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Lessons Learnt from COVID-19: Computational Strategies for Facing Present and Future Pandemics. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24054401. [PMID: 36901832 PMCID: PMC10003049 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24054401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Revised: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Since its outbreak in December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the death of more than 6.5 million people around the world. The high transmissibility of its causative agent, the SARS-CoV-2 virus, coupled with its potentially lethal outcome, provoked a profound global economic and social crisis. The urgency of finding suitable pharmacological tools to tame the pandemic shed light on the ever-increasing importance of computer simulations in rationalizing and speeding up the design of new drugs, further stressing the need for developing quick and reliable methods to identify novel active molecules and characterize their mechanism of action. In the present work, we aim at providing the reader with a general overview of the COVID-19 pandemic, discussing the hallmarks in its management, from the initial attempts at drug repurposing to the commercialization of Paxlovid, the first orally available COVID-19 drug. Furthermore, we analyze and discuss the role of computer-aided drug discovery (CADD) techniques, especially those that fall in the structure-based drug design (SBDD) category, in facing present and future pandemics, by showcasing several successful examples of drug discovery campaigns where commonly used methods such as docking and molecular dynamics have been employed in the rational design of effective therapeutic entities against COVID-19.
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Abstract
In the wake of recent COVID-19 pandemics scientists around the world rushed to deliver numerous CADD (Computer-Aided Drug Discovery) methods and tools that could be reliably used to discover novel drug candidates against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. With that, there emerged a trend of a significant democratization of CADD that contributed to the rapid development of various COVID-19 drug candidates currently undergoing different stages of validation. On the other hand, this democratization also inadvertently led to the surge rapidly performed molecular docking studies to nominate multiple scores of novel drug candidates supported by computational arguments only. Albeit driven by best intentions, most of such studies also did not follow best practices in the field that require experience and expertise learned through multiple rigorously designed benchmarking studies and rigorous experimental validation. In this Viewpoint we reflect on recent disbalance between small number of rigorous and comprehensive studies and the proliferation of purely computational studies enabled by the ease of docking software availability. We further elaborate on the hyped oversale of CADD methods' ability to rapidly yield viable drug candidates and reiterate the critical importance of rigor and adherence to the best practices of CADD in view of recent emergence of AI and Big Data in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Gentile
- Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - T I Oprea
- Roivant Sciences Inc, 451 D Street, Boston, MA, USA
| | - A Tropsha
- Laboratory for Molecular Modeling, Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - A Cherkasov
- Vancouver Prostate Centre, Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
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Geng ZZ, Atla S, Shaabani N, Vulupala VR, Yang KS, Alugubelli YR, Khatua K, Chen PHC, Xiao J, Blankenship LR, Ma XR, Vatansever EC, Cho CC, Ma Y, Allen R, Ji H, Xu S, Liu WR. A Systematic Survey of Reversibly Covalent Dipeptidyl Inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.17.524469. [PMID: 36711580 PMCID: PMC9882326 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.17.524469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 is the coronavirus pathogen of the currently prevailing COVID-19 pandemic. It relies on its main protease (M Pro ) for replication and pathogenesis. M Pro is a demonstrated target for the development of antivirals for SARS-CoV-2. Past studies have systematically explored tripeptidyl inhibitors such as nirmatrelvir as M Pro inhibitors. However, dipeptidyl inhibitors especially those with a spiro residue at their P2 position have not been systematically investigated. In this work, we synthesized about 30 reversibly covalent dipeptidyl M Pro inhibitors and characterized them on in vitro enzymatic inhibition potency, structures of their complexes with M Pro , cellular M Pro inhibition potency, antiviral potency, cytotoxicity, and in vitro metabolic stability. Our results indicated that M Pro has a flexible S2 pocket that accommodates dipeptidyl inhibitors with a large P2 residue and revealed that dipeptidyl inhibitors with a large P2 spiro residue such as ( S )-2-azaspiro[4,4]nonane-3-carboxylate and ( S )-2-azaspiro[4,5]decane-3-carboxylate have optimal characteristics. One compound MPI60 containing a P2 ( S )-2-azaspiro[4,4]nonane-3-carboxylate displayed high antiviral potency, low cellular cytotoxicity, and high in vitro metabolic stability and can be potentially advanced to further preclinical tests.
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Ibrahim MAA, Abdelrahman AHM, Mohamed DEM, Abdeljawaad KAA, Naeem MA, Gabr GA, Shawky AM, Soliman MES, Sidhom PA, Paré PW, Hegazy MEF. Chetomin, a SARS-CoV-2 3C-like Protease (3CL pro) Inhibitor: In Silico Screening, Enzyme Docking, Molecular Dynamics and Pharmacokinetics Analysis. Viruses 2023; 15:250. [PMID: 36680290 PMCID: PMC9866112 DOI: 10.3390/v15010250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The emergence of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to over 6 million deaths. The 3C-like protease (3CLpro) enzyme of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is an attractive druggable target for exploring therapeutic drug candidates to combat COVID-19 due to its key function in viral replication. Marine natural products (MNPs) have attracted considerable attention as alternative sources of antiviral drug candidates. In looking for potential 3CLpro inhibitors, the MNP database (>14,000 molecules) was virtually screened against 3CLpro with the assistance of molecular docking computations. The performance of AutoDock and OEDocking software in anticipating the ligand-3CLpro binding mode was first validated according to the available experimental data. Based on the docking scores, the most potent MNPs were further subjected to molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and the binding affinities of those molecules were computed using the MM-GBSA approach. According to MM-GBSA//200 ns MD simulations, chetomin (UMHMNP1403367) exhibited a higher binding affinity against 3CLpro than XF7, with ΔGbinding values of −55.5 and −43.7 kcal/mol, respectively. The steadiness and tightness of chetomin with 3CLpro were evaluated, revealing the high stabilization of chetomin (UMHMNP1403367) inside the binding pocket of 3CLpro throughout 200 ns MD simulations. The physicochemical and pharmacokinetic features of chetomin were also predicted, and the oral bioavailability of chetomin was demonstrated. Furthermore, the potentiality of chetomin analogues −namely, chetomin A-D− as 3CLpro inhibitors was investigated. These results warrant further in vivo and in vitro assays of chetomin (UMHMNP1403367) as a promising anti-COVID-19 drug candidate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud A. A. Ibrahim
- Computational Chemistry Laboratory, Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Minia University, Minia 61519, Egypt
- School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, Durban 4000, South Africa
| | - Alaa H. M. Abdelrahman
- Computational Chemistry Laboratory, Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Minia University, Minia 61519, Egypt
| | - Dina E. M. Mohamed
- Computational Chemistry Laboratory, Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Minia University, Minia 61519, Egypt
| | - Khlood A. A. Abdeljawaad
- Computational Chemistry Laboratory, Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Minia University, Minia 61519, Egypt
| | - Mohamed Ahmed Naeem
- Ain Shams University Specialized Hospital, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11588, Egypt
| | - Gamal A. Gabr
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia
- Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (AGERI), Agricultural Research Center, Giza 12619, Egypt
| | - Ahmed M. Shawky
- Science and Technology Unit (STU), Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mahmoud E. S. Soliman
- Molecular Modelling and Drug Design Research Group, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, Durban 4000, South Africa
| | - Peter A. Sidhom
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tanta University, Tanta 31527, Egypt
| | - Paul W. Paré
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
| | - Mohamed-Elamir F. Hegazy
- Chemistry of Medicinal Plants Department, National Research Centre, 33 El-Bohouth St., Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt
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Shchegravina ES, Usova SD, Baev DS, Mozhaitsev ES, Shcherbakov DN, Belenkaya SV, Volosnikova EA, Chirkova VY, Sharlaeva EA, Svirshchevskaya EV, Fonareva IP, Sitdikova AR, Salakhutdinov NF, Yarovaya OI, Fedorov AY. Synthesis of conjugates of (a R,7 S)-colchicine with monoterpenoids and investigation of their biological activity. Russ Chem Bull 2023; 72:248-262. [PMID: 36817557 PMCID: PMC9926439 DOI: 10.1007/s11172-023-3730-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
Conjugates of the natural alkaloid (aR,7S)-colchicine with bicyclic monoterpenoids and their derivatives were synthesized for the first time. Molecular docking of the synthesized agents in the active site of the main viral protease of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was carried out. The cytotoxic properties of the agents against different cell lines and the ability to inhibit the main viral protease 3CLPro were studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- E. S. Shchegravina
- grid.28171.3d0000 0001 0344 908XLobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, k. 2, 23 prosp. Gagarina, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation
| | - S. D. Usova
- grid.28171.3d0000 0001 0344 908XLobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, k. 2, 23 prosp. Gagarina, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation
| | - D. S. Baev
- grid.415877.80000 0001 2254 1834N. N. Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 9 prosp. Akad. Lavrent’eva, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russian Federation
| | - E. S. Mozhaitsev
- grid.415877.80000 0001 2254 1834N. N. Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 9 prosp. Akad. Lavrent’eva, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russian Federation
| | - D. N. Shcherbakov
- State Scientific Center of Virology and Biotechnology “Vector”, 630559 Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Region, Russian Federation
| | - S. V. Belenkaya
- State Scientific Center of Virology and Biotechnology “Vector”, 630559 Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Region, Russian Federation ,grid.4605.70000000121896553Novosibirsk State University, 1 ul. Pirogova, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russian Federation
| | - E. A. Volosnikova
- State Scientific Center of Virology and Biotechnology “Vector”, 630559 Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Region, Russian Federation
| | - V. Yu. Chirkova
- grid.77225.350000000112611077Altai State University, 61 Leninsky prosp., 656049 Barnaul, Russian Federation
| | - E. A. Sharlaeva
- grid.77225.350000000112611077Altai State University, 61 Leninsky prosp., 656049 Barnaul, Russian Federation
| | - E. V. Svirshchevskaya
- grid.4886.20000 0001 2192 9124Department of Immunology, M. M. Shemyakin and Yu. A. Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 16/10 ul. Miklukho-Maklaya, 117997 Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - I. P. Fonareva
- grid.28171.3d0000 0001 0344 908XLobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, k. 2, 23 prosp. Gagarina, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation
| | - A. R. Sitdikova
- grid.28171.3d0000 0001 0344 908XLobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, k. 2, 23 prosp. Gagarina, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation
| | - N. F. Salakhutdinov
- grid.415877.80000 0001 2254 1834N. N. Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 9 prosp. Akad. Lavrent’eva, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russian Federation
| | - O. I. Yarovaya
- grid.415877.80000 0001 2254 1834N. N. Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 9 prosp. Akad. Lavrent’eva, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russian Federation
| | - A. Yu. Fedorov
- grid.28171.3d0000 0001 0344 908XLobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, k. 2, 23 prosp. Gagarina, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation
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56
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Nguyen TH, Tam NM, Tuan MV, Zhan P, Vu VV, Quang DT, Ngo ST. Searching for potential inhibitors of SARS-COV-2 main protease using supervised learning and perturbation calculations. Chem Phys 2023; 564:111709. [PMID: 36188488 PMCID: PMC9511900 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemphys.2022.111709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Revised: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Inhibiting the biological activity of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro can prevent viral replication. In this context, a hybrid approach using knowledge- and physics-based methods was proposed to characterize potential inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. Initially, supervised machine learning (ML) models were trained to predict a ligand-binding affinity of ca. 2 million compounds with the correlation on a test set of R=0.748±0.044. Atomistic simulations were then used to refine the outcome of the ML model. Using LIE/FEP calculations, nine compounds from the top 100 ML inhibitors were suggested to bind well to the protease with the domination of van der Waals interactions. Furthermore, the binding affinity of these compounds is also higher than that of nirmatrelvir, which was recently approved by the US FDA to treat COVID-19. In addition, the ligands altered the catalytic triad Cys145 - His41 - Asp187, possibly disturbing the biological activity of SARS-CoV-2.
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57
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Malebari AM, E A Ahmed H, Ihmaid SK, Omar AM, Muhammad YA, Althagfan SS, Aljuhani N, A A El-Sayed AA, Halawa AH, El-Tahir HM, Turkistani SA, Almaghrabi M, K B Aljohani A, El-Agrody AM, Abulkhair HS. Exploring the dual effect of novel 1,4-diarylpyranopyrazoles as antiviral and anti-inflammatory for the management of SARS-CoV-2 and associated inflammatory symptoms. Bioorg Chem 2023; 130:106255. [PMID: 36403336 PMCID: PMC9671780 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2022.106255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2022] [Revised: 10/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
COVID-19 and associated substantial inflammations continue to threaten humankind triggering death worldwide. So, the development of new effective antiviral and anti-inflammatory medications is a major scientific goal. Pyranopyrazoles have occupied a crucial position in medicinal chemistry because of their biological importance. Here, we report the design and synthesis of a series of sixteen pyranopyrazole derivatives substituted with two aryl groups at N-1 and C-4. The designed compounds are suggested to show dual activity to combat the emerging Coronaviruses and associated substantial inflammations. All compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antiviral activity and cytotoxicity against SARS-CoV infected Vero cells. As well, the in vitro assay of all derivatives against the SARS-CoV Mpro target was performed. Results revealed the potential of three pyranopyrazoles (22, 27, and 31) to potently inhibit the viral main protease with IC50 values of 2.01, 1.83, and 4.60 μM respectively compared with 12.85 and 82.17 μM for GC-376 and lopinavir. Additionally, in vivo anti-inflammatory testing for the most active compound 27 proved its ability to reduce levels of two cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6). Molecular docking and dynamics simulation revealed consistent results with the in vitro enzymatic assay and indicated the stability of the putative complex of 27 with SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. The assessment of metabolic stability and physicochemical properties of 27 have also been conducted. This investigation identified a set of metabolically stable pyranopyrazoles as effective anti-SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and suppressors of host cell cytokine release. We believe that the new compounds deserve further chemical optimization and evaluation for COVID-19 treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azizah M Malebari
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Alsulaymanyah, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hany E A Ahmed
- Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia; Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City 11884, Cairo, Egypt.
| | - Saleh K Ihmaid
- Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia; Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jadara University Irbid, Jordan
| | - Abdelsattar M Omar
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Alsulaymanyah, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia; Center for Artificial Intelligence in Precision Medicines, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Yosra A Muhammad
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Alsulaymanyah, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sultan S Althagfan
- Clinical and Hospital Pharmacy Department, Taibah University, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Naif Aljuhani
- Pharmacology and Toxicology Department, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdel-Aziz A A El-Sayed
- Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Islamic University of Madinah, Madinah, Saudi Arabia; Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
| | - Ahmed H Halawa
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Heba M El-Tahir
- Pharmacology and Toxicology Department, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Mohammed Almaghrabi
- Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed K B Aljohani
- Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed M El-Agrody
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Hamada S Abulkhair
- Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City 11884, Cairo, Egypt; Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Horus University-Egypt, International Coastal Road, New Damietta 34518, Egypt.
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58
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Dalinger AI, Baev DS, Yarovaya OI, Chirkova VY, Sharlaeva EA, Belenkaya SV, Shcherbakov DN, Salakhutdinov NF, Vatsadze SZ. Synthesis of non-symmetric N-benzylbispidinol amides and study of their inhibitory activity against the main protease of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Russ Chem Bull 2023; 72:239-247. [PMID: 36817558 PMCID: PMC9926410 DOI: 10.1007/s11172-023-3729-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
Based on the data obtained by molecular modeling of the non-covalent interaction of non-symmetric N-benzylbispidin-9-ol amides with the active site of the main protease 3CLpro of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a series of compounds was synthesized, and their inhibitory activity against 3CLpro was studied and compared with that of the known inhibitor ML188 (IC50 = 1.56±0.55 µmol L-1). It was found that only compound 1g containing the 1,4-dihydroindeno[1,2-c]pyrazole fragment showed moderate activity (IC50 = 100±5.7µmol L-1) and was characterized by the highest calculated binding energy among the studied bispidine derivatives according to molecular docking data.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. I. Dalinger
- Lomonosov Moscow State University, Build. 3, 1 Leninskie Gory, 119991 Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - D. S. Baev
- N. N. Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 9 prosp. Acad. Lavrentieva, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russian Federation
| | - O. I. Yarovaya
- N. N. Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 9 prosp. Acad. Lavrentieva, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russian Federation
| | - V. Yu. Chirkova
- Altai State University, 61 prosp. Lenina, 656049 Barnaul, Russian Federation
| | - E. A. Sharlaeva
- Altai State University, 61 prosp. Lenina, 656049 Barnaul, Russian Federation
| | - S. V. Belenkaya
- Novosibirsk State University, 2 ul. Pirogova, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russian Federation
- Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR, 630559 Koltsovo, Novosibirsk region, Russian Federation
| | - D. N. Shcherbakov
- Altai State University, 61 prosp. Lenina, 656049 Barnaul, Russian Federation
- Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR, 630559 Koltsovo, Novosibirsk region, Russian Federation
| | - N. F. Salakhutdinov
- N. N. Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 9 prosp. Acad. Lavrentieva, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russian Federation
| | - S. Z. Vatsadze
- N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 47 Leninsky prosp., 119991 Moscow, Russian Federation
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59
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Cousins H, Hall T, Guo Y, Tso L, Tzeng KTH, Cong L, Altman RB. Gene set proximity analysis: expanding gene set enrichment analysis through learned geometric embeddings, with drug-repurposing applications in COVID-19. Bioinformatics 2023; 39:btac735. [PMID: 36394254 PMCID: PMC9805577 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btac735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Revised: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Gene set analysis methods rely on knowledge-based representations of genetic interactions in the form of both gene set collections and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. However, explicit representations of genetic interactions often fail to capture complex interdependencies among genes, limiting the analytic power of such methods. RESULTS We propose an extension of gene set enrichment analysis to a latent embedding space reflecting PPI network topology, called gene set proximity analysis (GSPA). Compared with existing methods, GSPA provides improved ability to identify disease-associated pathways in disease-matched gene expression datasets, while improving reproducibility of enrichment statistics for similar gene sets. GSPA is statistically straightforward, reducing to a version of traditional gene set enrichment analysis through a single user-defined parameter. We apply our method to identify novel drug associations with SARS-CoV-2 viral entry. Finally, we validate our drug association predictions through retrospective clinical analysis of claims data from 8 million patients, supporting a role for gabapentin as a risk factor and metformin as a protective factor for severe COVID-19. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION GSPA is available for download as a command-line Python package at https://github.com/henrycousins/gspa. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henry Cousins
- Department of Biomedical Data Science, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Taryn Hall
- Optum Labs at UnitedHealth Group, Minneapolis, MN 55343, USA
| | - Yinglong Guo
- Optum Labs at UnitedHealth Group, Minneapolis, MN 55343, USA
| | - Luke Tso
- Optum Labs at UnitedHealth Group, Minneapolis, MN 55343, USA
| | - Kathy T H Tzeng
- Optum Labs at UnitedHealth Group, Minneapolis, MN 55343, USA
| | - Le Cong
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Russ B Altman
- Department of Biomedical Data Science, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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60
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Elseginy SA. Virtual screening and structure-based 3D pharmacophore approach to identify small-molecule inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 M pro. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022; 40:13658-13674. [PMID: 34676801 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2021.1993341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The outbreak caused by a coronavirus 2 has required quick and potential treatment strategies. The main protease enzyme Mpro plays an important role in the viral replication which renders it an important target for discovering SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors. In this study, 3D pharmacophore structure-based virtual screening and molecular docking were conducted using MOE and Bristol University Docking Engine (BUDE). Around 400,000 molecules of ZINC15 database were docked against the crystal structure of main protease, followed by 3D pharmacophore filtration. Six top-ranked hits (ZINC58717986, ZINC60399606, ZINC58662884, ZINC45988635, ZINC54706757 and ZINC17320595) were identified based on their strong spatial affinity and forming H-bonds with key residues H41, E166, Q189 and T190 of the binding pocket of Mpro SARS-CoV-2. The 6 hits subjected to molecular dynamics simulations for 100 ns followed by binding free energy calculations using MM-PBSA technique. Interestingly, three hits showed free binding energy (ΔGbinding) lower than tert-butyl N-[1-[(2S)-1-[[(2S)-4-(benzylamino)-3,4-dioxo-1-[(3S)-2-oxopyrrolidin-3-yl]butan-2-yl]amino]-3-cyclopropyl-1-oxopropan-2-yl]-2-oxopyridin-3-yl]carbamate (α-ketoamide 13 b) (ΔGbinding) -76.67 ± 0.5 kJ/mol which suggested their potential against SARS-CoV-2. The best binding free energy candidates, ZINC58717986 (ΔGbinding) -98.41 ± 0.7 kJ/mol. The second-best hit candidate, ZINC54706757 (ΔGbinding) -83.4 ± 0.6 kJ/mol and the third one ZINC17320595 (ΔGbinding) -78.85 ± 0.5 kJ/mol. Per residue decomposition free energy indicates H41, S46, H164, E166, D187, Q189 and Q192 are hot spot residues while residues M49, M165, L167 and P168 contribute to the hydrophobic interactions. The pharmacokinetic study suggests that the selected 6 hits possess drug-like properties. The 3D pharmacophore virtual screening, molecular dynamics and MM-PBSA approaches facilitated identification 3 promising hits with low free binding energy as SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samia A Elseginy
- Molecular Modelling Lab., Biochemistry School, Bristol University, Bristol, UK.,Green Chemistry Department, Chemical Industries Research Division, National Research Centre, Egypt
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61
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Zheng L, Chen Y, Bao J, He L, Dong S, Qi Y, Zhang JZH. Discovery of novel inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main protease. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022; 40:12526-12534. [PMID: 34472424 PMCID: PMC8436407 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2021.1972041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), referred to as 'New Coronary Pneumonia', is a type of acute infectious disease caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Mpro is one of the main targets for treating COVID-19. The current research on Mpro mainly focuses on the repurposing of old drugs, and there are only a few novel ligands that inhibit Mpro. In this research, we used computational free energy calculation to screen a compound library against Mpro, and discovered four novel compounds with the two best compounds (AG-690/13507628 and AG-690/13507724) having experimental measured IC50 of just under 3 μM and low cell toxicity. Detailed decomposition of the interactions between the inhibitors and Mpro reveals key interacting residues and interactions that determine the activity. The results from this study should provide a basis for further development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Zheng
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics & New Drug Development, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Chemical Process, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yanmei Chen
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics & New Drug Development, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Chemical Process, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jingxiao Bao
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics & New Drug Development, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Chemical Process, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Liping He
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics & New Drug Development, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Chemical Process, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Suzhen Dong
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics & New Drug Development, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Chemical Process, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China,Suzhen Dong ;
| | - Yifei Qi
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics & New Drug Development, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Chemical Process, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China,NYU-ECNU Center for Computational Chemistry at NYU Shanghai, Shanghai, China,CONTACT Yifei Qi ;
| | - John Z. H. Zhang
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics & New Drug Development, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Chemical Process, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China,NYU-ECNU Center for Computational Chemistry at NYU Shanghai, Shanghai, China,Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, NY, USA,Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China,John Z. H. Zhang Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics & New Drug Development, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Chemical Process, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai200062, China
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62
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Santos LH, Kronenberger T, Almeida RG, Silva EB, Rocha REO, Oliveira JC, Barreto LV, Skinner D, Fajtová P, Giardini MA, Woodworth B, Bardine C, Lourenço AL, Craik CS, Poso A, Podust LM, McKerrow JH, Siqueira-Neto JL, O’Donoghue AJ, da Silva
Júnior EN, Ferreira RS. Structure-Based Identification of Naphthoquinones and Derivatives as Novel Inhibitors of Main Protease M pro and Papain-like Protease PL pro of SARS-CoV-2. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:6553-6573. [PMID: 35960688 PMCID: PMC9397563 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 urgently demands novel direct antiviral treatments. The main protease (Mpro) and papain-like protease (PLpro) are attractive drug targets among coronaviruses due to their essential role in processing the polyproteins translated from the viral RNA. In this study, we virtually screened 688 naphthoquinoidal compounds and derivatives against Mpro of SARS-CoV-2. Twenty-four derivatives were selected and evaluated in biochemical assays against Mpro using a novel fluorogenic substrate. In parallel, these compounds were also assayed with SARS-CoV-2 PLpro. Four compounds inhibited Mpro with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values between 0.41 μM and 9.0 μM. In addition, three compounds inhibited PLpro with IC50 ranging from 1.9 μM to 3.3 μM. To verify the specificity of Mpro and PLpro inhibitors, our experiments included an assessment of common causes of false positives such as aggregation, high compound fluorescence, and inhibition by enzyme oxidation. Altogether, we confirmed novel classes of specific Mpro and PLpro inhibitors. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest stable binding modes for Mpro inhibitors with frequent interactions with residues in the S1 and S2 pockets of the active site. For two PLpro inhibitors, interactions occur in the S3 and S4 pockets. In summary, our structure-based computational and biochemical approach identified novel naphthoquinonal scaffolds that can be further explored as SARS-CoV-2 antivirals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucianna H. Santos
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology,
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas
Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Thales Kronenberger
- Department of Oncology and Pneumonology, Internal
Medicine VIII, University Hospital Tübingen,
Otfried-Müller-Straße 10, DE72076 Tübingen,
Germany
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences,
University of Eastern Finland, 70211 Kuopio,
Finland
- Institute of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical/Medicinal
Chemistry and Tübingen Center for Academic Drug Discovery (TüCAD2),
Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Auf der
Morgenstelle 8, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Renata G. Almeida
- Institute of Exact Sciences, Department of Chemistry,
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas
Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Elany B. Silva
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La
Jolla, California 92093-0657, United States
| | - Rafael E. O. Rocha
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology,
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas
Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Joyce C. Oliveira
- Institute of Exact Sciences, Department of Chemistry,
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas
Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Luiza V. Barreto
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology,
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas
Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Danielle Skinner
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La
Jolla, California 92093-0657, United States
| | - Pavla Fajtová
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La
Jolla, California 92093-0657, United States
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry,
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 16610 Prague,
Czech Republic
| | - Miriam A. Giardini
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La
Jolla, California 92093-0657, United States
| | - Brendon Woodworth
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious
Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla,
California 92093, United States
| | - Conner Bardine
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry,
University of California San Francisco, San Francisco,
California 94143, United States
| | - André L. Lourenço
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry,
University of California San Francisco, San Francisco,
California 94143, United States
| | - Charles S. Craik
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry,
University of California San Francisco, San Francisco,
California 94143, United States
| | - Antti Poso
- Department of Oncology and Pneumonology, Internal
Medicine VIII, University Hospital Tübingen,
Otfried-Müller-Straße 10, DE72076 Tübingen,
Germany
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences,
University of Eastern Finland, 70211 Kuopio,
Finland
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La
Jolla, California 92093-0657, United States
| | - James H. McKerrow
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La
Jolla, California 92093-0657, United States
| | - Jair L. Siqueira-Neto
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La
Jolla, California 92093-0657, United States
| | - Anthony J. O’Donoghue
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La
Jolla, California 92093-0657, United States
| | - Eufrânio N. da Silva
Júnior
- Institute of Exact Sciences, Department of Chemistry,
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas
Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Rafaela S. Ferreira
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology,
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas
Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
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63
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Moghadasi SA, Heilmann E, Khalil AM, Nnabuife C, Kearns FL, Ye C, Moraes SN, Costacurta F, Esler MA, Aihara H, von Laer D, Martinez-Sobrido L, Palzkill T, Amaro RE, Harris RS. Transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants with resistance to clinical protease inhibitors. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2022:2022.08.07.503099. [PMID: 35982678 PMCID: PMC9387136 DOI: 10.1101/2022.08.07.503099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Vaccines and drugs have helped reduce disease severity and blunt the spread of SARS-CoV-2. However, ongoing virus transmission, continuous evolution, and increasing selective pressures have the potential to yield viral variants capable of resisting these interventions. Here, we investigate the susceptibility of natural variants of the main protease (Mpro/3CLpro) of SARS-CoV-2 to protease inhibitors. Multiple single amino acid changes in Mpro confer resistance to nirmatrelvir (the active component of Paxlovid). An additional clinical-stage inhibitor, ensitrelvir (Xocova), shows a different resistance mutation profile. Importantly, phylogenetic analyses indicate that several of these resistant variants have pre-existed the introduction of these drugs into the human population and are capable of spreading. These results encourage the monitoring of resistance variants and the development of additional protease inhibitors and other antiviral drugs with different mechanisms of action and resistance profiles for combinatorial therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seyed Arad Moghadasi
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, 55455
| | - Emmanuel Heilmann
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Ahmed Magdy Khalil
- Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA, 78227
- Department of Zoonotic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt, 44511
| | - Christina Nnabuife
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA, 77030
| | - Fiona L. Kearns
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA, 92093
| | - Chengjin Ye
- Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA, 78227
| | - Sofia N. Moraes
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, 55455
| | | | - Morgan A. Esler
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, 55455
| | - Hideki Aihara
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, 55455
| | - Dorothee von Laer
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | | | - Timothy Palzkill
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA, 77030
| | - Rommie E. Amaro
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA, 92093
| | - Reuben S. Harris
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, 55455
- Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health San Antonio; San Antonio, Texas, USA, 78229
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Texas Health San Antonio; San Antonio, Texas, USA, 78229
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64
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Sun Y, Zhao B, Wang Y, Chen Z, Zhang H, Qu L, Zhao Y, Song J. Optimization of potential non-covalent inhibitors for the SARS-CoV-2 main protease inspected by a descriptor of the subpocket occupancy. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:29940-29951. [PMID: 36468652 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp03681a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The main protease is regarded as an essential drug target for treating Coronavirus Disease 2019. In the present study, 13 marketed drugs were investigated to explore the possible binding mechanism, utilizing molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, and MM-PB(GB)SA binding energy calculations. Our results suggest that fusidic acid, polydatin, SEN-1269, AZD6482, and UNC-2327 have high binding affinities of more than 23 kcal mol-1. A descriptor was defined for the energetic occupancy of the subpocket, and it was found that S4 had a low occupancy of less than 10% on average. The molecular optimization of ADZ6482 via reinforcement learning algorithms was carried out to screen out three lead compounds, in which slight structural changes give more considerable binding energies and an occupancy of the S4 subpocket of up to 43%. The energetic occupancy could be a useful descriptor for evaluating the local binding affinity for drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujia Sun
- Green Catalysis Center, and College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, No. 100 Science Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, P. R. China.
| | - Bodi Zhao
- Green Catalysis Center, and College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, No. 100 Science Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, P. R. China.
| | - Yuqi Wang
- Green Catalysis Center, and College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, No. 100 Science Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, P. R. China.
| | - Zitong Chen
- Green Catalysis Center, and College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, No. 100 Science Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, P. R. China.
| | - Huaiyu Zhang
- Institute of Computational Quantum Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050024, P. R. China
| | - Lingbo Qu
- Green Catalysis Center, and College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, No. 100 Science Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, P. R. China.
| | - Yuan Zhao
- The Key Laboratory of Natural Medicine and Immuno - Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan, 475000, P. R. China
| | - Jinshuai Song
- Green Catalysis Center, and College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, No. 100 Science Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, P. R. China.
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65
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Ngo ST, Nguyen TH, Tung NT, Vu VV, Pham MQ, Mai BK. Characterizing the ligand-binding affinity toward SARS-CoV-2 Mpro via physics- and knowledge-based approaches. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:29266-29278. [PMID: 36449268 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp04476e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Computational approaches, including physics- and knowledge-based methods, have commonly been used to determine the ligand-binding affinity toward SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro or 3CLpro). Strong binding ligands can thus be suggested as potential inhibitors for blocking the biological activity of the protease. In this context, this paper aims to provide a short review of computational approaches that have recently been applied in the search for inhibitor candidates of Mpro. In particular, molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are usually combined to predict the binding affinity of thousands of compounds. Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) is the least computationally demanding and therefore can be used for large chemical collections of ligands. However, its accuracy may not be high. Moreover, the quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) method is most commonly used for covalently binding inhibitors, which also play an important role in inhibiting the activity of SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, machine learning (ML) models can significantly increase the searching space of ligands with high accuracy for binding affinity prediction. Physical insights into the binding process can then be confirmed via physics-based calculations. Integration of ML models into computational chemistry provides many more benefits and can lead to new therapies sooner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Son Tung Ngo
- Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Biophysics, Advanced Institute of Materials Science, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. .,Faculty of Pharmacy, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Trung Hai Nguyen
- Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Biophysics, Advanced Institute of Materials Science, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. .,Faculty of Pharmacy, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Nguyen Thanh Tung
- Institute of Materials Science, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam. .,Graduate University of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Van V Vu
- NTT Hi-Tech Institute, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Minh Quan Pham
- Graduate University of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam.,Institute of Natural Products Chemistry, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Binh Khanh Mai
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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66
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Xiong F, Xu H, Yu M, Chen X, Zhong Z, Guo Y, Chen M, Ou H, Wu J, Xie A, Xiong J, Xu L, Zhang L, Zhong Q, Huang L, Li Z, Zhang T, Jin F, He X. 3CLpro inhibitors: DEL-based molecular generation. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:1085665. [PMID: 36569316 PMCID: PMC9768338 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.1085665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Molecular generation (MG) via machine learning (ML) has speeded drug structural optimization, especially for targets with a large amount of reported bioactivity data. However, molecular generation for structural optimization is often powerless for new targets. DNA-encoded library (DEL) can generate systematic, target-specific activity data, including novel targets with few or unknown activity data. Therefore, this study aims to overcome the limitation of molecular generation in the structural optimization for the new target. Firstly, we generated molecules using the structure-affinity data (2.96 million samples) for 3C-like protease (3CLpro) from our own-built DEL platform to get rid of using public databases (e.g., CHEMBL and ZINC). Subsequently, to analyze the effect of transfer learning on the positive rate of the molecule generation model, molecular docking and affinity model based on DEL data were applied to explore the enhanced impact of transfer learning on molecule generation. In addition, the generated molecules are subjected to multiple filtering, including physicochemical properties, drug-like properties, and pharmacophore evaluation, molecular docking to determine the molecules for further study and verified by molecular dynamics simulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Xiong
- Shenzhen Innovation Center for Small Molecule Drug Discovery Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China,*Correspondence: Feng Xiong, ; Feng Jin, ; Xun He,
| | - Honggui Xu
- Shenzhen NewDEL Biotech Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China
| | - Mingao Yu
- Shenzhen NewDEL Biotech Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China
| | - Xingyu Chen
- Shenzhen NewDEL Biotech Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China
| | - Zhenmin Zhong
- Shenzhen Innovation Center for Small Molecule Drug Discovery Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China
| | - Yuhan Guo
- Shenzhen NewDEL Biotech Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China
| | - Meihong Chen
- Shenzhen Innovation Center for Small Molecule Drug Discovery Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China
| | - Huanfang Ou
- Shenzhen Innovation Center for Small Molecule Drug Discovery Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China
| | - Jiaqi Wu
- Shenzhen Innovation Center for Small Molecule Drug Discovery Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China
| | - Anhua Xie
- Shenzhen Innovation Center for Small Molecule Drug Discovery Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China
| | - Jiaqi Xiong
- Shenzhen Innovation Center for Small Molecule Drug Discovery Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China
| | - Linlin Xu
- Shenzhen Innovation Center for Small Molecule Drug Discovery Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China
| | - Lanmei Zhang
- Shenzhen Innovation Center for Small Molecule Drug Discovery Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China
| | - Qijian Zhong
- Shenzhen Innovation Center for Small Molecule Drug Discovery Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China
| | - Liye Huang
- Shenzhen Innovation Center for Small Molecule Drug Discovery Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China
| | - Zhenwei Li
- Shenzhen Innovation Center for Small Molecule Drug Discovery Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China
| | | | - Feng Jin
- Shenzhen NewDEL Biotech Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China,*Correspondence: Feng Xiong, ; Feng Jin, ; Xun He,
| | - Xun He
- Shenzhen Innovation Center for Small Molecule Drug Discovery Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China,*Correspondence: Feng Xiong, ; Feng Jin, ; Xun He,
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67
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Ivanova YO, Voronina AI, Skvortsov VS. [The prediction of SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibition with filtering by position of ligand]. BIOMEDITSINSKAIA KHIMIIA 2022; 68:444-458. [PMID: 36573412 DOI: 10.18097/pbmc20226806444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The paper analyzes a set of equations that adequately predict the IC50 value for SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors. The training set was obtained using filtering by criteria independent of prediction of target value. It included 76 compounds, and the test set included nine compounds. We used the values of energy contributions obtained in the calculation of the change of the free energy of complex by MMGBSA method and a number of characteristics of the physical and chemical properties of the inhibitors as independent variables. It is sufficient to use only seven independent variables without loss of prediction quality (Q² = 0.79; R²prediction = 0.89). The maximum error in this case does not exceed 0.92 lg(IC50) units with a full range of observed values from 1.26 to 4.95.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ya O Ivanova
- Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Moscow, Russia
| | - A I Voronina
- Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Moscow, Russia
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68
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Pavan M, Bassani D, Sturlese M, Moro S. Bat coronaviruses related to SARS-CoV-2: what about their 3CL proteases (MPro)? J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2022; 37:1077-1082. [PMID: 35418253 PMCID: PMC9037175 DOI: 10.1080/14756366.2022.2062336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite a huge effort by the scientific community to determine the animal reservoir of SARS-CoV-2, which led to the identification of several SARS-CoV-2-related viruses both in bats and in pangolins, the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is still not clear. Recently, Temmam et al. reported the discovery of bat coronaviruses with a high degree of genome similarity with SARS-CoV-2, especially concerning the RBDs of the S protein, which mediates the capability of such viruses to enter and therefore infect human cells through a hACE2-dependent pathway. These viruses, especially the one named BANAL-236, showed a higher affinity for the hACE2 compared to the original strain of SARS-CoV-2. In the present work, we analyse the similarities and differences between the 3CL protease (main protease, Mpro) of these newly reported viruses and SARS-CoV-2, discussing their relevance relative to the efficacy of existing therapeutic approaches against COVID-19, particularly concerning the recently approved orally available Paxlovid, and the development of future ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Pavan
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Mattia Sturlese
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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69
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Pavan M, Bassani D, Sturlese M, Moro S. From the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain to the XD and XE variants: is targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein still a pharmaceutically relevant option against COVID-19? J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2022; 37:1704-1714. [PMID: 35695095 PMCID: PMC9196651 DOI: 10.1080/14756366.2022.2081847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 genome has undergone several mutations. The emergence of such variants has resulted in multiple pandemic waves, contributing to sustaining to date the number of infections, hospitalisations, and deaths despite the swift development of vaccines, since most of these mutations are concentrated on the Spike protein, a viral surface glycoprotein that is the main target for most vaccines. A milestone in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has been represented by the development of Paxlovid, the first orally available drug against COVID-19, which acts on the Main Protease (Mpro). In this article, we analyse the structural features of both the Spike protein and the Mpro of the recently reported SARS-CoV-2 variant XE, as well the closely related XD and XF ones, discussing their impact on the efficacy of existing treatments against COVID-19 and on the development of future ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Pavan
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Mattia Sturlese
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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70
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Mondal S, Chen Y, Lockbaum GJ, Sen S, Chaudhuri S, Reyes AC, Lee JM, Kaur AN, Sultana N, Cameron MD, Shaffer SA, Schiffer CA, Fitzgerald KA, Thompson PR. Dual Inhibitors of Main Protease (M Pro) and Cathepsin L as Potent Antivirals against SARS-CoV2. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:21035-21045. [PMID: 36356199 PMCID: PMC9662648 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c04626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Given the current impact of SARS-CoV2 and COVID-19 on human health and the global economy, the development of direct acting antivirals is of paramount importance. Main protease (MPro), a cysteine protease that cleaves the viral polyprotein, is essential for viral replication. Therefore, MPro is a novel therapeutic target. We identified two novel MPro inhibitors, D-FFRCMKyne and D-FFCitCMKyne, that covalently modify the active site cysteine (C145) and determined cocrystal structures. Medicinal chemistry efforts led to SM141 and SM142, which adopt a unique binding mode within the MPro active site. Notably, these inhibitors do not inhibit the other cysteine protease, papain-like protease (PLPro), involved in the life cycle of SARS-CoV2. SM141 and SM142 block SARS-CoV2 replication in hACE2 expressing A549 cells with IC50 values of 8.2 and 14.7 nM. Detailed studies indicate that these compounds also inhibit cathepsin L (CatL), which cleaves the viral S protein to promote viral entry into host cells. Detailed biochemical, proteomic, and knockdown studies indicate that the antiviral activity of SM141 and SM142 results from the dual inhibition of MPro and CatL. Notably, intranasal and intraperitoneal administration of SM141 and SM142 lead to reduced viral replication, viral loads in the lung, and enhanced survival in SARS-CoV2 infected K18-ACE2 transgenic mice. In total, these data indicate that SM141 and SM142 represent promising scaffolds on which to develop antiviral drugs against SARS-CoV2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santanu Mondal
- Program in Chemical Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 364 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Yongzhi Chen
- Program in Innate Immunity, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 364 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Gordon J. Lockbaum
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 364 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Sudeshna Sen
- Program in Chemical Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 364 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Sauradip Chaudhuri
- Program in Chemical Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 364 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Archie C. Reyes
- Program in Chemical Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 364 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Jeong Min Lee
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 364 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Arshia N. Kaur
- Program in Chemical Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 364 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Nadia Sultana
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 364 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Michael D. Cameron
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute,130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Scott A. Shaffer
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 364 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Celia A. Schiffer
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 364 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Katherine A. Fitzgerald
- Program in Innate Immunity, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 364 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Paul R. Thompson
- Program in Chemical Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 364 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
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71
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Fatriansyah JF, Boanerges AG, Kurnianto SR, Pradana AF, Fadilah, Surip SN. Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Ligands from Anredera cordifolia (Binahong) to the Main Protease ( M pro) of SARS-CoV-2. J Trop Med 2022; 2022:1178228. [PMID: 36457332 PMCID: PMC9708379 DOI: 10.1155/2022/1178228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Revised: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
COVID-19 in Indonesia is considered to be entering the endemic phase, and the population is expected to live side by side with the SARS-CoV 2 viruses and their variants. In this study, procyanidin, oleic acid, methyl linoleic acid, and vitexin, four compounds from binahong leaves-tropical/subtropical plant, were examined for their interactions with the major protease (Mpro) of the SARS-CoV 2 virus. Molecular dynamics simulation shows that procyanidin and vitexin have the best docking scores of -9.132 and -8.433, respectively. Molecular dynamics simulation also shows that procyanidin and vitexin have the best Root Mean Square Displacement (RMSD) and Root Mean Square Fluctuation (RMSF) performance due to dominant hydrogen, hydrophobic, and water bridge interactions. However, further strain energy calculation obtained from ligand torsion analyses, procyanidin and vitexin do not conform as much as quercetin as ligand control even though these two ligands have good performance in terms of interaction with the target protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaka Fajar Fatriansyah
- Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Indonesia, Depok, Jawa Barat 16424, Indonesia
| | - Ara Gamaliel Boanerges
- Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Indonesia, Depok, Jawa Barat 16424, Indonesia
| | - Syarafina Ramadhanisa Kurnianto
- Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Indonesia, Depok, Jawa Barat 16424, Indonesia
| | - Agrin Febrian Pradana
- Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Indonesia, Depok, Jawa Barat 16424, Indonesia
| | - Fadilah
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Salemba Raya, Jakarta 10430, Indonesia
| | - Siti Norasmah Surip
- Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
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72
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Massai L, Grifagni D, De Santis A, Geri A, Cantini F, Calderone V, Banci L, Messori L. Gold-Based Metal Drugs as Inhibitors of Coronavirus Proteins: The Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease by Auranofin and Its Analogs. Biomolecules 2022; 12:1675. [PMID: 36421689 PMCID: PMC9687241 DOI: 10.3390/biom12111675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 08/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Gold compounds have a long tradition in medicine and offer many opportunities for new therapeutic applications. Herein, we evaluated the lead compound Auranofin and five related gold(I) complexes as possible inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease (SARS-CoV-2 Mpro), a validated drug target for the COVID-19 disease. The investigational panel of gold compounds included Auranofin; three halido analogues, i.e., Au(PEt3)Cl, Au(PEt3)Br, and Au(PEt3)I; and two gold carbene complexes, i.e., Au(NHC)Cl and [Au(NHC)2]PF6. Notably, all these gold compounds, with the only exception of [Au(NHC)2]PF6, turned out to be potent inhibitors of the catalytic activity of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro: the measured Ki values were in the range 2.1-0.4 μM. The reactions of the various gold compounds with SARS-CoV-2 Mpro were subsequently investigated through electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry (MS) upon a careful optimization of the experimental conditions; the ESI MS spectra provided clear evidence for the formation of tight metallodrug-protein adducts and for the coordination of well defined gold-containing fragments to the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, again with the only exception of [Au(NHC)2]PF6, The metal-protein stoichiometry was unambiguously determined for the resulting species. The crystal structures of the metallodrug- Mpro adducts were solved in the case of Au(PEt3)Br and Au(NHC)Cl. These crystal structures show that gold coordination occurs at the level of catalytic Cys 145 in the case of Au(NHC)Cl and at the level of both Cys 145 and Cys 156 for Au(PEt3)Br. Tight coordination of gold atoms to functionally relevant cysteine residues is believed to represent the true molecular basis of strong enzyme inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Massai
- Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via Della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Florence, Italy
| | - Deborah Grifagni
- Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via Della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Florence, Italy
- Magnetic Resonance Center (CERM), University of Florence, Via L. Sacconi 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy
| | - Alessia De Santis
- Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via Della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Florence, Italy
- Magnetic Resonance Center (CERM), University of Florence, Via L. Sacconi 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy
| | - Andrea Geri
- Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via Della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Florence, Italy
| | - Francesca Cantini
- Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via Della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Florence, Italy
- Magnetic Resonance Center (CERM), University of Florence, Via L. Sacconi 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy
- Consorzio Interuniversitario Risonanze Magnetiche Metallo Proteine (CIRMMP), University of Florence, Via L. Sacconi 6, 50019 Florence, Italy
| | - Vito Calderone
- Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via Della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Florence, Italy
- Magnetic Resonance Center (CERM), University of Florence, Via L. Sacconi 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy
- Consorzio Interuniversitario Risonanze Magnetiche Metallo Proteine (CIRMMP), University of Florence, Via L. Sacconi 6, 50019 Florence, Italy
| | - Lucia Banci
- Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via Della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Florence, Italy
- Magnetic Resonance Center (CERM), University of Florence, Via L. Sacconi 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy
- Consorzio Interuniversitario Risonanze Magnetiche Metallo Proteine (CIRMMP), University of Florence, Via L. Sacconi 6, 50019 Florence, Italy
| | - Luigi Messori
- Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via Della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Florence, Italy
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73
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Prentis LE, Singleton CD, Bickel JD, Allen WJ, Rizzo RC. A molecular evolution algorithm for ligand design in DOCK. J Comput Chem 2022; 43:1942-1963. [PMID: 36073674 PMCID: PMC9623574 DOI: 10.1002/jcc.26993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
As a complement to virtual screening, de novo design of small molecules is an alternative approach for identifying potential drug candidates. Here, we present a new 3D genetic algorithm to evolve molecules through breeding, mutation, fitness pressure, and selection. The method, termed DOCK_GA, builds upon and leverages powerful sampling, scoring, and searching routines previously implemented into DOCK6. Three primary experiments were used during development: Single-molecule evolution evaluated three selection methods (elitism, tournament, and roulette), in four clinically relevant systems, in terms of mutation type and crossover success, chemical properties, ensemble diversity, and fitness convergence, among others. Large scale benchmarking assessed performance across 651 different protein-ligand systems. Ensemble-based evolution demonstrated using multiple inhibitors simultaneously to seed growth in a SARS-CoV-2 target. Key takeaways include: (1) The algorithm is robust as demonstrated by the successful evolution of molecules across a large diverse dataset. (2) Users have flexibility with regards to parent input, selection method, fitness function, and molecular descriptors. (3) The program is straightforward to run and only requires a single executable and input file at run-time. (4) The elitism selection method yields more tightly clustered molecules in terms of 2D/3D similarity, with more favorable fitness, followed by tournament and roulette.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren E. Prentis
- Department of Biochemistry & Cell BiologyStony Brook UniversityStony BrookNew YorkUSA
| | | | - John D. Bickel
- Department of ChemistryStony Brook UniversityStony BrookNew YorkUSA
| | - William J. Allen
- Department of Applied Mathematics & StatisticsStony Brook UniversityStony BrookNew YorkUSA
| | - Robert C. Rizzo
- Department of Applied Mathematics & StatisticsStony Brook UniversityStony BrookNew YorkUSA,Institute of Chemical Biology & Drug DiscoveryStony Brook UniversityStony BrookNew YorkUSA,Laufer Center for Physical & Quantitative BiologyStony Brook UniversityStony BrookNew YorkUSA
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74
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Novel ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin-tetrazole hybrids as potential antibacterial and antiviral agents: targeting S. aureus topoisomerase and SARS-CoV-2-MPro. J Mol Struct 2022; 1274:134507. [PMID: 36406777 PMCID: PMC9640164 DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2022.134507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2022] [Revised: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
This study was designed to synthesize hybridizing molecules from ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin by enhancing their biological activity with tetrazoles. The synthesized compounds were investigated in the interaction with the target enzyme of fluoroquinolones (DNA gyrase) and COVID-19 main protease using molecular similarity, molecular docking, and QSAR studies. A QSAR study was carried out to explore the antibacterial activity of our compounds over Staphylococcus aureus a QSAR study, using descriptors obtained from the docking with DNA gyrase, in combination with steric type descriptors, was done obtaining suitable statistical parameters (R2=87.00, QLMO2=71.67, and QEXT2=73.49) to support our results. The binding interaction of our compounds with CoV-2-Mpro was done by molecular docking and were compared with different covalent and non-covalent inhibitors of this enzyme. For the docking studies we used several crystallographic structures of the CoV-2-Mpro. The interaction energy values and binding mode with several key residues, by our compounds, support the capability of them to be CoV-2-Mpro inhibitors. The characterization of the compounds was completed using FT-IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, 19F-NMR and HRMS spectroscopic methods. The results showed that compounds 1, 4, 5, 10 and 12 had the potential to be further studied as new antibacterial and antiviral compounds
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75
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Manish M, Mishra S, Anand A, Subbarao N. Computational molecular interaction between SARS-CoV-2 main protease and theaflavin digallate using free energy perturbation and molecular dynamics. Comput Biol Med 2022; 150:106125. [PMID: 36240593 PMCID: PMC9507791 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2022.106125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Revised: 09/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Our objective was to identify the molecule which can inhibit SARS-CoV-2 main protease and can be easily procured. Natural products may provide such molecules and can supplement the current custom chemical synthesis-based drug discovery for this objective. A combination of docking approaches, scoring functions, classical molecular dynamic simulation, binding pose metadynamics, and free energy perturbation calculations have been employed in this study. Theaflavin digallate has been observed in top-scoring compounds after the three independent virtual screening simulations of 598435 compounds (unique 27256 chemical entities). The main protease-theaflavin digallate complex interacts with critical active site residues of the main protease in molecular dynamics simulation independent of the explored computational framework, simulation time, initial structure, and force field used. Theaflavin digallate forms approximately three hydrogen bonds with Glutamate166 of main protease, primarily through hydroxyl groups in the benzene ring of benzo(7)annulen-6-one, along with other critical residues. Glu166 is the most critical amino acid for main protease dimerization, which is necessary for catalytic activity. The estimated binding free energy, calculated by Amber and Schrodinger MMGBSA module, reflects a high binding free energy between theaflavin digallate and main protease. Binding pose metadynamics simulation shows the highly persistent H-bond and a stable pose for the theaflavin digallate-main protease complex. Using method control, experimental controls, and test set, alchemical transformation studies confirm high relative binding free energy of theaflavin digallate with the main protease. Computational molecular interaction suggests that theaflavin digallate can inhibit the main protease of SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manish Manish
- School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.
| | - Smriti Mishra
- School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.
| | - Ayush Anand
- BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal.
| | - Naidu Subbarao
- School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.
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76
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Bieniek MK, Cree B, Pirie R, Horton JT, Tatum NJ, Cole DJ. An open-source molecular builder and free energy preparation workflow. Commun Chem 2022; 5:136. [PMID: 36320862 PMCID: PMC9607723 DOI: 10.1038/s42004-022-00754-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Automated free energy calculations for the prediction of binding free energies of congeneric series of ligands to a protein target are growing in popularity, but building reliable initial binding poses for the ligands is challenging. Here, we introduce the open-source FEgrow workflow for building user-defined congeneric series of ligands in protein binding pockets for input to free energy calculations. For a given ligand core and receptor structure, FEgrow enumerates and optimises the bioactive conformations of the grown functional group(s), making use of hybrid machine learning/molecular mechanics potential energy functions where possible. Low energy structures are optionally scored using the gnina convolutional neural network scoring function, and output for more rigorous protein-ligand binding free energy predictions. We illustrate use of the workflow by building and scoring binding poses for ten congeneric series of ligands bound to targets from a standard, high quality dataset of protein-ligand complexes. Furthermore, we build a set of 13 inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease from the literature, and use free energy calculations to retrospectively compute their relative binding free energies. FEgrow is freely available at https://github.com/cole-group/FEgrow, along with a tutorial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mateusz K. Bieniek
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU UK
| | - Ben Cree
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU UK
| | - Rachael Pirie
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU UK
| | - Joshua T. Horton
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU UK
| | - Natalie J. Tatum
- Newcastle University Centre for Cancer, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH UK
| | - Daniel J. Cole
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU UK
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77
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Gao S, Sylvester K, Song L, Claff T, Jing L, Woodson M, Weiße RH, Cheng Y, Schäkel L, Petry M, Gütschow M, Schiedel AC, Sträter N, Kang D, Xu S, Toth K, Tavis J, Tollefson AE, Müller CE, Liu X, Zhan P. Discovery and Crystallographic Studies of Trisubstituted Piperazine Derivatives as Non-Covalent SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Inhibitors with High Target Specificity and Low Toxicity. J Med Chem 2022; 65:13343-13364. [PMID: 36107752 PMCID: PMC9491405 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c01146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The continuous spread of SARS-CoV-2 calls for more direct-acting antiviral agents to combat the highly infectious variants. The main protease (Mpro) is an promising target for anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug design. Here, we report the discovery of potent non-covalent non-peptide Mpro inhibitors featuring a 1,2,4-trisubstituted piperazine scaffold. We systematically modified the non-covalent hit MCULE-5948770040 by structure-based rational design combined with multi-site binding and privileged structure assembly strategies. The optimized compound GC-14 inhibits Mpro with high potency (IC50 = 0.40 μM) and displays excellent antiviral activity (EC50 = 1.1 μM), being more potent than Remdesivir. Notably, GC-14 exhibits low cytotoxicity (CC50 > 100 μM) and excellent target selectivity for SARS-CoV-2 Mpro (IC50 > 50 μM for cathepsins B, F, K, L, and caspase 3). X-ray co-crystal structures prove that the inhibitors occupy multiple subpockets by critical non-covalent interactions. These studies may provide a basis for developing a more efficient and safer therapy for COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shenghua Gao
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of
Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Shandong University, Ji’nan250012,
China
- Shenzhen Research Institute of Shandong
University, A301 Virtual University Park in South District of Shenzhen,
Guangdong518057, P. R. China
| | - Katharina Sylvester
- PharmaCenter Bonn & Pharmaceutical Institute,
Department of Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of
Bonn, An der Immenburg 4, Bonn53113, Germany
| | - Letian Song
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of
Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Shandong University, Ji’nan250012,
China
| | - Tobias Claff
- PharmaCenter Bonn & Pharmaceutical Institute,
Department of Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of
Bonn, An der Immenburg 4, Bonn53113, Germany
| | - Lanlan Jing
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of
Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Shandong University, Ji’nan250012,
China
| | - Molly Woodson
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology,
Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis,
Missouri63103, United States
- Saint Louis University Institute for Drug
and Biotherapeutic Innovation, St. Louis, Missouri63103, United
States
| | - Renato H. Weiße
- Institute of Bioanalytical Chemistry, Center for
Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Leipzig University, Deutscher
Platz 5, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Yusen Cheng
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of
Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Shandong University, Ji’nan250012,
China
| | - Laura Schäkel
- PharmaCenter Bonn & Pharmaceutical Institute,
Department of Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of
Bonn, An der Immenburg 4, Bonn53113, Germany
| | - Marvin Petry
- PharmaCenter Bonn & Pharmaceutical Institute,
Department of Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of
Bonn, An der Immenburg 4, Bonn53113, Germany
| | - Michael Gütschow
- PharmaCenter Bonn & Pharmaceutical Institute,
Department of Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of
Bonn, An der Immenburg 4, Bonn53113, Germany
| | - Anke C. Schiedel
- PharmaCenter Bonn & Pharmaceutical Institute,
Department of Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of
Bonn, An der Immenburg 4, Bonn53113, Germany
| | - Norbert Sträter
- Institute of Bioanalytical Chemistry, Center for
Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Leipzig University, Deutscher
Platz 5, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Dongwei Kang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of
Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Shandong University, Ji’nan250012,
China
| | - Shujing Xu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of
Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Shandong University, Ji’nan250012,
China
| | - Karoly Toth
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology,
Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis,
Missouri63103, United States
- Saint Louis University Institute for Drug
and Biotherapeutic Innovation, St. Louis, Missouri63103, United
States
| | - John Tavis
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology,
Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis,
Missouri63103, United States
- Saint Louis University Institute for Drug
and Biotherapeutic Innovation, St. Louis, Missouri63103, United
States
| | - Ann E. Tollefson
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology,
Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis,
Missouri63103, United States
- Saint Louis University Institute for Drug
and Biotherapeutic Innovation, St. Louis, Missouri63103, United
States
| | - Christa E. Müller
- PharmaCenter Bonn & Pharmaceutical Institute,
Department of Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of
Bonn, An der Immenburg 4, Bonn53113, Germany
| | - Xinyong Liu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of
Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Shandong University, Ji’nan250012,
China
| | - Peng Zhan
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of
Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Shandong University, Ji’nan250012,
China
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A multi-pronged evaluation of aldehyde-based tripeptidyl main protease inhibitors as SARS-CoV-2 antivirals. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 240:114570. [PMID: 35779291 PMCID: PMC9235293 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
As an essential enzyme of SARS-CoV-2, the COVID-19 pathogen, main protease (MPro) is a viable target to develop antivirals for the treatment of COVID-19. By varying chemical compositions at both P2 and P3 positions and the N-terminal protection group, we synthesized 18 tripeptidyl MPro inhibitors that contained also an aldehyde warhead and β-(S-2-oxopyrrolidin-3-yl)-alaninal at the P1 position. Systematic characterizations of these inhibitors were conducted, including their in vitro enzymatic inhibition potency, X-ray crystal structures of their complexes with MPro, their inhibition of MPro transiently expressed in 293T cells, and cellular toxicity and SARS-CoV-2 antiviral potency of selected inhibitors. These inhibitors have a large variation of determined in vitro enzymatic inhibition IC50 values that range from 4.8 to 650 nM. The determined in vitro enzymatic inhibition IC50 values reveal that relatively small side chains at both P2 and P3 positions are favorable for achieving high in vitro MPro inhibition potency, the P3 position is tolerable toward unnatural amino acids with two alkyl substituents on the α-carbon, and the inhibition potency is sensitive toward the N-terminal protection group. X-ray crystal structures of MPro bound with 16 inhibitors were determined. In all structures, the MPro active site cysteine interacts covalently with the aldehyde warhead of the bound inhibitor to form a hemithioacetal that takes an S configuration. For all inhibitors, election density around the N-terminal protection group is weak indicating possible flexible binding of this group to MPro. In MPro, large structural variations were observed on residues N142 and Q189. Unlike their high in vitro enzymatic inhibition potency, most inhibitors showed low potency to inhibit MPro that was transiently expressed in 293T cells. Inhibitors that showed high potency to inhibit MPro transiently expressed in 293T cells all contain O-tert-butyl-threonine at the P3 position. These inhibitors also exhibited relatively low cytotoxicity and high antiviral potency. Overall, our current and previous studies indicate that O-tert-butyl-threonine at the P3 site is a key component to achieve high cellular and antiviral potency for tripeptidyl aldehyde inhibitors of MPro.
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Alugubelli YR, Geng ZZ, Yang KS, Shaabani N, Khatua K, Ma XR, Vatansever EC, Cho CC, Ma Y, Xiao J, Blankenship LR, Yu G, Sankaran B, Li P, Allen R, Ji H, Xu S, Liu WR. A systematic exploration of boceprevir-based main protease inhibitors as SARS-CoV-2 antivirals. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 240:114596. [PMID: 35839690 PMCID: PMC9264725 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Boceprevir is an HCV NSP3 inhibitor that was explored as a repurposed drug for COVID-19. It inhibits the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (MPro) and contains an α-ketoamide warhead, a P1 β-cyclobutylalanyl moiety, a P2 dimethylcyclopropylproline, a P3 tert-butylglycine, and a P4 N-terminal tert-butylcarbamide. By introducing modifications at all four positions, we synthesized 20 boceprevir-based MPro inhibitors including PF-07321332 and characterized their MPro inhibition potency in test tubes (in vitro) and 293T cells (in cellulo). Crystal structures of MPro bound with 10 inhibitors and cytotoxicity and antiviral potency of 4 inhibitors were characterized as well. Replacing the P1 site with a β-(S-2-oxopyrrolidin-3-yl)-alanyl (Opal) residue and the warhead with an aldehyde leads to high in vitro potency. The original moieties at P2, P3 and the P4 N-terminal cap positions in boceprevir are better than other tested chemical moieties for high in vitro potency. In crystal structures, all inhibitors form a covalent adduct with the MPro active site cysteine. The P1 Opal residue, P2 dimethylcyclopropylproline and P4 N-terminal tert-butylcarbamide make strong hydrophobic interactions with MPro, explaining high in vitro potency of inhibitors that contain these moieties. A unique observation was made with an inhibitor that contains a P4 N-terminal isovaleramide. In its MPro complex structure, the P4 N-terminal isovaleramide is tucked deep in a small pocket of MPro that originally recognizes a P4 alanine side chain in a substrate. Although all inhibitors show high in vitro potency, they have drastically different in cellulo potency to inhibit ectopically expressed MPro in human 293T cells. In general, inhibitors with a P4 N-terminal carbamide or amide have low in cellulo potency. This trend is reversed when the P4 N-terminal cap is changed to a carbamate. The installation of a P3 O-tert-butyl-threonine improves in cellulo potency. Three molecules that contain a P4 N-terminal carbamate were advanced to cytotoxicity tests on 293T cells and antiviral potency tests on three SARS-CoV-2 variants. They all have relatively low cytotoxicity and high antiviral potency with EC50 values around 1 μM. A control compound with a nitrile warhead and a P4 N-terminal amide has undetectable antiviral potency. Based on all observations, we conclude that a P4 N-terminal carbamate in a boceprevir derivative is key for high antiviral potency against SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yugendar R Alugubelli
- Texas A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Zhi Zachary Geng
- Texas A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Kai S Yang
- Texas A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | | | - Kaustav Khatua
- Texas A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Xinyu R Ma
- Texas A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Erol C Vatansever
- Texas A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Chia-Chuan Cho
- Texas A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Yuying Ma
- Texas A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Jing Xiao
- Texas A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Lauren R Blankenship
- Texas A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Ge Yu
- Texas A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Banumathi Sankaran
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging, Berkeley Center for Structural Biology, Laurence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Pingwei Li
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Robert Allen
- Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. San Diego, CA, 92121, USA
| | - Henry Ji
- Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. San Diego, CA, 92121, USA.
| | - Shiqing Xu
- Texas A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
| | - Wenshe Ray Liu
- Texas A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA; Institute of Biosciences and Technology and Department of Translational Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, Houston, TX, 77030, USA; Department of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
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80
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Jing Z, Ren P. Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Protein RNA Complexes by Using an Advanced Electrostatic Model. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:7343-7353. [PMID: 36107618 PMCID: PMC9530969 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c05278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Protein-RNA interactions are integral to the biological functions of RNA. It is well recognized that molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of protein-RNA complexes are more challenging than those of each component. The difficulty arises from the strong electrostatic interactions and the delicate balance between various types of physical forces at the interface. Previously, MD simulations of protein-RNA complexes have predominantly employed fixed-charge force fields. Although force field modifications have been developed to address problems identified in the simulations, some protein-RNA structures are still hard to reproduce by simulations. Here, we present MD simulations of two representative protein-RNA complexes using the AMOEBA polarizable force field. The van der Waals parameters were refined to reproduce accurate quantum-mechanical data of base-base and base-amino acid interactions. It was found that the refined parameters produced a more stable hydrogen-bond network in the interface. One of the complexes remained stable during the short simulations, whereas it could quickly break down in previous simulations using fixed-charge force fields. There was reversible breaking and formation of hydrogen bonds that are observed in the crystal structure, which may indicate the difference in solution and crystal structures. While further improvement and validation of the force fields are still needed, this work demonstrates that polarizable force fields are promising for the study of protein-RNA complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhifeng Jing
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712
| | - Pengyu Ren
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712
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81
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Desmarets L, Callens N, Hoffmann E, Danneels A, Lavie M, Couturier C, Dubuisson J, Belouzard S, Rouillé Y. A reporter cell line for the automated quantification of SARS-CoV-2 infection in living cells. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1031204. [PMID: 36246297 PMCID: PMC9558224 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1031204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the urgent need for massive antiviral testing highlighted the lack of a good cell-based assay that allowed for a fast, automated screening of antivirals in high-throughput content with minimal handling requirements in a BSL-3 environment. The present paper describes the construction of a green fluorescent substrate that, upon cleavage by the SARS-CoV-2 main protease, re-localizes from the cytoplasm in non-infected cells to the nucleus in infected cells. The construction was stably expressed, together with a red fluorescent nuclear marker, in a highly susceptible clone derived from Vero-81 cells. With this fluorescent reporter cell line, named F1G-red, SARS-CoV-2 infection can be scored automatically in living cells by comparing the patterns of green and red fluorescence signals acquired by automated confocal microscopy in a 384-well plate format. We show the F1G-red system is sensitive to several SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and that it can be used to assess antiviral activities of compounds in dose-response experiments. This high-throughput system will provide a reliable tool for antiviral screening against SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lowiese Desmarets
- CNRS UMR 9017, INSERM U1019 Centre d’Infection et Immunité de Lille (CIIL), Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université de Lille, Lille, France
| | - Nathalie Callens
- CNRS UMR 9017, INSERM U1019 Centre d’Infection et Immunité de Lille (CIIL), Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université de Lille, Lille, France
| | - Eik Hoffmann
- CNRS UMR 9017, INSERM U1019 Centre d’Infection et Immunité de Lille (CIIL), Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université de Lille, Lille, France
| | - Adeline Danneels
- CNRS UMR 9017, INSERM U1019 Centre d’Infection et Immunité de Lille (CIIL), Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université de Lille, Lille, France
| | - Muriel Lavie
- CNRS UMR 9017, INSERM U1019 Centre d’Infection et Immunité de Lille (CIIL), Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université de Lille, Lille, France
| | - Cyril Couturier
- INSERM U1177-Drugs and Molecules for Living Systems, Institut Pasteur Lille, Université de Lille, Lille, France
| | - Jean Dubuisson
- CNRS UMR 9017, INSERM U1019 Centre d’Infection et Immunité de Lille (CIIL), Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université de Lille, Lille, France
| | - Sandrine Belouzard
- CNRS UMR 9017, INSERM U1019 Centre d’Infection et Immunité de Lille (CIIL), Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université de Lille, Lille, France
| | - Yves Rouillé
- CNRS UMR 9017, INSERM U1019 Centre d’Infection et Immunité de Lille (CIIL), Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université de Lille, Lille, France
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82
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Ghosh AK, Mishevich JL, Mesecar A, Mitsuya H. Recent Drug Development and Medicinal Chemistry Approaches for the Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and COVID-19. ChemMedChem 2022; 17:e202200440. [PMID: 36165855 PMCID: PMC9538661 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202200440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Revised: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection, continues to be a major public health crisis around the globe. Development of vaccines and the first cluster of antiviral drugs has brought promise and hope for prevention and treatment of severe coronavirus disease. However, continued development of newer, safer, and more effective antiviral drugs are critically important to combat COVID-19 and counter the looming pathogenic variants. Studies of the coronavirus life cycle revealed several important biochemical targets for drug development. In the present review, we focus on recent drug design and medicinal chemistry efforts in small molecule drug discovery, including the development of nirmatrelvir that targets viral protein synthesis and remdesivir and molnupiravir that target viral RdRp. These are recent FDA approved drugs for the treatment of COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arun K Ghosh
- Purdue UniversityDepartments of Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry560 Oval Drive47907West LafayetteUNITED STATES
| | | | - Andrew Mesecar
- Purdue University College of ScienceBiochemistryUNITED STATES
| | - Hiroaki Mitsuya
- National Cancer InstituteHIV and AIDS Malignancy BranchUNITED STATES
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83
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Hu X, Lin C, Xu Q, Zhou X, Zeng P, McCormick PJ, Jiang H, Li J, Zhang J. Structural Basis for the Inhibition of Coronaviral Main Proteases by a Benzothiazole-Based Inhibitor. Viruses 2022; 14:v14092075. [PMID: 36146880 PMCID: PMC9505605 DOI: 10.3390/v14092075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Revised: 09/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The ongoing spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused hundreds of millions of cases and millions of victims worldwide with serious consequences to global health and economies. Although many vaccines protecting against SARS-CoV-2 are currently available, constantly emerging new variants necessitate the development of alternative strategies for prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Inhibitors that target the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2, an essential enzyme that promotes viral maturation, represent a key class of antivirals. Here, we showed that a peptidomimetic compound with benzothiazolyl ketone as warhead, YH-53, is an effective inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV Mpros. Crystal structures of Mpros from SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV bound to the inhibitor YH-53 revealed a unique ligand-binding site, which provides new insights into the mechanism of inhibition of viral replication. A detailed analysis of these crystal structures defined the key molecular determinants required for inhibition and illustrate the binding mode of Mpros from other coronaviruses. In consideration of the important role of Mpro in developing antivirals against coronaviruses, insights derived from this study should add to the design of pan-coronaviral Mpro inhibitors that are safer and more effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohui Hu
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Cheng Lin
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, China
| | - Qin Xu
- Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201204, China
| | - Xuelan Zhou
- Shenzhen Crystalo Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shenzhen 518118, China
- Jiangxi Jmerry Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Ganzhou 341000, China
| | - Pei Zeng
- Shenzhen Crystalo Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shenzhen 518118, China
- Jiangxi Jmerry Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Ganzhou 341000, China
| | - Peter J. McCormick
- Centre for Endocrinology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Haihai Jiang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
- Correspondence: (H.J.); (J.L.); (J.Z.)
| | - Jian Li
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, China
- Correspondence: (H.J.); (J.L.); (J.Z.)
| | - Jin Zhang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
- Correspondence: (H.J.); (J.L.); (J.Z.)
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84
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Karwounopoulos J, Wieder M, Boresch S. Relative binding free energy calculations with transformato: A molecular dynamics engine-independent tool. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:954638. [PMID: 36148009 PMCID: PMC9485484 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.954638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
We present the software package transformato for the setup of large-scale relative binding free energy calculations. Transformato is written in Python as an open source project (https://github.com/wiederm/transformato); in contrast to comparable tools, it is not closely tied to a particular molecular dynamics engine to carry out the underlying simulations. Instead of alchemically transforming a ligand L1 directly into another L2, the two ligands are mutated to a common core. Thus, while dummy atoms are required at intermediate states, in particular at the common core state, none are present at the physical endstates. To validate the method, we calculated 76 relative binding free energy differences ΔΔGL1→L2bind for five protein–ligand systems. The overall root mean squared error to experimental binding free energies is 1.17 kcal/mol with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.73. For selected cases, we checked that the relative binding free energy differences between pairs of ligands do not depend on the choice of the intermediate common core structure. Additionally, we report results with and without hydrogen mass reweighting. The code currently supports OpenMM, CHARMM, and CHARMM/OpenMM directly. Since the program logic to choose and construct alchemical transformation paths is separated from the generation of input and topology/parameter files, extending transformato to support additional molecular dynamics engines is straightforward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Karwounopoulos
- Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Computational Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Vienna Doctoral School of Chemistry (DoSChem), University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Marcus Wieder
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- *Correspondence: Marcus Wieder, ; Stefan Boresch,
| | - Stefan Boresch
- Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Computational Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- *Correspondence: Marcus Wieder, ; Stefan Boresch,
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85
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Sulimov A, Ilin I, Kutov D, Shikhaliev K, Shcherbakov D, Pyankov O, Stolpovskaya N, Medvedeva S, Sulimov V. New Chemicals Suppressing SARS-CoV-2 Replication in Cell Culture. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27175732. [PMID: 36080498 PMCID: PMC9457583 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27175732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Candidates to being inhibitors of the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 were selected from the database of Voronezh State University using molecular modeling. The database contained approximately 19,000 compounds represented by more than 41,000 ligand conformers. These ligands were docked into Mpro using the SOL docking program. For one thousand ligands with best values of the SOL score, the protein–ligand binding enthalpy was calculated by the PM7 quantum-chemical method with the COSMO solvent model. Using the SOL score and the calculated protein–ligand binding enthalpies, eighteen compounds were selected for the experiments. Several of these inhibitors suppressed the replication of the coronavirus in cell culture, and we used the best three among them in the search for chemical analogs. Selection among analogs using the same procedure followed by experiments led to identification of seven inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 replication in cell culture with EC50 values at the micromolar level. The identified inhibitors belong to three chemical classes. The three inhibitors, 4,4-dimethyldithioquinoline derivatives, inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication in Vero E6 cell culture just as effectively as the best published non-covalent inhibitors, and show low cytotoxicity. These results open up a possibility to develop antiviral drugs against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexey Sulimov
- Dimonta Ltd., 15 Nagornaya Str., Bldg 8, 117186 Moscow, Russia
- Research Computing Center, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory, 1, Building 4, 119234 Moscow, Russia
| | - Ivan Ilin
- Dimonta Ltd., 15 Nagornaya Str., Bldg 8, 117186 Moscow, Russia
- Research Computing Center, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory, 1, Building 4, 119234 Moscow, Russia
| | - Danil Kutov
- Dimonta Ltd., 15 Nagornaya Str., Bldg 8, 117186 Moscow, Russia
- Research Computing Center, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory, 1, Building 4, 119234 Moscow, Russia
- Correspondence: (D.K.); (V.S.)
| | - Khidmet Shikhaliev
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Voronezh State University, 1 Universitetskaya Sq., 394018 Voronezh, Russia
| | - Dmitriy Shcherbakov
- State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology “Vector”, 630559 Koltsovo, Russia
| | - Oleg Pyankov
- State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology “Vector”, 630559 Koltsovo, Russia
| | - Nadezhda Stolpovskaya
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Voronezh State University, 1 Universitetskaya Sq., 394018 Voronezh, Russia
| | - Svetlana Medvedeva
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Voronezh State University, 1 Universitetskaya Sq., 394018 Voronezh, Russia
| | - Vladimir Sulimov
- Dimonta Ltd., 15 Nagornaya Str., Bldg 8, 117186 Moscow, Russia
- Research Computing Center, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory, 1, Building 4, 119234 Moscow, Russia
- Correspondence: (D.K.); (V.S.)
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86
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X-ray crystallographic characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease polyprotein cleavage sites essential for viral processing and maturation. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5196. [PMID: 36057636 PMCID: PMC9440467 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32854-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the pathogen that causes COVID-19, produces polyproteins 1a and 1ab that contain, respectively, 11 or 16 non-structural proteins (nsp). Nsp5 is the main protease (Mpro) responsible for cleavage at eleven positions along these polyproteins, including at its own N- and C-terminal boundaries, representing essential processing events for viral assembly and maturation. Using C-terminally substituted Mpro chimeras, we have determined X-ray crystallographic structures of Mpro in complex with 10 of its 11 viral cleavage sites, bound at full occupancy intermolecularly in trans, within the active site of either the native enzyme and/or a catalytic mutant (C145A). Capture of both acyl-enzyme intermediate and product-like complex forms of a P2(Leu) substrate in the native active site provides direct comparative characterization of these mechanistic steps as well as further informs the basis for enhanced product release of Mpro’s own unique C-terminal P2(Phe) cleavage site to prevent autoinhibition. We characterize the underlying noncovalent interactions governing binding and specificity for this diverse set of substrates, showing remarkable plasticity for subsites beyond the anchoring P1(Gln)-P2(Leu/Val/Phe), representing together a near complete analysis of a multiprocessing viral protease. Collectively, these crystallographic snapshots provide valuable mechanistic and structural insights for antiviral therapeutic development. The SARS-CoV-2 protease Mpro is essential for viral replication. Here, the authors have determined the structures of Mpro in complex with 10 of the 11 viral cleavage sequences including a covalent acyl-enzyme intermediate, providing mechanistic and structural insights for antiviral development.
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87
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Hu Q, Xiong Y, Zhu G, Zhang Y, Zhang Y, Huang P, Ge G. The SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M pro): Structure, function, and emerging therapies for COVID-19. MedComm (Beijing) 2022; 3:e151. [PMID: 35845352 PMCID: PMC9283855 DOI: 10.1002/mco2.151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The main proteases (Mpro), also termed 3-chymotrypsin-like proteases (3CLpro), are a class of highly conserved cysteine hydrolases in β-coronaviruses. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that 3CLpros play an indispensable role in viral replication and have been recognized as key targets for preventing and treating coronavirus-caused infectious diseases, including COVID-19. This review is focused on the structural features and biological function of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) main protease Mpro (also known as 3CLpro), as well as recent advances in discovering and developing SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitors. To better understand the characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitors, the inhibition activities, inhibitory mechanisms, and key structural features of various 3CLpro inhibitors (including marketed drugs, peptidomimetic, and non-peptidomimetic synthetic compounds, as well as natural compounds and their derivatives) are summarized comprehensively. Meanwhile, the challenges in this field are highlighted, while future directions for designing and developing efficacious 3CLpro inhibitors as novel anti-coronavirus therapies are also proposed. Collectively, all information and knowledge presented here are very helpful for understanding the structural features and inhibitory mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitors, which offers new insights or inspiration to medicinal chemists for designing and developing more efficacious 3CLpro inhibitors as novel anti-coronavirus agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Hu
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of TCM Chemical BiologyInstitute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine ResearchShanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineShanghaiChina
- Clinical Pharmacy CenterCancer CenterDepartment of PharmacyZhejiang Provincial People's HospitalAffiliated People's HospitalHangzhou Medical College, HangzhouZhejiangChina
| | - Yuan Xiong
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of TCM Chemical BiologyInstitute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine ResearchShanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineShanghaiChina
| | - Guang‐Hao Zhu
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of TCM Chemical BiologyInstitute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine ResearchShanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineShanghaiChina
| | - Ya‐Ni Zhang
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of TCM Chemical BiologyInstitute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine ResearchShanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineShanghaiChina
| | - Yi‐Wen Zhang
- Clinical Pharmacy CenterCancer CenterDepartment of PharmacyZhejiang Provincial People's HospitalAffiliated People's HospitalHangzhou Medical College, HangzhouZhejiangChina
| | - Ping Huang
- Clinical Pharmacy CenterCancer CenterDepartment of PharmacyZhejiang Provincial People's HospitalAffiliated People's HospitalHangzhou Medical College, HangzhouZhejiangChina
| | - Guang‐Bo Ge
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of TCM Chemical BiologyInstitute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine ResearchShanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineShanghaiChina
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88
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Li J, Lin C, Zhou X, Zhong F, Zeng P, McCormick PJ, Jiang H, Zhang J. Structural Basis of Main Proteases of Coronavirus Bound to Drug Candidate PF-07304814. J Mol Biol 2022; 434:167706. [PMID: 35809383 PMCID: PMC9259064 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
New variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged and spread rapidly all over the world, which strongly supports the need for pharmacological options to complement vaccine strategies. Main protease (Mpro or 3CLpro) is a critical enzyme in the life cycle of SARS-CoV-2 and appears to be highly conserved among different genera of coronaviruses, making it an ideal target for the development of drugs with broad-spectrum property. PF-07304814 developed by Pfizer is an intravenously administered inhibitor targeting SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. Here we showed that PF-07304814 displays broad-spectrum inhibitory activity against Mpros from multiple coronaviruses. Crystal structures of Mpros of SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and HCoV-NL63 bound to the inhibitor PF-07304814 revealed a conserved ligand-binding site, providing new insights into the mechanism of inhibition of viral replication. A detailed analysis of these crystal structures complemented by comprehensive comparison defined the key structural determinants essential for inhibition and illustrated the binding mode of action of Mpros from different coronaviruses. In view of the importance of Mpro for the medications of SARS-CoV-2 infection, insights derived from the present study should accelerate the design of pan-coronaviral main protease inhibitors that are safer and more effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Li
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, China
| | - Cheng Lin
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Xuelan Zhou
- Shenzhen Crystalo Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Shenzhen 518118, China,Jiangxi Jmerry Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Ganzhou 341000, China
| | - Fanglin Zhong
- Shenzhen Crystalo Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Shenzhen 518118, China,Jiangxi Jmerry Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Ganzhou 341000, China
| | - Pei Zeng
- Shenzhen Crystalo Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Shenzhen 518118, China,Jiangxi Jmerry Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Ganzhou 341000, China
| | - Peter J. McCormick
- Centre for Endocrinology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Haihai Jiang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China,Corresponding authors
| | - Jin Zhang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China,Corresponding authors
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89
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Dou X, Sun Q, Xu G, Liu Y, Zhang C, Wang B, Lu Y, Guo Z, Su L, Huo T, Zhao X, Wang C, Yu Z, Song S, Zhang L, Liu Z, Lai L, Jiao N. Discovery of 2-(furan-2-ylmethylene)hydrazine-1-carbothioamide derivatives as novel inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main protease. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 238:114508. [PMID: 35688005 PMCID: PMC9162962 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Revised: 05/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 posed a serious threat to human life and health, and SARS-CoV-2 Mpro has been considered as an attractive drug target for the treatment of COVID-19. Herein, we report 2-(furan-2-ylmethylene)hydrazine-1-carbothioamide derivatives as novel inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro developed by in-house library screening and biological evaluation. Similarity search led to the identification of compound F8–S43 with the enzymatic IC50 value of 10.76 μM. Further structure-based drug design and synthetic optimization uncovered compounds F8–B6 and F8–B22 as novel non-peptidomimetic inhibitors of Mpro with IC50 values of 1.57 μM and 1.55 μM, respectively. Moreover, enzymatic kinetic assay and mass spectrometry demonstrated that F8–B6 was a reversible covalent inhibitor of Mpro. Besides, F8–B6 showed low cytotoxicity with CC50 values of more than 100 μM in Vero and MDCK cells. Overall, these novel SARS-CoV-2 Mpro non-peptidomimetic inhibitors provide a useful starting point for further structural optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaodong Dou
- State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Qi Sun
- BNLMS, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Guofeng Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Yameng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Caifang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Bingding Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Yangbin Lu
- BNLMS, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Zheng Guo
- BNLMS, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Lingyu Su
- State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Tongyu Huo
- State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Xinyi Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Chen Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Zhongtian Yu
- BNLMS, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Song Song
- State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Liangren Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Zhenming Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Luhua Lai
- BNLMS, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; Center for Quantitative Biology, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
| | - Ning Jiao
- State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.
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90
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Cai J, Zhao L, Li Y, He C, Wang C, Duan C. Binding of Dual-Function Hybridized Metal -Organic Capsules to Enzymes for Cascade Catalysis. JACS AU 2022; 2:1736-1746. [PMID: 35911460 PMCID: PMC9327082 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.2c00322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The combination of chemo- and biocatalysis for multistep syntheses provides attractive advantages in terms of evolvability, promiscuity, and sustainability striving for desirable catalytic performance. Through the encapsulation of flavin analogues by both NADH and heme mimics codecorated heteroleptic metal-organic capsules, herein, we report a progressive host-guest strategy to imitate cytochrome P450s catalysis for cascade oxidative coupling catalysis. Besides the construction of stable dual-function metal-organic capsules and the modification of cofactor-decorated capsules at the domain of enzymes, this supramolecular strategy involves multistage directional electron flow, affording reactive ferric peroxide species for inducing oxygenation. Under light irradiation, the metal-organic capsule selectively converts stilbene to oxidative coupling products (including 2-oxo-1,2-diphenylethyl formate, 2-alkoxy-1,2-diphenylethanone) in tandem with enzymatic reactions respectively, at the domain of natural enzymes. The ingenious combination of capsules and enzymes with the in situ-regenerated capsule-loaded NADH cofactor promises non-native coupling reactions by forming regional cooperation and division. This abiotic-biotic conjugated host-guest strategy is conducive to the de novo creation of multifunctional components approaching active enzymatic sites for reinforced matter and energy transporting, demonstrating a key role of multicomponent supramolecular catalysts for one-pot integrated catalytic conversions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junkai Cai
- State
Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Zhang Dayu School of Chemistry, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, People’s Republic of China
- State
Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, People’s Republic
of China
| | - Liang Zhao
- State
Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Zhang Dayu School of Chemistry, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yanan Li
- State
Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Zhang Dayu School of Chemistry, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, People’s Republic of China
| | - Cheng He
- State
Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Zhang Dayu School of Chemistry, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, People’s Republic of China
| | - Chong Wang
- State
Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Zhang Dayu School of Chemistry, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, People’s Republic of China
| | - Chunying Duan
- State
Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Zhang Dayu School of Chemistry, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, People’s Republic of China
- State
Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, People’s Republic
of China
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91
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Daoui O, Elkhattabi S, Chtita S. Rational identification of small molecules derived from 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene as potential inhibitors of 3CL pro enzyme for COVID-19 therapy: a computer-aided drug design approach. Struct Chem 2022; 33:1667-1690. [PMID: 35818588 PMCID: PMC9261181 DOI: 10.1007/s11224-022-02004-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Small molecules such as 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene derivatives have remarkable activity toward inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro and COVID-19 proliferation, which show a strong correlation between their structures and bioactivity. Therefore, these small compounds could be suitable for clinical pharmaceutical use against COVID-19. The objective of this study was to remodel the structures of 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene derivatives to achieve a powerful biological activity against 3CLpro and favorable pharmacokinetic properties for drug design and discovery. Therefore, by the use of bioinformatics techniques, we developed robust 3D-QSAR models that are capable of describing the structure-activity relationship for 46 molecules based on 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene derivatives using CoMFA/SE (R 2 = 0.97, Q 2 = 0.81, R 2 pred = 0.95, c R 2 p = 0.71) and CoMSIA/SEHDA (R 2 = 0.94, Q 2 = 0.76, R 2 pred = 0.91, c R 2 p = 0.65) techniques. Accordingly, 96 lead compounds were generated based on a template molecule that showed the highest observed activity in vitro (T40, pIC50 = 5.81) and predicted their activities and bioavailability in silico. The rational screening outputs of 3D-QSAR, Molecular docking, ADMET, and MM-GBSA led to the identification of 9 novel modeled molecules as potent noncovalent drugs against SARS-CoV-2-3CLpro. Finally, by molecular dynamics simulations, the stability and structural dynamics of 3CLpro free and complex (PDB code: 6LU7) were discussed in the presence of samples of 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene derivative in an aqueous environment. Overall, the retrosynthesis of the proposed drug compounds in this study and the evaluation of their bioactivity in vitro and in vivo may be interesting for designing and discovering a new drug effective against COVID-19. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11224-022-02004-z.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ossama Daoui
- Laboratory of Engineering, Systems and Applications, National School of Applied Sciences, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah-Fez University, BP Box 72, Fez, Morocco
| | - Souad Elkhattabi
- Laboratory of Engineering, Systems and Applications, National School of Applied Sciences, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah-Fez University, BP Box 72, Fez, Morocco
| | - Samir Chtita
- Laboratory of Analytical and Molecular Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences Ben M’Sik, Hassan II University of Casablanca, B.P 7955 Casablanca, Morocco
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92
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Exploration of chalcones as 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro) inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 using computational approaches. Struct Chem 2022; 33:1707-1725. [PMID: 35811783 PMCID: PMC9253262 DOI: 10.1007/s11224-022-02000-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
The main protease 3CLpro is one of the potential targets against coronavirus. Inhibiting this enzyme leads to the interruption of viral replication. Chalcone and its derivatives were reported to possess the ability to bind to 3CLpro protease in the binding pocket. This study explored an in-house database of 269 chalcones as 3CLpro inhibitors using in silico screening models, including molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, binding free energy calculation, and ADME prediction. C264 and C235 stand out as the two most potential structures. The top hit compound C264 was with the Jamda score of −2.8329 and the MM/GBSA binding energy mean value of −28.23 ± 3.53 kcal/mol, which was lower than the reference ligand. Despite the lower mean binding energy (−22.07 ± 3.39 kcal/mol), in-depth analysis of binding interaction suggested C235 could be another potential candidate. Further, in vitro and in vivo experiments are required to confirm the inhibitory ability.
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93
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Proia E, Ragno A, Antonini L, Sabatino M, Mladenovič M, Capobianco R, Ragno R. Ligand-based and structure-based studies to develop predictive models for SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors through the 3d-qsar.com portal. J Comput Aided Mol Des 2022; 36:483-505. [PMID: 35716228 PMCID: PMC9206107 DOI: 10.1007/s10822-022-00460-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 05/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The main protease (Mpro) of SARS-Cov-2 is the essential enzyme for maturation of functional proteins implicated in viral replication and transcription. The peculiarity of its specific cleavage site joint with its high degree of conservation among all coronaviruses promote it as an attractive target to develop broad-spectrum inhibitors, with high selectivity and tolerable safety profile. Herein is reported a combination of three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationships (3-D QSAR) and comparative molecular binding energy (COMBINE) analysis to build robust and predictive ligand-based and structure-based statistical models, respectively. Models were trained on experimental binding poses of co-crystallized Mpro-inhibitors and validated on available literature data. By means of deep optimization both models' goodness and robustness reached final statistical values of r2/q2 values of 0.97/0.79 and 0.93/0.79 for the 3-D QSAR and COMBINE approaches respectively, and an overall predictiveness values of 0.68 and 0.57 for the SDEPPRED and AAEP metrics after application to a test set of 60 compounds covered by the training set applicability domain. Despite the different nature (ligand-based and structure-based) of the employed methods, their outcome fully converged. Furthermore, joint ligand- and structure-based structure-activity relationships were found in good agreement with nirmatrelvir chemical features properties, a novel oral Mpro-inhibitor that has recently received U.S. FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) for the oral treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infected patients. The obtained results will guide future rational design and/or virtual screening campaigns with the aim of discovering new potential anti-coronavirus lead candidates, minimizing both time and financial resources. Moreover, as most of calculation were performed through the well-established web portal 3d-qsar.com the results confirm the portal as a useful tool for drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Proia
- Department of Drug Chemistry and Technology, Rome Center for Molecular Design, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Alessio Ragno
- Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering "Antonio Ruberti", Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Antonini
- Department of Drug Chemistry and Technology, Rome Center for Molecular Design, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Manuela Sabatino
- Department of Drug Chemistry and Technology, Rome Center for Molecular Design, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Milan Mladenovič
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Kragujevac Center for Computational Biochemistry, University of Kragujevac, Radoja Domanovića 12, P.O. Box 60, 34000, Kragujevac, Serbia
| | - Roberto Capobianco
- Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering "Antonio Ruberti", Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Sony AI, Rome, Italy
| | - Rino Ragno
- Department of Drug Chemistry and Technology, Rome Center for Molecular Design, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy.
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94
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Thakur A, Sharma G, Badavath VN, Jayaprakash V, Merz KM, Blum G, Acevedo O. Primer for Designing Main Protease (M pro) Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2. J Phys Chem Lett 2022; 13:5776-5786. [PMID: 35726889 PMCID: PMC9235046 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c01193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 outbreak has been devastating, with hundreds of millions of infections and millions of deaths reported worldwide. In response, the application of structure-activity relationships (SAR) upon experimentally validated inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) may provide an avenue for the identification of new lead compounds active against COVID-19. Upon the basis of information gleaned from a combination of reported crystal structures and the docking of experimentally validated inhibitors, four "rules" for designing potent Mpro inhibitors have been proposed. The aim here is to guide medicinal chemists toward the most probable hits and to provide guidance on repurposing available structures as Mpro inhibitors. Experimental examination of our own previously reported inhibitors using the four "rules" identified a potential lead compound, the cathepsin inhibitor GB111-NH2, that was 2.3 times more potent than SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitor N3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhishek Thakur
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Gaurav Sharma
- Department
of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Vishnu Nayak Badavath
- School
of Pharmacy & Technology Management, SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Hyderabad 509301, India
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand 835 215, India
| | - Venkatesan Jayaprakash
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand 835 215, India
| | - Kenneth M. Merz
- Department
of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Galia Blum
- Institute
for Drug Research, The Hebrew University
of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 9112001, Israel
| | - Orlando Acevedo
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
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95
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Deodato D, Asad N, Dore TM. Discovery of 2-Thiobenzimidazoles as Noncovalent Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2022; 72:128867. [PMID: 35760254 PMCID: PMC9225965 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2022.128867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The discovery of antiviral agents against SARS-CoV-2 is an important step toward ending the COVID-19 pandemic and to tackle future outbreaks. In this context, the main protease (Mpro) represents an ideal target for developing coronavirus antivirals, being conserved among different strains and essential for survival. In this work, using in silico tools, we created and validated a docking protocol able to predict binders to the catalytic site of Mpro. The following structure-based virtual screening of a subset of the ZINC library (over 4.3 million unique structures), led to the identification of a hit compound having a 2-thiobenzimidazole scaffold. The inhibitory activity was confirmed using a FRET-based proteolytic assay against recombinant Mpro. Structure-activity relationships were obtained with the synthesis of a small library of analogs, guided by the analysis of the docking pose. Our efforts led to the identification of a micromolar Mpro inhibitor (IC50 = 14.9 µM) with an original scaffold possessing ideal drug-like properties (predicted using the QikProp function) and representing a promising lead for the development of a novel class of coronavirus antivirals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Deodato
- New York University Abu Dhabi, PO Box 129188, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Nadeem Asad
- New York University Abu Dhabi, PO Box 129188, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Timothy M Dore
- New York University Abu Dhabi, PO Box 129188, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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96
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Munafò F, Donati E, Brindani N, Ottonello G, Armirotti A, De Vivo M. Quercetin and luteolin are single-digit micromolar inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Sci Rep 2022; 12:10571. [PMID: 35732785 PMCID: PMC9216299 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-14664-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has rapidly become a global health pandemic. Among the viral proteins, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) is responsible for viral genome replication and has emerged as one of the most promising targets for pharmacological intervention against SARS-CoV-2. To this end, we experimentally tested luteolin and quercetin for their ability to inhibit the RdRp enzyme. These two compounds are ancestors of flavonoid natural compounds known for a variety of basal pharmacological activities. Luteolin and quercetin returned a single-digit IC50 of 4.6 µM and 6.9 µM, respectively. Then, through dynamic docking simulations, we identified possible binding modes of these compounds to a recently published cryo-EM structure of RdRp. Collectively, these data indicate that these two compounds are a valid starting point for further optimization and development of a new class of RdRp inhibitors to treat SARS-CoV-2 and potentially other viral infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Munafò
- Molecular Modeling and Drug Discovery Lab, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, via Morego 30, 16163, Genoa, Italy
| | - Elisa Donati
- Molecular Modeling and Drug Discovery Lab, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, via Morego 30, 16163, Genoa, Italy
| | - Nicoletta Brindani
- Molecular Modeling and Drug Discovery Lab, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, via Morego 30, 16163, Genoa, Italy
| | - Giuliana Ottonello
- Analytical Chemistry Facility, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, via Morego, 30, 16163, Genoa, Italy
| | - Andrea Armirotti
- Analytical Chemistry Facility, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, via Morego, 30, 16163, Genoa, Italy
| | - Marco De Vivo
- Molecular Modeling and Drug Discovery Lab, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, via Morego 30, 16163, Genoa, Italy.
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97
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Nguyen TH, Tran PT, Pham NQA, Hoang VH, Hiep DM, Ngo ST. Identifying Possible AChE Inhibitors from Drug-like Molecules via Machine Learning and Experimental Studies. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:20673-20682. [PMID: 35755364 PMCID: PMC9219098 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c00908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is one of the most important drug targets for Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatment. In this work, a machine learning model was trained to rapidly and accurately screen large chemical databases for the potential inhibitors of AChE. The obtained results were then validated via in vitro enzyme assay. Moreover, atomistic simulations including molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations were then used to understand molecular insights into the binding process of ligands to AChE. In particular, two compounds including benzyl trifluoromethyl ketone and trifluoromethylstyryl ketone were indicated as highly potent inhibitors of AChE because they established IC50 values of 0.51 and 0.33 μM, respectively. The obtained IC50 of two compounds is significantly lower than that of galantamine (2.10 μM). The predicted log(BB) suggests that the compounds may be able to traverse the blood-brain barrier. A good agreement between computational and experimental studies was observed, indicating that the hybrid approach can enhance AD therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trung Hai Nguyen
- Laboratory
of Theoretical and Computational Biophysics, Advanced Institute of
Materials Science, Ton Duc Thang
University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Faculty
of Pharmacy, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Phuong-Thao Tran
- Hanoi
University of Pharmacy, 13-15 Le Thanh Tong, Hanoi 008404, Vietnam
| | - Ngoc Quynh Anh Pham
- Faculty
of Chemical Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City
University of Technology (HCMUT), Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
| | - Van-Hai Hoang
- Faculty
of Pharmacy, Phenikka University, Hanoi 008404, Vietnam
- Phenikka
Institute for Advanced Study, Phenikka University, Hanoi 008404, Vietnam
| | - Dinh Minh Hiep
- Department
of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
| | - Son Tung Ngo
- Laboratory
of Theoretical and Computational Biophysics, Advanced Institute of
Materials Science, Ton Duc Thang
University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Faculty
of Pharmacy, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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Shaqra AM, Zvornicanin SN, Huang QYJ, Lockbaum GJ, Knapp M, Tandeske L, Bakan DT, Flynn J, Bolon DNA, Moquin S, Dovala D, Kurt Yilmaz N, Schiffer CA. Defining the substrate envelope of SARS-CoV-2 main protease to predict and avoid drug resistance. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3556. [PMID: 35729165 PMCID: PMC9211792 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31210-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Coronaviruses can evolve and spread rapidly to cause severe disease morbidity and mortality, as exemplified by SARS-CoV-2 variants of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although currently available vaccines remain mostly effective against SARS-CoV-2 variants, additional treatment strategies are needed. Inhibitors that target essential viral enzymes, such as proteases and polymerases, represent key classes of antivirals. However, clinical use of antiviral therapies inevitably leads to emergence of drug resistance. In this study we implemented a strategy to pre-emptively address drug resistance to protease inhibitors targeting the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2, an essential enzyme that promotes viral maturation. We solved nine high-resolution cocrystal structures of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro bound to substrate peptides and six structures with cleavage products. These structures enabled us to define the substrate envelope of Mpro, map the critical recognition elements, and identify evolutionarily vulnerable sites that may be susceptible to resistance mutations that would compromise binding of the newly developed Mpro inhibitors. Our results suggest strategies for developing robust inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2 that will retain longer-lasting efficacy against this evolving viral pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ala M Shaqra
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, US
| | - Sarah N Zvornicanin
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, US
| | - Qiu Yu J Huang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, US
| | - Gordon J Lockbaum
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, US
| | - Mark Knapp
- Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
| | - Laura Tandeske
- Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
| | - David T Bakan
- Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
| | - Julia Flynn
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, US
| | - Daniel N A Bolon
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, US
| | - Stephanie Moquin
- Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
| | - Dustin Dovala
- Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
| | - Nese Kurt Yilmaz
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, US.
| | - Celia A Schiffer
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, US.
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Production of a functionally active recombinant SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) 3C-Like protease and a soluble inactive 3C-like protease-RBD chimeric in a prokaryotic expression system. Epidemiol Infect 2022; 150:e128. [PMID: 35723031 PMCID: PMC9300977 DOI: 10.1017/s0950268822001078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
During the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) intracellular life-cycle, two large polyproteins, pp1a and pp1ab, are produced. Processing of these by viral cysteine proteases, the papain-like protease (PLpro) and the chymotrypsin-like 3C-like protease (3CL-pro) release non-structural proteins necessary for the establishment of the viral replication and transcription complex (RTC), crucial for viral replication. Hence, these proteases are considered prime targets against which anti-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) drugs could be developed. Here, we describe the expression of a highly soluble and functionally active recombinant 3CL-pro using Escherichia coli BL21 cells. We show that the enzyme functions in a dimeric form and exhibits an unexpected inhibitory profile because its activity is potently blocked by serine rather than cysteine protease inhibitors. In addition, we assessed the ability of our 3CL-pro to function as a carrier for the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the Spike protein. The co-expressed chimeric protein, 3CLpro-RBD, did not exhibit 3CL-pro activity, but its enhanced solubility made purification easier and improved RBD antigenicity when tested against serum from vaccinated individuals in ELISAs. Chimeric proteins containing the 3CL-pro could represent an innovative approach to developing new COVID-19 vaccines.
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100
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A Concise Synthetic Method for Constructing 3-Substituted Piperazine-2-Acetic Acid Esters from 1,2-Diamines. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27113419. [PMID: 35684357 PMCID: PMC9182393 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27113419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
We report a short synthetic route for synthesizing 2,3-substituted piperazine acetic acid esters. Optically pure amino acids were efficiently converted into 1,2-diamines that could be utilized to deliver the title 2,3-substituted piperazines in five steps with a high enantiomeric purity. The novel route facilitated, for the first time, the synthesis of 3-phenyl substituted-2-piperazine acetic acid esters that were difficult to achieve using other methods; however, in this case, the products underwent racemization.
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