1
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Shawky AM, Almalki FA, Alzahrani HA, Abdalla AN, Youssif BGM, Ibrahim NA, Gamal M, El-Sherief HAM, Abdel-Fattah MM, Hefny AA, Abdelazeem AH, Gouda AM. Covalent small-molecule inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro: Insights into their design, classification, biological activity, and binding interactions. Eur J Med Chem 2024; 277:116704. [PMID: 39121741 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2024.116704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2024] [Revised: 07/10/2024] [Accepted: 07/19/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024]
Abstract
Since 2020, many compounds have been investigated for their potential use in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Among these agents, a huge number of natural products and FDA-approved drugs have been evaluated as potential therapeutics for SARS-CoV-2 using virtual screening and docking studies. However, the identification of the molecular targets involved in viral replication led to the development of rationally designed anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents. Among these targets, the main protease (Mpro) is one of the key enzymes needed in the replication of the virus. The data gleaned from the crystal structures of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro complexes with small-molecule covalent inhibitors has been used in the design and discovery of many highly potent and broad-spectrum Mpro inhibitors. The current review focuses mainly on the covalent type of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors. The design, chemistry, and classification of these inhibitors were also in focus. The biological activity of these inhibitors, including their inhibitory activities against Mpro, their antiviral activities, and the SAR studies, were discussed. The review also describes the potential mechanism of the interaction between these inhibitors and the catalytic Cys145 residue in Mpro. Moreover, the binding modes and key binding interactions of these covalent inhibitors were also illustrated. The covalent inhibitors discussed in this review were of diverse chemical nature and origin. Their antiviral activity was mediated mainly by the inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, with IC50 values in the micromolar to the nanomolar range. Many of these inhibitors exhibited broad-spectrum inhibitory activity against the Mpro enzymes of other coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV). The dual inhibition of the Mpro and PLpro enzymes of SARS-CoV-2 could also provide higher therapeutic benefits than Mpro inhibition. Despite the approval of nirmatrelvir by the FDA, many mutations in the Mpro enzyme of SARS-CoV-2 have been reported. Although some of these mutations did not affect the potency of nirmatrelvir, there is an urgent need to develop a second generation of Mpro inhibitors. We hope that the data summarized in this review could help researchers in the design of a new potent generation of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed M Shawky
- Science and Technology Unit (STU), Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, 21955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Faisal A Almalki
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, 21955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hayat Ali Alzahrani
- Applied Medical Science College, Medical Laboratory Technology Department, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ashraf N Abdalla
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, 21955, Saudi Arabia; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medicinal And Aromatic Plants Research Institute, National Center for Research, Khartoum, 2404, Sudan
| | - Bahaa G M Youssif
- Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Assiut University, Assiut, 71526, Egypt.
| | - Nashwa A Ibrahim
- Medicinal Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 62514, Egypt
| | - Mohammed Gamal
- Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 62514, Egypt
| | - Hany A M El-Sherief
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Deraya University, Minia, Egypt
| | - Maha M Abdel-Fattah
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 62514, Egypt
| | - Ahmed A Hefny
- Medicinal Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 62514, Egypt; School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Kitchener, Ontario, N2G 1C5, Canada
| | - Ahmed H Abdelazeem
- Medicinal Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 62514, Egypt; Pharmacy Department, College of Pharmacy, Nursing and Medical Sciences, Riyadh Elm University, Riyadh, 11681, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed M Gouda
- Medicinal Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 62514, Egypt.
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2
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Li X, Song Y. Structure and function of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 main proteases and their inhibition: A comprehensive review. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 260:115772. [PMID: 37659195 PMCID: PMC10529944 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/26/2023] [Indexed: 09/04/2023]
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) identified in 2003 infected ∼8000 people in 26 countries with 800 deaths, which was soon contained and eradicated by syndromic surveillance and enhanced quarantine. A closely related coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19 identified in 2019, has been dramatically more contagious and catastrophic. It has infected and caused various flu-like symptoms of billions of people in >200 countries, including >6 million people died of or with the virus. Despite the availability of several vaccines and antiviral drugs against SARS-CoV-2, finding new therapeutics is needed because of viral evolution and a possible emerging coronavirus in the future. The main protease (Mpro) of these coronaviruses plays important roles in their life cycle and is essential for the viral replication. This article represents a comprehensive review of the function, structure and inhibition of SARS-CoV and -CoV-2 Mpro, including structure-activity relationships, protein-inhibitor interactions and clinical trial status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Li
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA; Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
| | - Yongcheng Song
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA; Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
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3
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Singh N, Abrol V, Parihar S, Kumar S, Khanum G, Mir JM, Dar AA, Jaglan S, Sillanpää M, Al-Farraj S. Design, Synthesis, Molecular Docking, and In Vitro Antibacterial Evaluation of Benzotriazole-Based β-Amino Alcohols and Their Corresponding 1,3-Oxazolidines. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:41960-41968. [PMID: 37969976 PMCID: PMC10634288 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c07315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023]
Abstract
In the present study, a series of benzotriazole-based β-amino alcohols were efficiently synthesized in excellent yields via aminolysis of benzotriazolated epoxides under catalyst- and solvent-free conditions. Further these β-amino alcohols were successfully utilized to synthesize the corresponding benzotriazole-based oxazolidine heterocyclic derivatives. All the synthesized compounds were characterized by various spectroscopic techniques such as 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and mass spectroscopy for structure elucidation. The compounds were subjected to a microtiter plate-based antimicrobial assay. The antimicrobial activity results reveal that the compounds 4a, 4e, and 5f were found to be active against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC-25923) with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 32, 8, and 64 μM, respectively. Also, the compounds 4a, 4e, 4k, 4i, 4m, 4n, 4o, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g, and 5h showed effective activity against Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633) with MICs of 64, 16, 16, 16, 64, 16, 64, 64, 32, 64, 8, and 16 μM, respectively. A biological investigation was conducted, including molecular docking of two compounds with several receptors to identify and confirm the best ligand-protein interactions. Hence, this study found a significant strategy to diversify the chemical molecules. The synthesized compounds play a potential role as an antibacterial intensifier against some pathogenic bacteria for the development of antibacterial substances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nasseb Singh
- Synthetic
Organic Chemistry Laboratory, School of Biotechnology, Faculty of
Sciences, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, Jammu & Kashmir 182320, India
- Department
of Chemistry, Govt. Degree College Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir 182101, India
| | - Vidushi Abrol
- Fermentation
& Microbial Biotechnology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine Canal Road, Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir 180001, India
| | - Sarita Parihar
- Department
of Physics, Govt. Degree College Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir 182101, India
| | - Satish Kumar
- Department
of Chemistry, Govt. Degree College Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir 182101, India
| | - Ghazala Khanum
- Department
of Chemistry, Govt. Degree College Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir 182101, India
| | - Jan Mohammad Mir
- Department
of Chemistry, Islamic University of Science
and Technology (IUST)Awantipora, Pulwama, J&K 192301, India
| | - Alamgir Ahmad Dar
- Research
Centre for Residue and Quality Analysis, Sher-e-Kashmir University
of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST-K), Shalimar Campus, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir 190025, India
| | - Sundeep Jaglan
- Fermentation
& Microbial Biotechnology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine Canal Road, Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir 180001, India
- Academy
of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh 201002, India
| | - Mika Sillanpää
- Department
of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Aarhus University, Nørrebrogade
44, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, School of Mining, Metallurgy and Chemical
Engineering, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 17011, Doornfontein 2028, South Africa
| | - Saleh Al-Farraj
- Department
of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud
University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
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4
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Fink EA, Bardine C, Gahbauer S, Singh I, Detomasi TC, White K, Gu S, Wan X, Chen J, Ary B, Glenn I, O'Connell J, O'Donnell H, Fajtová P, Lyu J, Vigneron S, Young NJ, Kondratov IS, Alisoltani A, Simons LM, Lorenzo‐Redondo R, Ozer EA, Hultquist JF, O'Donoghue AJ, Moroz YS, Taunton J, Renslo AR, Irwin JJ, García‐Sastre A, Shoichet BK, Craik CS. Large library docking for novel SARS-CoV-2 main protease non-covalent and covalent inhibitors. Protein Sci 2023; 32:e4712. [PMID: 37354015 PMCID: PMC10364469 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023]
Abstract
Antiviral therapeutics to treat SARS-CoV-2 are needed to diminish the morbidity of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A well-precedented drug target is the main viral protease (MPro ), which is targeted by an approved drug and by several investigational drugs. Emerging viral resistance has made new inhibitor chemotypes more pressing. Adopting a structure-based approach, we docked 1.2 billion non-covalent lead-like molecules and a new library of 6.5 million electrophiles against the enzyme structure. From these, 29 non-covalent and 11 covalent inhibitors were identified in 37 series, the most potent having an IC50 of 29 and 20 μM, respectively. Several series were optimized, resulting in low micromolar inhibitors. Subsequent crystallography confirmed the docking predicted binding modes and may template further optimization. While the new chemotypes may aid further optimization of MPro inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2, the modest success rate also reveals weaknesses in our approach for challenging targets like MPro versus other targets where it has been more successful, and versus other structure-based techniques against MPro itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elissa A. Fink
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
- Graduate Program in BiophysicsUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Conner Bardine
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
- Graduate Program in Chemistry and Chemical BiologyUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Stefan Gahbauer
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Isha Singh
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Tyler C. Detomasi
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Kris White
- Department of MicrobiologyIcahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Global Health and Emerging Pathogens InstituteIcahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Shuo Gu
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Xiaobo Wan
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Jun Chen
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Beatrice Ary
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Isabella Glenn
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Joseph O'Connell
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Henry O'Donnell
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Pavla Fajtová
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of California‐San DiegoSan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Jiankun Lyu
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Seth Vigneron
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Nicholas J. Young
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Ivan S. Kondratov
- Enamine Ltd.KyïvUkraine
- V.P. Kukhar Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry and PetrochemistryNational Academy of Sciences of UkraineKyïvUkraine
| | - Arghavan Alisoltani
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Center for Pathogen Genomics and Microbial Evolution, Feinberg School of MedicineNorthwestern UniversityChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Lacy M. Simons
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Center for Pathogen Genomics and Microbial Evolution, Feinberg School of MedicineNorthwestern UniversityChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Ramon Lorenzo‐Redondo
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Center for Pathogen Genomics and Microbial Evolution, Feinberg School of MedicineNorthwestern UniversityChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Egon A. Ozer
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Center for Pathogen Genomics and Microbial Evolution, Feinberg School of MedicineNorthwestern UniversityChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Judd F. Hultquist
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Center for Pathogen Genomics and Microbial Evolution, Feinberg School of MedicineNorthwestern UniversityChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Anthony J. O'Donoghue
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of California‐San DiegoSan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Yurii S. Moroz
- National Taras Shevchenko University of KyïvKyïvUkraine
- Chemspace LLCKyïvUkraine
| | - Jack Taunton
- Department of Cellular and Molecular PharmacologyUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Adam R. Renslo
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - John J. Irwin
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Adolfo García‐Sastre
- Department of MicrobiologyIcahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Global Health and Emerging Pathogens InstituteIcahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious DiseasesIcahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Department of Pathology, Molecular and Cell‐Based MedicineIcahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- QBI COVID‐19 Research Group (QCRG)San FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Brian K. Shoichet
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
- QBI COVID‐19 Research Group (QCRG)San FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Charles S. Craik
- Department of Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California‐San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
- QBI COVID‐19 Research Group (QCRG)San FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
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5
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Valipour M, Di Giacomo S, Di Sotto A, Irannejad H. Discovery of Chalcone-Based Hybrid Structures as High Affinity and Site-Specific Inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2: A Comprehensive Structural Analysis Based on Various Host-Based and Viral Targets. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24108789. [PMID: 37240149 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24108789] [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: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies indicated that natural-based chalcones have significant inhibitory effects on the coronavirus enzymes 3CLpro and PLpro as well as modulation of some host-based antiviral targets (HBATs). In this study, a comprehensive computational and structural study was performed to investigate the affinity of our compound library consisting of 757 chalcone-based structures (CHA-1 to CHA-757) for inhibiting the 3CLpro and PLpro enzymes and against twelve selected host-based targets. Our results indicated that CHA-12 (VUF 4819) is the most potent and multi-target inhibitor in our chemical library over all viral and host-based targets. Correspondingly, CHA-384 and its congeners containing ureide moieties were found to be potent and selective 3CLpro inhibitors, and benzotriazole moiety in CHA-37 was found to be a main fragment for inhibiting the 3CLpro and PLpro. Surprisingly, our results indicate that the ureide and sulfonamide moieties are integral fragments for the optimum 3CLpro inhibition while occupying the S1 and S3 subsites, which is fully consistent with recent reports on the site-specific 3CLpro inhibitors. Finding the multi-target inhibitor CHA-12, previously reported as an LTD4 antagonist for the treatment of inflammatory pulmonary diseases, prompted us to suggest it as a concomitant agent for relieving respiratory symptoms and suppressing COVID-19 infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehdi Valipour
- Razi Drug Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1545913487, Iran
| | - Silvia Di Giacomo
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology "V. Erspamer", Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Antonella Di Sotto
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology "V. Erspamer", Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Hamid Irannejad
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari 4847116547, Iran
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6
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Saramago LC, Santana MV, Gomes BF, Dantas RF, Senger MR, Oliveira Borges PH, Ferreira VNDS, dos Santos Rosa A, Tucci AR, Dias Miranda M, Lukacik P, Strain-Damerell C, Owen CD, Walsh MA, Ferreira SB, Silva-Junior FP. AI-Driven Discovery of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Fragment-like Inhibitors with Antiviral Activity In Vitro. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:2866-2880. [PMID: 37058135 PMCID: PMC10124747 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00409] [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] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/15/2023]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of COVID-19 and is responsible for the current global pandemic. The viral genome contains 5 major open reading frames of which the largest ORF1ab codes for two polyproteins, pp1ab and pp1a, which are subsequently cleaved into 16 nonstructural proteins (nsp) by two viral cysteine proteases encoded within the polyproteins. The main protease (Mpro, nsp5) cleaves the majority of the nsp's, making it essential for viral replication and has been successfully targeted for the development of antivirals. The first oral Mpro inhibitor, nirmatrelvir, was approved for treatment of COVID-19 in late December 2021 in combination with ritonavir as Paxlovid. Increasing the arsenal of antivirals and development of protease inhibitors and other antivirals with a varied mode of action remains a priority to reduce the likelihood for resistance emerging. Here, we report results from an artificial intelligence-driven approach followed by in vitro validation, allowing the identification of five fragment-like Mpro inhibitors with IC50 values ranging from 1.5 to 241 μM. The three most potent molecules (compounds 818, 737, and 183) were tested against SARS-CoV-2 by in vitro replication in Vero E6 and Calu-3 cells. Compound 818 was active in both cell models with an EC50 value comparable to its measured IC50 value. On the other hand, compounds 737 and 183 were only active in Calu-3, a preclinical model of respiratory cells, showing selective indexes twice as high as those for compound 818. We also show that our in silico methodology was successful in identifying both reversible and covalent inhibitors. For instance, compound 818 is a reversible chloromethylamide analogue of 8-methyl-γ-carboline, while compound 737 is an N-pyridyl-isatin that covalently inhibits Mpro. Given the small molecular weights of these fragments, their high binding efficiency in vitro and efficacy in blocking viral replication, these compounds represent good starting points for the development of potent lead molecules targeting the Mpro of SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luiz Carlos Saramago
- LaBECFar-Laboratório de Bioquímica
Experimental e Computacional de Fármacos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz,
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, 21040-900 Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Marcos V. Santana
- LaBECFar-Laboratório de Bioquímica
Experimental e Computacional de Fármacos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz,
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, 21040-900 Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Bárbara Figueira Gomes
- LaBECFar-Laboratório de Bioquímica
Experimental e Computacional de Fármacos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz,
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, 21040-900 Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Rafael Ferreira Dantas
- LaBECFar-Laboratório de Bioquímica
Experimental e Computacional de Fármacos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz,
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, 21040-900 Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Mario R. Senger
- LaBECFar-Laboratório de Bioquímica
Experimental e Computacional de Fármacos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz,
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, 21040-900 Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Pedro Henrique Oliveira Borges
- LaBECFar-Laboratório de Bioquímica
Experimental e Computacional de Fármacos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz,
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, 21040-900 Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
- LaSOPB-Laboratório de Síntese
Orgânica e Prospecção Biológica, Instituto de Química,
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 21040-900 Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Vivian Neuza dos Santos Ferreira
- LMMV-Laboratório de Morfologia e
Morfogênese Viral (LMMV), Instituto Oswaldo Cruz,
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, 21040-900 Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Alice dos Santos Rosa
- LMMV-Laboratório de Morfologia e
Morfogênese Viral (LMMV), Instituto Oswaldo Cruz,
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, 21040-900 Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Amanda Resende Tucci
- LMMV-Laboratório de Morfologia e
Morfogênese Viral (LMMV), Instituto Oswaldo Cruz,
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, 21040-900 Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Milene Dias Miranda
- LMMV-Laboratório de Morfologia e
Morfogênese Viral (LMMV), Instituto Oswaldo Cruz,
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, 21040-900 Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Petra Lukacik
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and
Innovation Campus, OX11 0DE Didcot, U.K.
- Research Complex at Harwell, Harwell
Science & Innovation Campus, OX11 0FA Didcot,
U.K.
| | - Claire Strain-Damerell
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and
Innovation Campus, OX11 0DE Didcot, U.K.
- Research Complex at Harwell, Harwell
Science & Innovation Campus, OX11 0FA Didcot,
U.K.
| | - C. David Owen
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and
Innovation Campus, OX11 0DE Didcot, U.K.
- Research Complex at Harwell, Harwell
Science & Innovation Campus, OX11 0FA Didcot,
U.K.
| | - Martin Austin Walsh
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and
Innovation Campus, OX11 0DE Didcot, U.K.
- Research Complex at Harwell, Harwell
Science & Innovation Campus, OX11 0FA Didcot,
U.K.
| | - Sabrina Baptista Ferreira
- LaSOPB-Laboratório de Síntese
Orgânica e Prospecção Biológica, Instituto de Química,
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 21040-900 Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Floriano Paes Silva-Junior
- LaBECFar-Laboratório de Bioquímica
Experimental e Computacional de Fármacos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz,
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, 21040-900 Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
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7
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Pozzi C, Vanet A, Francesconi V, Tagliazucchi L, Tassone G, Venturelli A, Spyrakis F, Mazzorana M, Costi MP, Tonelli M. Antitarget, Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Leads, Drugs, and the Drug Discovery-Genetics Alliance Perspective. J Med Chem 2023; 66:3664-3702. [PMID: 36857133 PMCID: PMC10005815 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c01229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/02/2023]
Abstract
The most advanced antiviral molecules addressing major SARS-CoV-2 targets (Main protease, Spike protein, and RNA polymerase), compared with proteins of other human pathogenic coronaviruses, may have a short-lasting clinical efficacy. Accumulating knowledge on the mechanisms underlying the target structural basis, its mutational progression, and the related biological significance to virus replication allows envisaging the development of better-targeted therapies in the context of COVID-19 epidemic and future coronavirus outbreaks. The identification of evolutionary patterns based solely on sequence information analysis for those targets can provide meaningful insights into the molecular basis of host-pathogen interactions and adaptation, leading to drug resistance phenomena. Herein, we will explore how the study of observed and predicted mutations may offer valuable suggestions for the application of the so-called "synthetic lethal" strategy to SARS-CoV-2 Main protease and Spike protein. The synergy between genetics evidence and drug discovery may prioritize the development of novel long-lasting antiviral agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Pozzi
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy,
University of Siena, via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena,
Italy
| | - Anne Vanet
- Université Paris Cité,
CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod, F-75013 Paris,
France
| | - Valeria Francesconi
- Department of Pharmacy, University of
Genoa, viale Benedetto XV n.3, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Tagliazucchi
- Department of Life Science, University of
Modena and Reggio Emilia, via Campi 103, 41125 Modena,
Italy
- Doctorate School in Clinical and Experimental Medicine
(CEM), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 287,
41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Giusy Tassone
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy,
University of Siena, via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena,
Italy
| | - Alberto Venturelli
- Department of Life Science, University of
Modena and Reggio Emilia, via Campi 103, 41125 Modena,
Italy
| | - Francesca Spyrakis
- Department of Drug Science and Technology,
University of Turin, Via Giuria 9, 10125 Turin,
Italy
| | - Marco Mazzorana
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and
Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE,
U.K.
| | - Maria P. Costi
- Department of Life Science, University of
Modena and Reggio Emilia, via Campi 103, 41125 Modena,
Italy
| | - Michele Tonelli
- Department of Pharmacy, University of
Genoa, viale Benedetto XV n.3, 16132 Genoa, Italy
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8
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Bivacqua R, Barreca M, Spanò V, Raimondi MV, Romeo I, Alcaro S, Andrei G, Barraja P, Montalbano A. Insight into non-nucleoside triazole-based systems as viral polymerases inhibitors. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 249:115136. [PMID: 36708678 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Viruses have been recognized as the etiological agents responsible for many pathological conditions ranging from asymptomatic infections to serious diseases, even leading to death. For this reason, many efforts have been made to identify selective viral targets with the aim of developing efficient therapeutic strategies, devoid of drug-resistance issues. Considering their crucial role in the viral life cycle, polymerases are very attractive targets. Among the classes of compounds explored as viral polymerases inhibitors, here we present an overview of non-nucleoside triazole-based compounds identified in the last fifteen years. Furthermore, the structure-activity relationships (SAR) of the different chemical entities are described in order to highlight the key chemical features required for the development of effective antiviral agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Bivacqua
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche Chimiche e Farmaceutiche (STEBICEF), Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123, Palermo, Italy
| | - Marilia Barreca
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche Chimiche e Farmaceutiche (STEBICEF), Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123, Palermo, Italy
| | - Virginia Spanò
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche Chimiche e Farmaceutiche (STEBICEF), Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123, Palermo, Italy
| | - Maria Valeria Raimondi
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche Chimiche e Farmaceutiche (STEBICEF), Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123, Palermo, Italy.
| | - Isabella Romeo
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università Magna Græcia, Viale Europa, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy; Net4Science srl, Academic Spinoff, Università Magna Græcia, Viale Europa, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Stefano Alcaro
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università Magna Græcia, Viale Europa, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy; Net4Science srl, Academic Spinoff, Università Magna Græcia, Viale Europa, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Graciela Andrei
- Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Rega Institute for Medical Research, KU Leuven, 3000, Belgium
| | - Paola Barraja
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche Chimiche e Farmaceutiche (STEBICEF), Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123, Palermo, Italy
| | - Alessandra Montalbano
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche Chimiche e Farmaceutiche (STEBICEF), Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123, Palermo, Italy
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9
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D'Souza S, Balaji S, K V P. QSAR, molecular docking, molecular dynamics and MM-GBSA approach for identification of prospective benzotriazole-based SARS-CoV 3CL protease inhibitors. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022; 40:14247-14261. [PMID: 34877897 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2021.2002718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The 3CL Protease of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), responsible for viral replication, has emerged as an essential target for designing anti-coronaviral inhibitors in drug discovery. In recent years, small molecule and peptidomimetic inhibitors have been used to target the inhibition of SARS-CoV 3CL Protease. In this study, we have developed 2D and 3D Quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) models on 3CL protease inhibitors with good predictive capability to propose inhibitors with improved affinities. Based on the 3 D contour maps, three new inhibitors were designed in silico, which were further subjected to molecular docking to explore their binding modes. The newly designed compounds showed improved interaction energies toward SARS-CoV-3CLPro due to additional interactions with the active site residues. The molecular docking studies of the most potent compounds revealed specific interactions with Glu 166 and Cys 145. Furthermore, absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination (ADME) and drug-likeness evaluation revealed improved pharmacokinetic properties for these compounds. The molecular dynamics simulations confirmed the stability of the interactions identified by docking. The results presented would guide the development of new 3CL protease inhibitors with improved affinities in the future.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia D'Souza
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India
| | - S Balaji
- Department of Biotechnology, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India
| | - Prema K V
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India
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10
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Wang L, Yu Z, Wang S, Guo Z, Sun Q, Lai L. Discovery of novel SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease covalent inhibitors using deep learning-based screen. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 244:114803. [PMID: 36209629 PMCID: PMC9528019 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease is one of the key targets for drug development against COVID-19. Most known SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease inhibitors act by covalently binding to the active site cysteine. Yet, computational screens against this enzyme were mainly focused on non-covalent inhibitor discovery. Here, we developed a deep learning-based stepwise strategy for selective covalent inhibitor screen. We used a deep learning framework that integrated a directed message passing neural network with a feed-forward neural network to construct two different classifiers for either covalent or non-covalent inhibition activity prediction. These two classifiers were trained on the covalent and non-covalent 3CL protease inhibitors dataset, respectively, which achieved high prediction accuracy. We then successively applied the covalent inhibitor model and the non-covalent inhibitor model to screen a chemical library containing compounds with covalent warheads of cysteine. We experimentally tested the inhibition activity of 32 top-ranking compounds and 12 of them were active, among which 6 showed IC50 values less than 12 μM and the strongest one inhibited SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease with an IC50 of 1.4 μM. Further investigation demonstrated that 5 of the 6 active compounds showed typical covalent inhibition behavior with time-dependent activity. These new covalent inhibitors provide novel scaffolds for developing highly active SARS-CoV-2 3CL covalent inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liying Wang
- BNLMS, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, PR China
| | - Zhongtian Yu
- BNLMS, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, PR China
| | - Shiwei Wang
- BNLMS, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, PR China
| | - Zheng Guo
- BNLMS, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, PR China
| | - Qi Sun
- BNLMS, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, PR China,Research Unit of Drug Design Method, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2021RU014), Beijing, 100871, PR China,Corresponding author. BNLMS, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, PR China
| | - Luhua Lai
- BNLMS, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, PR China,Center for Quantitative Biology, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, PR China,Research Unit of Drug Design Method, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2021RU014), Beijing, 100871, PR China,Corresponding author. BNLMS, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, PR China
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11
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Pillaiyar T, Flury P, Krüger N, Su H, Schäkel L, Barbosa Da Silva E, Eppler O, Kronenberger T, Nie T, Luedtke S, Rocha C, Sylvester K, Petry MR, McKerrow JH, Poso A, Pöhlmann S, Gütschow M, O’Donoghue AJ, Xu Y, Müller CE, Laufer SA. Small-Molecule Thioesters as SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Inhibitors: Enzyme Inhibition, Structure-Activity Relationships, Antiviral Activity, and X-ray Structure Determination. J Med Chem 2022; 65:9376-9395. [PMID: 35709506 PMCID: PMC9216242 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c00636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The main protease (Mpro, 3CLpro) of SARS-CoV-2 is an attractive target in coronaviruses because of its crucial involvement in viral replication and transcription. Here, we report on the design, synthesis, and structure-activity relationships of novel small-molecule thioesters as SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors. Compounds 3w and 3x exhibited excellent SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibition with kinac/Ki of 58,700 M-1 s-1 (Ki = 0.0141 μM) and 27,200 M-1 s-1 (Ki = 0.0332 μM), respectively. In Calu-3 and Vero76 cells, compounds 3h, 3i, 3l, 3r, 3v, 3w, and 3x displayed antiviral activity in the nanomolar range without host cell toxicity. Co-crystallization of 3w and 3af with SARS-CoV-2 Mpro was accomplished, and the X-ray structures showed covalent binding with the catalytic Cys145 residue of the protease. The potent SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors also inhibited the Mpro of other beta-coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV, indicating that they might be useful to treat a broader range of coronaviral infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thanigaimalai Pillaiyar
- Institute of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical/Medicinal
Chemistry and Tübingen Center for Academic Drug Discovery, Eberhard Karls
University Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 8, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) “Image-Guided & Functionally Instructed
Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen,
Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Philipp Flury
- Institute of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical/Medicinal
Chemistry and Tübingen Center for Academic Drug Discovery, Eberhard Karls
University Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 8, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) “Image-Guided & Functionally Instructed
Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen,
Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Nadine Krüger
- Infection Biology Unit, German Primate
Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research Göttingen,
Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen 37077, Germany
| | - Haixia Su
- CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, and Stake Key
Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Laura Schäkel
- PharmaCenter Bonn, Pharmaceutical Institute,
Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of Bonn,
An der Immenburg 4, Bonn D-53121, Germany
| | - Elany Barbosa Da Silva
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
92093, United States
| | - Olga Eppler
- Institute of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical/Medicinal
Chemistry and Tübingen Center for Academic Drug Discovery, Eberhard Karls
University Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 8, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) “Image-Guided & Functionally Instructed
Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen,
Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Thales Kronenberger
- Institute of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical/Medicinal
Chemistry and Tübingen Center for Academic Drug Discovery, Eberhard Karls
University Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 8, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) “Image-Guided & Functionally Instructed
Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen,
Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Tianqing Nie
- CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, and Stake Key
Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Stephanie Luedtke
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
92093, United States
| | - Cheila Rocha
- Infection Biology Unit, German Primate
Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research Göttingen,
Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen 37077, Germany
| | - Katharina Sylvester
- PharmaCenter Bonn, Pharmaceutical Institute,
Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of Bonn,
An der Immenburg 4, Bonn D-53121, Germany
| | - Marvin R.I. Petry
- PharmaCenter Bonn, Pharmaceutical Institute,
Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of Bonn,
An der Immenburg 4, Bonn D-53121, Germany
| | - James H. McKerrow
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
92093, United States
| | - Antti Poso
- Institute of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical/Medicinal
Chemistry and Tübingen Center for Academic Drug Discovery, Eberhard Karls
University Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 8, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) “Image-Guided & Functionally Instructed
Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen,
Tübingen 72076, Germany
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences,
University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio 70211,
Finland
| | - Stefan Pöhlmann
- Infection Biology Unit, German Primate
Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research Göttingen,
Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen 37077, Germany
- Faculty of Biology and Psychology,
University Göttingen,Göttingen 37073,
Germany
| | - Michael Gütschow
- PharmaCenter Bonn, Pharmaceutical Institute,
Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of Bonn,
An der Immenburg 4, Bonn D-53121, Germany
| | - Anthony J. O’Donoghue
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
92093, United States
| | - Yechun Xu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, and Stake Key
Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Christa E. Müller
- PharmaCenter Bonn, Pharmaceutical Institute,
Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of Bonn,
An der Immenburg 4, Bonn D-53121, Germany
| | - Stefan A. Laufer
- Institute of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical/Medicinal
Chemistry and Tübingen Center for Academic Drug Discovery, Eberhard Karls
University Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 8, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) “Image-Guided & Functionally Instructed
Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen,
Tübingen 72076, Germany
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12
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Tang B, He F, Liu D, He F, Wu T, Fang M, Niu Z, Wu Z, Xu D. AI-Aided Design of Novel Targeted Covalent Inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2. Biomolecules 2022. [PMID: 35740872 DOI: 10.1101/2020.03.03.972133v1.full] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The drug repurposing of known approved drugs (e.g., lopinavir/ritonavir) has failed to treat SARS-CoV-2-infected patients. Therefore, it is important to generate new chemical entities against this virus. As a critical enzyme in the lifecycle of the coronavirus, the 3C-like main protease (3CLpro or Mpro) is the most attractive target for antiviral drug design. Based on a recently solved structure (PDB ID: 6LU7), we developed a novel advanced deep Q-learning network with a fragment-based drug design (ADQN-FBDD) for generating potential lead compounds targeting SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro. We obtained a series of derivatives from the lead compounds based on our structure-based optimization policy (SBOP). All of the 47 lead compounds obtained directly with our AI model and related derivatives based on the SBOP are accessible in our molecular library. These compounds can be used as potential candidates by researchers to develop drugs against SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bowen Tang
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Informatics Institute, Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361000, China
- MindRank AI Ltd., Hangzhou 310000, China
| | - Fengming He
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361000, China
| | - Dongpeng Liu
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Informatics Institute, Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Fei He
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Informatics Institute, Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
- School of Information Science and Technology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Tong Wu
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Informatics Institute, Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
- Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100006, China
| | - Meijuan Fang
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361000, China
| | | | - Zhen Wu
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361000, China
| | - Dong Xu
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Informatics Institute, Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
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13
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Tang B, He F, Liu D, He F, Wu T, Fang M, Niu Z, Wu Z, Xu D. AI-Aided Design of Novel Targeted Covalent Inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2. Biomolecules 2022; 12:746. [PMID: 35740872 PMCID: PMC9220321 DOI: 10.3390/biom12060746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The drug repurposing of known approved drugs (e.g., lopinavir/ritonavir) has failed to treat SARS-CoV-2-infected patients. Therefore, it is important to generate new chemical entities against this virus. As a critical enzyme in the lifecycle of the coronavirus, the 3C-like main protease (3CLpro or Mpro) is the most attractive target for antiviral drug design. Based on a recently solved structure (PDB ID: 6LU7), we developed a novel advanced deep Q-learning network with a fragment-based drug design (ADQN-FBDD) for generating potential lead compounds targeting SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro. We obtained a series of derivatives from the lead compounds based on our structure-based optimization policy (SBOP). All of the 47 lead compounds obtained directly with our AI model and related derivatives based on the SBOP are accessible in our molecular library. These compounds can be used as potential candidates by researchers to develop drugs against SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bowen Tang
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Informatics Institute, Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; (B.T.); (D.L.); (F.H.); (T.W.)
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361000, China; (F.H.); (M.F.)
- MindRank AI Ltd., Hangzhou 310000, China;
| | - Fengming He
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361000, China; (F.H.); (M.F.)
| | - Dongpeng Liu
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Informatics Institute, Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; (B.T.); (D.L.); (F.H.); (T.W.)
| | - Fei He
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Informatics Institute, Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; (B.T.); (D.L.); (F.H.); (T.W.)
- School of Information Science and Technology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Tong Wu
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Informatics Institute, Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; (B.T.); (D.L.); (F.H.); (T.W.)
- Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100006, China
| | - Meijuan Fang
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361000, China; (F.H.); (M.F.)
| | | | - Zhen Wu
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361000, China; (F.H.); (M.F.)
| | - Dong Xu
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Informatics Institute, Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; (B.T.); (D.L.); (F.H.); (T.W.)
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14
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Label-free duplex SAMDI-MS screen reveals novel SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitors. Antiviral Res 2022; 200:105279. [PMID: 35278580 PMCID: PMC8906060 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2022.105279] [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: 01/14/2022] [Revised: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The 3-chymotrypsin-like cysteine protease (3CLpro) of severe acute respiratory syndrome conoravirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remains a promising therapeutic target to combat COVID-19. Our group recently described a novel duplexed biochemical assay that combines self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiolates on gold with matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) time of flight (TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) to simultaneously measure 3CLpro and human rhinovirus 3C protease activities. This study describes applying the assay for the completion of a high-throughput duplexed screen of 300,000 diverse, drug-like small molecules in 3 days. The hits were confirmed and evaluated in dose response analyses against recombinant 3CLpro, HRV3C, and the human Cathepsin L proteases. The 3CLpro specific inhibitors were further assessed for activity in cellular cytotoxicity and anti-viral assays. Structure activity relationship studies informed on structural features required for activity and selectivity to 3CLpro over HRV3C. These results will guide the optimization of 3CLpro selective inhibitors to combat COVID-19 along with antiviral compounds against coronaviruses and rhinoviruses.
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15
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Cao W, Cho CCD, Geng ZZ, Shaabani N, Ma XR, Vatansever EC, Alugubelli YR, Ma Y, Chaki SP, Ellenburg WH, Yang KS, Qiao Y, Allen R, Neuman BW, Ji H, Xu S, Liu WR. Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Inhibitors Using a Novel Cell-Based Assay. ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE 2022; 8:192-204. [PMID: 35229034 PMCID: PMC8848508 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.1c00910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
As an essential enzyme of SARS-CoV-2, main protease (MPro) triggers acute toxicity to its human cell host, an effect that can be alleviated by an MPro inhibitor. Using this toxicity alleviation, we developed an effective method that allows a bulk analysis of the cellular potency of MPro inhibitors. This novel assay is advantageous over an antiviral assay in providing precise cellular MPro inhibition information to assess an MPro inhibitor. We used this assay to analyze 30 known MPro inhibitors. Contrary to their strong antiviral effects and up to 10 μM, 11a, calpain inhibitor II, calpain XII, ebselen, bepridil, chloroquine, and hydroxychloroquine showed relatively weak to undetectable cellular MPro inhibition potency implicating their roles in interfering with key steps other than just the MPro catalysis in the SARS-CoV-2 life cycle. Our results also revealed that MPI5, MPI6, MPI7, and MPI8 have high cellular and antiviral potency. As the one with the highest cellular and antiviral potency among all tested compounds, MPI8 has a remarkable cellular MPro inhibition IC50 value of 31 nM that matches closely to its strong antiviral effect with an EC50 value of 30 nM. Therefore, we cautiously suggest exploring MPI8 further for COVID-19 preclinical tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenyue Cao
- Texas
A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Chia-Chuan Dean Cho
- Texas
A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Zhi Zachary Geng
- Texas
A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Namir Shaabani
- Sorrento
Therapeutics, Inc., San Diego, California 92121, United States
| | - Xinyu R. Ma
- Texas
A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Erol C. Vatansever
- Texas
A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Yugendar R. Alugubelli
- Texas
A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Yuying Ma
- Texas
A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Sankar P. Chaki
- Global
Health Research Complex, Division of Research, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - William H. Ellenburg
- Texas
A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Kai S. Yang
- Texas
A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Yuchen Qiao
- Texas
A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Robert Allen
- Sorrento
Therapeutics, Inc., San Diego, California 92121, United States
| | - Benjamin W. Neuman
- Department
of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Henry Ji
- Sorrento
Therapeutics, Inc., San Diego, California 92121, United States
- E-mail:
| | - Shiqing Xu
- Texas
A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
- E-mail:
| | - Wenshe Ray Liu
- Texas
A&M Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
- Institute
of Biosciences and Technology and Department of Translational Medical
Sciences, College of Medicine, Texas A&M
University, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
- Department
of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M
University, College
Station, Texas 77843, United States
- Department
of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
- E-mail:
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16
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Abstract
The main protease (Mpro) plays a crucial role in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) replication and is highly conserved, rendering it one of the most attractive therapeutic targets for SARS-CoV-2 inhibition. Currently, although two drug candidates targeting SARS-CoV-2 Mpro designed by Pfizer are under clinical trials, no SARS-CoV-2 medication is approved due to the long period of drug development. Here, we collect a comprehensive list of 817 available SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV Mpro inhibitors from the literature or databases and analyze their molecular mechanisms of action. The structure-activity relationships (SARs) among each series of inhibitors are discussed. Additionally, we broadly examine available antiviral activity, ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity), and animal tests of these inhibitors. We comment on their druggability or drawbacks that prevent them from becoming drugs. This Perspective sheds light on the future development of Mpro inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2 and future coronavirus diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaifu Gao
- Department of Mathematics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Rui Wang
- Department of Mathematics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Jiahui Chen
- Department of Mathematics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Jetze J Tepe
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacology & Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Faqing Huang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39406, United States
| | - Guo-Wei Wei
- Department of Mathematics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
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17
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Ibukun OJ, Mondal S, Kumar S, Haldar D. Supramolecular Microtubes by Self‐Assembly of a Co–Drug and Antifungal Activities against
Saccharomyces cerevisiae. ChemistrySelect 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/slct.202103811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Olamilekan Joseph Ibukun
- Department of Chemical Sciences Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata Mohanpur West Bengal 741246 India
| | - Sahabaj Mondal
- Department of Chemical Sciences Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata Mohanpur West Bengal 741246 India
| | - Santosh Kumar
- Department of Chemical Sciences Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata Mohanpur West Bengal 741246 India
| | - Debasish Haldar
- Department of Chemical Sciences Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata Mohanpur West Bengal 741246 India
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18
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Ghosh AK, Raghavaiah J, Shahabi D, Yadav M, Anson BJ, Lendy EK, Hattori SI, Higashi-Kuwata N, Mitsuya H, Mesecar AD. Indole Chloropyridinyl Ester-Derived SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro Inhibitors: Enzyme Inhibition, Antiviral Efficacy, Structure-Activity Relationship, and X-ray Structural Studies. J Med Chem 2021; 64:14702-14714. [PMID: 34528437 PMCID: PMC8457330 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c01214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Here, we report the synthesis, structure-activity relationship studies, enzyme inhibition, antiviral activity, and X-ray crystallographic studies of 5-chloropyridinyl indole carboxylate derivatives as a potent class of SARS-CoV-2 chymotrypsin-like protease inhibitors. Compound 1 exhibited a SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitory IC50 value of 250 nM and an antiviral EC50 value of 2.8 μM in VeroE6 cells. Remdesivir, an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase inhibitor, showed an antiviral EC50 value of 1.2 μM in the same assay. Compound 1 showed comparable antiviral activity with remdesivir in immunocytochemistry assays. Compound 7d with an N-allyl derivative showed the most potent enzyme inhibitory IC50 value of 73 nM. To obtain molecular insight into the binding properties of these molecules, X-ray crystal structures of compounds 2, 7b, and 9d-bound to SARS-CoV 3CLpro were determined, and their binding properties were compared.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arun K. Ghosh
- Department of Chemistry and Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Jakka Raghavaiah
- Department of Chemistry and Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Dana Shahabi
- Department of Chemistry and Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Monika Yadav
- Department of Chemistry and Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Brandon J. Anson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Emma K. Lendy
- Department of Biochemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Shin-ichiro Hattori
- Departments of Hematology and Infectious Diseases, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan
| | - Nobuyo Higashi-Kuwata
- Departments of Hematology and Infectious Diseases, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Mitsuya
- Departments of Hematology and Infectious Diseases, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan
- Experimental Retrovirology Section, HIV and AIDS Malignancy Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892
- Department of Refractory Viral Infections, National Center for Global Health and Medicine Research Institute, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-8655, Japan
| | - Andrew D. Mesecar
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
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19
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Ghosh AK, Shahabi D, Yadav M, Kovela S, Anson BJ, Lendy EK, Bonham C, Sirohi D, Brito-Sierra CA, Hattori SI, Kuhn R, Mitsuya H, Mesecar AD. Chloropyridinyl Esters of Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Agents and Related Derivatives as Potent SARS-CoV-2 3CL Protease Inhibitors. Molecules 2021; 26:5782. [PMID: 34641337 PMCID: PMC8510097 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26195782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2021] [Revised: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We report the design and synthesis of a series of new 5-chloropyridinyl esters of salicylic acid, ibuprofen, indomethacin, and related aromatic carboxylic acids for evaluation against SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease enzyme. These ester derivatives were synthesized using EDC in the presence of DMAP to provide various esters in good to excellent yields. Compounds are stable and purified by silica gel chromatography and characterized using 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and mass spectral analysis. These synthetic derivatives were evaluated in our in vitro SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibition assay using authentic SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro enzyme. Compounds were also evaluated in our in vitro antiviral assay using quantitative VeroE6 cell-based assay with RNAqPCR. A number of compounds exhibited potent SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitory activity and antiviral activity. Compound 9a was the most potent inhibitor, with an enzyme IC50 value of 160 nM. Compound 13b exhibited an enzyme IC50 value of 4.9 µM. However, it exhibited a potent antiviral EC50 value of 24 µM in VeroE6 cells. Remdesivir, an RdRp inhibitor, exhibited an antiviral EC50 value of 2.4 µM in the same assay. We assessed the mode of inhibition using mass spectral analysis which suggested the formation of a covalent bond with the enzyme. To obtain molecular insight, we have created a model of compound 9a bound to SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro in the active site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arun K. Ghosh
- Department of Chemistry; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; (D.S.); (M.Y.); (S.K.)
| | - Dana Shahabi
- Department of Chemistry; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; (D.S.); (M.Y.); (S.K.)
| | - Monika Yadav
- Department of Chemistry; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; (D.S.); (M.Y.); (S.K.)
| | - Satish Kovela
- Department of Chemistry; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; (D.S.); (M.Y.); (S.K.)
| | - Brandon J. Anson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; (B.J.A.); (D.S.); (C.A.B.-S.); (R.K.); (A.D.M.)
| | - Emma K. Lendy
- Department of Biochemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; (E.K.L.)
| | - Connie Bonham
- Bindley Bioscience Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA;
| | - Devika Sirohi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; (B.J.A.); (D.S.); (C.A.B.-S.); (R.K.); (A.D.M.)
- Purdue Institute of Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Disease, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Carlos A. Brito-Sierra
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; (B.J.A.); (D.S.); (C.A.B.-S.); (R.K.); (A.D.M.)
- Purdue Institute of Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Disease, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Shin-ichiro Hattori
- Departments of Hematology and Infectious Diseases, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan; (S.-i.H.); (H.M.)
- Department of Refractory Viral Infections, National Center for Global Health and Medicine Research Institute, Tokyo 162-8655, Japan
| | - Richard Kuhn
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; (B.J.A.); (D.S.); (C.A.B.-S.); (R.K.); (A.D.M.)
- Purdue Institute of Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Disease, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Hiroaki Mitsuya
- Departments of Hematology and Infectious Diseases, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan; (S.-i.H.); (H.M.)
- Department of Refractory Viral Infections, National Center for Global Health and Medicine Research Institute, Tokyo 162-8655, Japan
- Experimental Retrovirology Section, HIV and AIDS Malignancy Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Andrew D. Mesecar
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; (B.J.A.); (D.S.); (C.A.B.-S.); (R.K.); (A.D.M.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; (E.K.L.)
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20
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Synthetic and computational efforts towards the development of peptidomimetics and small-molecule SARS-CoV 3CLpro inhibitors. Bioorg Med Chem 2021; 46:116301. [PMID: 34332853 PMCID: PMC8254399 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2021.116301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is a severe febrile respiratory disease caused by the beta genus of human coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV. Last year, 2019-n-CoV (COVID-19) was a global threat for everyone caused by the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2. 3CLpro, chymotrypsin-like protease, is a major cysteine protease that substantially contributes throughout the viral life cycle of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. It is a prospective target for the development of SARS-CoV inhibitors by applying a repurposing strategy. This review focuses on a detailed overview of the chemical synthesis and computational chemistry perspectives of peptidomimetic inhibitors (PIs) and small-molecule inhibitors (SMIs) targeting viral proteinase discovered from 2004 to 2020. The PIs and SMIs are one of the primary therapeutic inventions for SARS-CoV. The journey of different analogues towards the evolution of SARS-CoV 3CLpro inhibitors and complete synthetic preparation of nineteen derivatives of PIs and ten derivatives of SMIs and their computational chemistry perspectives were reviewed. From each class of derivatives, we have identified and highlighted the most compelling PIs and SMIs for SARS-CoV 3CLpro. The protein-ligand interaction of 29 inhibitors were also studied that involved with the 3CLpro inhibition, and the frequent amino acid residues of the protease were also analyzed that are responsible for the interactions with the inhibitors. This work will provide an initiative to encourage further research for the development of effective and drug-like 3CLpro inhibitors against coronaviruses in the near future.
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21
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Gossen J, Albani S, Hanke A, Joseph BP, Bergh C, Kuzikov M, Costanzi E, Manelfi C, Storici P, Gribbon P, Beccari AR, Talarico C, Spyrakis F, Lindahl E, Zaliani A, Carloni P, Wade RC, Musiani F, Kokh DB, Rossetti G. A Blueprint for High Affinity SARS-CoV-2 Mpro Inhibitors from Activity-Based Compound Library Screening Guided by Analysis of Protein Dynamics. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci 2021; 4:1079-1095. [PMID: 34136757 PMCID: PMC8009102 DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.0c00215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus outbreak continues to spread at a rapid rate worldwide. The main protease (Mpro) is an attractive target for anti-COVID-19 agents. Unexpected difficulties have been encountered in the design of specific inhibitors. Here, by analyzing an ensemble of ∼30 000 SARS-CoV-2 Mpro conformations from crystallographic studies and molecular simulations, we show that small structural variations in the binding site dramatically impact ligand binding properties. Hence, traditional druggability indices fail to adequately discriminate between highly and poorly druggable conformations of the binding site. By performing ∼200 virtual screenings of compound libraries on selected protein structures, we redefine the protein's druggability as the consensus chemical space arising from the multiple conformations of the binding site formed upon ligand binding. This procedure revealed a unique SARS-CoV-2 Mpro blueprint that led to a definition of a specific structure-based pharmacophore. The latter explains the poor transferability of potent SARS-CoV Mpro inhibitors to SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, despite the identical sequences of the active sites. Importantly, application of the pharmacophore predicted novel high affinity inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, that were validated by in vitro assays performed here and by a newly solved X-ray crystal structure. These results provide a strong basis for effective rational drug design campaigns against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and a new computational approach to screen protein targets with malleable binding sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Gossen
- Institute
for Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-9), Forschungszentrum
Jülich, Jülich, 52425, Germany
- Institute
for Advanced Simulations (IAS-5) “Computational biomedicine”, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, 52425, Germany
- Faculty of
Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences, RWTH Aachen, Aachen, 52062, Germany
| | - Simone Albani
- Institute
for Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-9), Forschungszentrum
Jülich, Jülich, 52425, Germany
- Institute
for Advanced Simulations (IAS-5) “Computational biomedicine”, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, 52425, Germany
- Faculty of
Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences, RWTH Aachen, Aachen, 52062, Germany
| | - Anton Hanke
- Molecular
and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg
Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, Heidelberg, 69118, Germany
- Institute
of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology (IPMB), Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 364, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany
| | - Benjamin P. Joseph
- Institute
for Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-9), Forschungszentrum
Jülich, Jülich, 52425, Germany
- Institute
for Advanced Simulations (IAS-5) “Computational biomedicine”, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, 52425, Germany
- Faculty of
Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences, RWTH Aachen, Aachen, 52062, Germany
| | - Cathrine Bergh
- Science for
Life Laboratory & Swedish e-Science Research Center, Department
of Applied Physics, KTH Royal Institute
of Technology, Stockholm, 11428, Sweden
| | - Maria Kuzikov
- Department
of Screening Port, Fraunhofer Institute
for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Schnackenburgallee 114, Hamburg, 22525, Germany
| | - Elisa Costanzi
- Elettra-Sincrotrone
Trieste S.C.p.A., SS 14-km 163,5 in AREA Science Park, Basovizza,
Trieste, 34149, Italy
| | - Candida Manelfi
- Dompé
Farmaceutici SpA, Via Campo di Pile, L’Aquila, 67100, Italy
| | - Paola Storici
- Elettra-Sincrotrone
Trieste S.C.p.A., SS 14-km 163,5 in AREA Science Park, Basovizza,
Trieste, 34149, Italy
| | - Philip Gribbon
- Department
of Screening Port, Fraunhofer Institute
for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Schnackenburgallee 114, Hamburg, 22525, Germany
| | | | - Carmine Talarico
- Dompé
Farmaceutici SpA, Via Campo di Pile, L’Aquila, 67100, Italy
| | - Francesca Spyrakis
- Department
of Drug Science and Technology, University
of Turin, via Giuria
9, Turin, 10125, Italy
| | - Erik Lindahl
- Science for
Life Laboratory & Swedish e-Science Research Center, Department
of Applied Physics, KTH Royal Institute
of Technology, Stockholm, 11428, Sweden
- Science
for Life Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Solna, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Andrea Zaliani
- Department
of Screening Port, Fraunhofer Institute
for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Schnackenburgallee 114, Hamburg, 22525, Germany
| | - Paolo Carloni
- Institute
for Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-9), Forschungszentrum
Jülich, Jülich, 52425, Germany
- Institute
for Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (INM-11), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, 52425, Germany
- Institute
for Advanced Simulations (IAS-5) “Computational biomedicine”, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, 52425, Germany
- Faculty of
Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences, RWTH Aachen, Aachen, 52062, Germany
| | - Rebecca C. Wade
- Molecular
and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg
Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, Heidelberg, 69118, Germany
- Zentrum
für Molekulare Biologie der University Heidelberg, DKFZ-ZMBH
Alliance, INF 282, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany
- Interdisciplinary
Center for Scientific Computing (IWR), Heidelberg
University, INF 368, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany
| | - Francesco Musiani
- Laboratory
of Bioinorganic Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, 40126, Italy
| | - Daria B. Kokh
- Molecular
and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg
Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, Heidelberg, 69118, Germany
| | - Giulia Rossetti
- Institute
for Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-9), Forschungszentrum
Jülich, Jülich, 52425, Germany
- Institute
for Advanced Simulations (IAS-5) “Computational biomedicine”, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, 52425, Germany
- Jülich
Supercomputing Center (JSC), Forschungszentrum
Jülich, Jülich, 52425, Germany
- Department
of Hematology, Oncology, Hemostaseology, and Stem Cell Transplantation, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, 44517, Germany
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22
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Seck I, Nguemo F. Triazole, imidazole, and thiazole-based compounds as potential agents against coronavirus. RESULTS IN CHEMISTRY 2021; 3:100132. [PMID: 33907666 PMCID: PMC8061185 DOI: 10.1016/j.rechem.2021.100132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The expansion of the novel coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), or 2019-nCoV (2019 novel coronavirus) is a global concern over its pandemic potential. The need for therapeutic alternatives to stop this new pandemic is urgent. Nowadays, no efficacious therapy is available, and vaccines and drugs are underdeveloped to cure or prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections in many countries. Some vaccines candidates have been approved; however, a number of people are still skeptical of this coronavirus vaccines. Probably because of issues related to the quantity of the vaccine and a possible long-term side effects which are still being studied. The previous pandemics of infections caused by coronavirus, such as SARS-CoV in 2003, the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2012, HCoV-229E, and HCoV-OC43 were described in the 1960 s, -HCoV-NL63 isolated in 2004, and HCoV-HKU1identified in 2005 prompted researchers to characterize many compounds against these viruses. Most of them could be potentially active against the currently emerging novel coronavirus. Five membered nitrogen heterocycles with a triazole, imidazole, and thiazole moiety are often found in many bioactive molecules such as coronavirus inhibitors. This present work summarizes to review the biological and structural studies of these compound types as coronavirus inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Insa Seck
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Technics, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal
| | - Filomain Nguemo
- Institute for Neurophysiology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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23
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Amin SA, Banerjee S, Gayen S, Jha T. Protease targeted COVID-19 drug discovery: What we have learned from the past SARS-CoV inhibitors? Eur J Med Chem 2021; 215:113294. [PMID: 33618158 PMCID: PMC7880840 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2021.113294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Revised: 02/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The fascinating similarity between the SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, inspires scientific community to investigate deeper into the SARS-CoV proteases such as main protease (Mpro) and papain-like protease (PLpro) and their inhibitors for the discovery of SARS-CoV-2 protease inhibitors. Because of the similarity in the proteases of these two corona viruses, there is a greater chance for the previous SARS-CoV Mpro and PLpro inhibitors to provide effective results against SARS-CoV-2. In this context, the molecular fragments from the SARS-CoV protease inhibitors through the fragment-based drug design and discovery technique can be useful guidance for COVID-19 drug discovery. Here, we have focused on the structure-activity relationship studies of previous SARS-CoV protease inhibitors and discussed about crucial fragments generated from previous SARS-CoV protease inhibitors important for the lead optimization of SARS-CoV-2 protease inhibitors. This study surely offers different strategic options of lead optimization to the medicinal chemists to discover effective anti-viral agent against the devastating disease, COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sk Abdul Amin
- Natural Science Laboratory, Division of Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, P. O. Box 17020, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032, India
| | - Suvankar Banerjee
- Natural Science Laboratory, Division of Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, P. O. Box 17020, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032, India
| | - Shovanlal Gayen
- Laboratory of Drug Design and Discovery, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Harisingh Gour University, Sagar, MP, India.
| | - Tarun Jha
- Natural Science Laboratory, Division of Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, P. O. Box 17020, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032, India.
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24
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Roe MK, Junod NA, Young AR, Beachboard DC, Stobart CC. Targeting novel structural and functional features of coronavirus protease nsp5 (3CL pro, M pro) in the age of COVID-19. J Gen Virol 2021; 102:001558. [PMID: 33507143 PMCID: PMC8515871 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.001558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Coronavirus protease nsp5 (Mpro, 3CLpro) remains a primary target for coronavirus therapeutics due to its indispensable and conserved role in the proteolytic processing of the viral replicase polyproteins. In this review, we discuss the diversity of known coronaviruses, the role of nsp5 in coronavirus biology, and the structure and function of this protease across the diversity of known coronaviruses, and evaluate past and present efforts to develop inhibitors to the nsp5 protease with a particular emphasis on new and mostly unexplored potential targets of inhibition. With the recent emergence of pandemic SARS-CoV-2, this review provides novel and potentially innovative strategies and directions to develop effective therapeutics against the coronavirus protease nsp5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Molly K. Roe
- Department of Biological Sciences, Butler University, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Nathan A. Junod
- Department of Biological Sciences, Butler University, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Audrey R. Young
- Department of Biological Sciences, Butler University, Indianapolis, IN, USA
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25
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Chen CC, Yu X, Kuo CJ, Min J, Chen S, Ma L, Liu K, Guo RT. Overview of antiviral drug candidates targeting coronaviral 3C-like main proteases. FEBS J 2021; 288:5089-5121. [PMID: 33400393 DOI: 10.1111/febs.15696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2020] [Revised: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Coronaviruses (CoVs) are positive single-stranded RNA viruses that cause severe respiratory syndromes in humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome CoV (SARS-CoV-2) at the end of 2019 became a global pandemic. The 3C-like cysteine protease (3CLpro) processes viral polyproteins to yield mature non-structural proteins, thus playing an important role in the CoV life cycle, and therefore is considered as a prominent target for antiviral drugs. To date, many 3CLpro inhibitors have been reported, and their molecular mechanisms have been illustrated. Here, we briefly introduce the structural features of 3CLpro of the human-related SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, and explore the potency and mechanism of their cognate inhibitors. This information will shed light on the development and optimization of CoV 3CLpro inhibitors, which may benefit the further designation of therapeutic strategies for treating CoV diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun-Chi Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Green Transformation of Bio-Resources, Hubei Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xuejing Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Green Transformation of Bio-Resources, Hubei Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China
| | - Chih-Jung Kuo
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Jian Min
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Green Transformation of Bio-Resources, Hubei Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China
| | - Sizhuo Chen
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
| | - Lixin Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Green Transformation of Bio-Resources, Hubei Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China
| | - Ke Liu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
| | - Rey-Ting Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Green Transformation of Bio-Resources, Hubei Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China
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26
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Xiong M, Su H, Zhao W, Xie H, Shao Q, Xu Y. What coronavirus 3C-like protease tells us: From structure, substrate selectivity, to inhibitor design. Med Res Rev 2021; 41:1965-1998. [PMID: 33460213 PMCID: PMC8014231 DOI: 10.1002/med.21783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2020] [Revised: 12/17/2020] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The emergence of a variety of coronaviruses (CoVs) in the last decades has posed huge threats to human health. Especially, the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to more than 70 million infections and over 1.6 million of deaths worldwide in the past few months. None of the efficacious antiviral agents against human CoVs have been approved yet. 3C-like protease (3CLpro ) is an attractive target for antiviral intervention due to its essential role in processing polyproteins translated from viral RNA, and its conserved structural feature and substrate specificity among CoVs in spite of the sequence variation. This review focuses on all available crystal structures of 12 CoV 3CLpro s and their inhibitors, and intends to provide a comprehensive understanding of this protease from multiple aspects including its structural features, substrate specificity, inhibitor binding modes, and more importantly, to recapitulate the similarity and diversity among different CoV 3CLpro s and the structure-activity relationship of various types of inhibitors. Such an attempt could gain a deep insight into the inhibition mechanisms and drive future structure-based drug discovery targeting 3CLpro s.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muya Xiong
- CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Haixia Su
- CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Wenfeng Zhao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Hang Xie
- CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Qiang Shao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yechun Xu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, China
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27
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Ng CS, Stobart CC, Luo H. Innate immune evasion mediated by picornaviral 3C protease: Possible lessons for coronaviral 3C-like protease? Rev Med Virol 2021; 31:1-22. [PMID: 33624382 PMCID: PMC7883238 DOI: 10.1002/rmv.2206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Revised: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 is the etiological agent of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease-2019, a multi-organ disease that has triggered an unprecedented global health and economic crisis. The virally encoded 3C-like protease (3CLpro ), which is named after picornaviral 3C protease (3Cpro ) due to their similarities in substrate recognition and enzymatic activity, is essential for viral replication and has been considered as the primary drug target. However, information regarding the cellular substrates of 3CLpro and its interaction with the host remains scarce, though recent work has begun to shape our understanding more clearly. Here we summarized and compared the mechanisms by which picornaviruses and coronaviruses have evolved to evade innate immune surveillance, with a focus on the established role of 3Cpro in this process. Through this comparison, we hope to highlight the potential action and mechanisms that are conserved and shared between 3Cpro and 3CLpro . In this review, we also briefly discussed current advances in the development of broad-spectrum antivirals targeting both 3Cpro and 3CLpro .
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Seng Ng
- Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, St Paul's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | | | - Honglin Luo
- Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, St Paul's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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28
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Konwar M, Sarma D. Advances in developing small molecule SARS 3CL pro inhibitors as potential remedy for corona virus infection. Tetrahedron 2021; 77:131761. [PMID: 33230349 PMCID: PMC7674993 DOI: 10.1016/j.tet.2020.131761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Revised: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Originated in China, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)- the highly contagious and fatal respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 has already infected more than 29 million people worldwide with a mortality rate of 3.15% (according to World Health Organization's (WHO's) report, September 2020) and the number is exponentially increasing with no remedy whatsoever discovered till date. But it is not the first time this infectious viral disease has appeared, in 2002 SARS-CoV infected more than 8000 individuals of which 9.6% patients died and in 2012 approximately 35% of MERS-CoV infected patients have died. Literature reports indicate that a chymotripsin-like cystein protease (3CLpro) is responsible for the replication of the virus inside the host cell. Therefore, design and synthesis of 3CLpro inhibitor molecules play a great impact in drug development against this COVID-19 pandemic. In this review, we are discussing the anti-SARS effect of some small molecule 3CLpro inhibitors with their various binding modes of interactions to the target protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manashjyoti Konwar
- Department of Chemistry, Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh, 786004, Assam, India
- Department of Chemistry, Dibru College, Dibrugarh, 786003, Assam, India
| | - Diganta Sarma
- Department of Chemistry, Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh, 786004, Assam, India
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29
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Pillaiyar T, Wendt LL, Manickam M, Easwaran M. The recent outbreaks of human coronaviruses: A medicinal chemistry perspective. Med Res Rev 2021; 41:72-135. [PMID: 32852058 PMCID: PMC7461420 DOI: 10.1002/med.21724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2020] [Revised: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 08/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Coronaviruses (CoVs) infect both humans and animals. In humans, CoVs can cause respiratory, kidney, heart, brain, and intestinal infections that can range from mild to lethal. Since the start of the 21st century, three β-coronaviruses have crossed the species barrier to infect humans: severe-acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-1, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 (2019-nCoV). These viruses are dangerous and can easily be transmitted from human to human. Therefore, the development of anticoronaviral therapies is urgently needed. However, to date, no approved vaccines or drugs against CoV infections are available. In this review, we focus on the medicinal chemistry efforts toward the development of antiviral agents against SARS-CoV-1, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, targeting biochemical events important for viral replication and its life cycle. These targets include the spike glycoprotein and its host-receptors for viral entry, proteases that are essential for cleaving polyproteins to produce functional proteins, and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase for viral RNA replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thanigaimalai Pillaiyar
- PharmaCenter Bonn, Pharmaceutical Institute, Pharmaceutical & Medicinal ChemistryUniversity of BonnBonnGermany
| | - Lukas L. Wendt
- PharmaCenter Bonn, Pharmaceutical Institute, Pharmaceutical & Medicinal ChemistryUniversity of BonnBonnGermany
| | - Manoj Manickam
- Department of ChemistryPSG Institute of Technology and Applied ResearchCoimbatoreTamil NaduIndia
| | - Maheswaran Easwaran
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringSethu Institute of TechnologyVirudhunagarTamilnaduIndia
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30
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Mohamed NM, Ali EMH, AboulMagd AM. Ligand-based design, molecular dynamics and ADMET studies of suggested SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors. RSC Adv 2021; 11:4523-4538. [PMID: 35747608 PMCID: PMC9134034 DOI: 10.1039/d0ra10141a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Compounds I–X were designed to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Mpro based on pharmacophore modeling of SARS-CoV Mpro inhibitors. Compounds V and VI showed promising molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation results that surpassed baicalein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nada M. Mohamed
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department
- Faculty of Pharmacy
- Modern University for Technology and Information (MTI)
- Egypt
| | - Eslam M. H. Ali
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department
- Faculty of Pharmacy
- Modern University for Technology and Information (MTI)
- Egypt
- University of Science & Technology (UST)
| | - Asmaa M. AboulMagd
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department
- Faculty of Pharmacy
- Nahda University (NUB)
- Beni-Suef
- Egypt
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31
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Shitrit A, Zaidman D, Kalid O, Bloch I, Doron D, Yarnizky T, Buch I, Segev I, Ben-Zeev E, Segev E, Kobiler O. Conserved interactions required for inhibition of the main protease of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Sci Rep 2020; 10:20808. [PMID: 33257760 PMCID: PMC7704658 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-77794-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 requires a fast development of antiviral drugs. SARS-CoV-2 viral main protease (Mpro, also called 3C-like protease, 3CLpro) is a potential target for drug design. Crystal and co-crystal structures of the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro have been solved, enabling the rational design of inhibitory compounds. In this study we analyzed the available SARS-CoV-2 and the highly similar SARS-CoV-1 crystal structures. We identified within the active site of the Mpro, in addition to the inhibitory ligands' interaction with the catalytic C145, two key H-bond interactions with the conserved H163 and E166 residues. Both H-bond interactions are present in almost all co-crystals and are likely to occur also during the viral polypeptide cleavage process as suggested from docking of the Mpro cleavage recognition sequence. We screened in silico a library of 6900 FDA-approved drugs (ChEMBL) and filtered using these key interactions and selected 29 non-covalent compounds predicted to bind to the protease. Additional screen, using DOCKovalent was carried out on DrugBank library (11,414 experimental and approved drugs) and resulted in 6 covalent compounds. The selected compounds from both screens were tested in vitro by a protease activity inhibition assay. Two compounds showed activity at the 50 µM concentration range. Our analysis and findings can facilitate and focus the development of highly potent inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina Shitrit
- The Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Daniel Zaidman
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | | | - Itai Bloch
- Biotechnology Department, Migal - Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat-Shmona, Israel
| | - Dvir Doron
- Chemical & Computational Toxicology, Non-Clinical Development, Global R&D, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Netanya, Israel
| | - Tali Yarnizky
- Tali Yarnizky Scientific Consulting, Maccabim-Reut, Israel
| | - Idit Buch
- Emendo Biotherapeutics Ltd., Ness Ziona, Israel
| | | | - Efrat Ben-Zeev
- The Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Elad Segev
- Department of Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Holon Institute of Technology, Holon, Israel
| | - Oren Kobiler
- The Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel.
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32
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Negi M, Chawla PA, Faruk A, Chawla V. Role of heterocyclic compounds in SARS and SARS CoV-2 pandemic. Bioorg Chem 2020; 104:104315. [PMID: 33007742 PMCID: PMC7513919 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2020.104315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Coronaviruses have led to severe emergencies in the world since the outbreak of SARS CoV in 2002, followed by MERS CoV in 2012. SARS CoV-2, the novel pandemic caused by coronaviruses that began in December 2019 in China has led to a total of 24,066,076 confirmed cases and a death toll of 823,572 as reported by World Health Organisation on 26 August 2020, spreading to 213 countries and territories. However, there are still no vaccines or medications available till date against SARS coronaviruses which is an urgent requirement to control the current pandemic like situations. Since many decades, heterocyclic scaffolds have been explored exhaustively for their anticancer, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, antitubercular, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antiviral and many more treatment capabilities. Therefore, through this review, we have tried to emphasize on the anticipated role of heterocyclic scaffolds in the design and discovery of the much-awaited anti-SARS CoV-2 therapy, by exploring the research articles depicting different heterocyclic moieties as targeting SARS, MERS and SARS CoV-2 coronaviruses. The heterocyclic motifs mentioned in the review can serve as crucial resources for the development of SARS coronaviruses treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meenakshi Negi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar, Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Pooja A. Chawla
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Analysis, ISF College of Pharmacy, Moga, Punjab, India,Corresponding author at: Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Analysis, ISF College of Pharmacy, Moga 142001, Punjab, India
| | - Abdul Faruk
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar, Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Viney Chawla
- University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, Punjab, India
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33
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Preusser S, Kalden D, Wendler F, Schönherr PRW, Görls H, Westerhausen M, Imhof W. Mechanistic investigations on C–H activated dealkylating cyclo-amination reactions of substituted triazenes, formamidines and amidines. ZEITSCHRIFT FUR NATURFORSCHUNG SECTION B-A JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL SCIENCES 2020. [DOI: 10.1515/znb-2020-0067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Catalytic dealkylating cycloamination reactions of N
1-methylated-N
1,N
3-diarylated triazenes proceed via two subsequent oxidative addition reactions, regioselectivity producing benzotriazoles by C–H and C–Br activation steps. Whereas palladium-based catalysis in the presence of dealkylating reagents and directing phosphane ligands leads to high yields, the homologous metals nickel and platinum as well as other 3d transition metals show only poor catalytic activity in similar procedures. Starting compounds have been widely varied to introduce potentially competing reaction sites and to investigate the reaction mechanism of the catalytic cyclization reactions. Yields of the benzotriazole synthesis strongly depend on the electronic and steric properties of the directing phosphane ligands, the nature of the dealkylating bases and the substitution pattern in 2- and 4-position of the aryl groups of the starting triazenes. In order to clarify the role of the catalyst, palladium-based intermediates were identified. Finally, formamidines and bulky amidines were tested in related C–H activated dealkylating cycloamination reactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvio Preusser
- Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry , Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena , Humboldtstraße 8 , D-07743 Jena , Germany
| | - Diana Kalden
- Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry , Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena , Humboldtstraße 8 , D-07743 Jena , Germany
| | - Felix Wendler
- Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry , Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena , Humboldtstraße 8 , D-07743 Jena , Germany
| | - Paul R. W. Schönherr
- Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry , Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena , Humboldtstraße 8 , D-07743 Jena , Germany
| | - Helmar Görls
- Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry , Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena , Humboldtstraße 8 , D-07743 Jena , Germany
| | - Matthias Westerhausen
- Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry , Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena , Humboldtstraße 8 , D-07743 Jena , Germany
| | - Wolfgang Imhof
- Institute of Integrated Natural Sciences , University Koblenz – Landau , Universitätsstraße 1 , D-56070 Koblenz , Germany
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34
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Hosseini-Zare MS, Thilagavathi R, Selvam C. Targeting severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV-1) with structurally diverse inhibitors: a comprehensive review. RSC Adv 2020; 10:28287-28299. [PMID: 35519094 PMCID: PMC9055768 DOI: 10.1039/d0ra04395h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Coronaviruses, which were discovered in 1968, can lead to some human viral disorders, like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome-related (MERS), and, recently, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The coronavirus that leads to COVID-19 is rapidly spreading all over the world and is the reason for the deaths of thousands of people. Recent research has revealed that there is about 80% sequence homology between the coronaviruses that cause SARS and COVID-19. Considering this fact, we decided to collect the maximum available information on targets, structures, and inhibitors reported so far for SARS-CoV-1 that could be useful for researchers who work on closely related COVID-19. There are vital proteases, like papain-like protease 2 (PL2pro) and 3C-like protease (3CLpro), or main protease (Mpro), that are involved in and are essential for the replication of SARS coronavirus and so are valuable targets for the treatment of patients affected by this type of virus. SARS-CoV-1 NTPase/helicase plays an important role in the release of several non-structural proteins (nsps), so it is another essential target relating to the viral life cycle. In this paper, we provide extensive information about diverse molecules with anti-SARS activity. In addition to traditional medicinal chemistry outcomes, HTS, virtual screening efforts, and structural insights for better understanding inhibitors and SARS-CoV-1 target complexes are also discussed. This study covers a wide range of anti-SARS agents, particularly SARS-CoV-1 inhibitors, and provides new insights into drug design for the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam S Hosseini-Zare
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Environmental Health Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Texas Southern University Houston TX-77004 USA +1-713-313-7552
| | - Ramasamy Thilagavathi
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering, Karpagam Academy of Higher Education Coimbatore India
| | - Chelliah Selvam
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Environmental Health Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Texas Southern University Houston TX-77004 USA +1-713-313-7552
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Augustine R, Hasan A, Das S, Ahmed R, Mori Y, Notomi T, Kevadiya BD, S. Thakor A. Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP): A Rapid, Sensitive, Specific, and Cost-Effective Point-of-Care Test for Coronaviruses in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic. BIOLOGY 2020; 9:E182. [PMID: 32707972 PMCID: PMC7464797 DOI: 10.3390/biology9080182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Revised: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The rampant spread of COVID-19 and the worldwide prevalence of infected cases demand a rapid, simple, and cost-effective Point of Care Test (PoCT) for the accurate diagnosis of this pandemic. The most common molecular tests approved by regulatory bodies across the world for COVID-19 diagnosis are based on Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). While PCR-based tests are highly sensitive, specific, and remarkably reliable, they have many limitations ranging from the requirement of sophisticated laboratories, need of skilled personnel, use of complex protocol, long wait times for results, and an overall high cost per test. These limitations have inspired researchers to search for alternative diagnostic methods that are fast, economical, and executable in low-resource laboratory settings. The discovery of Loop-mediated isothermal Amplification (LAMP) has provided a reliable substitute platform for the accurate detection of low copy number nucleic acids in the diagnosis of several viral diseases, including epidemics like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). At present, a cocktail of LAMP assay reagents along with reverse transcriptase enzyme (Reverse Transcription LAMP, RT-LAMP) can be a robust solution for the rapid and cost-effective diagnosis for COVID-19, particularly in developing, and low-income countries. In summary, the development of RT-LAMP based diagnostic tools in a paper/strip format or the integration of this method into a microfluidic platform such as a Lab-on-a-chip may revolutionize the concept of PoCT for COVID-19 diagnosis. This review discusses the principle, technology and past research underpinning the success for using this method for diagnosing MERS and SARS, in addition to ongoing research, and the prominent prospect of RT-LAMP in the context of COVID-19 diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Augustine
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar;
- Biomedical Research Center (BRC), Qatar University, Doha PO Box 2713, Qatar
| | - Anwarul Hasan
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar;
- Biomedical Research Center (BRC), Qatar University, Doha PO Box 2713, Qatar
| | - Suvarthi Das
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA;
| | - Rashid Ahmed
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar;
- Biomedical Research Center (BRC), Qatar University, Doha PO Box 2713, Qatar
| | - Yasuyoshi Mori
- Eiken Chemical Co., Ltd., Research and Development Division, Taito-ku 110-8408, Japan; (Y.M.); (T.N.)
| | - Tsugunori Notomi
- Eiken Chemical Co., Ltd., Research and Development Division, Taito-ku 110-8408, Japan; (Y.M.); (T.N.)
| | - Bhavesh D. Kevadiya
- Interventional Regenerative Medicine and Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA; (B.D.K.); (A.S.T.)
| | - Avnesh S. Thakor
- Interventional Regenerative Medicine and Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA; (B.D.K.); (A.S.T.)
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36
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Ghosh AK, Brindisi M, Shahabi D, Chapman ME, Mesecar AD. Drug Development and Medicinal Chemistry Efforts toward SARS-Coronavirus and Covid-19 Therapeutics. ChemMedChem 2020; 15:907-932. [PMID: 32324951 PMCID: PMC7264561 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202000223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 196] [Impact Index Per Article: 49.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection is spreading at an alarming rate and has created an unprecedented health emergency around the globe. There is no effective vaccine or approved drug treatment against COVID-19 and other pathogenic coronaviruses. The development of antiviral agents is an urgent priority. Biochemical events critical to the coronavirus replication cycle provided a number of attractive targets for drug development. These include, spike protein for binding to host cell-surface receptors, proteolytic enzymes that are essential for processing polyproteins into mature viruses, and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase for RNA replication. There has been a lot of ground work for drug discovery and development against these targets. Also, high-throughput screening efforts have led to the identification of diverse lead structures, including natural product-derived molecules. This review highlights past and present drug discovery and medicinal-chemistry approaches against SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and COVID-19 targets. The review hopes to stimulate further research and will be a useful guide to the development of effective therapies against COVID-19 and other pathogenic coronaviruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arun K. Ghosh
- Department of ChemistryPurdue UniversityWest LafayetteIN 47907USA
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular PharmacolgyPurdue UniversityWest LafayetteIN 47907USA
| | - Margherita Brindisi
- Department of ChemistryPurdue UniversityWest LafayetteIN 47907USA
- Department of Excellence of PharmacyUniversity of Naples Federico II80131NaplesItaly
| | - Dana Shahabi
- Department of ChemistryPurdue UniversityWest LafayetteIN 47907USA
| | | | - Andrew D. Mesecar
- Department of ChemistryPurdue UniversityWest LafayetteIN 47907USA
- Department of BiochemistryPurdue UniversityWest LafayetteIN 47907USA
- Department of Biological SciencesPurdue UniversityWest LafayetteIN 47907USA
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37
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Tang B, He F, Liu D, Fang M, Wu Z, Xu D. AI-aided design of novel targeted covalent inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2020. [PMID: 32511346 DOI: 10.1101/2020.03.03.972133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The focused drug repurposing of known approved drugs (such as lopinavir/ritonavir) has been reported failed for curing SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. It is urgent to generate new chemical entities against this virus. As a key enzyme in the life-cycle of coronavirus, the 3C-like main protease (3CL pro or M pro ) is the most attractive for antiviral drug design. Based on a recently solved structure (PDB ID: 6LU7), we developed a novel advanced deep Q-learning network with the fragment-based drug design (ADQN-FBDD) for generating potential lead compounds targeting SARS-CoV-2 3CL pro . We obtained a series of derivatives from those lead compounds by our structure-based optimization policy (SBOP). All the 47 lead compounds directly from our AI-model and related derivatives based on SBOP are accessible in our molecular library at https://github.com/tbwxmu/2019-nCov . These compounds can be used as potential candidates for researchers in their development of drugs against SARS-CoV-2.
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Ageshina AA, Chesnokov GA, Topchiy MA, Alabugin IV, Nechaev MS, Asachenko AF. Making endo-cyclizations favorable again: a conceptually new synthetic approach to benzotriazoles via azide group directed lithiation/cyclization of 2-azidoaryl bromides. Org Biomol Chem 2019; 17:4523-4534. [PMID: 30994147 DOI: 10.1039/c9ob00615j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Although benzotriazoles are important and ubiquitous, currently there is only one conceptual approach to their synthesis: bridging the two ortho-amino groups with an electrophilic nitrogen atom. Herein, we disclose a new practical alternative - the endo-cyclization of 2-azidoaryl lithiums obtained in situ from 2-azido-aryl bromides. The scope of the reaction is illustrated using twenty-four examples with a variety of alkyl, alkoxy, perfluoroalkyl, and halogen substituents. We found that the directing effect of the azide group allows selective metal-halogen exchange in aryl azides containing several bromine atoms. Furthermore, (2-bromophenyl)diazomethane undergoes similar cyclization to give an indazole. Thus, cyclizations of aryl lithiums containing an ortho-X = Y = Z group emerge as a new general approach for the synthesis of aromatic heterocycles. DFT computations suggested that the observed endo-selectivity applies to the anionic cyclizations of other functionalities that undergo "1,1-additions" (i.e., azides, diazo compounds, and isonitriles). In contrast, cyclizations with the heteroatomic functionalities that follow the "1,2-addition" pattern (cyanates, thiocyanates, isocyanates, isothiocyanates, and nitriles) prefer the exo-cyclization path. Hence, such reactions expand the current understanding of stereoelectronic factors in anionic cyclizations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra A Ageshina
- A.V. Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Leninskiy prospect 29, Russian Federation.
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Singh M, Bose P, Singh AS, Tiwari VK. 1‐(Hydroxymethyl)‐1
H
‐benzotriazole: An Efficient Ligand for Copper‐Catalyzed Ullmann‐Type Coupling Reaction Leading to Expeditious Synthesis of Diverse Benzoxazoles and Benzothiazoles. ChemistrySelect 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/slct.201902420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mala Singh
- Department of ChemistryInstitute of ScienceBanaras Hindu University, Varansi Uttar Pradesh-221005 INDIA
| | - Priyanka Bose
- Department of ChemistryInstitute of ScienceBanaras Hindu University, Varansi Uttar Pradesh-221005 INDIA
| | - Anoop S. Singh
- Department of ChemistryInstitute of ScienceBanaras Hindu University, Varansi Uttar Pradesh-221005 INDIA
| | - Vinod K. Tiwari
- Department of ChemistryInstitute of ScienceBanaras Hindu University, Varansi Uttar Pradesh-221005 INDIA
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40
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Karypidou K, Ribone SR, Quevedo MA, Persoons L, Pannecouque C, Helsen C, Claessens F, Dehaen W. Synthesis, biological evaluation and molecular modeling of a novel series of fused 1,2,3-triazoles as potential anti-coronavirus agents. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2018; 28:3472-3476. [PMID: 30286952 PMCID: PMC7127349 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2018.09.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2018] [Revised: 09/11/2018] [Accepted: 09/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
A novel series of fused 1,2,3-triazoles was accessed via an organocatalytic route. Compounds 14d, 14n, 14q, 18f and 18i are active against coronavirus 229E. Molecular modelling work flow was developed to identify key molecular interactions. All active compounds established the key interactions based on molecular modelling.
Synthesis and biological evaluation of a novel library of fused 1,2,3-triazole derivatives are described. The in-house developed multicomponent reaction based on commercially available starting materials was applied and broad biological screening against various viruses was performed, showing promising antiviral properties for compounds 14d, 14n, 14q, 18f and 18i against human coronavirus 229E. Further in silico studies identified the key molecular interactions between those compounds and the 3-chymotrypsin-like protease, which is essential to the intracellular replication of the virus, supporting the hypothesis that the protease is the target molecule of the potential antiviral derivatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstantina Karypidou
- Molecular Design and Synthesis, Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Sergio R Ribone
- Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo en Tecnología Farmacéutica (UNITEFA, CONICET), Dpto. Farmacia, Fac. Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba X5000HUA, Argentina.
| | - Mario A Quevedo
- Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo en Tecnología Farmacéutica (UNITEFA, CONICET), Dpto. Farmacia, Fac. Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba X5000HUA, Argentina.
| | - Leentje Persoons
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Rega Institute for Medical Research, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Christophe Pannecouque
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Rega Institute for Medical Research, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Christine Helsen
- Laboratory of Molecular Endocrinology, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Frank Claessens
- Laboratory of Molecular Endocrinology, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Wim Dehaen
- Molecular Design and Synthesis, Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
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41
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Chu HF, Chen CC, Moses DC, Chen YH, Lin CH, Tsai YC, Chou CY. Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus papain-like protease 2 can be noncompetitively inhibited by 6-thioguanine. Antiviral Res 2018; 158:199-205. [PMID: 30138642 PMCID: PMC7113753 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2018.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2018] [Revised: 07/09/2018] [Accepted: 08/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a coronavirus (CoV) discovered in the 1970s that infects the intestinal tract of pigs, resulting in diarrhea and vomiting. It can cause extreme dehydration and death in neonatal piglets. In Asia, modified live attenuated vaccines have been used to control PEDV infection in recent years. However, a new strain of PEDV that belongs to genogroup 2a appeared in the USA in 2013 and then quickly spread to Canada and Mexico as well as Asian and European countries. Due to the less effective protective immunity provided by the vaccines against this new strain, it has caused considerable agricultural and economic loss worldwide. The emergence of this new strain increases the importance of understanding PEDV as well as strategies for inhibiting it. Coronaviral proteases, including main proteases and papain-like proteases, are ideal antiviral targets because of their essential roles in viral maturation. Here we provide a first description of the expression, purification and structural characteristics of recombinant PEDV papain-like protease 2, moreover present our finding that 6-thioguanine, a chemotherapeutic drug, in contrast to its competitive inhibition on SARS- and MERS-CoV papain-like proteases, is a noncompetitive inhibitor of PEDV papain-like protease 2. PEDV PL2pro exhibits much higher DUB activity than that of other PLpros in spite of their structural similarities. In contrast to its competitive inhibition on SARS- and MERS-CoV PLpros, 6-thioguanine inhibits PEDV PL2pro allosterically. Putative 6-thioguanine binding site is proposed to render the blocking loop less flexible and therefore disfavor catalysis. 6-thioguanine can be a lead compound for anti-coronaviral drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsu-Feng Chu
- Biomedical Industry Ph.D. Program, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan; Department of Life Sciences and Institute of Genome Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
| | - Chiao-Che Chen
- Department of Life Sciences and Institute of Genome Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
| | - David C Moses
- Department of Chemistry, Tamkang University, Tamsui 251, Taiwan
| | - Yau-Hung Chen
- Department of Chemistry, Tamkang University, Tamsui 251, Taiwan
| | - Chao-Hsiung Lin
- Department of Life Sciences and Institute of Genome Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
| | - Ying-Chieh Tsai
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan; Probiotic Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
| | - Chi-Yuan Chou
- Department of Life Sciences and Institute of Genome Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
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42
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Andrzejewska MR, Vuram PK, Pottabathini N, Gurram V, Relangi SS, Korvinson KA, Doddipalla R, Stahl L, Neary MC, Pradhan P, Sharma S, Lakshman MK. The Disappearing Director: The Case of Directed N-Arylation via a Removable Hydroxyl Group. Adv Synth Catal 2018; 360:2503-2510. [PMID: 30559638 PMCID: PMC6294448 DOI: 10.1002/adsc.201701611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
A facile and broadly applicable method for the regiospecific N-arylation of benzotriazoles is reported. Copper-mediated reactions of diverse 1-hydroxy-1H-benzotriazoles with aryl boronic acids lead to 1-aryl-1H-benzotriazole 3-oxides. A N1-OH → N3 prototropy in the 1-hydroxy-1H-benzotriazoles is plausibly the underlying basis, where the tautomer is captured by the boronic acid, leading to C-N (not C-O) bond formation. Because the N-O bond in amine N-oxides and 1-hydroxy-1H-benzotriazoles can be easily reduced by diboron reagents such as (pinB)2 and B2(OH)4, exposure of the 1-aryl-1H-benzotriazole 3-oxides to B2(OH)4 then leads to facile reduction of the N-O bond resulting in diverse, regiospecifically-arylated benzotriazoles. Thus, the N-hydroxyl group in 1-hydroxy-1H-benzotriazoles acts as a disposable arylation director.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena R. Andrzejewska
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The City College of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, New York 10031, USA
| | - Prasanna K. Vuram
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The City College of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, New York 10031, USA
| | - Narender Pottabathini
- Discovery Services, GVK Biosciences, Pvt. Ltd., 28A IDA Nacharam, Hyderabad 500076, Telangana, India
| | - Venkateshwarlu Gurram
- Discovery Services, GVK Biosciences, Pvt. Ltd., 28A IDA Nacharam, Hyderabad 500076, Telangana, India
| | - Siva Subrahmanyam Relangi
- Discovery Services, GVK Biosciences, Pvt. Ltd., 28A IDA Nacharam, Hyderabad 500076, Telangana, India
| | - Kirill A. Korvinson
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The City College of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, New York 10031, USA
- The Ph.D. Program in Chemistry, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, New York 10016, USA
| | - Raju Doddipalla
- Discovery Services, GVK Biosciences, Pvt. Ltd., 28A IDA Nacharam, Hyderabad 500076, Telangana, India
| | - Lothar Stahl
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Dakota, 151 Cornell Street Stop 9024, Grand Forks, North Dakota 58202, USA
| | - Michelle C. Neary
- Department of Chemistry, Hunter College, 695 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10065, USA
| | - Padmanava Pradhan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The City College of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, New York 10031, USA
| | - Somesh Sharma
- Discovery Services, GVK Biosciences, Pvt. Ltd., 28A IDA Nacharam, Hyderabad 500076, Telangana, India
| | - Mahesh K. Lakshman
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The City College of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, New York 10031, USA
- The Ph.D. Program in Chemistry, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, New York 10016, USA
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43
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Mekala R, Mani R, Jagdish P, Mathammal R. Design, structural investigation and physicochemical properties of benzotriazolium m-nitrophthalate monohydrate single crystals. J Mol Struct 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2017.12.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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44
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Abudalo RA, AbuDalo MA, Hernandez MT. Stability of Benzotriazole Derivatives with Free Cu, Zn, Co and Metal-Containing Enzymes: Binding and Interaction of Methylbenzotriazoles with Superoxide Dismutase and Vitamin B12. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018. [DOI: 10.1088/1757-899x/305/1/012024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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45
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Adhikari N, Baidya SK, Saha A, Jha T. Structural Insight Into the Viral 3C-Like Protease Inhibitors: Comparative SAR/QSAR Approaches. VIRAL PROTEASES AND THEIR INHIBITORS 2017. [PMCID: PMC7150231 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-809712-0.00011-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), caused by SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV), is a dreadful infection worldwide having economic and medical importance and a global threat for health. It was turned into an epidemic in South China followed by a chain of infections across three generations. A number of pathogeneses in human may occur due to the virus. This infection has not been taken into account before the SARS outbreak, and still it is a neglected one. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop small molecule antivirals to combat the SARS-CoV. No vaccines are available till date though a number of SARS-CoV 3C-like and 3C protease inhibitors were reported. In this chapter, quantitative structure–activity relationship technique is used for development of anti-SARS and anti-HRV drugs and outcome discussed in details. This approach may be a useful strategy to design novel and potential anti-SARS drugs to combat these dreadful viral diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Tarun Jha
- Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
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46
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Pillaiyar T, Manickam M, Namasivayam V, Hayashi Y, Jung SH. An Overview of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) 3CL Protease Inhibitors: Peptidomimetics and Small Molecule Chemotherapy. J Med Chem 2016; 59:6595-628. [PMID: 26878082 PMCID: PMC7075650 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5b01461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 509] [Impact Index Per Article: 63.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2015] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is caused by a newly emerged coronavirus that infected more than 8000 individuals and resulted in more than 800 (10-15%) fatalities in 2003. The causative agent of SARS has been identified as a novel human coronavirus (SARS-CoV), and its viral protease, SARS-CoV 3CL(pro), has been shown to be essential for replication and has hence been recognized as a potent drug target for SARS infection. Currently, there is no effective treatment for this epidemic despite the intensive research that has been undertaken since 2003 (over 3500 publications). This perspective focuses on the status of various efficacious anti-SARS-CoV 3CL(pro) chemotherapies discovered during the last 12 years (2003-2015) from all sources, including laboratory synthetic methods, natural products, and virtual screening. We describe here mainly peptidomimetic and small molecule inhibitors of SARS-CoV 3CL(pro). Attempts have been made to provide a complete description of the structural features and binding modes of these inhibitors under many conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thanigaimalai Pillaiyar
- Pharmaceutical
Institute, Pharmaceutical Chemistry I, University
of Bonn, An der Immenburg
4, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
| | - Manoj Manickam
- College
of Pharmacy and Institute of Drug Research and Development, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, South Korea
| | - Vigneshwaran Namasivayam
- Pharmaceutical
Institute, Pharmaceutical Chemistry I, University
of Bonn, An der Immenburg
4, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
| | - Yoshio Hayashi
- Department
of Medicinal Chemistry, Tokyo University
of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Tokyo 192-0392, Japan
| | - Sang-Hun Jung
- College
of Pharmacy and Institute of Drug Research and Development, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, South Korea
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47
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Loddo R, Novelli F, Sparatore A, Tasso B, Tonelli M, Boido V, Sparatore F, Collu G, Delogu I, Giliberti G, La Colla P. Antiviral activity of benzotriazole derivatives. 5-[4-(Benzotriazol-2-yl)phenoxy]-2,2-dimethylpentanoic acids potently and selectively inhibit Coxsackie Virus B5. Bioorg Med Chem 2015; 23:7024-34. [PMID: 26443549 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2015.09.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2015] [Revised: 09/17/2015] [Accepted: 09/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
A library of 64 benzotriazole derivatives (17 of which were [4-(benzotriazol-2-yl)phenoxy]alkanoic acids) were screened for antiviral activity against a panel of twelve DNA and RNA viruses. Twenty-six compounds (12 of which were [4-(benzotriazol-2-yl)phenoxy]alkanoic acids) displayed activity against one or more viruses. CVB-5, RSV, BVDV, Sb-1 and YFV were, in decreasing order, the more frequently and effectively affected viruses; DENV-2, WNV, HIV-1 and Reo-1 were only occasionally and modestly affected, while the remaining viruses were not affected by any of the tested compounds. Worth of note were compounds 33 and 35; the former for the activity against Sb-1 (EC50=7 μM) and the latter for the large spectrum of activity including six viruses with a mean EC50=12 μM. Even more interesting were the alkanoic acids 45-48 and 50-57 for their activity against RSV and/or CVB-5. In particular, compound 56 displayed a potent and selective activity against CVB-5 with EC50=0.15 μM and SI=100, thus representing a valuable hit compound for the development of antiviral agents for the treatment of human pathologies related to this virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Loddo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, 09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy.
| | - Federica Novelli
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Genova, Viale Benedetto XV, 3, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Anna Sparatore
- Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Mangiagalli 25, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Bruno Tasso
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Genova, Viale Benedetto XV, 3, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Michele Tonelli
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Genova, Viale Benedetto XV, 3, 16132 Genova, Italy.
| | - Vito Boido
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Genova, Viale Benedetto XV, 3, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Fabio Sparatore
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Genova, Viale Benedetto XV, 3, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Gabriella Collu
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, 09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
| | - Ilenia Delogu
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, 09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
| | - Gabriele Giliberti
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, 09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
| | - Paolo La Colla
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, 09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
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48
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St John SE, Tomar S, Stauffer SR, Mesecar AD. Targeting zoonotic viruses: Structure-based inhibition of the 3C-like protease from bat coronavirus HKU4--The likely reservoir host to the human coronavirus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Bioorg Med Chem 2015; 23:6036-48. [PMID: 26190463 PMCID: PMC5433438 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2015.06.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2015] [Revised: 06/02/2015] [Accepted: 06/10/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The bat coronavirus HKU4 belongs to the same 2c lineage as that of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and shows high sequence similarity, therefore potentiating a threat to the human population through a zoonotic shift or 'spill over' event. To date, there are no effective vaccines or antiviral treatments available that are capable of limiting the pathogenesis of any human coronaviral infection. An attractive target for the development of anti-coronaviral therapeutics is the 3C-like protease (3CL(pro)), which is essential for the progression of the coronaviral life cycle. Herein, we report the screening results of a small, 230-member peptidomimetic library against HKU4-CoV 3CL(pro) and the identification of 43 peptidomimetic compounds showing good to excellent inhibitory potency of HKU4-CoV 3CL(pro) with IC50 values ranging from low micromolar to sub-micromolar. We established structure-activity relationships (SARs) describing the important ligand-based features required for potent HKU4-CoV 3CL(pro) inhibition and identified a seemingly favored peptidic backbone for HKU4-CoV 3CL(pro) inhibition. To investigate this, a molecular sub-structural analysis of the most potent HKU4-CoV 3CL(pro) inhibitor was accomplished by the synthesis and testing of the lead peptidomimetic inhibitor's sub-structural components, confirming the activity of the favored backbone (22A) identified via SAR analysis. In order to elucidate the structural reasons for such potent HKU4-CoV 3CL(pro) inhibition by the peptidomimetics having the 22A backbone, we determined the X-ray structures of HKU4-CoV 3CL(pro) in complex with three peptidomimetic inhibitors. Sequence alignment of HKU4-CoV 3CL(pro), and two other lineage C Betacoronaviruses 3CL(pro)'s, HKU5-CoV and MERS-CoV 3CL(pro), show that the active site residues of HKU4-CoV 3CL(pro) that participate in inhibitor binding are conserved in HKU5-CoV and MERS-CoV 3CL(pro). Furthermore, we assayed our most potent HKU4-CoV 3CL(pro) inhibitor for inhibition of HKU5-CoV 3CL(pro) and found it to have sub-micromolar inhibitory activity (IC50=0.54±0.03μM). The X-ray structures and SAR analysis reveal critical insights into the structure and inhibition of HKU4-CoV 3CL(pro), providing fundamental knowledge that may be exploited in the development of anti-coronaviral therapeutics for coronaviruses emerging from zoonotic reservoirs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E St John
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA; Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA; Centers for Cancer Research & Drug Discovery, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Sakshi Tomar
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA; Centers for Cancer Research & Drug Discovery, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Shaun R Stauffer
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Andrew D Mesecar
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA; Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA; Centers for Cancer Research & Drug Discovery, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
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49
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Briguglio I, Piras S, Corona P, Gavini E, Nieddu M, Boatto G, Carta A. Benzotriazole: An overview on its versatile biological behavior. Eur J Med Chem 2015; 97:612-48. [PMID: 25293580 PMCID: PMC7115563 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2014.09.089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2014] [Revised: 09/25/2014] [Accepted: 09/28/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Discovered in late 1960, azoles are heterocyclic compounds class which constitute the largest group of available antifungal drugs. Particularly, the imidazole ring is the chemical component that confers activity to azoles. Triazoles are obtained by a slight modification of this ring and similar or improved activities as well as less adverse effects are reported for triazole derivatives. Consequently, it is not surprising that benzimidazole/benzotriazole derivatives have been found to be biologically active. Since benzimidazole has been widely investigated, this review is focused on defining the place of benzotriazole derivatives in biomedical research, highlighting their versatile biological properties, the mode of action and Structure Activity Relationship (SAR) studies for a variety of antimicrobial, antiparasitic, and even antitumor, choleretic, cholesterol-lowering agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Briguglio
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Via Muroni 23/A, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - S Piras
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Via Muroni 23/A, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - P Corona
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Via Muroni 23/A, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - E Gavini
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Via Muroni 23/A, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - M Nieddu
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Via Muroni 23/A, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - G Boatto
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Via Muroni 23/A, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - A Carta
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Via Muroni 23/A, 07100 Sassari, Italy.
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Luo M, Gates KS, Henzl MT, Tanner JJ. Diethylaminobenzaldehyde is a covalent, irreversible inactivator of ALDH7A1. ACS Chem Biol 2015; 10:693-7. [PMID: 25554827 DOI: 10.1021/cb500977q] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
There is growing interest in aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) because of their overexpression in cancer stem cells and the ability to mediate resistance to cancer drugs. Here, we report the first crystal structure of an aldehyde dehydrogenase complexed with the inhibitor 4-diethylaminobenzaldehyde (DEAB). Contrary to the widely held belief that DEAB is a reversible inhibitor of ALDHs, we show that DEAB irreversibly inactivates ALDH7A1 via formation of a stable, covalent acyl-enzyme species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Luo
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Missouri−Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States
| | - Kent S. Gates
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Missouri−Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States
| | - Michael T. Henzl
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of Missouri−Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States
| | - John J. Tanner
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Missouri−Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of Missouri−Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States
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