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Jacobs L, van der Westhuyzen A, Pribut N, Dentmon ZW, Cui D, D’Erasmo MP, Bartsch PW, Liu K, Cox RM, Greenlund SF, Plemper RK, Mitchell D, Marlow J, Andrews MK, Krueger RE, Sticher ZM, Kolykhalov AA, Natchus MG, Zhou B, Pelly SC, Liotta DC. Design and Optimization of Novel Competitive, Non-peptidic, SARS-CoV-2 M pro Inhibitors. ACS Med Chem Lett 2023; 14:1434-1440. [PMID: 37849558 PMCID: PMC10577883 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.3c00335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) has been proven to be a highly effective target for therapeutic intervention, yet only one drug currently holds FDA approval status for this target. We were inspired by a series of publications emanating from the Jorgensen and Anderson groups describing the design of potent, non-peptidic, competitive SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors, and we saw an opportunity to make several design modifications to improve the overall pharmacokinetic profile of these compounds without losing potency. To this end, we created a focused virtual library using reaction-based enumeration tools in the Schrödinger suite. These compounds were docked into the Mpro active site and subsequently prioritized for synthesis based upon relative binding affinity values calculated by FEP+. Fourteen compounds were selected, synthesized, and evaluated both biochemically and in cell culture. Several of the synthesized compounds proved to be potent, competitive Mpro inhibitors with improved metabolic stability profiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leon Jacobs
- Department
of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | | | - Nicole Pribut
- Department
of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Zackery W. Dentmon
- Department
of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Dan Cui
- COVID-19
Emergency Response, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, United States
| | - Michael P. D’Erasmo
- Department
of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Perry W. Bartsch
- Department
of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Ken Liu
- Department
of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Robert M. Cox
- Center for
Translational Antiviral Research, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States
| | - Sujay F. Greenlund
- Center for
Translational Antiviral Research, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States
| | - Richard K. Plemper
- Center for
Translational Antiviral Research, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States
| | - Deborah Mitchell
- Emory
Institute for Drug Development, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Joshua Marlow
- Emory
Institute for Drug Development, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Meghan K. Andrews
- Emory
Institute for Drug Development, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Rebecca E. Krueger
- Emory
Institute for Drug Development, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Zachary M. Sticher
- Emory
Institute for Drug Development, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Alexander A. Kolykhalov
- Emory
Institute for Drug Development, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Michael G. Natchus
- Emory
Institute for Drug Development, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Bin Zhou
- COVID-19
Emergency Response, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, United States
| | - Stephen C. Pelly
- Department
of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Dennis C. Liotta
- Department
of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
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