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Amendola G, Ettari R, Previti S, Di Chio C, Messere A, Di Maro S, Hammerschmidt SJ, Zimmer C, Zimmermann RA, Schirmeister T, Zappalà M, Cosconati S. Lead Discovery of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Inhibitors through Covalent Docking-Based Virtual Screening. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:2062-2073. [PMID: 33784094 PMCID: PMC8029447 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
During almost all 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has constituted the major risk for the worldwide health and economy, propelling unprecedented efforts to discover drugs for its prevention and cure. At the end of the year, these efforts have culminated with the approval of vaccines by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) giving new hope for the future. On the other hand, clinical data underscore the urgent need for effective drugs to treat COVID-19 patients. In this work, we embarked on a virtual screening campaign against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Mpro chymotrypsin-like cysteine protease employing our in-house database of peptide and non-peptide ligands characterized by different types of warheads acting as Michael acceptors. To this end, we employed the AutoDock4 docking software customized to predict the formation of a covalent adduct with the target protein. In vitro verification of the inhibition properties of the most promising candidates allowed us to identify two new lead inhibitors that will deserve further optimization. From the computational point of view, this work demonstrates the predictive power of AutoDock4 and suggests its application for the in silico screening of large chemical libraries of potential covalent binders against the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro enzyme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgio Amendola
- DiSTABiF, University of Campania Luigi
Vanvitelli, Via Vivaldi 43, Caserta 81100, Italy
| | - Roberta Ettari
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical,
and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale
Annunziata, Messina 98168, Italy
| | - Santo Previti
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical,
and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale
Annunziata, Messina 98168, Italy
| | - Carla Di Chio
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical,
and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale
Annunziata, Messina 98168, Italy
| | - Anna Messere
- DiSTABiF, University of Campania Luigi
Vanvitelli, Via Vivaldi 43, Caserta 81100, Italy
| | - Salvatore Di Maro
- DiSTABiF, University of Campania Luigi
Vanvitelli, Via Vivaldi 43, Caserta 81100, Italy
| | - Stefan J. Hammerschmidt
- Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences,
University of Mainz, Staudingerweg 5, Mainz 55128,
Germany
| | - Collin Zimmer
- Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences,
University of Mainz, Staudingerweg 5, Mainz 55128,
Germany
| | - Robert A. Zimmermann
- Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences,
University of Mainz, Staudingerweg 5, Mainz 55128,
Germany
| | - Tanja Schirmeister
- Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences,
University of Mainz, Staudingerweg 5, Mainz 55128,
Germany
| | - Maria Zappalà
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical,
and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale
Annunziata, Messina 98168, Italy
| | - Sandro Cosconati
- DiSTABiF, University of Campania Luigi
Vanvitelli, Via Vivaldi 43, Caserta 81100, Italy
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Messore A, Corona A, Madia VN, Saccoliti F, Tudino V, De Leo A, Scipione L, De Vita D, Amendola G, Di Maro S, Novellino E, Cosconati S, Métifiot M, Andreola ML, Valenti P, Esposito F, Grandi N, Tramontano E, Costi R, Di Santo R. Pyrrolyl Pyrazoles as Non-Diketo Acid Inhibitors of the HIV-1 Ribonuclease H Function of Reverse Transcriptase. ACS Med Chem Lett 2020; 11:798-805. [PMID: 32435387 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.9b00617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 03/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Due to the biological liability of diketo acid (DKA) chain, we transferred this element of our previously reported anti-HIV-1 pyrrolyl derivatives to a non-DKA scaffold, obtaining a series of pyrrolyl-pyrazole carboxylic acids as new RNase H inhibitors. Among the newly synthesized derivatives, oxyphenylpyrrolyl-pyrazoles demonstrated inhibitory activities within the low micromolar/submicromolar range with compound 11b being the most potent. Interestingly, all tested compounds showed up to 2 orders of magnitude of selectivity for RNase H vs integrase. Docking studies within the RNase H catalytic site, coupled with site-directed mutagenesis, showed the key structural features that could confer the ability to establish specific interactions within RNase H. Furthermore, they proved the ability of our compounds to interact with amino acids highly conserved among HIV-1 subspecies isolated among patients carrying drug-resistant variants. In the end, the newly discovered pyrazole carboxylic acid derivatives feature promising serum stability with respect to their corresponding DKAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Messore
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Angela Corona
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, SS554-09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
| | - Valentina Noemi Madia
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Francesco Saccoliti
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Valeria Tudino
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Alessandro De Leo
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Luigi Scipione
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Daniela De Vita
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Giorgio Amendola
- DiSTABiF, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - Salvatore Di Maro
- DiSTABiF, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - Ettore Novellino
- Department of Pharmacy, University Federico II of Naples, Via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Sandro Cosconati
- DiSTABiF, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - Mathieu Métifiot
- Laboratoire MFP, UMR 5234, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux cedex, France
| | - Marie-Line Andreola
- Laboratoire MFP, UMR 5234, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux cedex, France
| | - Piera Valenti
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, “Sapienza” University of Rome, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Esposito
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, SS554-09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
| | - Nicole Grandi
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, SS554-09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
| | - Enzo Tramontano
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, SS554-09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
| | - Roberta Costi
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Roberto Di Santo
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
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Morgillo F, Amendola G, Della Corte CM, Giacomelli C, Botta L, Di Maro S, Messere A, Ciaramella V, Taliani S, Marinelli L, Trincavelli ML, Martini C, Novellino E, Ciardiello F, Cosconati S. Dual MET and SMO Negative Modulators Overcome Resistance to EGFR Inhibitors in Human Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer. J Med Chem 2017; 60:7447-7458. [PMID: 28787156 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.7b00794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) of the EGF receptor (EGFR) have provided a significant improvement in the disease outcome of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Unfortunately, resistance to these agents frequently occurs, and it is often related to the activation of the Hedgehog (Hh) and MET signaling cascades driving the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Because the concomitant inhibition of both Hh and MET pathways restores the sensitivity to anti-EGFR drugs, here we aimed at discovering the first compounds that block simultaneously MET and SMO. By using an "in silico drug repurposing" approach and by validating our predictions both in vitro and in vivo, we identified a set of compounds with the desired dual inhibitory activity and enhanced antiproliferative activity on EGFR TKI-resistant NSCLC. The identification of the known MET TKIs, glesatinib and foretinib, as negative modulators of the Hh pathway, widens their application in the context of NSCLC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Floriana Morgillo
- Oncologia Medica, Dipartimento Medico-Chirurgico di Internistica Clinica e Sperimentale "F. Magrassi e A. Lanzara", Università della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" , Via Pansini 6, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Giorgio Amendola
- DiSTABiF, Università della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" , Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - Carminia Maria Della Corte
- Oncologia Medica, Dipartimento Medico-Chirurgico di Internistica Clinica e Sperimentale "F. Magrassi e A. Lanzara", Università della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" , Via Pansini 6, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Chiara Giacomelli
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università di Pisa , Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Botta
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università di Napoli "Federico II" , Via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Salvatore Di Maro
- DiSTABiF, Università della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" , Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - Anna Messere
- DiSTABiF, Università della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" , Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - Vincenza Ciaramella
- Oncologia Medica, Dipartimento Medico-Chirurgico di Internistica Clinica e Sperimentale "F. Magrassi e A. Lanzara", Università della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" , Via Pansini 6, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Sabrina Taliani
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università di Pisa , Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Luciana Marinelli
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università di Napoli "Federico II" , Via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | | | - Claudia Martini
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università di Pisa , Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Ettore Novellino
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università di Napoli "Federico II" , Via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Fortunato Ciardiello
- Oncologia Medica, Dipartimento Medico-Chirurgico di Internistica Clinica e Sperimentale "F. Magrassi e A. Lanzara", Università della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" , Via Pansini 6, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Sandro Cosconati
- DiSTABiF, Università della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" , Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
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