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De Clercq E. A scientific career from the early 1960s till 2023: A tale of the various protagonists. Biochem Pharmacol 2024:116248. [PMID: 38701868 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2024.116248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2024] [Revised: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
In this era spanning more than 60 years (from the early 1960s till today (2023), a broad variety of actors played a decisive role: Piet De Somer, Tom C. Merigan, Paul A. Janssen, Maurice Hilleman, and Georges Smets. Two protagonists (Antonín Holý and John C. Martin) formed with me a unique triangle (the Holý Trinity). Walter Fiers' group (with the help of Jean Content) contributed to the cloning of human β-interferon, and Piet Herdewijn accomplished the chemical synthesis of an array of anti-HIV 2',3'-dideoxynucleoside analogues. Rudi Pauwels, Masanori Baba, Dominique Schols, Johan Neyts, Lieve Naesens, Anita Van Lierde, Graciela Andrei, Robert Snoeck and Dirk Daelemans, as members of my team, helped me in achieving the intended goal, the development of a selective therapy for virus infections. The collaboration with "Lowie" (Guangdi Li) generated a new dimension for the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik De Clercq
- KU Leuven, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
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2
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Wang S, Pang Z, Fan H, Tong Y. Advances in anti-EV-A71 drug development research. J Adv Res 2024; 56:137-156. [PMID: 37001813 PMCID: PMC10834817 DOI: 10.1016/j.jare.2023.03.007] [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: 01/17/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) is capable of causing hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), which may lead to neurological sequelae and even death. As EV-A71 is resistant to environmental changes and mutates easily, there is still a lack of effective treatments or globally available vaccines. AIM OF REVIEW For more than 50 years since the HFMD epidemic, related drug research has been conducted. Progress in this area can promote the further application of existing potential drugs and develop more efficient and safe antiviral drugs, and provide useful reference for protecting the younger generation and maintaining public health security. KEY SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS OF REVIEW At present, researchers have identified hundreds of EV-A71 inhibitors based on screening repurposed drugs, targeted structural design, and rational modification of previously effective drugs as the main development strategies. This review systematically introduces the current potential drugs to inhibit EV-A71 infection, including viral inhibitors targeting key sites such as the viral capsid, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), 2C protein, internal ribosome entry site (IRES), 3C proteinase (3Cpro), and 2A proteinase (2Apro), starting from each stage of the viral life cycle. Meanwhile, the progress of host-targeting antiviral drugs and their development are summarized in terms of regulating host immunity, inhibiting autophagy or apoptosis, and regulating the cellular redox environment. In addition, the current clinical methods for the prevention and treatment of HFMD are summarized and discussed with the aim of providing support and recommendations for the treatment of enterovirus infections including EV-A71.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuqi Wang
- College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Zehan Pang
- College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Huahao Fan
- College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China.
| | - Yigang Tong
- College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China; Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China.
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Gargantilla M, Francés C, Adhav A, Forcada-Nadal A, Martínez-Gualda B, Martí-Marí O, López-Redondo ML, Melero R, Marco-Marín C, Gougeard N, Espinosa C, Rubio-del-Campo A, Ruiz-Partida R, Hernández-Sierra MD, Villamayor-Belinchón L, Bravo J, Llacer JL, Marina A, Rubio V, San-Félix A, Geller R, Pérez-Pérez MJ. C-2 Thiophenyl Tryptophan Trimers Inhibit Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 through Interaction with the Viral Spike (S) Protein. J Med Chem 2023; 66:10432-10457. [PMID: 37471688 PMCID: PMC10424185 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00576] [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: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes COVID-19, by infecting cells via the interaction of its spike protein (S) with the primary cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE2). To search for inhibitors of this key step in viral infection, we screened an in-house library of multivalent tryptophan derivatives. Using VSV-S pseudoparticles, we identified compound 2 as a potent entry inhibitor lacking cellular toxicity. Chemical optimization of 2 rendered compounds 63 and 65, which also potently inhibited genuine SARS-CoV-2 cell entry. Thermofluor and microscale thermophoresis studies revealed their binding to S and to its isolated receptor binding domain (RBD), interfering with the interaction with ACE2. High-resolution cryoelectron microscopy structure of S, free or bound to 2, shed light on cell entry inhibition mechanisms by these compounds. Overall, this work identifies and characterizes a new class of SARS-CoV-2 entry inhibitors with clear potential for preventing and/or fighting COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Gargantilla
- Instituto de Química
Médica (IQM, CSIC), c/Juan de la Cierva 3, Madrid 28006, Spain
| | - Clara Francés
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), UV-CSIC, c/Catedrático Agustin Escardino,
9, Paterna 46980, Valencia, Spain
| | - Anmol Adhav
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV, CSIC), c/Jaime Roig 11, Valencia 46010, Spain
| | - Alicia Forcada-Nadal
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV, CSIC), c/Jaime Roig 11, Valencia 46010, Spain
- Group 739, Centro de Investigación
Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER-ISCIII), Madrid 28049, Spain
| | | | - Olaia Martí-Marí
- Instituto de Química
Médica (IQM, CSIC), c/Juan de la Cierva 3, Madrid 28006, Spain
| | | | - Roberto Melero
- Centro
Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB, CSIC), c/Darwin 3, Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Clara Marco-Marín
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV, CSIC), c/Jaime Roig 11, Valencia 46010, Spain
- Group 739, Centro de Investigación
Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER-ISCIII), Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Nadine Gougeard
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV, CSIC), c/Jaime Roig 11, Valencia 46010, Spain
- Group 739, Centro de Investigación
Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER-ISCIII), Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Carolina Espinosa
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV, CSIC), c/Jaime Roig 11, Valencia 46010, Spain
| | | | - Rafael Ruiz-Partida
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV, CSIC), c/Jaime Roig 11, Valencia 46010, Spain
| | | | | | - Jerónimo Bravo
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV, CSIC), c/Jaime Roig 11, Valencia 46010, Spain
| | - José-Luis Llacer
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV, CSIC), c/Jaime Roig 11, Valencia 46010, Spain
- Group 739, Centro de Investigación
Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER-ISCIII), Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Alberto Marina
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV, CSIC), c/Jaime Roig 11, Valencia 46010, Spain
- Group 739, Centro de Investigación
Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER-ISCIII), Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Vicente Rubio
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV, CSIC), c/Jaime Roig 11, Valencia 46010, Spain
- Group 739, Centro de Investigación
Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER-ISCIII), Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Ana San-Félix
- Instituto de Química
Médica (IQM, CSIC), c/Juan de la Cierva 3, Madrid 28006, Spain
| | - Ron Geller
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), UV-CSIC, c/Catedrático Agustin Escardino,
9, Paterna 46980, Valencia, Spain
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Insertion of an Amphipathic Linker in a Tetrapodal Tryptophan Derivative Leads to a Novel and Highly Potent Entry Inhibitor of Enterovirus A71 Clinical Isolates. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24043539. [PMID: 36834952 PMCID: PMC9959982 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24043539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
AL-471, the leading exponent of a class of potent HIV and enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) entry inhibitors discovered in our research group, contains four l-tryptophan (Trp) units bearing an aromatic isophthalic acid directly attached to the C2 position of each indole ring. Starting from AL-471, we (i) replaced l-Trp with d-Trp, (ii) inserted a flexible linker between C2 and the isophthalic acid, and (iii) substituted a nonaromatic carboxylic acid for the terminal isophthalic acid. Truncated analogues lacking the Trp motif were also synthesized. Our findings indicate that the antiviral activity seems to be largely independent of the stereochemistry (l- or d-) of the Trp fragment and also that both the Trp unit and the distal isophthalic moiety are essential for antiviral activity. The most potent derivative, 23 (AL-534), with the C2 shortest alkyl urea linkage (three methylenes), showed subnanomolar potency against different EV-71 clinical isolates. This finding was only observed before with the early dendrimer prototype AL-385 (12 l-Trp units) but remained unprecedented for the reduced-size prototype AL-471. Molecular modeling showed the feasibility of high-affinity binding of the novel l-Trp-decorated branches of 23 (AL-534) to an alternative site on the VP1 protein that harbors significant sequence variation among EV-71 strains.
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Martí-Marí O, Martínez-Gualda B, Fernández-Barahona I, Mills A, Abdelnabi R, Noppen S, Neyts J, Schols D, Camarasa MJ, Herranz F, Gago F, San-Félix A. Organotropic dendrons with high potency as HIV-1, HIV-2 and EV-A71 cell entry inhibitors. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 237:114414. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Revised: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Recent research results have converted gp120 binders to a therapeutic option for the treatment of HIV-1 infection. A medicinal chemistry point of view. Eur J Med Chem 2021; 229:114078. [PMID: 34992041 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2021.114078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Current therapeutic armamentarium for treatment of HIV-1 infection is based on the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy that, unfortunately, does not act as a curative remedy. Moreover, duration of the therapy often results in lack of compliance with the consequent emergence of multidrug resistance. Finally, drug toxicity issues also arise during treatments. In the attempt to achieve a curative effect, in addition to invest substantial resources in finding new anti-HIV-1 agents and in optimizing antiviral lead compounds and drugs currently available, additional efforts should be done to deplete viral reservoir located within host CD4+ T cells. Gp120 binders represent a class of compounds able to affect the interactions between viral envelope proteins and host CD4, thus avoiding virus-to-cell attachment and fusion, and the consequent viral entry into host cells. This review summarizes the efforts done in the last five years to design new gp120 binders, that finally culminated in the approval of fostemsavir as an anti-HIV-1 drug.
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