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Özçelik C, Araz CZ, Yılmaz Ö, Gülyüz S, Özdamar P, Salmanlı E, Özkul A, Şeker UÖŞ. Screening Peptide Drug Candidates To Neutralize Whole Viral Agents: A Case Study with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci 2024; 7:1032-1042. [PMID: 38633598 PMCID: PMC11020059 DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.3c00317] [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: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 03/03/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the need for therapeutic and pharmaceutical molecule development in a short time with different approaches. Although boosting immunological memory by vaccination was the quickest and robust strategy, still medication is required for the immediate treatment of a patient. A popular approach is the mining of new therapeutic molecules. Peptide-based drug candidates are also becoming a popular avenue. To target whole pathogenic viral agents, peptide libraries can be employed. With this motivation, we have used the 12mer M13 phage display library for selecting SARS-CoV-2 targeting peptides as potential neutralizing molecules to prevent viral infections. Panning was applied with four iterative cycles to select SARS-CoV-2 targeting phage particles displaying 12-amino acid-long peptides. Randomly selected peptide sequences were synthesized by a solid-state peptide synthesis method. Later, selected peptides were analyzed by the quartz crystal microbalance method to characterize their molecular interaction with SARS-CoV-2's S protein. Finally, the neutralization activity of the selected peptides was probed with an in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The results showed that scpep3, scpep8, and scpep10 peptides have both binding and neutralizing capacity for S1 protein as a candidate for therapeutic molecule. The results of this study have a translational potential with future in vivo and human studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cemile
Elif Özçelik
- UNAM—Institute
of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Bilkent University, Ankara 06800, Turkey
| | - Cemre Zekiye Araz
- Synbiotik
Biotechnology and Biomedical Technology Bilkent Kümeevler, Çankaya, Ankara 06800, Turkey
| | - Özgür Yılmaz
- Material
Technologies, Marmara Research Center, TUBITAK, Gebze, Kocaeli 41470, Turkey
| | - Sevgi Gülyüz
- Material
Technologies, Marmara Research Center, TUBITAK, Gebze, Kocaeli 41470, Turkey
| | - Pınar Özdamar
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Virology, Graduate School of Health
Sciences, Department of Virology, Ankara
University, Ankara 06110, Turkey
| | - Ezgi Salmanlı
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Virology, Graduate School of Health
Sciences, Department of Virology, Ankara
University, Ankara 06110, Turkey
| | - Aykut Özkul
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Virology, Graduate School of Health
Sciences, Department of Virology, Ankara
University, Ankara 06110, Turkey
| | - Urartu Özgür Şafak Şeker
- UNAM—Institute
of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Bilkent University, Ankara 06800, Turkey
- Interdisciplinary
Program in Neuroscience, Bilkent University, Ankara 06800, Turkey
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2
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Federico A, Möbus L, Al-Abdulraheem Z, Pavel A, Fortino V, Del Giudice G, Alenius H, Fyhrquist N, Greco D. Integrative network analysis suggests prioritised drugs for atopic dermatitis. J Transl Med 2024; 22:64. [PMID: 38229087 PMCID: PMC10792836 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-024-04879-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/18/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a prevalent chronic inflammatory skin disease whose pathophysiology involves the interplay between genetic and environmental factors, ultimately leading to dysfunction of the epidermis. While several treatments are effective in symptom management, many existing therapies offer only temporary relief and often come with side effects. For this reason, the formulation of an effective therapeutic plan is challenging and there is a need for more effective and targeted treatments that address the root causes of the condition. Here, we hypothesise that modelling the complexity of the molecular buildup of the atopic dermatitis can be a concrete means to drive drug discovery. METHODS We preprocessed, harmonised and integrated publicly available transcriptomics datasets of lesional and non-lesional skin from AD patients. We inferred co-expression network models of both AD lesional and non-lesional skin and exploited their interactional properties by integrating them with a priori knowledge in order to extrapolate a robust AD disease module. Pharmacophore-based virtual screening was then utilised to build a tailored library of compounds potentially active for AD. RESULTS In this study, we identified a core disease module for AD, pinpointing known and unknown molecular determinants underlying the skin lesions. We identified skin- and immune-cell type signatures expressed by the disease module, and characterised the impaired cellular functions underlying the complex phenotype of atopic dermatitis. Therefore, by investigating the connectivity of genes belonging to the AD module, we prioritised novel putative biomarkers of the disease. Finally, we defined a tailored compound library by characterising the therapeutic potential of drugs targeting genes within the disease module to facilitate and tailor future drug discovery efforts towards novel pharmacological strategies for AD. CONCLUSIONS Overall, our study reveals a core disease module providing unprecedented information about genetic, transcriptional and pharmacological relationships that foster drug discovery in atopic dermatitis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Federico
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33100, Tampere, Finland
- Tampere Institute for Advanced Study, Tampere University, 33100, Tampere, Finland
- Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, 00100, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Lena Möbus
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33100, Tampere, Finland
| | - Zeyad Al-Abdulraheem
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33100, Tampere, Finland
| | - Alisa Pavel
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33100, Tampere, Finland
| | - Vittorio Fortino
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Giusy Del Giudice
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33100, Tampere, Finland
- Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, 00100, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Harri Alenius
- Faculty of Medicine, Human Microbiome Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Nanna Fyhrquist
- Faculty of Medicine, Human Microbiome Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Dario Greco
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33100, Tampere, Finland.
- Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, 00100, Helsinki, Finland.
- Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, 00100, Helsinki, Finland.
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3
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Girgis AS, Panda SS, Kariuki BM, Bekheit MS, Barghash RF, Aboshouk DR. Indole-Based Compounds as Potential Drug Candidates for SARS-CoV-2. Molecules 2023; 28:6603. [PMID: 37764378 PMCID: PMC10537473 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28186603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2023] [Revised: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a significant threat to society in recent times, endangering human health, life, and economic well-being. The disease quickly spreads due to the highly infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has undergone numerous mutations. Despite intense research efforts by the scientific community since its emergence in 2019, no effective therapeutics have been discovered yet. While some repurposed drugs have been used to control the global outbreak and save lives, none have proven universally effective, particularly for severely infected patients. Although the spread of the disease is generally under control, anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents are still needed to combat current and future infections. This study reviews some of the most promising repurposed drugs containing indolyl heterocycle, which is an essential scaffold of many alkaloids with diverse bio-properties in various biological fields. The study also discusses natural and synthetic indole-containing compounds with anti-SARS-CoV-2 properties and computer-aided drug design (in silico studies) for optimizing anti-SARS-CoV-2 hits/leads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adel S. Girgis
- Department of Pesticide Chemistry, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt; (M.S.B.); (R.F.B.); (D.R.A.)
| | - Siva S. Panda
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA
| | - Benson M. Kariuki
- School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK; (B.M.K.)
| | - Mohamed S. Bekheit
- Department of Pesticide Chemistry, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt; (M.S.B.); (R.F.B.); (D.R.A.)
| | - Reham F. Barghash
- Department of Pesticide Chemistry, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt; (M.S.B.); (R.F.B.); (D.R.A.)
| | - Dalia R. Aboshouk
- Department of Pesticide Chemistry, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt; (M.S.B.); (R.F.B.); (D.R.A.)
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4
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Pritam M, Dutta S, Medicherla KM, Kumar R, Singh SP. Computational analysis of spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 (Omicron variant) for development of peptide-based therapeutics and diagnostics. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023:1-19. [PMID: 37498146 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2239932] [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: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
In the last few years, the worldwide population has suffered from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The WHO dashboard indicated that around 504,079,039 people were infected and 6,204,155 died from COVID-19 caused by different variants of SARS-CoV-2. Recently, a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.1.529) was reported by South Africa known as Omicron. The high transmissibility rate and resistance towards available anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs/vaccines/monoclonal antibodies, make Omicron a variant of concern. Because of various mutations in spike protein, available diagnostic and therapeutic treatments are not reliable. Therefore, the present study explored the development of some therapeutic peptides that can inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 virus interaction with host ACE2 receptors and can also be used for diagnostic purposes. The screened linear B cell epitopes derived from receptor-binding domain of spike protein of Omicron variant were evaluated as peptide inhibitor/vaccine candidates through different bioinformatics tools including molecular docking and simulation to analyze the interaction between Omicron peptide and human ACE2 receptor. Overall, in-silico studies revealed that Omicron peptides OP1-P12, OP14, OP20, OP23, OP24, OP25, OP26, OP27, OP28, OP29, and OP30 have the potential to inhibit Omicron interaction with ACE2 receptor. Moreover, Omicron peptides OP20, OP22, OP23, OP24, OP25, OP26, OP27, and OP30 have shown potential antigenic and immunogenic properties that can be used in design and development vaccines against Omicron. Although the in-silico validation was performed by comparative analysis with the control peptide inhibitor, further validation through wet lab experimentation is required before its use as therapeutic peptides.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manisha Pritam
- Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Birla Institute of Scientific Research, Jaipur, India
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, India
| | - Somenath Dutta
- Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Birla Institute of Scientific Research, Jaipur, India
- Department of Bioinformatics, Pondicherry Central University, Puducherry, India
| | - Krishna Mohan Medicherla
- Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Birla Institute of Scientific Research, Jaipur, India
| | - Rajnish Kumar
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, India
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
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5
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Saarimäki LA, Fratello M, Pavel A, Korpilähde S, Leppänen J, Serra A, Greco D. A curated gene and biological system annotation of adverse outcome pathways related to human health. Sci Data 2023; 10:409. [PMID: 37355733 PMCID: PMC10290716 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02321-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) are emerging as a central framework in modern toxicology and other fields in biomedicine. They serve as an extension of pathway-based concepts by depicting biological mechanisms as causally linked sequences of key events (KEs) from a molecular initiating event (MIE) to an adverse outcome. AOPs guide the use and development of new approach methodologies (NAMs) aimed at reducing animal experimentation. While AOPs model the systemic mechanisms at various levels of biological organisation, toxicogenomics provides the means to study the molecular mechanisms of chemical exposures. Systematic integration of these two concepts would improve the application of AOP-based knowledge while also supporting the interpretation of complex omics data. Hence, we established this link through rigorous curation of molecular annotations for the KEs of human relevant AOPs. We further expanded and consolidated the annotations of the biological context of KEs. These curated annotations pave the way to embed AOPs in molecular data interpretation, facilitating the emergence of new knowledge in biomedicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Aliisa Saarimäki
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Michele Fratello
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Alisa Pavel
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Seela Korpilähde
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Jenni Leppänen
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Angela Serra
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Institute for Advanced Study, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Dario Greco
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
- Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
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6
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Farkaš B, Minneci M, Misevicius M, Rozas I. A Tale of Two Proteases: M Pro and TMPRSS2 as Targets for COVID-19 Therapies. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:834. [PMID: 37375781 DOI: 10.3390/ph16060834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Considering the importance of the 2019 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) resulting in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, an overview of two proteases that play an important role in the infection by SARS-CoV-2, the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 (MPro) and the host transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2), is presented in this review. After summarising the viral replication cycle to identify the relevance of these proteases, the therapeutic agents already approved are presented. Then, this review discusses some of the most recently reported inhibitors first for the viral MPro and next for the host TMPRSS2 explaining the mechanism of action of each protease. Afterward, some computational approaches to design novel MPro and TMPRSS2 inhibitors are presented, also describing the corresponding crystallographic structures reported so far. Finally, a brief discussion on a few reports found some dual-action inhibitors for both proteases is given. This review provides an overview of two proteases of different origins (viral and human host) that have become important targets for the development of antiviral agents to treat COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Farkaš
- School of Chemistry, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, 152-160 Pearse Street, D02 R590 Dublin, Ireland
| | - Marco Minneci
- School of Chemistry, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, 152-160 Pearse Street, D02 R590 Dublin, Ireland
| | - Matas Misevicius
- School of Chemistry, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, 152-160 Pearse Street, D02 R590 Dublin, Ireland
| | - Isabel Rozas
- School of Chemistry, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, 152-160 Pearse Street, D02 R590 Dublin, Ireland
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7
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Hybrid Approach to Identifying Druglikeness Leading Compounds against COVID-19 3CL Protease. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 15:ph15111333. [DOI: 10.3390/ph15111333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2022] [Revised: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 is a positive single-strand RNA-based macromolecule that has caused the death of more than 6.3 million people since June 2022. Moreover, by disturbing global supply chains through lockdowns, the virus has indirectly caused devastating damage to the global economy. It is vital to design and develop drugs for this virus and its various variants. In this paper, we developed an in silico study-based hybrid framework to repurpose existing therapeutic agents in finding drug-like bioactive molecules that would cure COVID-19. In the first step, a total of 133 drug-likeness bioactive molecules are retrieved from the ChEMBL database against SARS coronavirus 3CL Protease. Based on the standard IC50, the dataset is divided into three classes: active, inactive, and intermediate. Our comparative analysis demonstrated that the proposed Extra Tree Regressor (ETR)-based QSAR model has improved prediction results related to the bioactivity of chemical compounds as compared to Gradient Boosting-, XGBoost-, Support Vector-, Decision Tree-, and Random Forest-based regressor models. ADMET analysis is carried out to identify thirteen bioactive molecules with the ChEMBL IDs 187460, 190743, 222234, 222628, 222735, 222769, 222840, 222893, 225515, 358279, 363535, 365134, and 426898. These molecules are highly suitable drug candidates for SARS-CoV-2 3CL Protease. In the next step, the efficacy of the bioactive molecules is computed in terms of binding affinity using molecular docking, and then six bioactive molecules are shortlisted, with the ChEMBL IDs 187460, 222769, 225515, 358279, 363535, and 365134. These molecules can be suitable drug candidates for SARS-CoV-2. It is anticipated that the pharmacologist and/or drug manufacturer would further investigate these six molecules to find suitable drug candidates for SARS-CoV-2. They can adopt these promising compounds for their downstream drug development stages.
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8
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Yang K, Wang C, Kreutzberger AJB, Ojha R, Kuivanen S, Couoh-Cardel S, Muratcioglu S, Eisen TJ, White KI, Held RG, Subramanian S, Marcus K, Pfuetzner RA, Esquivies L, Doyle CA, Kuriyan J, Vapalahti O, Balistreri G, Kirchhausen T, Brunger AT. Nanomolar inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 infection by an unmodified peptide targeting the prehairpin intermediate of the spike protein. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2210990119. [PMID: 36122200 PMCID: PMC9546559 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2210990119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) challenge currently available coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines and monoclonal antibody therapies through epitope change on the receptor binding domain of the viral spike glycoprotein. Hence, there is a specific urgent need for alternative antivirals that target processes less likely to be affected by mutation, such as the membrane fusion step of viral entry into the host cell. One such antiviral class includes peptide inhibitors, which block formation of the so-called heptad repeat 1 and 2 (HR1HR2) six-helix bundle of the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein and thus interfere with viral membrane fusion. We performed structural studies of the HR1HR2 bundle, revealing an extended, well-folded N-terminal region of HR2 that interacts with the HR1 triple helix. Based on this structure, we designed an extended HR2 peptide that achieves single-digit nanomolar inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 in cell-based and virus-based assays without the need for modifications such as lipidation or chemical stapling. The peptide also strongly inhibits all major SARS-CoV-2 variants to date. This extended peptide is ∼100-fold more potent than all previously published short, unmodified HR2 peptides, and it has a very long inhibition lifetime after washout in virus infection assays, suggesting that it targets a prehairpin intermediate of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein. Together, these results suggest that regions outside the HR2 helical region may offer new opportunities for potent peptide-derived therapeutics for SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, and even more distantly related viruses, and provide further support for the prehairpin intermediate of the S protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kailu Yang
- HHMI, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Photon Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Chuchu Wang
- HHMI, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Photon Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Alex J. B. Kreutzberger
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
- Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Ravi Ojha
- Department of Virology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00290, Finland
| | - Suvi Kuivanen
- Department of Virology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00290, Finland
| | - Sergio Couoh-Cardel
- HHMI, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Photon Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Serena Muratcioglu
- HHMI, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Timothy J. Eisen
- HHMI, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - K. Ian White
- HHMI, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Photon Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Richard G. Held
- HHMI, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Photon Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Subu Subramanian
- HHMI, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Kendra Marcus
- HHMI, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Richard A. Pfuetzner
- HHMI, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Photon Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Luis Esquivies
- HHMI, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Photon Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Catherine A. Doyle
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903
| | - John Kuriyan
- HHMI, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Olli Vapalahti
- Department of Virology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00290, Finland
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00290, Finland
- Helsinki University Hospital Diagnostic Center, Clinical Microbiology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00290, Finland
| | | | - Tom Kirchhausen
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
- Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Axel T. Brunger
- HHMI, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Photon Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
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9
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Pavel A, Saarimäki LA, Möbus L, Federico A, Serra A, Greco D. The potential of a data centred approach & knowledge graph data representation in chemical safety and drug design. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022; 20:4837-4849. [PMID: 36147662 PMCID: PMC9464643 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.08.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Big Data pervades nearly all areas of life sciences, yet the analysis of large integrated data sets remains a major challenge. Moreover, the field of life sciences is highly fragmented and, consequently, so is its data, knowledge, and standards. This, in turn, makes integrated data analysis and knowledge gathering across sub-fields a demanding task. At the same time, the integration of various research angles and data types is crucial for modelling the complexity of organisms and biological processes in a holistic manner. This is especially valid in the context of drug development and chemical safety assessment where computational methods can provide solutions for the urgent need of fast, effective, and sustainable approaches. At the same time, such computational methods require the development of methodologies suitable for an integrated and data centred Big Data view. Here we discuss Knowledge Graphs (KG) as a solution to a data centred analysis approach for drug and chemical development and safety assessment. KGs are knowledge bases, data analysis engines, and knowledge discovery systems all in one, allowing them to be used from simple data retrieval, over meta-analysis to complex predictive and knowledge discovery systems. Therefore, KGs have immense potential to advance the data centred approach, the re-usability, and informativity of data. Furthermore, they can improve the power of analysis, and the complexity of modelled processes, all while providing knowledge in a natively human understandable network data model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alisa Pavel
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Tampere, Finland
| | - Laura A Saarimäki
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Tampere, Finland
| | - Lena Möbus
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Tampere, Finland
| | - Antonio Federico
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Tampere, Finland
| | - Angela Serra
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Tampere, Finland
| | - Dario Greco
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Tampere, Finland.,Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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10
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Yang K, Wang C, Kreutzberger AJB, Ojha R, Kuivanen S, Couoh-Cardel S, Muratcioglu S, Eisen TJ, White KI, Held RG, Subramanian S, Marcus K, Pfuetzner RA, Esquivies L, Doyle CA, Kuriyan J, Vapalahti O, Balistreri G, Kirchhausen T, Brunger AT. Nanomolar inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 infection by an unmodified peptide targeting the pre-hairpin intermediate of the spike protein. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2022:2022.08.11.503553. [PMID: 35982670 PMCID: PMC9387137 DOI: 10.1101/2022.08.11.503553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) challenge currently available COVID-19 vaccines and monoclonal antibody therapies through epitope change on the receptor binding domain of the viral spike glycoprotein. Hence, there is a specific urgent need for alternative antivirals that target processes less likely to be affected by mutation, such as the membrane fusion step of viral entry into the host cell. One such antiviral class includes peptide inhibitors which block formation of the so-called HR1HR2 six-helix bundle of the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein and thus interfere with viral membrane fusion. Here we performed structural studies of the HR1HR2 bundle, revealing an extended, well-folded N-terminal region of HR2 that interacts with the HR1 triple helix. Based on this structure, we designed an extended HR2 peptide that achieves single-digit nanomolar inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 in cell-based fusion, VSV-SARS-CoV-2 chimera, and authentic SARS-CoV-2 infection assays without the need for modifications such as lipidation or chemical stapling. The peptide also strongly inhibits all major SARS-CoV-2 variants to date. This extended peptide is ~100-fold more potent than all previously published short, unmodified HR2 peptides, and it has a very long inhibition lifetime after washout in virus infection assays, suggesting that it targets a pre-hairpin intermediate of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein. Together, these results suggest that regions outside the HR2 helical region may offer new opportunities for potent peptide-derived therapeutics for SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, and even more distantly related viruses, and provide further support for the pre-hairpin intermediate of the S protein. Significance Statement SARS-CoV-2 infection requires fusion of viral and host membranes, mediated by the viral spike glycoprotein (S). Due to the importance of viral membrane fusion, S has been a popular target for developing vaccines and therapeutics. We discovered a simple peptide that inhibits infection by all major variants of SARS-CoV-2 with nanomolar efficacies. In marked contrast, widely used shorter peptides that lack a key N-terminal extension are about 100 x less potent than this peptide. Our results suggest that a simple peptide with a suitable sequence can be a potent and cost-effective therapeutic against COVID-19 and they provide new insights at the virus entry mechanism.
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11
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Clerbaux LA, Albertini MC, Amigó N, Beronius A, Bezemer GFG, Coecke S, Daskalopoulos EP, del Giudice G, Greco D, Grenga L, Mantovani A, Muñoz A, Omeragic E, Parissis N, Petrillo M, Saarimäki LA, Soares H, Sullivan K, Landesmann B. Factors Modulating COVID-19: A Mechanistic Understanding Based on the Adverse Outcome Pathway Framework. J Clin Med 2022; 11:4464. [PMID: 35956081 PMCID: PMC9369763 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11154464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Addressing factors modulating COVID-19 is crucial since abundant clinical evidence shows that outcomes are markedly heterogeneous between patients. This requires identifying the factors and understanding how they mechanistically influence COVID-19. Here, we describe how eleven selected factors (age, sex, genetic factors, lipid disorders, heart failure, gut dysbiosis, diet, vitamin D deficiency, air pollution and exposure to chemicals) influence COVID-19 by applying the Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP), which is well-established in regulatory toxicology. This framework aims to model the sequence of events leading to an adverse health outcome. Several linear AOPs depicting pathways from the binding of the virus to ACE2 up to clinical outcomes observed in COVID-19 have been developed and integrated into a network offering a unique overview of the mechanisms underlying the disease. As SARS-CoV-2 infectibility and ACE2 activity are the major starting points and inflammatory response is central in the development of COVID-19, we evaluated how those eleven intrinsic and extrinsic factors modulate those processes impacting clinical outcomes. Applying this AOP-aligned approach enables the identification of current knowledge gaps orientating for further research and allows to propose biomarkers to identify of high-risk patients. This approach also facilitates expertise synergy from different disciplines to address public health issues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laure-Alix Clerbaux
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), 21027 Ispra, Italy; (S.C.); (E.P.D.); (N.P.); (M.P.); (B.L.)
| | | | - Núria Amigó
- Biosfer Teslab SL., 43204 Reus, Spain;
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), 23204 Reus, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Anna Beronius
- Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden;
| | - Gillina F. G. Bezemer
- Impact Station, 1223 JR Hilversum, The Netherlands;
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Sandra Coecke
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), 21027 Ispra, Italy; (S.C.); (E.P.D.); (N.P.); (M.P.); (B.L.)
| | - Evangelos P. Daskalopoulos
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), 21027 Ispra, Italy; (S.C.); (E.P.D.); (N.P.); (M.P.); (B.L.)
| | - Giusy del Giudice
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33100 Tampere, Finland; (G.d.G.); (D.G.); (L.A.S.)
| | - Dario Greco
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33100 Tampere, Finland; (G.d.G.); (D.G.); (L.A.S.)
| | - Lucia Grenga
- Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, INRAE, SPI, F-30200 Bagnols-sur-Ceze, France;
| | - Alberto Mantovani
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy;
| | - Amalia Muñoz
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), 2440 Geel, Belgium;
| | - Elma Omeragic
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sarajevo, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina;
| | - Nikolaos Parissis
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), 21027 Ispra, Italy; (S.C.); (E.P.D.); (N.P.); (M.P.); (B.L.)
| | - Mauro Petrillo
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), 21027 Ispra, Italy; (S.C.); (E.P.D.); (N.P.); (M.P.); (B.L.)
| | - Laura A. Saarimäki
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33100 Tampere, Finland; (G.d.G.); (D.G.); (L.A.S.)
| | - Helena Soares
- Laboratory of Immunobiology and Pathogenesis, Chronic Diseases Research Centre, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas Medical School, University of Lisbon, 1649-004 Lisbon, Portugal;
| | - Kristie Sullivan
- Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, DC 20016, USA;
| | - Brigitte Landesmann
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), 21027 Ispra, Italy; (S.C.); (E.P.D.); (N.P.); (M.P.); (B.L.)
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12
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Integrated Network Pharmacology Approach for Drug Combination Discovery: A Multi-Cancer Case Study. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14082043. [PMID: 35454948 PMCID: PMC9028433 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14082043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2022] [Revised: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite remarkable efforts of computational and predictive pharmacology to improve therapeutic strategies for complex diseases, only in a few cases have the predictions been eventually employed in the clinics. One of the reasons behind this drawback is that current predictive approaches are based only on the integration of molecular perturbation of a certain disease with drug sensitivity signatures, neglecting intrinsic properties of the drugs. Here we integrate mechanistic and chemocentric approaches to drug repositioning by developing an innovative network pharmacology strategy. We developed a multilayer network-based computational framework integrating perturbational signatures of the disease as well as intrinsic characteristics of the drugs, such as their mechanism of action and chemical structure. We present five case studies carried out on public data from The Cancer Genome Atlas, including invasive breast cancer, colon adenocarcinoma, lung squamous cell carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma and prostate adenocarcinoma. Our results highlight paclitaxel as a suitable drug for combination therapy for many of the considered cancer types. In addition, several non-cancer-related genes representing unusual drug targets were identified as potential candidates for pharmacological treatment of cancer.
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13
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Serra A, Saarimäki LA, Pavel A, del Giudice G, Fratello M, Cattelani L, Federico A, Laurino O, Marwah VS, Fortino V, Scala G, Sofia Kinaret PA, Greco D. Nextcast: a software suite to analyse and model toxicogenomics data. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022; 20:1413-1426. [PMID: 35386103 PMCID: PMC8956870 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.03.014] [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: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Toxicogenomics is emerging as a valid approach to characterise the mechanism of action of chemicals. Structured pipelines for toxicogenomics increase standardisation and regulatory acceptance. We developed the Nextcast software suite for robust analysis and modelling of toxicogenomic data. Nextcast offers customisable modular pipelines to tackle multiple biological questions.
The recent advancements in toxicogenomics have led to the availability of large omics data sets, representing the starting point for studying the exposure mechanism of action and identifying candidate biomarkers for toxicity prediction. The current lack of standard methods in data generation and analysis hampers the full exploitation of toxicogenomics-based evidence in regulatory risk assessment. Moreover, the pipelines for the preprocessing and downstream analyses of toxicogenomic data sets can be quite challenging to implement. During the years, we have developed a number of software packages to address specific questions related to multiple steps of toxicogenomics data analysis and modelling. In this review we present the Nextcast software collection and discuss how its individual tools can be combined into efficient pipelines to answer specific biological questions. Nextcast components are of great support to the scientific community for analysing and interpreting large data sets for the toxicity evaluation of compounds in an unbiased, straightforward, and reliable manner. The Nextcast software suite is available at: ( https://github.com/fhaive/nextcast).
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Serra
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Tampere, Finland
| | - Laura Aliisa Saarimäki
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Tampere, Finland
| | - Alisa Pavel
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Tampere, Finland
| | - Giusy del Giudice
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Tampere, Finland
| | - Michele Fratello
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Tampere, Finland
| | - Luca Cattelani
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Tampere, Finland
| | - Antonio Federico
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Tampere, Finland
| | | | - Veer Singh Marwah
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Vittorio Fortino
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Giovanni Scala
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Pia Anneli Sofia Kinaret
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Tampere, Finland
- Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Dario Greco
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Tampere, Finland
- Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Corresponding author.
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