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Broni E, Ashley C, Adams J, Manu H, Aikins E, Okom M, Miller WA, Wilson MD, Kwofie SK. Cheminformatics-Based Study Identifies Potential Ebola VP40 Inhibitors. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24076298. [PMID: 37047270 PMCID: PMC10094735 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24076298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The Ebola virus (EBOV) is still highly infectious and causes severe hemorrhagic fevers in primates. However, there are no regulatorily approved drugs against the Ebola virus disease (EVD). The highly virulent and lethal nature of EVD highlights the need to develop therapeutic agents. Viral protein 40 kDa (VP40), the most abundantly expressed protein during infection, coordinates the assembly, budding, and release of viral particles into the host cell. It also regulates viral transcription and RNA replication. This study sought to identify small molecules that could potentially inhibit the VP40 protein by targeting the N-terminal domain using an in silico approach. The statistical quality of AutoDock Vina’s capacity to discriminate between inhibitors and decoys was determined, and an area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic (AUC-ROC) curve of 0.791 was obtained. A total of 29,519 natural-product-derived compounds from Chinese and African sources as well as 2738 approved drugs were successfully screened against VP40. Using a threshold of −8 kcal/mol, a total of 7, 11, 163, and 30 compounds from the AfroDb, Northern African Natural Products Database (NANPDB), traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and approved drugs libraries, respectively, were obtained after molecular docking. A biological activity prediction of the lead compounds suggested their potential antiviral properties. In addition, random-forest- and support-vector-machine-based algorithms predicted the compounds to be anti-Ebola with IC50 values in the micromolar range (less than 25 μM). A total of 42 natural-product-derived compounds were identified as potential EBOV inhibitors with desirable ADMET profiles, comprising 1, 2, and 39 compounds from NANPDB (2-hydroxyseneganolide), AfroDb (ZINC000034518176 and ZINC000095485942), and TCM, respectively. A total of 23 approved drugs, including doramectin, glecaprevir, velpatasvir, ledipasvir, avermectin B1, nafarelin acetate, danoprevir, eltrombopag, lanatoside C, and glycyrrhizin, among others, were also predicted to have potential anti-EBOV activity and can be further explored so that they may be repurposed for EVD treatment. Molecular dynamics simulations coupled with molecular mechanics Poisson–Boltzmann surface area calculations corroborated the stability and good binding affinities of the complexes (−46.97 to −118.9 kJ/mol). The potential lead compounds may have the potential to be developed as anti-EBOV drugs after experimental testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel Broni
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering Sciences, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra LG 77, Ghana
- Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), College of Health Sciences (CHS), University of Ghana, Legon, Accra LG 581, Ghana
- Department of Medicine, Loyola University Medical Center, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL 60153, USA
| | - Carolyn Ashley
- Department of Medicine, Loyola University Medical Center, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL 60153, USA
| | - Joseph Adams
- Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), College of Health Sciences (CHS), University of Ghana, Legon, Accra LG 581, Ghana
| | - Hammond Manu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering Sciences, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra LG 77, Ghana
| | - Ebenezer Aikins
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering Sciences, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra LG 77, Ghana
| | - Mary Okom
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering Sciences, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra LG 77, Ghana
| | - Whelton A. Miller
- Department of Medicine, Loyola University Medical Center, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL 60153, USA
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL 60153, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Correspondence: (W.A.M.III); (S.K.K.); Tel.: +1(708)-2168451 (W.A.M.III); +23-320-3797922 (S.K.K.)
| | - Michael D. Wilson
- Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), College of Health Sciences (CHS), University of Ghana, Legon, Accra LG 581, Ghana
- Department of Medicine, Loyola University Medical Center, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL 60153, USA
| | - Samuel K. Kwofie
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering Sciences, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra LG 77, Ghana
- Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra LG 54, Ghana
- Correspondence: (W.A.M.III); (S.K.K.); Tel.: +1(708)-2168451 (W.A.M.III); +23-320-3797922 (S.K.K.)
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Dithranol as novel co-adjuvant for non-invasive dermal vaccination. NPJ Vaccines 2022; 7:112. [PMID: 36153349 PMCID: PMC9509335 DOI: 10.1038/s41541-022-00530-9] [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: 01/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcutaneous immunization (TCI) utilizing the TLR7 agonist imiquimod (IMQ-TCI) induces T cell-driven protective immunity upon application onto intact skin. In our present work, we combine the anti-psoriatic agent dithranol with IMQ-TCI to boost vaccination efficacy (Dithranol/IMQ-based transcutaneous vaccination (DIVA)). Using ovalbumin-derived peptides as model antigens in mice, DIVA induced superior cytolytic CD8+ T cells and CD4+ T cells with a TH1 cytokine profile in the priming as well as in the memory phase. Regarding the underlying mechanisms, dithranol induced an oxidant-dependent, monocyte-attracting inflammatory milieu in the skin boosting TLR7-dependent activation of dendritic cells and macrophages leading to superior T cell priming and protective immunity in vaccinia virus infection. In conclusion, we introduce the non-invasive vaccination method DIVA to induce strong primary and memory T cell responses upon a single local treatment. This work provides relevant insights in cutaneous vaccination approaches, paving the way for clinical development in humans.
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