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Messore A, Malune P, Patacchini E, Madia VN, Ialongo D, Arpacioglu M, Albano A, Ruggieri G, Saccoliti F, Scipione L, Tramontano E, Canton S, Corona A, Scognamiglio S, Paulis A, Suleiman M, Al-Maqtari HM, Abid FMA, Kawsar SMA, Sankaranarayanan M, Di Santo R, Esposito F, Costi R. New Thiazolidine-4-One Derivatives as SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Inhibitors. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2024; 17:650. [PMID: 38794220 PMCID: PMC11124136 DOI: 10.3390/ph17050650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2024] [Revised: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
It has been more than four years since the first report of SARS-CoV-2, and humankind has experienced a pandemic with an unprecedented impact. Moreover, the new variants have made the situation even worse. Among viral enzymes, the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) has been deemed a promising drug target vs. COVID-19. Indeed, Mpro is a pivotal enzyme for viral replication, and it is highly conserved within coronaviruses. It showed a high extent of conservation of the protease residues essential to the enzymatic activity, emphasizing its potential as a drug target to develop wide-spectrum antiviral agents effective not only vs. SARS-CoV-2 variants but also against other coronaviruses. Even though the FDA-approved drug nirmatrelvir, a Mpro inhibitor, has boosted the antiviral therapy for the treatment of COVID-19, the drug shows several drawbacks that hinder its clinical application. Herein, we report the synthesis of new thiazolidine-4-one derivatives endowed with inhibitory potencies in the micromolar range against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. In silico studies shed light on the key structural requirements responsible for binding to highly conserved enzymatic residues, showing that the thiazolidinone core acts as a mimetic of the Gln amino acid of the natural substrate and the central role of the nitro-substituted aromatic portion in establishing π-π stacking interactions with the catalytic His-41 residue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Messore
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (A.M.); (E.P.); (D.I.); (M.A.); (A.A.); (G.R.); (F.S.); (L.S.); (R.D.S.); (R.C.)
| | - Paolo Malune
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology and Pharmacy, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, ss554 Km 4500, 09045 Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy; (P.M.); (E.T.); (S.C.); (A.C.); (S.S.); (A.P.)
| | - Elisa Patacchini
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (A.M.); (E.P.); (D.I.); (M.A.); (A.A.); (G.R.); (F.S.); (L.S.); (R.D.S.); (R.C.)
| | - Valentina Noemi Madia
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (A.M.); (E.P.); (D.I.); (M.A.); (A.A.); (G.R.); (F.S.); (L.S.); (R.D.S.); (R.C.)
| | - Davide Ialongo
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (A.M.); (E.P.); (D.I.); (M.A.); (A.A.); (G.R.); (F.S.); (L.S.); (R.D.S.); (R.C.)
| | - Merve Arpacioglu
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (A.M.); (E.P.); (D.I.); (M.A.); (A.A.); (G.R.); (F.S.); (L.S.); (R.D.S.); (R.C.)
| | - Aurora Albano
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (A.M.); (E.P.); (D.I.); (M.A.); (A.A.); (G.R.); (F.S.); (L.S.); (R.D.S.); (R.C.)
| | - Giuseppe Ruggieri
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (A.M.); (E.P.); (D.I.); (M.A.); (A.A.); (G.R.); (F.S.); (L.S.); (R.D.S.); (R.C.)
| | - Francesco Saccoliti
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (A.M.); (E.P.); (D.I.); (M.A.); (A.A.); (G.R.); (F.S.); (L.S.); (R.D.S.); (R.C.)
| | - Luigi Scipione
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (A.M.); (E.P.); (D.I.); (M.A.); (A.A.); (G.R.); (F.S.); (L.S.); (R.D.S.); (R.C.)
| | - Enzo Tramontano
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology and Pharmacy, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, ss554 Km 4500, 09045 Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy; (P.M.); (E.T.); (S.C.); (A.C.); (S.S.); (A.P.)
| | - Serena Canton
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology and Pharmacy, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, ss554 Km 4500, 09045 Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy; (P.M.); (E.T.); (S.C.); (A.C.); (S.S.); (A.P.)
| | - Angela Corona
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology and Pharmacy, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, ss554 Km 4500, 09045 Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy; (P.M.); (E.T.); (S.C.); (A.C.); (S.S.); (A.P.)
| | - Sante Scognamiglio
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology and Pharmacy, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, ss554 Km 4500, 09045 Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy; (P.M.); (E.T.); (S.C.); (A.C.); (S.S.); (A.P.)
| | - Annalaura Paulis
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology and Pharmacy, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, ss554 Km 4500, 09045 Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy; (P.M.); (E.T.); (S.C.); (A.C.); (S.S.); (A.P.)
| | - Mustapha Suleiman
- Department of Chemistry, Sokoto State University, Sokoto 852101, Nigeria;
| | | | - Fatma Mohamed A. Abid
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Al-Azzaytuna University, Tarhuna 537622224, Libya;
| | - Sarkar M. A. Kawsar
- Laboratory of Carbohydrate and Nucleoside Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Chittagong, Chittagong 4331, Bangladesh;
| | - Murugesan Sankaranarayanan
- Medicinal Chemistry Research Laboratory, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Pilani Campus, Pilani 333031, Rajasthan, India;
| | - Roberto Di Santo
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (A.M.); (E.P.); (D.I.); (M.A.); (A.A.); (G.R.); (F.S.); (L.S.); (R.D.S.); (R.C.)
| | - Francesca Esposito
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology and Pharmacy, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, ss554 Km 4500, 09045 Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy; (P.M.); (E.T.); (S.C.); (A.C.); (S.S.); (A.P.)
| | - Roberta Costi
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (A.M.); (E.P.); (D.I.); (M.A.); (A.A.); (G.R.); (F.S.); (L.S.); (R.D.S.); (R.C.)
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Halawa AH, Eskandrani AA, Elgammal WE, Hassan SM, Hassan AH, Ebrahim HY, Mehany ABM, El-Agrody AM, Okasha RM. Rational Design and Synthesis of Diverse Pyrimidine Molecules Bearing Sulfonamide Moiety as Novel ERK Inhibitors. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20225592. [PMID: 31717402 PMCID: PMC6888105 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20225592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Revised: 11/01/2019] [Accepted: 11/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Protein kinases orchestrate diverse cellular functions; however, their dysregulation is linked to metabolic dysfunctions, associated with many diseases, including cancer. Mitogen-Activated Protein (MAP) kinase is a notoriously oncogenic signaling pathway in human malignancies, where the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1/2) are focal serine/threonine kinases in the MAP kinase module with numerous cytosolic and nuclear mitogenic effector proteins. Subsequently, hampering the ERK kinase activity by small molecule inhibitors is a robust strategy to control the malignancies with aberrant MAP kinase signaling cascades. Consequently, new heterocyclic compounds, containing a sulfonamide moiety, were rationally designed, aided by the molecular docking of the starting reactant 1-(4-((4-methylpiperidin-1-yl)sulfonyl)phenyl)ethan-1-one (3) at the ATP binding pocket of the ERK kinase domain, which was relying on the molecular extension tactic. The identities of the synthesized compounds (4–33) were proven by their spectral data and elemental analysis. The target compounds exhibited pronounced anti-proliferative activities against the MCF-7, HepG-2, and HCT-116 cancerous cell lines with potencies reaching a 2.96 μM for the most active compound (22). Moreover, compounds 5, 9, 10b, 22, and 28 displayed a significant G2/M phase arrest and induction of the apoptosis, which was confirmed by the cell cycle analysis and the flow cytometry. Thus, the molecular extension of a small fragment bounded at the ERK kinase domain is a valid tactic for the rational synthesis of the ERK inhibitors to control various human malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed H. Halawa
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11284, Egypt; (A.H.H.); (W.E.E.); (S.M.H.); (A.H.H.); (A.M.E.-A.)
| | - Areej A. Eskandrani
- Chemistry department, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, Medina 30002, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Walid E. Elgammal
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11284, Egypt; (A.H.H.); (W.E.E.); (S.M.H.); (A.H.H.); (A.M.E.-A.)
| | - Saber M. Hassan
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11284, Egypt; (A.H.H.); (W.E.E.); (S.M.H.); (A.H.H.); (A.M.E.-A.)
| | - Ahmed H. Hassan
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11284, Egypt; (A.H.H.); (W.E.E.); (S.M.H.); (A.H.H.); (A.M.E.-A.)
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Jazan University, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hassan Y. Ebrahim
- Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Helwan University, Cairo 11795, Egypt;
| | - Ahmed B. M. Mehany
- Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11284, Egypt;
| | - Ahmed M. El-Agrody
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11284, Egypt; (A.H.H.); (W.E.E.); (S.M.H.); (A.H.H.); (A.M.E.-A.)
| | - Rawda M. Okasha
- Chemistry department, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, Medina 30002, Saudi Arabia;
- Correspondence:
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