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Zhang Z, Takenaga T, Fehling SK, Igarashi M, Hirokawa T, Muramoto Y, Yamauchi K, Onishi C, Nakano M, Urata S, Groseth A, Strecker T, Noda T. Hexestrol, an estrogen receptor agonist, inhibits Lassa virus entry. J Virol 2024; 98:e0071424. [PMID: 38809021 PMCID: PMC11265444 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00714-24] [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: 05/01/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Lassa virus (LASV) is the causative agent of human Lassa fever which in severe cases manifests as hemorrhagic fever leading to thousands of deaths annually. However, no approved vaccines or antiviral drugs are currently available. Recently, we screened approximately 2,500 compounds using a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) expressing LASV glycoprotein GP (VSV-LASVGP) and identified a P-glycoprotein inhibitor as a potential LASV entry inhibitor. Here, we show that another identified candidate, hexestrol (HES), an estrogen receptor agonist, is also a LASV entry inhibitor. HES inhibited VSV-LASVGP replication with a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 0.63 µM. Importantly, HES also inhibited authentic LASV replication with IC50 values of 0.31 µM-0.61 µM. Time-of-addition and cell-based membrane fusion assays suggested that HES inhibits the membrane fusion step during virus entry. Alternative estrogen receptor agonists did not inhibit VSV-LASVGP replication, suggesting that the estrogen receptor itself is unlikely to be involved in the antiviral activity of HES. Generation of a HES-resistant mutant revealed that the phenylalanine at amino acid position 446 (F446) of LASVGP, which is located in the transmembrane region, conferred resistance to HES. Although mutation of F446 enhanced the membrane fusion activity of LASVGP, it exhibited reduced VSV-LASVGP replication, most likely due to the instability of the pre-fusion state of LASVGP. Collectively, our results demonstrated that HES is a promising anti-LASV drug that acts by inhibiting the membrane fusion step of LASV entry. This study also highlights the importance of the LASVGP transmembrane region as a target for anti-LASV drugs.IMPORTANCELassa virus (LASV), the causative agent of Lassa fever, is the most devastating mammarenavirus with respect to its impact on public health in West Africa. However, no approved antiviral drugs or vaccines are currently available. Here, we identified hexestrol (HES), an estrogen receptor agonist, as the potential antiviral candidate drug. We showed that the estrogen receptor itself is not involved in the antiviral activity. HES directly bound to LASVGP and blocked membrane fusion, thereby inhibiting LASV infection. Through the generation of a HES-resistant virus, we found that phenylalanine at position 446 (F446) within the LASVGP transmembrane region plays a crucial role in the antiviral activity of HES. The mutation at F446 caused reduced virus replication, likely due to the instability of the pre-fusion state of LASVGP. These findings highlight the potential of HES as a promising candidate for the development of antiviral compounds targeting LASV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zihan Zhang
- Laboratory of Ultrastructural Virology, Institute for Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Laboratory of Ultrastructural Virology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan
| | - Toru Takenaga
- Laboratory of Ultrastructural Virology, Institute for Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Laboratory of Ultrastructural Virology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan
| | | | - Manabu Igarashi
- Division of Global Epidemiology, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
- International Collaboration Unit, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Takatsugu Hirokawa
- Transborder Medical Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
- Division of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Yukiko Muramoto
- Laboratory of Ultrastructural Virology, Institute for Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Laboratory of Ultrastructural Virology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan
| | - Koji Yamauchi
- Laboratory of Ultrastructural Virology, Institute for Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Laboratory of Ultrastructural Virology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan
| | - Chiho Onishi
- Laboratory of Ultrastructural Virology, Institute for Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Laboratory of Ultrastructural Virology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan
| | - Masahiro Nakano
- Laboratory of Ultrastructural Virology, Institute for Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Laboratory of Ultrastructural Virology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan
| | - Shuzo Urata
- National Research Center for the Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases (CCPID), Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Allison Groseth
- Laboratory for Arenavirus Biology, Institute of Molecular Virology and Cell Biology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Thomas Strecker
- Institute of Virology, Phillips University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Takeshi Noda
- Laboratory of Ultrastructural Virology, Institute for Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Laboratory of Ultrastructural Virology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan
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Hernandez JA, Micus PS, Sunga SAL, Mazzei L, Ciurli S, Meloni G. Metal selectivity and translocation mechanism characterization in proteoliposomes of the transmembrane NiCoT transporter NixA from Helicobacter pylori. Chem Sci 2024; 15:651-665. [PMID: 38179545 PMCID: PMC10762997 DOI: 10.1039/d3sc05135h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Essential trace metals play key roles in the survival, replication, and virulence of bacterial pathogens. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), the main bacterial cause of gastric ulcers, requires Ni(ii) to colonize and persist in the acidic environment inside the stomach, exploiting the nickel-containing enzyme urease to catalyze the hydrolysis of urea to ammonia and bicarbonate and create a pH-buffered microenvironment. Urease utilizes Ni(ii) as a catalytic cofactor for its activity. In ureolytic bacteria, unique transmembrane (TM) transporters evolved to guarantee the selective uptake and efflux of Ni(ii) across cellular membranes to meet the cellular requirements. NixA is an essential Ni(ii) transporter expressed by H. pylori when the extracellular environment experiences a drop in pH. This Class I nickel-cobalt transporter of the NiCoT family catalyzes the uptake of Ni(ii) across the inner membrane from the periplasm. In this study, we characterized NixA using a platform whereby, for the first time on a NiCoT transporter, recombinantly expressed and purified NixA and key mutants in the translocation pathway have been reconstituted in artificial lipid bilayer vesicles (proteoliposomes). Fluorescent sensors responsive to Ni(ii) transport (Fluozin-3-Zn(ii)), luminal pH changes (pyranine), and membrane potential (oxonol VI) were encapsulated in the proteoliposomes lumen to monitor, in real-time, NixA transport properties and translocation mechanism. Kinetic transport analysis revealed that NixA is highly selective for Ni(ii) with no substrate promiscuity towards Co(ii), the other putative metal substrate of the NiCoT family, nor Zn(ii). NixA-mediated Ni(ii) transport exhibited a Michaelis-Menten-type saturable substrate concentration dependence, with an experimental KM, Ni(ii) = 31.0 ± 1.2 μM. Ni(ii) transport by NixA was demonstrated to be electrogenic, and metal translocation did not require a proton motive force, resulting in the generation of a positive-inside transmembrane potential in the proteoliposome lumen. Mutation analysis characterized key transmembrane residues for substrate recognition, binding, and/or transport, suggesting the presence of a three-step transmembrane translocation conduit. Taken together, these investigations reveal that NixA is a Ni(ii)-selective Class I NiCoT electrogenic uniporter. The work also provides an in vitro approach to characterize the transport properties of metal transporters responsible for Ni(ii) acquisition and extrusion in prokaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayoh A Hernandez
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson TX 75080 USA
| | - Paul S Micus
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson TX 75080 USA
| | - Sean Alec Lois Sunga
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson TX 75080 USA
| | - Luca Mazzei
- Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna Bologna I-40127 Italy
| | - Stefano Ciurli
- Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna Bologna I-40127 Italy
| | - Gabriele Meloni
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson TX 75080 USA
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Frumenzio G, Chandramouli B, Besker N, Grottesi A, Talarico C, Frigerio F, Emerson A, Musiani F. Conformational response to ligand binding of TMPRSS2, a protease involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection: Insights through computational modeling. Proteins 2023; 91:1288-1297. [PMID: 37409524 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26548] [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: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
Thanks to the considerable research which has been undertaken in the last few years to improve our understanding of the biology and mechanism of action of SARS-CoV-2, we know how the virus uses its surface spike protein to infect host cells. The transmembrane prosthesis, serine 2 (TMPRSS2) protein, located on the surface of human cells, recognizes the cleavage site in the spike protein, leading to the release of the fusion peptide and entry of the virus into the host cells. Because of its role, TMPRSS2 has been proposed as a drug target to prevent infection by the virus. In this study, we aim to increase our understanding of TMPRSS2 using long scale microsecond atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, focusing on the conformational changes over time. The comparison between simulations conducted on the protein in the native (apo) and inhibited form (holo), has shown that in the holo form the inhibitor stabilizes the catalytic site and induces rearrangements in the extracellular domain of the protein. In turn, it leads to the formation of a new cavity in the vicinity of the ligand binding pocket that is stable in the microsecond time scale. Given the low specificity of known protease inhibitors, these findings suggest a new potential drug target site that can be used to improve TMPRSS2 specific recognition by newly designed inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgia Frumenzio
- Super Computing Applications and Innovation, Department HPC, CINECA, Casalecchio di Reno, Italy
- Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Andrew Emerson
- Super Computing Applications and Innovation, Department HPC, CINECA, Casalecchio di Reno, Italy
| | - Francesco Musiani
- Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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Kumar S, Vinella D, De Reuse H. Nickel, an essential virulence determinant of Helicobacter pylori: Transport and trafficking pathways and their targeting by bismuth. Adv Microb Physiol 2022; 80:1-33. [PMID: 35489790 DOI: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2022.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Metal acquisition and intracellular trafficking are crucial for all cells and metal ions have been recognized as virulence determinants in bacterial pathogens. Nickel is required for the pathogenicity of H. pylori. This bacterial pathogen colonizes the stomach of about half of the human population worldwide and is associated with gastric cancer that is responsible for 800,000 deaths per year. H. pylori possesses two nickel-enzymes that are essential for in vivo colonization, a [NiFe] hydrogenase and an abundant urease responsible for resistance to gastric acidity. Because of these two enzymes, survival of H. pylori relies on an important supply of nickel, implying tight control strategies to avoid its toxic accumulation or deprivation. H. pylori possesses original mechanisms for nickel uptake, distribution, storage and trafficking that will be discussed in this review. During evolution, acquisition of nickel transporters and specific nickel-binding proteins has been a decisive event to allow Helicobacter species to become able to colonize the stomach. Accordingly, many of the factors involved in these mechanisms are required for mouse colonization by H. pylori. These mechanisms are controlled at different levels including protein interaction networks, transcriptional, post-transcriptional and post-translational regulation. Bismuth is another metal used in combination with antibiotics to efficiently treat H. pylori infections. Although the precise mode of action of bismuth is unknown, many targets have been identified in H. pylori and there is growing evidence that bismuth interferes with the essential nickel pathways. Understanding the metal pathways will help improve treatments against H. pylori and other pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sumith Kumar
- Unité Pathogenèse de Helicobacter, CNRS UMR6047, Département de Microbiologie, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Daniel Vinella
- Unité Pathogenèse de Helicobacter, CNRS UMR6047, Département de Microbiologie, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Hilde De Reuse
- Unité Pathogenèse de Helicobacter, CNRS UMR6047, Département de Microbiologie, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
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