detar Family Medicine Residency Program, Victoria, TX, United States
| | - Deke Eberhard
- Research Department, Texas A&M College of Medicine, Detar Family Medicine Residency Program, Victoria, TX, United States
| | - Manuel Sierra
- Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
| | - Tito Alvarado
- Infectiology Department, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
| | - Omar Videa
- Clínica de Atención Medica Integral CAMI, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
| | - Miguel Sierra-Hoffman
- Research and Infectious Disease Department, Texas A&M College of Medicine, Detar Family Medicine Residency Program, Victoria, TX, United States
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Veerapandian R, Abdul Azees PA, Viswanathan T, Amaechi BT, Vediyappan G. Editorial: Developing therapeutics for antimicrobial resistant pathogens. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:1083501. [PMID: 36506021 PMCID: PMC9731126 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1083501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Raja Veerapandian
- Center of Emphasis in Infectious Diseases, Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, TX, United States,*Correspondence: Raja Veerapandian, ; Bennett Tochukwu Amaechi, ; Govindsamy Vediyappan,
| | - Parveez Ahamed Abdul Azees
- Department of Comprehensive Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
| | - Thiruselvam Viswanathan
- Department of Cellular Biology and Pharmacology, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Bennett Tochukwu Amaechi
- Department of Comprehensive Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States,*Correspondence: Raja Veerapandian, ; Bennett Tochukwu Amaechi, ; Govindsamy Vediyappan,
| | - Govindsamy Vediyappan
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States,*Correspondence: Raja Veerapandian, ; Bennett Tochukwu Amaechi, ; Govindsamy Vediyappan,
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16
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Wang KH, Liu CH, Ding DC. Statins as Repurposed Drugs in Gynecological Cancer: A Review. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232213937. [PMID: 36430409 PMCID: PMC9695805 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232213937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Discovering new drugs is an expensive and time-consuming process, including target identification, bioavailability, pharmacokinetic (PK) tests, pharmacodynamic (PD) tests, toxicity profiles, recommended dosage test, and observation of the side effects, etc. Repurposed drugs could bypass some steps, starting from phase II trials, and shorten the processes. Statins, also known as HMG-CoA inhibitors (HMGCR), are commonly used to manage and prevent various cardiovascular diseases and have been shown to improve the morbidity and mortality of patients. In addition to the inhibitory effects on the production of cholesterol, the beneficial effects of statins on the prognosis and risk of various cancers are also shown. Statins not only inhibited cell proliferation, metastasis, and chemoresistance but affected the tumor microenvironment (TME). Thus, statins have great potential to be repurposed in oncology. Hence, we review the meta-analysis, cohort, and case-control studies of statins in gynecological cancers, and elucidate how statins regulate cell proliferation, apoptosis, tumor growth, and metastasis. Although the results in gynecological cancers remain controversial and the effects of different statins in different histotypes of gynecological cancers and TME are needed to elucidate further, statins are excellent candidates and worthy of being repurposed drugs in treating gynecological cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai-Hung Wang
- Department of Medical Research, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Hualien 970, Taiwan
| | - Chin-Hung Liu
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 970, Taiwan
| | - Dah-Ching Ding
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, and Tzu Chi University, Hualien 970, Taiwan
- Institute of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 970, Taiwan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +886-38561825-13381
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17
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Fan J, Reid RR, He TC. Pyrvinium doubles against WNT-driven cancer. J Biol Chem 2022; 298:102479. [PMID: 36096200 PMCID: PMC9525899 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The WNT-β-catenin signaling pathway has a major role in regulating cell proliferation and differentiation. Aberrant activation of the pathway contributes to various human cancer types. Because casein kinase CK1α-initiated phosphorylation of β-catenin is a key first step to restrain WNT signaling, effective restoration of CK1α activity represents an innovative strategy to combat WNT-driven cancer. A recent study in JBC reveals the anthelmintic pyrvinium directly binds to CK1α as an activator and also stabilizes CK1α protein, doubling against WNT-driven cancer activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaming Fan
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Diagnostic Medicine, and Department of Clinical Biochemistry, The School of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China; Molecular Oncology Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine, The University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
| | - Russell R Reid
- Molecular Oncology Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine, The University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Laboratory of Craniofacial Suture Biology and Development, Department of Surgery Section of Plastic Surgery, The University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Tong-Chuan He
- Molecular Oncology Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine, The University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
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Ramos LDS, Silva LN, de Mello TP, Frota HF, Branquinha MH, Dos Santos ALS. Prospective Medicines against the Widespread, Emergent and Multidrug-Resistant Opportunistic Fungal Pathogen Candida auris: A Breath of Hope. Curr Top Med Chem 2022; 22:1297-1305. [PMID: 35619311 DOI: 10.2174/1568026622666220520153748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The emergence of the pathogen Candida auris is a real concern worldwide, especially due to its multidrug resistance profile, besides the difficulties in establishing the correct identification by conventional laboratory methods and its capacity of causing outbreaks in healthcare settings. The limited arsenal of available antifungal drugs, coupled with the lack of momentum for the development of new reagents, represent a challenge in the management of such a pathogen. In this perspective, we have focused on discussing new, promising treatment options for C. auris infections. These novel drugs include an antifungal agent already approved for medical use in the United States of America, compounds that are already in clinical trials and those with potential for repurposing use against this important fungal pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lívia de Souza Ramos
- Departamento de Microbiologia Geral, Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Laura Nunes Silva
- Departamento de Microbiologia Geral, Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Thaís Pereira de Mello
- Departamento de Microbiologia Geral, Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Heloísa Freire Frota
- Departamento de Microbiologia Geral, Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Marta Helena Branquinha
- Departamento de Microbiologia Geral, Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Rede Micologia RJ - FAPERJ
| | - André Luis Souza Dos Santos
- Departamento de Microbiologia Geral, Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Rede Micologia RJ - FAPERJ.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Cummings J, Lee G, Nahed P, Kambar MEZN, Zhong K, Fonseca J, Taghva K. Alzheimer's disease drug development pipeline: 2022. Alzheimers Dement (N Y) 2022; 8:e12295. [PMID: 35516416 PMCID: PMC9066743 DOI: 10.1002/trc2.12295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 169] [Impact Index Per Article: 84.5] [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] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Introduction Alzheimer's disease (AD) represents a global health crisis. Treatments are needed to prevent, delay the onset, slow the progression, improve cognition, and reduce behavioral disturbances of AD. We review the current clinical trials and drugs in development for the treatment of AD. Methods We searched the governmental website clinicaltrials.gov where are all clinical trials conducted in the United States must be registered. We used artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) approaches to ensure comprehensive detection and characterization of trials and drugs in development. We use the Common Alzheimer's Disease Research Ontology (CADRO) to classify drug targets and mechanisms of action of drugs in the pipeline. Results As of January 25, 2022 (index date for this study) there were 143 agents in 172 clinical trials for AD. The pipeline included 31 agents in 47 trials in Phase 3, 82 agents in 94 trials in Phase 2, and 30 agents in 31 trials in Phase 1. Disease-modifying therapies represent 83.2% of the total number of agents in trials; symptomatic cognitive enhancing treatments represent 9.8% of agents in trials; and drugs for the treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms comprise 6.9%. There is a diverse array of drug targets represented by agents in trials including nearly all CADRO categories. Thirty-seven percent of the candidate agents in the pipeline are repurposed drugs approved for other indications. A total of 50,575 participants are needed to fulfill recruitment requirements for all currently active clinical trials. Discussion The AD drug development pipeline has agents representing a substantial array of treatment mechanisms and targets. Advances in drug design, outcome measures, use of biomarkers, and trial conduct promise to accelerate the delivery of new and better treatments for patients with AD. Highlights There are 143 drugs in the current Alzheimer's disease (AD) drug development pipeline.Disease-modifying therapies represent 83.2% of the candidate treatments.Current trials require 50,575 participants who will donate 3,878,843 participant-weeks to clinical trials.The biopharmaceutical industry sponsors 50% of all clinical trials including 68% of Phase 3 trials.Sixty-three percent of Phase 3 trials and 46% of Phase 2 trials include non-North American clinical trial site locations indicating the global ecosystem required for AD drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Cummings
- Chambers‐Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience, Department of Brain Health, School of Integrated Health SciencesUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)HendersonNevadaUSA
- Department of Brain Health, School of Integrated Health SciencesUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)HendersonNevadaUSA
| | | | - Pouyan Nahed
- Howard R. Hughes College of EngineeringDepartment of Computer ScienceUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)HendersonNevadaUSA
| | - Mina Esmail Zadeh Nojoo Kambar
- Howard R. Hughes College of EngineeringDepartment of Computer ScienceUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)HendersonNevadaUSA
| | - Kate Zhong
- Chambers‐Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience, Department of Brain Health, School of Integrated Health SciencesUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)HendersonNevadaUSA
- Department of Brain Health, School of Integrated Health SciencesUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)HendersonNevadaUSA
| | - Jorge Fonseca
- Howard R. Hughes College of EngineeringDepartment of Computer ScienceUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)HendersonNevadaUSA
| | - Kazem Taghva
- Howard R. Hughes College of EngineeringDepartment of Computer ScienceUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)HendersonNevadaUSA
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20
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Angel Martinez
- IrsiCaixa, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain
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21
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Qorri B, Mokhtari RB, Harless WW, Szewczuk MR. Next Generation of Cancer Drug Repurposing: Therapeutic Combination of Aspirin and Oseltamivir Phosphate Potentiates Gemcitabine to Disable Key Survival Pathways Critical for Pancreatic Cancer Progression. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14061374. [PMID: 35326525 PMCID: PMC8946854 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14061374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [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: 01/14/2022] [Revised: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Drug repurposing in combination with clinical standard chemotherapeutics opens a novel and promising clinical treatment approach for patients with pancreatic cancer. This report presents a novel therapeutic effect of the combination of aspirin and oseltamivir phosphate with chemotherapeutic gemcitabine as a treatment option for pancreatic cancer. The data suggest that targeting mammalian neuraminidase-1 on pancreatic cancer cells with these repurposed drugs is crucial for modulating cell proliferation, invasion, clonogenicity, and migration. These promising results warrant additional investigation to assess the potential of translating into the clinical setting to improve the cancer patient prognosis for an otherwise fatal disease. Abstract Resistance to chemotherapeutics and high metastatic rates contribute to the abysmal survival rate in patients with pancreatic cancer. An alternate approach for treating human pancreatic cancer involves repurposing the anti-inflammatory drug, aspirin (ASA), with oseltamivir phosphate (OP) in combination with the standard chemotherapeutic agent, gemcitabine (GEM). The question is whether treatment with ASA and OP can sensitize cancer cells to the cytotoxicity induced by GEM and limit the development of chemoresistance. To assess the key survival pathways critical for pancreatic cancer progression, we used the AlamarBlue cytotoxicity assay to determine the cell viability and combination index for the drug combinations, flow cytometric analysis of annexin V apoptosis assay to detect apoptotic and necrotic cells, fluorometric QCM™ chemotaxis migration assay to assess cellular migration, fluorometric extracellular matrix (ECM) cell adhesion array kit to assess the expression of the ECM proteins, scratch wound assay using the 96-well WoundMaker™, and the methylcellulose clonogenic assay to assess clonogenic potential. The combination of ASA and OP with GEM significantly upended MiaPaCa-2 and PANC-1 pancreatic cancer cell viability, clonogenic potential, expression of critical extracellular matrix proteins, migration, and promoted apoptosis. ASA in combination with OP significantly improves the effectiveness of GEM in the treatment of pancreatic cancer and disables key survival pathways critical to disease progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bessi Qorri
- Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada; (B.Q.); (R.B.M.)
| | - Reza Bayat Mokhtari
- Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada; (B.Q.); (R.B.M.)
| | - William W. Harless
- ENCYT Technologies Inc., Membertou, NS B1S 0H1, Canada
- Correspondence: (W.W.H.); (M.R.S.); Tel.: +1-902-574-3540 (W.W.H.); +1-613-533-2457 (M.R.S.); Fax: +1-613-533-6796 (M.R.S.)
| | - Myron R. Szewczuk
- Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada; (B.Q.); (R.B.M.)
- Correspondence: (W.W.H.); (M.R.S.); Tel.: +1-902-574-3540 (W.W.H.); +1-613-533-2457 (M.R.S.); Fax: +1-613-533-6796 (M.R.S.)
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22
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Rajpoot S, Srivastava G, Siddiqi MI, Saqib U, Parihar SP, Hirani N, Baig MS. Identification of novel inhibitors targeting TIRAP interactions with BTK and PKCδ in inflammation through an in silico approach. SAR QSAR Environ Res 2022; 33:141-166. [PMID: 35174746 DOI: 10.1080/1062936x.2022.2035817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Advanced computational tools focusing on protein-protein interaction (PPI) based drug development is a powerful platform to accelerate the therapeutic development of small lead molecules and repurposed drugs. Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain-containing adapter protein (TIRAP) and its interactions with other proteins in macrophages signalling are crucial components of severe or persistent inflammation. TIRAP activation through Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) and Protein Kinase C delta (PKCδ) is essential for downstream inflammatory signalling. We created homology-based structural models of BTK and PKCδ in MODELLER 9.24. TIRAP interactions with BTK and PKCδ in its non-phosphorylated and phosphorylated states were determined by multiple docking tools including HADDOCK 2.4, pyDockWEB and ClusPro 2.0. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs were virtually screened through Discovery Studio LibDock and Autodock Vina tools to target the common TIR domain residues of TIRAP, which interact with both BTK and PKC at the identified interfacial sites of the complexes. Four FDA-approved drugs were identified and found to have stable interactions over a range of 100 ns MD simulation timescales. These drugs block the interactions of both kinases with TIRAP in silico. Hence, these drugs have the potential to dampen downstream inflammatory signalling and inflammation-mediated disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Rajpoot
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering (BSBE), Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IITI), Simrol, Indore, India
| | - G Srivastava
- Division of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute (CSIR-CDRI), Jankipuram Extension, Sitapur Road, Lucknow, India
| | - M I Siddiqi
- Division of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute (CSIR-CDRI), Jankipuram Extension, Sitapur Road, Lucknow, India
| | - U Saqib
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IITI), Simrol, Indore, India
| | - S P Parihar
- Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa (CIDRI-Africa) and Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine (IDM), Division of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - N Hirani
- MRC Centre for Inflammation Research, Queen's Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - M S Baig
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering (BSBE), Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IITI), Simrol, Indore, India
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23
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Wüstner S, Hogger S, Gartner-Freyer D, Lebioda A, Schley K, Leverkus F. Clinical Evidence Informing Treatment Guidelines on Repurposed Drugs for Hospitalized Patients During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic: Corticosteroids, Anticoagulants, (Hydroxy)chloroquine. Front Public Health 2022; 10:804404. [PMID: 35252090 PMCID: PMC8896497 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.804404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION In early 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic spread worldwide, overwhelming hospitals with severely ill patients and posing the urgent need for clinical evidence to guide patient care. First treatment options available were repurposed drugs to fight inflammation, coagulopathy, and viral replication. A vast number of clinical studies were launched globally to test their efficacy and safety. Our analysis describes the development of global evidence on repurposed drugs, in particular corticosteroids, anticoagulants, and (hydroxy)chloroquine in hospitalized COVID-19 patients based on different study types. We track the incorporation of clinical data in international and national treatment guidelines and identify factors that characterize studies and analyses with the greatest impact on treatment recommendations. METHODS A literature search in MEDLINE was conducted to assess the clinical evidence on treatment with corticosteroids, anticoagulants, and (hydroxy)chloroquine in hospitalized COVID-19 patients during the first year of the pandemic. Adoption of the evidence from this clinical data in treatment guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), Germany, and United States (US) was evaluated over time. RESULTS We identified 106 studies on corticosteroids, 141 studies on anticoagulants, and 115 studies on (hydroxy)chloroquine. Most studies were retrospective cohort studies; some were randomized clinical trials (RCTs), and a few were platform trials. These studies were compared to studies directly and indirectly referred to in WHO (7 versions), German (5 versions), and US (21 versions) guidelines. We found that initially large, well-adjusted, mainly retrospective cohort studies and ultimately large platform trials or coordinated meta-analyses of RCTs provided best available clinical evidence supporting treatment recommendations. DISCUSSION Particularly early in the pandemic, evidence for the efficacy and safety of repurposed drugs was of low quality, since time and scientific rigor seemed to be competing factors. Pandemic preparedness, coordinated efforts, and combined analyses were crucial to generating timely and robust clinical evidence that informed national and international treatment guidelines on corticosteroids, anticoagulants, and (hydroxy)chloroquine. Multi-arm platform trials with master protocols and coordinated meta-analyses proved particularly successful, with researchers joining forces to answer the most pressing questions as quickly as possible.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sara Hogger
- AMS Advanced Medical Services GmbH, Munich, Germany
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24
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Gunderson EL, Bryant C, Bulman CA, Fischer C, Luo M, Vogel I, Lim KC, Jawahar S, Tricoche N, Voronin D, Corbo C, Ayiseh RB, Manfo FPT, Mbah GE, Cho-Ngwa F, Beerntsen B, Renslo AR, Lustigman S, Sakanari JA. Pyrvinium Pamoate and Structural Analogs Are Early Macrofilaricide Leads. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 15:189. [PMID: 35215301 PMCID: PMC8880385 DOI: 10.3390/ph15020189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis are neglected tropical diseases caused by infection with filarial worms. Annual or biannual mass drug administration with microfilaricidal drugs that kill the microfilarial stages of the parasites has helped reduce infection rates and thus prevent transmission of both infections. However, success depends on high population coverage that is maintained for the duration of the adult worm's lifespan. Given that these filarial worms can live up to 14 years in their human hosts, a macrofilaricidal drug would vastly accelerate elimination efforts. Here, we have evaluated the repurposed drug pyrvinium pamoate as well as newly synthesized analogs of pyrvinium for their efficacy against filarial worms in vitro and in vivo. We found that pyrvinium pamoate, tetrahydropyrvinium and one of the analogs were highly potent in inhibiting worms in in vitro whole-worm screening assays, and that all three compounds reduced female worm fecundity and inhibited embryogenesis in the Brugia pahangi-gerbil in vivo model of infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma L. Gunderson
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; (E.L.G.); (C.B.); (C.A.B.); (C.F.); (M.L.); (I.V.); (K.-C.L.); (A.R.R.)
| | - Clifford Bryant
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; (E.L.G.); (C.B.); (C.A.B.); (C.F.); (M.L.); (I.V.); (K.-C.L.); (A.R.R.)
| | - Christina A. Bulman
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; (E.L.G.); (C.B.); (C.A.B.); (C.F.); (M.L.); (I.V.); (K.-C.L.); (A.R.R.)
| | - Chelsea Fischer
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; (E.L.G.); (C.B.); (C.A.B.); (C.F.); (M.L.); (I.V.); (K.-C.L.); (A.R.R.)
| | - Mona Luo
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; (E.L.G.); (C.B.); (C.A.B.); (C.F.); (M.L.); (I.V.); (K.-C.L.); (A.R.R.)
| | - Ian Vogel
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; (E.L.G.); (C.B.); (C.A.B.); (C.F.); (M.L.); (I.V.); (K.-C.L.); (A.R.R.)
| | - Kee-Chong Lim
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; (E.L.G.); (C.B.); (C.A.B.); (C.F.); (M.L.); (I.V.); (K.-C.L.); (A.R.R.)
| | - Shabnam Jawahar
- Molecular Parasitology, New York Blood Center, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA; (S.J.); (N.T.); (D.V.)
| | - Nancy Tricoche
- Molecular Parasitology, New York Blood Center, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA; (S.J.); (N.T.); (D.V.)
| | - Denis Voronin
- Molecular Parasitology, New York Blood Center, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA; (S.J.); (N.T.); (D.V.)
| | - Christopher Corbo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY 10301, USA;
| | - Rene B. Ayiseh
- ANDI Centre of Excellence for Onchocerciasis Drug Research, Biotechnology Unit, Faculty of Science, University of Buea, Buea P.O. Box 63, Cameroon; (R.B.A.); (F.P.T.M.); (G.E.M.); (F.C.-N.)
| | - Faustin P. T. Manfo
- ANDI Centre of Excellence for Onchocerciasis Drug Research, Biotechnology Unit, Faculty of Science, University of Buea, Buea P.O. Box 63, Cameroon; (R.B.A.); (F.P.T.M.); (G.E.M.); (F.C.-N.)
| | - Glory E. Mbah
- ANDI Centre of Excellence for Onchocerciasis Drug Research, Biotechnology Unit, Faculty of Science, University of Buea, Buea P.O. Box 63, Cameroon; (R.B.A.); (F.P.T.M.); (G.E.M.); (F.C.-N.)
- Higher Teacher Training College (HTTC), The University of Bamenda, Bamenda P.O. Box 39, Cameroon
| | - Fidelis Cho-Ngwa
- ANDI Centre of Excellence for Onchocerciasis Drug Research, Biotechnology Unit, Faculty of Science, University of Buea, Buea P.O. Box 63, Cameroon; (R.B.A.); (F.P.T.M.); (G.E.M.); (F.C.-N.)
| | - Brenda Beerntsen
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211, USA;
| | - Adam R. Renslo
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; (E.L.G.); (C.B.); (C.A.B.); (C.F.); (M.L.); (I.V.); (K.-C.L.); (A.R.R.)
| | - Sara Lustigman
- Molecular Parasitology, New York Blood Center, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA; (S.J.); (N.T.); (D.V.)
| | - Judy A. Sakanari
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; (E.L.G.); (C.B.); (C.A.B.); (C.F.); (M.L.); (I.V.); (K.-C.L.); (A.R.R.)
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25
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Villandre J, White V, Lear TB, Chen Y, Tuncer F, Vaiz E, Tuncer B, Lockwood K, Camarco D, Liu Y, Chen BB, Evankovich J. A Repurposed Drug Screen for Compounds Regulating Aquaporin 5 Stability in Lung Epithelial Cells. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:828643. [PMID: 35145418 PMCID: PMC8821664 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.828643] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Aquaporin 5 (AQP5) is expressed in several cell types in the lung and regulates water transport, which contributes to barrier function during injury and the composition of glandular secretions. Reduced AQP5 expression is associated with barrier dysfunction during acute lung injury, and strategies to enhance its expression are associated with favorable phenotypes. Thus, pharmacologically enhancing AQP5 expression could be beneficial. Here, we optimized a high-throughput assay designed to detect AQP5 abundance using a cell line stably expressing bioluminescent-tagged AQP5. We then screened a library of 1153 compounds composed of FDA-approved drugs for their effects on AQP5 abundance. We show compounds Niclosamide, Panobinostat, and Candesartan Celexitil increased AQP5 abundance, and show that Niclosamide has favorable cellular toxicity profiles. We determine that AQP5 levels are regulated in part by ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation in lung epithelial cells, and mechanistically Niclosamide increases AQP5 levels by reducing AQP5 ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Functionally, Niclosamide stabilized AQP5 levels in response to hypotonic stress, a stimulus known to reduce AQP5 levels. In complementary assays, Niclosamide increased endogenous AQP5 in both A549 cells and in primary, polarized human bronchial epithelial cells compared to control-treated cells. Further, we measured rapid cell volume changes in A549 cells in response to osmotic stress, an effect controlled by aquaporin channels. Niclosamide-treated A549 cell volume changes occurred more rapidly compared to control-treated cells, suggesting that increased Niclosamide-mediated increases in AQP5 expression affects functional water transport. Taken together, we describe a strategy to identify repurposed compounds for their effect on AQP5 protein abundance. We validated the effects of Niclosamide on endogenous AQP5 levels and in regulating cell-volume changes in response to tonicity changes. Our findings highlight a unique approach to screen for drug effects on protein abundance, and our workflow can be applied broadly to study compound effects on protein abundance in lung epithelial cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Villandre
- Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Aging Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Virginia White
- Aging Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Travis B. Lear
- Aging Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Vascular Medicine Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Yanwen Chen
- Aging Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Ferhan Tuncer
- Aging Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Emily Vaiz
- Aging Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Beyza Tuncer
- Aging Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Karina Lockwood
- Aging Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Dan Camarco
- Aging Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Yuan Liu
- Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Aging Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Bill B. Chen
- Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Aging Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Vascular Medicine Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - John Evankovich
- Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Aging Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
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Hayden MR, Tyagi SC. Impaired Folate-Mediated One-Carbon Metabolism in Type 2 Diabetes, Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease and Long COVID. Medicina (Kaunas) 2021; 58:16. [PMID: 35056324 PMCID: PMC8779539 DOI: 10.3390/medicina58010016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Revised: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Impaired folate-mediated one-carbon metabolism (FOCM) is associated with many pathologies and developmental abnormalities. FOCM is a metabolic network of interdependent biosynthetic pathways that is known to be compartmentalized in the cytoplasm, mitochondria and nucleus. Currently, the biochemical mechanisms and causal metabolic pathways responsible for the initiation and/or progression of folate-associated pathologies have yet to be fully established. This review specifically examines the role of impaired FOCM in type 2 diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer's disease and the emerging Long COVID/post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC). Importantly, elevated homocysteine may be considered a biomarker for impaired FOCM, which is known to result in increased oxidative-redox stress. Therefore, the incorporation of hyperhomocysteinemia will be discussed in relation to impaired FOCM in each of the previously listed clinical diseases. This review is intended to fill gaps in knowledge associated with these clinical diseases and impaired FOCM. Additionally, some of the therapeutics will be discussed at this early time point in studying impaired FOCM in each of the above clinical disease states. It is hoped that this review will allow the reader to better understand the role of FOCM in the development and treatment of clinical disease states that may be associated with impaired FOCM and how to restore a more normal functional role for FOCM through improved nutrition and/or restoring the essential water-soluble B vitamins through oral supplementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melvin R. Hayden
- Departments of Internal Medicine, Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease Center, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO 65212, USA
| | - Suresh C. Tyagi
- Department of Physiology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40202, USA;
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Alomari S, Zhang I, Hernandez A, Kraft CY, Raj D, Kedda J, Tyler B. Drug Repurposing for Glioblastoma and Current Advances in Drug Delivery-A Comprehensive Review of the Literature. Biomolecules 2021; 11:1870. [PMID: 34944514 DOI: 10.3390/biom11121870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary malignant brain tumor in adults with an extremely poor prognosis. There is a dire need to develop effective therapeutics to overcome the intrinsic and acquired resistance of GBM to current therapies. The process of developing novel anti-neoplastic drugs from bench to bedside can incur significant time and cost implications. Drug repurposing may help overcome that obstacle. A wide range of drugs that are already approved for clinical use for the treatment of other diseases have been found to target GBM-associated signaling pathways and are being repurposed for the treatment of GBM. While many of these drugs are undergoing pre-clinical testing, others are in the clinical trial phase. Since GBM stem cells (GSCs) have been found to be a main source of tumor recurrence after surgery, recent studies have also investigated whether repurposed drugs that target these pathways can be used to counteract tumor recurrence. While several repurposed drugs have shown significant efficacy against GBM cell lines, the blood–brain barrier (BBB) can limit the ability of many of these drugs to reach intratumoral therapeutic concentrations. Localized intracranial delivery may help to achieve therapeutic drug concentration at the site of tumor resection while simultaneously minimizing toxicity and side effects. These strategies can be considered while repurposing drugs for GBM.
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28
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Onyango IG, Bennett JP, Stokin GB. Mitochondrially-Targeted Therapeutic Strategies for Alzheimer's Disease. Curr Alzheimer Res 2021; 18:753-771. [PMID: 34879805 PMCID: PMC9178515 DOI: 10.2174/1567205018666211208125855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [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: 04/19/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible, progressive neurodegenerative disease and the most common cause of dementia among older adults. There are no effective treatments available for the disease, and it is associated with great societal concern because of the substantial costs of providing care to its sufferers, whose numbers will increase as populations age. While multiple causes have been proposed to be significant contributors to the onset of sporadic AD, increased age is a unifying risk factor. In addition to amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau protein playing a key role in the initiation and progression of AD, impaired mitochondrial bioenergetics and dynamics are likely major etiological factors in AD pathogenesis and have many potential origins, including Aβ and tau. Mitochondrial dysfunction is evident in the central nervous system (CNS) and systemically early in the disease process. Addressing these multiple mitochondrial deficiencies is a major challenge of mitochondrial systems biology. We review evidence for mitochondrial impairments ranging from mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations to epigenetic modification of mtDNA, altered gene expression, impaired mitobiogenesis, oxidative stress, altered protein turnover and changed organelle dynamics (fission and fusion). We also discuss therapeutic approaches, including repurposed drugs, epigenetic modifiers, and lifestyle changes that target each level of deficiency which could potentially alter the course of this progressive, heterogeneous Disease while being cognizant that successful future therapeutics may require a combinatorial approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isaac G Onyango
- Centre for Translational Medicine International Clinical Research Centre, St. Anne's University Hospital CZ-65691,Brno. Czech Republic
| | - James P Bennett
- Neurodegeneration Therapeutics 3050A Berkmar Drive Charlottesville, VA22901. United States
| | - Gorazd B Stokin
- Translational Aging and Neuroscience Program, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN55905. United States
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López-Urrutia E, Padilla-Benavides T, Pérez-Plasencia C, Campos-Parra AD. Editorial: Repurposed Drugs Targeting Cancer Signaling Pathways: Dissecting New Mechanism of Action Through In Vitro and In Vivo Analyses. Front Oncol 2021; 11:773429. [PMID: 34671566 PMCID: PMC8521020 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.773429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo López-Urrutia
- Laboratorio de Genómica Funcional, Unidad de Biomedicina, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Tlalnepantla, Mexico
| | | | - Carlos Pérez-Plasencia
- Laboratorio de Genómica Funcional, Unidad de Biomedicina, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Tlalnepantla, Mexico.,Laboratorio de Genómica, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología (INCan), Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Alma D Campos-Parra
- Laboratorio de Genómica, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología (INCan), Mexico City, Mexico
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Schimmel K, Ali MK, Tan SY, Teng J, Do HM, Steinberg GK, Stevenson DA, Spiekerkoetter E. Arteriovenous Malformations-Current Understanding of the Pathogenesis with Implications for Treatment. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22169037. [PMID: 34445743 PMCID: PMC8396465 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22169037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Arteriovenous malformations are a vascular anomaly typically present at birth, characterized by an abnormal connection between an artery and a vein (bypassing the capillaries). These high flow lesions can vary in size and location. Therapeutic approaches are limited, and AVMs can cause significant morbidity and mortality. Here, we describe our current understanding of the pathogenesis of arteriovenous malformations based on preclinical and clinical findings. We discuss past and present accomplishments and challenges in the field and identify research gaps that need to be filled for the successful development of therapeutic strategies in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Schimmel
- Division Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; (K.S.); (M.K.A.)
- Vera Moulton Wall Center for Pulmonary Vascular Disease, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Md Khadem Ali
- Division Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; (K.S.); (M.K.A.)
- Vera Moulton Wall Center for Pulmonary Vascular Disease, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Serena Y. Tan
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA;
| | - Joyce Teng
- Department of Dermatology, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA;
| | - Huy M. Do
- Department of Radiology (Neuroimaging and Neurointervention), Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA;
- Department of Neurosurgery and Stanford Stroke Center, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA;
| | - Gary K. Steinberg
- Department of Neurosurgery and Stanford Stroke Center, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA;
| | - David A. Stevenson
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA;
| | - Edda Spiekerkoetter
- Division Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; (K.S.); (M.K.A.)
- Vera Moulton Wall Center for Pulmonary Vascular Disease, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-(650)-739-5031
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De Lellis L, Veschi S, Tinari N, Mokini Z, Carradori S, Brocco D, Florio R, Grassadonia A, Cama A. Drug Repurposing, an Attractive Strategy in Pancreatic Cancer Treatment: Preclinical and Clinical Updates. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:3946. [PMID: 34439102 PMCID: PMC8394389 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13163946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the deadliest malignancies worldwide, since patients rarely display symptoms until an advanced and unresectable stage of the disease. Current chemotherapy options are unsatisfactory and there is an urgent need for more effective and less toxic drugs to improve the dismal PC therapy. Repurposing of non-oncology drugs in PC treatment represents a very promising therapeutic option and different compounds are currently being considered as candidates for repurposing in the treatment of this tumor. In this review, we provide an update on some of the most promising FDA-approved, non-oncology, repurposed drug candidates that show prominent clinical and preclinical data in pancreatic cancer. We also focus on proposed mechanisms of action and known molecular targets that they modulate in PC. Furthermore, we provide an explorative bioinformatic analysis, which suggests that some of the PC repurposed drug candidates have additional, unexplored, oncology-relevant targets. Finally, we discuss recent developments regarding the immunomodulatory role displayed by some of these drugs, which may expand their potential application in synergy with approved anticancer immunomodulatory agents that are mostly ineffective as single agents in PC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura De Lellis
- Department of Pharmacy, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (S.V.); (S.C.); (D.B.); (R.F.)
| | - Serena Veschi
- Department of Pharmacy, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (S.V.); (S.C.); (D.B.); (R.F.)
| | - Nicola Tinari
- Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (N.T.); (A.G.)
- Center for Advanced Studies and Technology—CAST, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy
| | - Zhirajr Mokini
- European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC) Mentorship Programme, ESAIC, 24 Rue des Comédiens, BE-1000 Brussels, Belgium;
| | - Simone Carradori
- Department of Pharmacy, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (S.V.); (S.C.); (D.B.); (R.F.)
| | - Davide Brocco
- Department of Pharmacy, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (S.V.); (S.C.); (D.B.); (R.F.)
| | - Rosalba Florio
- Department of Pharmacy, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (S.V.); (S.C.); (D.B.); (R.F.)
| | - Antonino Grassadonia
- Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (N.T.); (A.G.)
- Center for Advanced Studies and Technology—CAST, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy
| | - Alessandro Cama
- Department of Pharmacy, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (S.V.); (S.C.); (D.B.); (R.F.)
- Center for Advanced Studies and Technology—CAST, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy
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Ben-Zuk N, Dechtman ID, Henn I, Weiss L, Afriat A, Krasner E, Gal Y. Potential Prophylactic Treatments for COVID-19. Viruses 2021; 13:1292. [PMID: 34372498 PMCID: PMC8310088 DOI: 10.3390/v13071292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The World Health Organization declared the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern at the end of January 2020 and a pandemic two months later. The virus primarily spreads between humans via respiratory droplets, and is the causative agent of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which can vary in severity, from asymptomatic or mild disease (the vast majority of the cases) to respiratory failure, multi-organ failure, and death. Recently, several vaccines were approved for emergency use against SARS-CoV-2. However, their worldwide availability is acutely limited, and therefore, SARS-CoV-2 is still expected to cause significant morbidity and mortality in the upcoming year. Hence, additional countermeasures are needed, particularly pharmaceutical drugs that are widely accessible, safe, scalable, and affordable. In this comprehensive review, we target the prophylactic arena, focusing on small-molecule candidates. In order to consolidate a potential list of such medications, which were categorized as either antivirals, repurposed drugs, or miscellaneous, a thorough screening for relevant clinical trials was conducted. A brief molecular and/or clinical background is provided for each potential drug, rationalizing its prophylactic use as an antiviral or inflammatory modulator. Drug safety profiles are discussed, and current medical indications and research status regarding their relevance to COVID-19 are shortly reviewed. In the near future, a significant body of information regarding the effectiveness of drugs being clinically studied for COVID-19 is expected to accumulate, in addition to information regarding the efficacy of prophylactic treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noam Ben-Zuk
- Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Division, Ministry of Defense, HaKirya, Tel-Aviv 61909, Israel; (N.B.-Z.); (I.H.); (L.W.)
| | - Ido-David Dechtman
- The Israel Defense Force Medical Corps, Tel Hashomer, Military Post 02149, Israel;
- Pulmonology Department, Edith Wolfson Medical Center, 62 Halochamim Street, Holon 5822012, Israel
| | - Itai Henn
- Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Division, Ministry of Defense, HaKirya, Tel-Aviv 61909, Israel; (N.B.-Z.); (I.H.); (L.W.)
| | - Libby Weiss
- Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Division, Ministry of Defense, HaKirya, Tel-Aviv 61909, Israel; (N.B.-Z.); (I.H.); (L.W.)
| | - Amichay Afriat
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel;
| | - Esther Krasner
- Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Division, Ministry of Defense, HaKirya, Tel-Aviv 61909, Israel; (N.B.-Z.); (I.H.); (L.W.)
| | - Yoav Gal
- Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Division, Ministry of Defense, HaKirya, Tel-Aviv 61909, Israel; (N.B.-Z.); (I.H.); (L.W.)
- Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona 76100, Israel
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Pérez-Plasencia C, Padilla-Benavides T, López-Urrutia E, Campos-Parra AD. Editorial: Repurposed Drugs Targeting Cancer Signaling Pathways: Clinical Insights to Improve Oncologic Therapies. Front Oncol 2021; 11:713040. [PMID: 34249767 PMCID: PMC8269316 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.713040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Pérez-Plasencia
- Laboratorio de Genómica Funcional, Unidad de Biomedicina, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Tlalnepantla, Mexico.,Laboratorio de Genómica, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología (INCan), Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | - Eduardo López-Urrutia
- Laboratorio de Genómica Funcional, Unidad de Biomedicina, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Tlalnepantla, Mexico
| | - Alma D Campos-Parra
- Laboratorio de Genómica, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología (INCan), Mexico City, Mexico
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Paul SS, Biswas G. Repurposed Antiviral Drugs for the Treatment of COVID-19: Syntheses, Mechanism of Infection and Clinical Trials. Mini Rev Med Chem 2021; 21:1123-1143. [PMID: 33355053 DOI: 10.2174/1389557521666201222145842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
COVID-19 is a public health emergency of international concern. Although considerable knowledge has been acquired with time about the viral mechanism of infection and mode of replication, yet no specific drugs or vaccines have been discovered against SARS-CoV-2 to date. There are few small molecule antiviral drugs like Remdesivir and Favipiravir, which have shown promising results in different advanced stages of clinical trials. Chloroquinine, Hydroxychloroquine, and Lopinavir- Ritonavir combination, although initially were hypothesized to be effective against SARSCoV- 2, are now discontinued from the solidarity clinical trials. This review provides a brief description of their chemical syntheses along with their mode of action, and clinical trial results available on Google and in different peer-reviewed journals till 24th October 2020.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Goutam Biswas
- Department of Chemistry, Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University, Panchanan Nagar, Cooch Behar 736101, India
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Wang Z, Mi T, Bradley HL, Metts J, Sabnis H, Zhu W, Arbiser J, Bunting KD. Pimozide and Imipramine Blue Exploit Mitochondrial Vulnerabilities and Reactive Oxygen Species to Cooperatively Target High Risk Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Antioxidants (Basel) 2021; 10:956. [PMID: 34203664 DOI: 10.3390/antiox10060956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Revised: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous disease with a high relapse rate. Cytokine receptor targeted therapies are therapeutically attractive but are subject to resistance-conferring mutations. Likewise, targeting downstream signaling pathways has been difficult. Recent success in the development of synergistic combinations has provided new hope for refractory AML patients. While generally not efficacious as monotherapy, BH3 mimetics are very effective in combination with chemotherapy agents. With this in mind, we further explored novel BH3 mimetic drug combinations and showed that pimozide cooperates with mTOR inhibitors and BH3 mimetics in AML cells. The three-drug combination was able to reach cells that were not as responsive to single or double drug combinations. In Flt3-internal tandem duplication (ITD)-positive cells, we previously showed pimozide to be highly effective when combined with imipramine blue (IB). Here, we show that Flt3-ITD+ cells are sensitive to an IB-induced dynamin 1-like (Drp1)-p38-ROS pathway. Pimozide contributes important calcium channel blocker activity converging with IB on mitochondrial oxidative metabolism. Overall, these data support the concept that antioxidants are a double-edged sword. Rationally designed combination therapies have significant promise for further pre-clinical development and may ultimately lead to improved responses.
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McCoy K, Gudapati S, He L, Horlander E, Kartchner D, Kulkarni S, Mehra N, Prakash J, Thenot H, Vanga SV, Wagner A, White B, Mitchell CS. Biomedical Text Link Prediction for Drug Discovery: A Case Study with COVID-19. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:794. [PMID: 34073456 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13060794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Revised: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Link prediction in artificial intelligence is used to identify missing links or derive future relationships that can occur in complex networks. A link prediction model was developed using the complex heterogeneous biomedical knowledge graph, SemNet, to predict missing links in biomedical literature for drug discovery. A web application visualized knowledge graph embeddings and link prediction results using TransE, CompleX, and RotatE based methods. The link prediction model achieved up to 0.44 hits@10 on the entity prediction tasks. The recent outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), also known as COVID-19, served as a case study to demonstrate the efficacy of link prediction modeling for drug discovery. The link prediction algorithm guided identification and ranking of repurposed drug candidates for SARS-CoV-2 primarily by text mining biomedical literature from previous coronaviruses, including SARS and middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS). Repurposed drugs included potential primary SARS-CoV-2 treatment, adjunctive therapies, or therapeutics to treat side effects. The link prediction accuracy for nodes ranked highly for SARS coronavirus was 0.875 as calculated by human in the loop validation on existing COVID-19 specific data sets. Drug classes predicted as highly ranked include anti-inflammatory, nucleoside analogs, protease inhibitors, antimalarials, envelope proteins, and glycoproteins. Examples of highly ranked predicted links to SARS-CoV-2: human leukocyte interferon, recombinant interferon-gamma, cyclosporine, antiviral therapy, zidovudine, chloroquine, vaccination, methotrexate, artemisinin, alkaloids, glycyrrhizic acid, quinine, flavonoids, amprenavir, suramin, complement system proteins, fluoroquinolones, bone marrow transplantation, albuterol, ciprofloxacin, quinolone antibacterial agents, and hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors. Approximately 40% of identified drugs were not previously connected to SARS, such as edetic acid or biotin. In summary, link prediction can effectively suggest repurposed drugs for emergent diseases.
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Cummings J, Lee G, Zhong K, Fonseca J, Taghva K. Alzheimer's disease drug development pipeline: 2021. Alzheimers Dement (N Y) 2021; 7:e12179. [PMID: 34095440 PMCID: PMC8145448 DOI: 10.1002/trc2.12179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 141] [Impact Index Per Article: 47.0] [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] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The number of individuals worldwide with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is growing at a rapid rate. New treatments are urgently needed. We review the current pipeline of drugs in clinical trials for the treatment of AD. METHODS We interrogated ClinicalTrials.gov, the federal registry of clinical trials to identify drugs in trials. RESULTS There are 126 agents in 152 trials assessing new therapies for AD: 28 treatments in Phase 3 trials, 74 in Phase 2, and 24 in Phase 1. The majority of drugs in trials (82.5%) target the underlying biology of AD with the intent of disease modification; 10.3% are putative cognitive enhancing agents; and 7.1% are drugs being developed to reduce neuropsychiatric symptoms. DISCUSSION This pipeline analysis shows that target biological processes are more diversified, biomarkers are more regularly used, and repurposed agents are being explored to determine their utility for the treatment of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Cummings
- Chambers‐Grundy Center for Transformative NeuroscienceDepartment of Brain HealthSchool of Allied Health Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)Las VegasNevadaUSA
| | | | - Kate Zhong
- Department of Brain HealthSchool of Allied Health SciencesUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)Las VegasNevadaUSA
| | - Jorge Fonseca
- Howard R. Hughes College of EngineeringDepartment of Computer ScienceUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)Las VegasNevadaUSA
| | - Kazem Taghva
- Howard R. Hughes College of EngineeringDepartment of Computer ScienceUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)Las VegasNevadaUSA
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Hayford FEA, Ozturk M, Dolman RC, Blaauw R, Nienaber A, Loots DT, Brombacher F, Smuts CM, Parihar SP, Malan L. Longer-Term Omega-3 LCPUFA More Effective Adjunct Therapy for Tuberculosis Than Ibuprofen in a C3HeB/FeJ Tuberculosis Mouse Model. Front Immunol 2021; 12:659943. [PMID: 33995381 PMCID: PMC8113969 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.659943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Advancement in the understanding of inflammation regulation during tuberculosis (TB) treatment has led to novel therapeutic approaches being proposed. The use of immune mediators like anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving molecules for such, merits attention. Drug repurposing is a widely used strategy that seeks to identify new targets to treat or manage diseases. The widely explored nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) ibuprofen and a more recently explored pharmaconutrition therapy using omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFAs), have the potential to modulate the immune system and are thus considered potential repurposed drugs in this context. These approaches may be beneficial as supportive therapy to the already existing treatment regimen to improve clinical outcomes. Here, we applied adjunct ibuprofen and n-3 LCPUFA therapy, respectively, with standard anti-TB treatment, in a C3HeB/FeJ murine model of TB. Bacterial loads, lung pathology, lung cytokines/chemokines and lung lipid mediators were measured as outcomes. Lung bacterial load on day 14 post-treatment (PT) was lower in the n-3 LCPUFA, compared to the ibuprofen group (p = 0.039), but was higher in the ibuprofen group than the treated control group (p = 0.0315). Treated control and ibuprofen groups had more free alveolar space initially as compared to the n-3 LCPUFA group (4 days PT, p= 0.0114 and p= 0.002, respectively); however, significantly more alveolar space was present in the n-3 LCPUFA group as compared to the ibuprofen group by end of treatment (14 days PT, p = 0.035). Interleukin 6 (IL-6) was lower in the ibuprofen group as compared to the treated control, EPA/DHA and untreated control groups at 4 days PT (p = 0.019, p = 0.019 and p = 0.002, respectively). Importantly, pro-resolving EPA derived 9-HEPE, 11-HEPE, 12-HEPE and 18-HEPE lipid mediators (LMs) were significantly higher in the EPA/DHA group as compared to the ibuprofen and treated control groups. This suggests that n-3 LCPUFAs do improve pro-resolving and anti-inflammatory properties in TB, and it may be safe and effective to co-administer as adjunct therapy with standard TB treatment, particularly longer-term. Also, our results show host benefits upon short-term co-administration of ibuprofen, but not throughout the entire TB treatment course.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank E. A. Hayford
- Centre of Excellence for Nutrition, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
- Department of Dietetics, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
| | - Mumin Ozturk
- International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Cape Town-Component, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine (IDM), Division of Immunology and South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Immunology of Infectious Diseases, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Robin C. Dolman
- Centre of Excellence for Nutrition, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Renee Blaauw
- Division of Human Nutrition, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Arista Nienaber
- Centre of Excellence for Nutrition, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Du Toit Loots
- Laboratory of Infectious Disease Metabolomics, Human Metabolomics, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Frank Brombacher
- International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Cape Town-Component, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine (IDM), Division of Immunology and South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Immunology of Infectious Diseases, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa (CIDRI-Africa) and Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine (IDM), University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Cornelius M. Smuts
- Centre of Excellence for Nutrition, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Suraj P. Parihar
- International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Cape Town-Component, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine (IDM), Division of Immunology and South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Immunology of Infectious Diseases, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa (CIDRI-Africa) and Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine (IDM), University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Division of Medical Microbiology, Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine (IDM), Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Linda Malan
- Centre of Excellence for Nutrition, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
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İyikesici MS, Slocum AK, Winters N, Kalamian M, Seyfried TN. Metabolically Supported Chemotherapy for Managing End-Stage Breast Cancer: A Complete and Durable Response. Cureus 2021; 13:e14686. [PMID: 33927959 PMCID: PMC8072186 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.14686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [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] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer accounts for significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Currently, treatment options in metastatic breast cancer consist of chemotherapy, along with endocrine, radiation, and/or biological therapies. Although advances in management have improved overall survival times, the treatment options for women with end-stage disease are mostly limited to supportive care. Herein, we present a case report that highlights the response of a 47-year-old premenopausal woman with end-stage (T4N3M1) breast cancer treated with metabolically supported chemotherapy (MSCT), ketogenic diet (KD), hyperthermia (HT), and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). The patient first noticed a right breast mass in late 2016, which was initially evaluated and ruled out as a cyst. Skin ulceration was observed in the region of the suspected cyst in May 2017. Subsequent bilateral breast ultrasound identified masses in both breasts and an enlarged right axillary lymph node. The diagnosis following biopsy was grade 3, estrogen receptor-positive (ER+), progesterone receptor-positive (PR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (HER2-), invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. Initially, the patient refused to receive conventional chemotherapy because of its potential for side effects and toxicity, but she sought medical treatment in August 2018 following extensive disease progression and deterioration of general health. On reevaluation, the patient was considered ineligible for conventional treatment due to her advanced end-stage disease, poor performance status (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group score: 3), and advanced respiratory symptoms. Exploring other options, the patient was admitted to the ChemoThermia Oncology Center, Istanbul, Turkey in November 2018. At that time, the patient weighed 38 kg (body mass index: 18.1 kg/m2) and had extensive metastatic disease with lesions in the brain, lungs, mediastinum, liver, abdomen, and bones that were detected by magnetic resonance imaging of the brain (with contrast) and whole-body (18F)-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography-computed tomography. The patient received a six-month treatment protocol comprised of MSCT, KD, HT, and HBOT, which eliminated all detectable lesions. The therapeutic response was sustained for two years with maintenance treatment comprising KD, dietary supplements, and repurposed medications. This single case report presents evidence of a complete and durable response to a treatment protocol combining MSCT and a novel metabolic therapy in a patient with end-stage breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehmet Salih İyikesici
- Medical Oncology, Altınbaş University Bahçelievler Medical Park Hospital, Istanbul, TUR.,Medical Oncology, ChemoThermia Oncology Center, Istanbul, TUR
| | | | - Nasha Winters
- Naturopathic Oncology, Dr. Nasha, Inc., Durango, USA
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Billamboz M, Fatima Z, Hameed S, Jawhara S. Promising Drug Candidates and New Strategies for Fighting against the Emerging Superbug Candida auris. Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9030634. [PMID: 33803604 PMCID: PMC8003017 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9030634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [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: 01/25/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Invasive fungal infections represent an expanding threat to public health. During the past decade, a paradigm shift of candidiasis from Candida albicans to non-albicans Candida species has fundamentally increased with the advent of Candida auris. C. auris was identified in 2009 and is now recognized as an emerging species of concern and underscores the urgent need for novel drug development strategies. In this review, we discuss the genomic epidemiology and the main virulence factors of C. auris. We also focus on the different new strategies and results obtained during the past decade in the field of antifungal design against this emerging C. auris pathogen yeast, based on a medicinal chemist point of view. Critical analyses of chemical features and physicochemical descriptors will be carried out along with the description of reported strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muriel Billamboz
- Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur Lille, Université Lille, U1167—RID-AGE—Facteurs de Risque et Déterminants Moléculaires des Maladies liées au Vieillissement, F-59000 Lille, France
- Junia, Health and Environment, Laboratory of Sustainable Chemistry and Health, F-59000 Lille, France
- Correspondence: (M.B.); (S.J.)
| | - Zeeshan Fatima
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Haryana, Manesar, Gurugram 122413, India; (Z.F.); (S.H.)
| | - Saif Hameed
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Haryana, Manesar, Gurugram 122413, India; (Z.F.); (S.H.)
| | - Samir Jawhara
- UMR 8576-UGSF-Unité de Glycobiologie Structurale et Fonctionnelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, INSERM U1285, University of Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
- Correspondence: (M.B.); (S.J.)
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Angel Martinez
- IrsiCaixa, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain
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Adhikari B, Sahu N. COVID-19 into Chemical Science Perspective: Chemical Preventive Measures and Drug Development. ChemistrySelect 2021; 6:2010-2028. [PMID: 33821213 PMCID: PMC8013609 DOI: 10.1002/slct.202100127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [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: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
COVID-19 facts and literature are discussed into chemical science intuition highlighting the direct role of chemistry to the ongoing global pandemic by covering structural identification of the virus, chemical preventive measures and development of drugs. We reviewed the four most promising repurposed drugs which are presently being investigated in mass clinical trials on COVID-19 infected persons and synthetic routes of these drugs with their recent advancement. Chemical preventive measures such as soap water, hand sanitizer and disinfectant are the only available options in the arsenal to fight against COVID-19, till an effective medicine or vaccine will be made available. As such the present review will focus on the mode of action of the major chemical preventives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bimalendu Adhikari
- Department of ChemistryNational Institute of Technology Rourkela RourkelaOdisha769008India
| | - Nihar Sahu
- Department of ChemistryNational Institute of Technology Rourkela RourkelaOdisha769008India
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Majumdar S, Verma R, Saha A, Bhattacharyya P, Maji P, Surjit M, Kundu M, Basu J, Saha S. Perspectives About Modulating Host Immune System in Targeting SARS-CoV-2 in India. Front Genet 2021; 12:637362. [PMID: 33664772 PMCID: PMC7921795 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.637362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [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: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of coronavirus induced disease-2019 (COVID-19), is a type of common cold virus responsible for a global pandemic which requires immediate measures for its containment. India has the world's largest population aged between 10 and 40 years. At the same time, India has a large number of individuals with diabetes, hypertension and kidney diseases, who are at a high risk of developing COVID-19. A vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2, may offer immediate protection from the causative agent of COVID-19, however, the protective memory may be short-lived. Even if vaccination is broadly successful in the world, India has a large and diverse population with over one-third being below the poverty line. Therefore, the success of a vaccine, even when one becomes available, is uncertain, making it necessary to focus on alternate approaches of tackling the disease. In this review, we discuss the differences in COVID-19 death/infection ratio between urban and rural India; and the probable role of the immune system, co-morbidities and associated nutritional status in dictating the death rate of COVID-19 patients in rural and urban India. Also, we focus on strategies for developing masks, vaccines, diagnostics and the role of drugs targeting host-virus protein-protein interactions in enhancing host immunity. We also discuss India's strengths including the resources of medicinal plants, good food habits and the role of information technology in combating COVID-19. We focus on the Government of India's measures and strategies for creating awareness in the containment of COVID-19 infection across the country.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rohit Verma
- Virology Laboratory, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Research Centre, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, India
| | - Avishek Saha
- Ubiquitous Analytical Techniques, CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organisation, Chandigarh, India
| | | | - Pradipta Maji
- Biomedical Imaging and Bioinformatics Lab, Machine Intelligence Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, India
| | - Milan Surjit
- Virology Laboratory, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Research Centre, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, India
| | | | - Joyoti Basu
- Department of Chemistry, Bose Institute, Kolkata, India
| | - Sudipto Saha
- Division of Bioinformatics, Bose Institute, Kolkata, India
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Slavin I, Dea S, Arunkumar P, Sodhi N, Montefusco S, Siqueira-Neto J, Seelke J, Lofstrom MA, Anson B, Zanella F, Carromeu C. Human iPSC-Derived 2D and 3D Platforms for Rapidly Assessing Developmental, Functional, and Terminal Toxicities in Neural Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:1908. [PMID: 33672998 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22041908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Revised: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
With increasing global health threats has come an urgent need to rapidly develop and deploy safe and effective therapies. A common practice to fast track clinical adoption of compounds for new indications is to repurpose already approved therapeutics; however, many compounds considered safe to a specific application or population may elicit undesirable side effects when the dosage, usage directives, and/or clinical context are changed. For example, progenitor and developing cells may have different susceptibilities than mature dormant cells, which may yet be different than mature active cells. Thus, in vitro test systems should reflect the cellular context of the native cell: developing, nascent, or functionally active. To that end, we have developed high-throughput, two- and three-dimensional human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neural screening platforms that reflect different neurodevelopmental stages. As a proof of concept, we implemented this in vitro human system to swiftly identify the potential neurotoxicity profiles of 29 therapeutic compounds that could be repurposed as anti-virals. Interestingly, many compounds displayed high toxicity on early-stage neural tissues but not on later stages. Compounds with the safest overall viability profiles were further evaluated for functional assessment in a high-throughput calcium flux assay. Of the 29 drugs tested, only four did not modulate or have other potentially toxic effects on the developing or mature neurospheroids across all the tested dosages. These results highlight the importance of employing human neural cultures at different stages of development to fully understand the neurotoxicity profile of potential therapeutics across normal ontogeny.
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Lem FF, Opook F, Lee DJH, Chee FT, Lawson FP, Chin SN. Molecular Mechanism of Action of Repurposed Drugs and Traditional Chinese Medicine Used for the Treatment of Patients Infected With COVID-19: A Systematic Scoping Review. Front Pharmacol 2021; 11:585331. [PMID: 33746739 PMCID: PMC7970521 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.585331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [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: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: The emergence of COVID-19 as a pandemic has resulted in the need for urgent development of vaccines and drugs and the conduction of clinical trials to fight the outbreak. Because of the time constraints associated with the development of vaccines and effective drugs, drug repurposing and other alternative treatment methods have been used to treat patients that have been infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and have acquired COVID-19. Objective: The objective of this systematic scoping review is to provide an overview of the molecular mechanism of action of repurposed drugs or alternative treatment medicines used to attenuate COVID-19 disease. Method: The research articles or gray literature, including theses, government reports, and official news online, were identified from four databases and one search engine. The full content of a total of 160 articles that fulfilled our inclusion criteria was analyzed and information about six drugs (ritonavir, lopinavir, oseltamivir, remdesivir, favipiravir, and chloroquine) and four Traditional Chinese Medicines (Shuang Huang Lian Kou Fu Ye, TCM combination of Bu Huan Jin Zheng Qi San and Da Yuan Yin, Xue Bi Jing Injection, and Qing Fei Pai Du Tang) was extracted. Results: All of the repurposed drugs and complementary medicine that have been used for the treatment of COVID-19 depend on the ability of the drug to inhibit the proliferation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus by binding to enzyme active sites, viral chain termination, or triggering of the molecular pathway, whereas Traditional Chinese Medicine plays a pivotal role in triggering the inflammation pathway, such as the neuraminidase blocker, to fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fui Fui Lem
- Clinical Research Centre, Hospital Queen Elizabeth, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia,*Correspondence: Fui Fui Lem, ; Su Na Chin,
| | - Fernandes Opook
- Wildlife Health, Genetic and Forensic Laboratory, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | | | - Fong Tyng Chee
- Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Sandakan, Malaysia
| | - Fahcina P. Lawson
- School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Su Na Chin
- Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia,*Correspondence: Fui Fui Lem, ; Su Na Chin,
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Fong D, Christensen CT, Chan MM. Targeting Cancer Stem Cells with Repurposed Drugs to Improve Current Therapies. Recent Pat Anticancer Drug Discov 2021; 16:136-160. [PMID: 33563159 DOI: 10.2174/1574892816666210208232251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Revised: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cancer is a multistep process involving genetic and epigenetic changes in the somatic genome. Genetic mutations as well as environmental factors lead to the initiation, promotion, and progression of cancer. Metastasis allows cancer cells to spread via circulatory and lymphatic systems; secondary tumorigenesis typically leads to a fatal outcome. Recent experimental evidence suggests Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) play a pivotal role in tumor progression. A tumor is heterogeneous and composed of different cell types. CSCs are a subpopulation of tumor cells possessing abilities to self-renew and differentiate. OBJECTIVE To present repurposed drugs, and potential candidates, that can serve as anticancer medications intended to target resistant cancer cells, i.e. CSCs. METHODS Research publications, FDA filings, and patents have been reviewed for repurposed drugs or drug combinations that can act to improve cancer care. RESULTS Drugs that act against CSCs include ones approved for treatment of diabetes (metformin & thiazolidinediones), parasitic diseases (chloroquine, niclosamide, mebendazole & pyrvinium), psychotic disorders (thioridazine, clomipramine & phenothiazines), alcoholism (disulfiram), lipid disorder (statins), inflammatory diseases (tranilast, auranofin, acetaminophen & celecoxib), antibiotics (azithromycin), and other disorders. Current research findings advocate the existence of beneficial effects by combining these repurposed drugs, and also through their complementary use with conventional cancer therapies. CONCLUSION Repurposing FDA-approved medications towards cancer care, by targeting the resistant CSCs, will allow for a quicker, cheaper development and approval process. A larger drug library available to physicians will allow for increased efficacy during both first-line and recurrent cancer treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dunne Fong
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, . United States
| | - Chase T Christensen
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, . United States
| | - Marion M Chan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, 3400 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140, . United States
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Telbisz Á, Ambrus C, Mózner O, Szabó E, Várady G, Bakos É, Sarkadi B, Özvegy-Laczka C. Interactions of Potential Anti-COVID-19 Compounds with Multispecific ABC and OATP Drug Transporters. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:pharmaceutics13010081. [PMID: 33435273 PMCID: PMC7827085 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13010081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [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: 11/21/2020] [Revised: 12/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, several repurposed drugs have been proposed to alleviate the major health effects of the disease. These drugs are often applied with analgesics or non-steroid anti-inflammatory compounds, and co-morbid patients may also be treated with anticancer, cholesterol-lowering, or antidiabetic agents. Since drug ADME-tox properties may be significantly affected by multispecific transporters, in this study, we examined the interactions of the repurposed drugs with the key human multidrug transporters present in the major tissue barriers and strongly affecting the pharmacokinetics. Our in vitro studies, using a variety of model systems, explored the interactions of the antimalarial agents chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine; the antihelmintic ivermectin; and the proposed antiviral compounds ritonavir, lopinavir, favipiravir, and remdesivir with the ABCB1/Pgp, ABCG2/BCRP, and ABCC1/MRP1 exporters, as well as the organic anion-transporting polypeptide (OATP)2B1 and OATP1A2 uptake transporters. The results presented here show numerous pharmacologically relevant transporter interactions and may provide a warning on the potential toxicities of these repurposed drugs, especially in drug combinations at the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ágnes Telbisz
- Institute of Enzymology, ELKH Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar Tudósok krt. 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary; (Á.T.); (O.M.); (E.S.); (G.V.); (É.B.)
| | - Csilla Ambrus
- SOLVO Biotechnology, Irinyi József Street 4-20, 1117 Budapest, Hungary;
- Doctoral School of Molecular Medicine, Semmelweis University, Tűzoltó u. 37-47, 1094 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Orsolya Mózner
- Institute of Enzymology, ELKH Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar Tudósok krt. 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary; (Á.T.); (O.M.); (E.S.); (G.V.); (É.B.)
- Doctoral School of Molecular Medicine, Semmelweis University, Tűzoltó u. 37-47, 1094 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Edit Szabó
- Institute of Enzymology, ELKH Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar Tudósok krt. 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary; (Á.T.); (O.M.); (E.S.); (G.V.); (É.B.)
| | - György Várady
- Institute of Enzymology, ELKH Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar Tudósok krt. 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary; (Á.T.); (O.M.); (E.S.); (G.V.); (É.B.)
| | - Éva Bakos
- Institute of Enzymology, ELKH Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar Tudósok krt. 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary; (Á.T.); (O.M.); (E.S.); (G.V.); (É.B.)
| | - Balázs Sarkadi
- Institute of Enzymology, ELKH Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar Tudósok krt. 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary; (Á.T.); (O.M.); (E.S.); (G.V.); (É.B.)
- Department of Biophysics and Radiation Biology, Semmelweis University, Tűzoltó u. 37-47, 1094 Budapest, Hungary
- Correspondence: (B.S.); (C.Ö.-L.)
| | - Csilla Özvegy-Laczka
- Institute of Enzymology, ELKH Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar Tudósok krt. 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary; (Á.T.); (O.M.); (E.S.); (G.V.); (É.B.)
- Correspondence: (B.S.); (C.Ö.-L.)
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Dannewitz Prosseda S, Ali MK, Spiekerkoetter E. Novel Advances in Modifying BMPR2 Signaling in PAH. Genes (Basel) 2020; 12:genes12010008. [PMID: 33374819 PMCID: PMC7824173 DOI: 10.3390/genes12010008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Revised: 12/19/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) is a disease of the pulmonary arteries, that is characterized by progressive narrowing of the pulmonary arterial lumen and increased pulmonary vascular resistance, ultimately leading to right ventricular dysfunction, heart failure and premature death. Current treatments mainly target pulmonary vasodilation and leave the progressive vascular remodeling unchecked resulting in persistent high morbidity and mortality in PAH even with treatment. Therefore, novel therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. Loss of function mutations of the Bone Morphogenetic Protein Receptor 2 (BMPR2) are the most common genetic factor in hereditary forms of PAH, suggesting that the BMPR2 pathway is fundamentally important in the pathogenesis. Dysfunctional BMPR2 signaling recapitulates the cellular abnormalities in PAH as well as the pathobiology in experimental pulmonary hypertension (PH). Approaches to restore BMPR2 signaling by increasing the expression of BMPR2 or its downstream signaling targets are currently actively explored as novel ways to prevent and improve experimental PH as well as PAH in patients. Here, we summarize existing as well as novel potential treatment strategies for PAH that activate the BMPR2 receptor pharmaceutically or genetically, increase the receptor availability at the cell surface, or reconstitute downstream BMPR2 signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Svenja Dannewitz Prosseda
- Division Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; (S.D.P.); (M.K.A.)
- Vera Moulton Wall Center for Pulmonary Vascular Diseases, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Institute for Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Albert-Ludwigs University Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Md Khadem Ali
- Division Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; (S.D.P.); (M.K.A.)
- Vera Moulton Wall Center for Pulmonary Vascular Diseases, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Edda Spiekerkoetter
- Division Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; (S.D.P.); (M.K.A.)
- Vera Moulton Wall Center for Pulmonary Vascular Diseases, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Correspondence:
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Chopra D, Boparai JK, Bhandari B, Srivastava A, Gupta R. Pharmacological Strategies for COVID-19 - A Review of the Most Promising Repurposed Antiviral Drugs. Infect Disord Drug Targets 2020; 21:e160921189260. [PMID: 33342420 DOI: 10.2174/1871526520666201218151841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2020] [Revised: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
A novel coronavirus, SARS- CoV-2 (2019-nCoV), emerged in December 2019 as an immediate global challenge. Comprehensive efforts at the present time are focused simultaneously on containing the spread of this virus and extenuating the ill effects. There is an immediate need for drugs that can help before a vaccine can be developed. Researchers are endeavoring to find antiviral therapies specific to the virus. As the condition is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation and development of new drugs is a long process, and is unfeasible to face the immediate global challenge. Strategy to reposition the previously used drugs can prove to be effective to combat this difficult to treat pandemic. Several drugs such as Hydroxychloroquine, Umifenovir, Remdesivir, Lopinavir/ Ritonavir, interferon, Darunavir, Favipiravir, Nitazoxanide, etc. are currently undergoing clinical studies to test the safety and efficacy of the drug against this pandemic. The present review gives a snapshot look at the current clinical experience with repurposed antiviral drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepti Chopra
- Department of Pharmacology, Government Institute of Medical Sciences, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201310,India
| | - Jaspreet K Boparai
- Department of Pharmacology, Government Institute of Medical Sciences, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201310,India
| | - Bharti Bhandari
- Department of Physiology, Government Institute of Medical Sciences, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh,India
| | - Anurag Srivastava
- Department of Community Medicine, Government Institute of Medical Sciences, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201310,India
| | - Rakesh Gupta
- Department of Pediatrics, Government Institute of Medical Sciences, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201310,India
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50
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Cui W, Yang K, Yang H. Recent Progress in the Drug Development Targeting SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease as Treatment for COVID-19. Front Mol Biosci 2020; 7:616341. [PMID: 33344509 PMCID: PMC7746807 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2020.616341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [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: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The sudden outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV, later named SARS-CoV-2) rapidly turned into an unprecedented pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This global healthcare emergency marked the third occurrence of a deadly coronavirus (CoV) into the human society after entering the new millennium, which overwhelmed the worldwide healthcare system and affected the global economy. However, therapeutic options for COVID-19 are still very limited. Developing drugs targeting vital proteins in viral life cycle is a feasible approach to overcome this dilemma. Main protease (Mpro) plays a dominant role in processing CoV-encoded polyproteins which mediate the assembly of replication-transcription machinery and is thus recognized as an ideal antiviral target. Here we summarize the recent progress in the discovery of anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents against Mpro. Combining structural study, virtual screen, and experimental screen, numerous therapeutic candidates including repurposed drugs and ab initio designed compounds have been proposed. Such collaborative effort from the scientific community would accelerate the pace of developing efficacious treatment for COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen Cui
- Institute of Life Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.,School of Life Science and Technology, Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Kailin Yang
- Taussig Cancer Center, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Haitao Yang
- School of Life Science and Technology, Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.,Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, Tianjin, China
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