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Olenginski LT, Kasprzak WK, Attionu SK, Shapiro BA, Dayie TK. Virtual Screening of Hepatitis B Virus Pre-Genomic RNA as a Novel Therapeutic Target. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28041803. [PMID: 36838792 PMCID: PMC9963113 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28041803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The global burden imposed by hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection necessitates the discovery and design of novel antiviral drugs to complement existing treatments. One attractive and underexploited therapeutic target is ε, an ~85-nucleotide (nt) cis-acting regulatory stem-loop RNA located at the 3'- and 5'-ends of the pre-genomic RNA (pgRNA). Binding of the 5'-end ε to the viral polymerase protein (P) triggers two early events in HBV replication: pgRNA and P packaging and reverse transcription. Our recent solution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy structure of ε permits structure-informed drug discovery efforts that are currently lacking for P. Here, we employ a virtual screen against ε using a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved compound library, followed by in vitro binding assays. This approach revealed that the anti-hepatitis C virus drug Daclatasvir is a selective ε-targeting ligand. Additional molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated that Daclatasvir targets ε at its flexible 6-nt priming loop (PL) bulge and modulates its dynamics. Given the functional importance of the PL, our work supports the notion that targeting ε dynamics may be an effective anti-HBV therapeutic strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukasz T. Olenginski
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Correspondence: author emails: (L.T.O.); (T.K.D.)
| | - Wojciech K. Kasprzak
- Bioinformatics and Computational Science Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Solomon K. Attionu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Bruce A. Shapiro
- RNA Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Theodore K. Dayie
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Correspondence: author emails: (L.T.O.); (T.K.D.)
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Li M, Zhao J, Tang Q, Zhang Q, Wang Y, Zhang J, Hao Y, Bai X, Lu Z. Lamivudine improves cognitive decline in SAMP8 mice: Integrating in vivo pharmacological evaluation and network pharmacology. J Cell Mol Med 2021; 25:8490-8503. [PMID: 34374199 PMCID: PMC8419189 DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.16811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Revised: 07/03/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The reverse transcriptase inhibitors such as lamivudine (3TC) play important roles in anti‐ageing, but their effects on neurodegenerative diseases caused by ageing are not clear, especially on the functions of the nervous system such as cognition. In this study, we administered 3TC to senescence‐accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice by gastric perfusion (100 mg/kg) for 4 weeks. Our results showed that 3TC significantly improved the ageing status of SAMP8 mice, especially the decline of cognitive ability evaluated by the Morris water maze test. To further investigate the molecular mechanisms of improving the ageing status of SAMP8 mice by 3TC, the qPCR and tissue staining methods were used to study the brain tissues (i.e., hippocampus and cortex) of mice, while the network pharmacology analysis was applied to investigate the potential targets of 3TC. The results showed that the mRNA levels of genes related to long interspersed element‐1, type 1 interferon response, the senescence‐associated secretion phenotype and the Alzheimer's disease in the hippocampus and cortex of SAMP8 mice were increased due to senescence, but this trend was reversed partially by 3TC. Results of histological studies showed that 3TC reduced the death of hippocampal neurons, while the results of network pharmacology analysis indicated that 3TC may exert its influence through multiple pathways, including the oestrogen signalling and the PI3K/Akt and neuroactive ligand‐receptor interaction signalling pathways, which we have verified through in vitro experiments. These findings provide evidence for the therapeutic potential of 3TC in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Li
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China.,Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
| | - Jie Zhao
- Department of Radiology, Jinan Central Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Qi Tang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Qingchen Zhang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
| | - Yong Wang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China.,Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
| | - Jian Zhang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
| | - Yingying Hao
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China.,Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
| | - Xiaohui Bai
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China.,Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
| | - Zhiming Lu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China.,Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
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