1
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Wang Y, Li M, Yu H, Chen Y, Cui M, Ji M, Yang F. A Near-Infrared Fluorescent Dye with Tunable Emission Wavelength and Stokes Shift as a High-Sensitivity Cysteine Nanoprobe for Monitoring Ischemic Stroke. ACS NANO 2024; 18:15978-15990. [PMID: 38847448 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c04211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2024]
Abstract
Sulfur-substituted dicyanomethylene-4H-chromene (DCM) derivatives based on the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) mechanism were designed as near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent dyes. Using the Knoevenagel condensation method, the S-DCM-OH(835) fluorescence dye was synthesized, which had an emission wavelength exceeding 800 nm and 220 nm of a Stokes shift. Compared to commercial ICG, S-DCM-OH(835) was not only synchronized in emission wavelength but also far superior in Stokes shifts. These advantages made the design of S-DCM-NIR(835) based on this dye potentially valuable for biological applications. Based on this chemical structure, a fluorescent S-DCM-NIR(835) nanoprobe with a mean diameter of 17.69 nm was fabricated as the NIR imaging nanoprobe. Results showed that the nanoprobe maintained the high-specificity identification of cysteine (Cys) via the Michael addition reaction, with the detection limitation of 0.11 μM endogenous Cys. More importantly, in an ischemic stroke mouse model, the S-DCM-NIR(835) nanoprobe could monitor the Cys concentration change at stroke lesion due to the disruption of Cys metabolism under the ischemic stroke condition. Such a S-DCM-NIR(835) nanoprobe could not only differentiate the severity of the ischemic stroke using response time but also quantify the concentration of Cys in real-time in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuesong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, Jiangsu Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, PR China
| | - Mingxi Li
- State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, Jiangsu Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, PR China
| | - Haoli Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, Jiangsu Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, PR China
| | - Yan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, Jiangsu Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, PR China
| | - Mengyuan Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, Jiangsu Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, PR China
| | - Min Ji
- State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, Jiangsu Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, PR China
| | - Fang Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, Jiangsu Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, PR China
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2
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Andrés CMC, Pérez de la Lastra JM, Bustamante Munguira E, Andrés Juan C, Pérez-Lebeña E. Michael Acceptors as Anti-Cancer Compounds: Coincidence or Causality? Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:6099. [PMID: 38892287 PMCID: PMC11172677 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25116099] [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: 04/18/2024] [Revised: 05/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Michael acceptors represent a class of compounds with potential anti-cancer properties. They act by binding to nucleophilic sites in biological molecules, thereby disrupting cancer cell function and inducing cell death. This mode of action, as well as their ability to be modified and targeted, makes them a promising avenue for advancing cancer therapy. We are investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying Michael acceptors and their interactions with cancer cells, in particular their ability to interfere with cellular processes and induce apoptosis. The anti-cancer properties of Michael acceptors are not accidental but are due to their chemical structure and reactivity. The electrophilic nature of these compounds allows them to selectively target nucleophilic residues on disease-associated proteins, resulting in significant therapeutic benefits and minimal toxicity in various diseases. This opens up new perspectives for the development of more effective and precise cancer drugs. Nevertheless, further studies are essential to fully understand the impact of our discoveries and translate them into clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - José Manuel Pérez de la Lastra
- Institute of Natural Products and Agrobiology, CSIC-Spanish Research Council, Avda. Astrofísico Fco. Sánchez, 3, 38206 La Laguna, Spain
| | | | - Celia Andrés Juan
- Cinquima Institute and Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Valladolid University, Paseo de Belén, 7, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
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3
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Himmelbauer M, Bajrami B, Basile R, Capacci A, Chen T, Choi CK, Gilfillan R, Gonzalez-Lopez de Turiso F, Gu C, Hoemberger M, Johnson DS, Jones JH, Kadakia E, Kirkland M, Lin EY, Liu Y, Ma B, Magee T, Mantena S, Marx IE, Metrick CM, Mingueneau M, Murugan P, Muste CA, Nadella P, Nevalainen M, Parker Harp CR, Pattaropong V, Pietrasiewicz A, Prince RJ, Purgett TJ, Santoro JC, Schulz J, Sciabola S, Tang H, Vandeveer HG, Wang T, Yousaf Z, Helal CJ, Hopkins BT. Discovery and Preclinical Characterization of BIIB129, a Covalent, Selective, and Brain-Penetrant BTK Inhibitor for the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis. J Med Chem 2024; 67:8122-8140. [PMID: 38712838 PMCID: PMC11129193 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2024] [Revised: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease with an underlying pathology characterized by inflammation-driven neuronal loss, axonal injury, and demyelination. Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK), a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase and member of the TEC family of kinases, is involved in the regulation, migration, and functional activation of B cells and myeloid cells in the periphery and the central nervous system (CNS), cell types which are deemed central to the pathology contributing to disease progression in MS patients. Herein, we describe the discovery of BIIB129 (25), a structurally distinct and brain-penetrant targeted covalent inhibitor (TCI) of BTK with an unprecedented binding mode responsible for its high kinome selectivity. BIIB129 (25) demonstrated efficacy in disease-relevant preclinical in vivo models of B cell proliferation in the CNS, exhibits a favorable safety profile suitable for clinical development as an immunomodulating therapy for MS, and has a low projected total human daily dose.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin
K. Himmelbauer
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Bekim Bajrami
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Rebecca Basile
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Andrew Capacci
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - TeYu Chen
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Colin K. Choi
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Rab Gilfillan
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | | | - Chungang Gu
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Marc Hoemberger
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Douglas S. Johnson
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - J. Howard Jones
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Ekta Kadakia
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Melissa Kirkland
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Edward Y. Lin
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Ying Liu
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Bin Ma
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Tom Magee
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Srinivasa Mantena
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Isaac E. Marx
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Claire M. Metrick
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Michael Mingueneau
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Paramasivam Murugan
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Cathy A. Muste
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Prasad Nadella
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Marta Nevalainen
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Chelsea R. Parker Harp
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Vatee Pattaropong
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Alicia Pietrasiewicz
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Robin J. Prince
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Thomas J. Purgett
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Joseph C. Santoro
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Jurgen Schulz
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Simone Sciabola
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Hao Tang
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - H. George Vandeveer
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Ti Wang
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Zain Yousaf
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Christopher J. Helal
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Brian T. Hopkins
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
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4
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DeAngelo SL, Dziechciarz S, Solanki S, Shin M, Zhao L, Balia A, El-Derany MO, Das NK, Castillo C, Bell HN, Paulo JA, Zhang Y, Rossiter NJ, McCulla EC, He J, Talukder I, Schafer ZT, Neamati N, Mancias JD, Koutmos M, Shah YM. Recharacterization of RSL3 reveals that the selenoproteome is a druggable target in colorectal cancer. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.29.587381. [PMID: 38617233 PMCID: PMC11014488 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.29.587381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent, non-apoptotic form of cell death resulting from the accumulation of lipid peroxides. Colorectal cancer (CRC) accumulates high levels of intracellular iron and reactive oxygen species (ROS), thereby sensitizing cells to ferroptosis. The selenoprotein glutathione peroxidase (GPx4) is a key enzyme in the detoxification of lipid peroxides and can be inhibited by the compound (S)-RSL3 ([1S,3R]-RSL3). However, the stereoisomer (R)-RSL3 ([1R,3R]-RSL3), which does not inhibit GPx4, exhibits equipotent activity to (S)-RSL3 across a panel of CRC cell lines. Utilizing CRC cell lines with an inducible knockdown of GPx4, we demonstrate that (S)-RSL3 sensitivity does not align with GPx4 dependency. Subsequently, a biotinylated (S)-RSL3 was then synthesized to perform affinity purification-mass spectrometry (AP-MS), revealing that (S)-RSL3 acts as a pan-inhibitor of the selenoproteome, targeting both the glutathione and thioredoxin peroxidase systems as well as multiple additional selenoproteins. To investigate the therapeutic potential of broadly disrupting the selenoproteome as a therapeutic strategy in CRC, we employed further chemical and genetic approaches to disrupt selenoprotein function. The findings demonstrate that the selenoprotein inhibitor Auranofin can induce ferroptosis and/or oxidative cell death both in-vitro and in-vivo. Consistent with this data we observe that AlkBH8, a tRNA-selenocysteine methyltransferase required for the translational incorporation of selenocysteine, is essential for CRC growth. In summary, our research elucidates the complex mechanisms underlying ferroptosis in CRC and reveals that modulation of the selenoproteome provides multiple new therapeutic targets and opportunities in CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen L DeAngelo
- Doctoral Program in Cancer Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Sofia Dziechciarz
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Sumeet Solanki
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Myungsun Shin
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Liang Zhao
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Andrii Balia
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
| | - Marwa O El-Derany
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Nupur K Das
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Cristina Castillo
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Hannah N Bell
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Joao A Paulo
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Yuezhong Zhang
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Nicholas J Rossiter
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Elizabeth C McCulla
- Doctoral Program in Cancer Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Jianping He
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States
| | - Indrani Talukder
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Zachary T Schafer
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States
| | - Nouri Neamati
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
- Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Joseph D Mancias
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Division of Radiation and Genome Stability, Department of Radiation Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. United States
| | - Markos Koutmos
- Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Department of Biophysics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Yatrik M Shah
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
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5
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Awoonor-Williams E, Abu-Saleh AAAA. Molecular Insights into the Impact of Mutations on the Binding Affinity of Targeted Covalent Inhibitors of BTK. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:2874-2884. [PMID: 38502552 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c00310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Targeted covalent inhibitors (TCIs) have witnessed a significant resurgence in recent years, particularly in the kinase drug discovery field for treating diverse clinical indications. The inhibition of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) for treating B-cell cancers is a classic example where TCIs such as ibrutinib have had breakthroughs in targeted therapy. However, selectivity remains challenging, and the emergence of resistance mutations is a critical concern for clinical efficacy. Computational methods that can accurately predict the impact of mutations on inhibitor binding affinity could prove helpful in informing targeted approaches─providing insights into drug resistance mechanisms. In addition, such systems could help guide the systematic evaluation and impact of mutations in disease models for optimal experimental design. Here, we have employed in silico physics-based methods to understand the effects of mutations on the binding affinity and conformational dynamics of select TCIs of BTK. The TCIs studied include ibrutinib, acalabrutinib, and zanubrutinib─all of which are FDA-approved drugs for treating multiple forms of leukemia and lymphoma. Our results offer useful molecular insights into the structural determinants, thermodynamics, and conformational energies that impact ligand binding for this biological target of clinical relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ernest Awoonor-Williams
- Department of Chemistry, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1B 3X7, Canada
| | - Abd Al-Aziz A Abu-Saleh
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, Canada
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6
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Borges PHO, Ferreira SB, Silva FP. Recent Advances on Targeting Proteases for Antiviral Development. Viruses 2024; 16:366. [PMID: 38543732 PMCID: PMC10976044 DOI: 10.3390/v16030366] [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: 01/19/2024] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Viral proteases are an important target for drug development, since they can modulate vital pathways in viral replication, maturation, assembly and cell entry. With the (re)appearance of several new viruses responsible for causing diseases in humans, like the West Nile virus (WNV) and the recent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), understanding the mechanisms behind blocking viral protease's function is pivotal for the development of new antiviral drugs and therapeutical strategies. Apart from directly inhibiting the target protease, usually by targeting its active site, several new pathways have been explored to impair its activity, such as inducing protein aggregation, targeting allosteric sites or by inducing protein degradation by cellular proteasomes, which can be extremely valuable when considering the emerging drug-resistant strains. In this review, we aim to discuss the recent advances on a broad range of viral proteases inhibitors, therapies and molecular approaches for protein inactivation or degradation, giving an insight on different possible strategies against this important class of antiviral target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Henrique Oliveira Borges
- Laboratory of Organic Synthesis and Biological Prospecting, Chemistry Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-909, Brazil;
- Laboratory of Experimental and Computational Biochemistry of Drugs, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-900, Brazil
| | - Sabrina Baptista Ferreira
- Laboratory of Organic Synthesis and Biological Prospecting, Chemistry Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-909, Brazil;
| | - Floriano Paes Silva
- Laboratory of Experimental and Computational Biochemistry of Drugs, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-900, Brazil
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7
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Saquib Q, Bakheit AH, Ahmed S, Ansari SM, Al-Salem AM, Al-Khedhairy AA. Identification of Phytochemicals from Arabian Peninsula Medicinal Plants as Strong Binders to SARS-CoV-2 Proteases (3CL Pro and PL Pro) by Molecular Docking and Dynamic Simulation Studies. Molecules 2024; 29:998. [PMID: 38474509 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29050998] [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: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 02/04/2024] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
We provide promising computational (in silico) data on phytochemicals (compounds 1-10) from Arabian Peninsula medicinal plants as strong binders, targeting 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLPro) and papain-like proteases (PLPro) of SARS-CoV-2. Compounds 1-10 followed the Lipinski rules of five (RO5) and ADMET analysis, exhibiting drug-like characters. Non-covalent (reversible) docking of compounds 1-10 demonstrated their binding with the catalytic dyad (CYS145 and HIS41) of 3CLPro and catalytic triad (CYS111, HIS272, and ASP286) of PLPro. Moreover, the implementation of the covalent (irreversible) docking protocol revealed that only compounds 7, 8, and 9 possess covalent warheads, which allowed the formation of the covalent bond with the catalytic dyad (CYS145) in 3CLPro and the catalytic triad (CYS111) in PLPro. Root-mean-square deviation (RMSD), root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF), and radius of gyration (Rg) analysis from molecular dynamic (MD) simulations revealed that complexation between ligands (compounds 7, 8, and 9) and 3CLPro and PLPro was stable, and there was less deviation of ligands. Overall, the in silico data on the inherent properties of the above phytochemicals unravel the fact that they can act as reversible inhibitors for 3CLPro and PLPro. Moreover, compounds 7, 8, and 9 also showed their novel properties to inhibit dual targets by irreversible inhibition, indicating their effectiveness for possibly developing future drugs against SARS-CoV-2. Nonetheless, to confirm the theoretical findings here, the effectiveness of the above compounds as inhibitors of 3CLPro and PLPro warrants future investigations using suitable in vitro and in vivo tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quaiser Saquib
- Zoology Department, College of Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed H Bakheit
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2457, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sarfaraz Ahmed
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2457, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sabiha M Ansari
- Botany & Microbiology Department, College of Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdullah M Al-Salem
- Zoology Department, College of Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdulaziz A Al-Khedhairy
- Zoology Department, College of Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
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8
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Altincekic N, Jores N, Löhr F, Richter C, Ehrhardt C, Blommers MJJ, Berg H, Öztürk S, Gande SL, Linhard V, Orts J, Abi Saad MJ, Bütikofer M, Kaderli J, Karlsson BG, Brath U, Hedenström M, Gröbner G, Sauer UH, Perrakis A, Langer J, Banci L, Cantini F, Fragai M, Grifagni D, Barthel T, Wollenhaupt J, Weiss MS, Robertson A, Bax A, Sreeramulu S, Schwalbe H. Targeting the Main Protease (M pro, nsp5) by Growth of Fragment Scaffolds Exploiting Structure-Based Methodologies. ACS Chem Biol 2024; 19:563-574. [PMID: 38232960 PMCID: PMC10877576 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.3c00720] [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: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
The main protease Mpro, nsp5, of SARS-CoV-2 (SCoV2) is one of its most attractive drug targets. Here, we report primary screening data using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) of four different libraries and detailed follow-up synthesis on the promising uracil-containing fragment Z604 derived from these libraries. Z604 shows time-dependent binding. Its inhibitory effect is sensitive to reducing conditions. Starting with Z604, we synthesized and characterized 13 compounds designed by fragment growth strategies. Each compound was characterized by NMR and/or activity assays to investigate their interaction with Mpro. These investigations resulted in the four-armed compound 35b that binds directly to Mpro. 35b could be cocrystallized with Mpro revealing its noncovalent binding mode, which fills all four active site subpockets. Herein, we describe the NMR-derived fragment-to-hit pipeline and its application for the development of promising starting points for inhibitors of the main protease of SCoV2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadide Altincekic
- Institute
for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
- Center
of Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Nathalie Jores
- Institute
for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
- Center
of Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Frank Löhr
- Center
of Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
- Institute
of Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University
Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Christian Richter
- Institute
for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
- Center
of Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Claus Ehrhardt
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Hannes Berg
- Institute
for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
- Center
of Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Sare Öztürk
- Institute
for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Santosh L. Gande
- Institute
for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
- Center
of Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Verena Linhard
- Institute
for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
- Center
of Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Julien Orts
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Marie Jose Abi Saad
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Matthias Bütikofer
- Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology, Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Janina Kaderli
- Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology, Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - B. Göran Karlsson
- Swedish
NMR Centre, Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, SE40530 Göteborg, Sweden
- SciLifeLab, University of Gothenburg, SE40530 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Ulrika Brath
- Swedish
NMR Centre, Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, SE40530 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Mattias Hedenström
- Swedish
NMR Centre, Department of Chemistry, University
of Umeå, SE-90187 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Gerhard Gröbner
- Swedish
NMR Centre, Department of Chemistry, University
of Umeå, SE-90187 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Uwe H. Sauer
- Protein
Production Sweden, Department of Chemistry, University of Umeå, SE-90187 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Anastassis Perrakis
- Oncode
Institute and Division of Biochemistry, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1066CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Julian Langer
- Max Planck Institute of
Biophysics, D-60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Lucia Banci
- Magnetic
Resonance Center and Department of Chemistry, University of Florence, Via L. Sacconi 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- Consorzio
Interuniversitario Risonanze Magnetiche Metalloproteine, Via L. Sacconi 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Francesca Cantini
- Magnetic
Resonance Center and Department of Chemistry, University of Florence, Via L. Sacconi 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- Consorzio
Interuniversitario Risonanze Magnetiche Metalloproteine, Via L. Sacconi 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Marco Fragai
- Magnetic
Resonance Center and Department of Chemistry, University of Florence, Via L. Sacconi 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- Consorzio
Interuniversitario Risonanze Magnetiche Metalloproteine, Via L. Sacconi 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Deborah Grifagni
- Magnetic
Resonance Center and Department of Chemistry, University of Florence, Via L. Sacconi 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Tatjana Barthel
- Macromolecular
Crystallography, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Albert-Einstein-Str. 15, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jan Wollenhaupt
- Macromolecular
Crystallography, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Albert-Einstein-Str. 15, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Manfred S. Weiss
- Macromolecular
Crystallography, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Albert-Einstein-Str. 15, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Adriaan Bax
- NIH, LCP NIDDK, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
| | - Sridhar Sreeramulu
- Institute
for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
- Center
of Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Harald Schwalbe
- Institute
for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
- Center
of Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
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9
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Cheke RS, Kharkar PS. Covalent inhibitors: An ambitious approach for the discovery of newer oncotherapeutics. Drug Dev Res 2024; 85:e22132. [PMID: 38054744 DOI: 10.1002/ddr.22132] [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: 07/30/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
Covalent inhibitors have been used to treat several diseases for over a century. However, strategic approaches for the rational design of covalent drugs have taken a definitive shape in recent times. Since the first appearance of covalent inhibitors in the late 18th century, the field has grown tremendously and around 30% of marketed drugs are covalent inhibitors especially, for oncology indications. However, the off-target toxicity and safety concerns can be significant issues related to the covalent drugs. Covalent kinase inhibitor (CKI) targeted oncotherapeutics has advanced dramatically over the last two decades since the discovery of afatinib (Gilotrif®), an EGFR inhibitor. Since then, US FDA has approved 10 CKIs for diverse cancer targets. The present review broadly summarizes the ongoing development in the discovery of newer CKIs from 2016 till the end of 2022. We believe that these efforts will assist the modern medicinal chemist actively working in the field of CKI discovery for varied indications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rameshwar S Cheke
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India
| | - Prashant S Kharkar
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India
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10
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Haghir Ebrahim Abadi MH, Ghasemlou A, Bayani F, Sefidbakht Y, Vosough M, Mozaffari-Jovin S, Uversky VN. AI-driven covalent drug design strategies targeting main protease (m pro) against SARS-CoV-2: structural insights and molecular mechanisms. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024:1-29. [PMID: 38287509 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2024.2308769] [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: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
The emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants has raised concerns about the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. To address this challenge, small-molecule antivirals have been proposed as a crucial therapeutic option. Among potential targets for anti-COVID-19 therapy, the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 is important due to its essential role in the virus's life cycle and high conservation. The substrate-binding region of the core proteases of various coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), could be used for the generation of new protease inhibitors. Various drug discovery methods have employed a diverse range of strategies, targeting both monomeric and dimeric forms, including drug repurposing, integrating virtual screening with high-throughput screening (HTS), and structure-based drug design, each demonstrating varying levels of efficiency. Covalent inhibitors, such as Nirmatrelvir and MG-101, showcase robust and high-affinity binding to Mpro, exhibiting stable interactions confirmed by molecular docking studies. Development of effective antiviral drugs is imperative to address potential pandemic situations. This review explores recent advances in the search for Mpro inhibitors and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in drug design. AI leverages vast datasets and advanced algorithms to streamline the design and identification of promising Mpro inhibitors. AI-driven drug discovery methods, including molecular docking, predictive modeling, and structure-based drug repurposing, are at the forefront of identifying potential candidates for effective antiviral therapy. In a time when COVID-19 potentially threat global health, the quest for potent antiviral solutions targeting Mpro could be critical for inhibiting the virus.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Fatemeh Bayani
- Protein Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Yahya Sefidbakht
- Protein Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Massoud Vosough
- Department of Regenerative Medicine, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sina Mozaffari-Jovin
- Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
- Medical Genetics Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Vladimir N Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
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11
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Mihalovits LM, Kollár L, Bajusz D, Knez D, Bozovičar K, Imre T, Ferenczy GG, Gobec S, Keserű GM. Molecular Mechanism of Labelling Functional Cysteines by Heterocyclic Thiones. Chemphyschem 2024; 25:e202300596. [PMID: 37888491 DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202300596] [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: 08/21/2023] [Revised: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Heterocyclic thiones have recently been identified as reversible covalent warheads, consistent with their mild electrophilic nature. Little is known so far about their mechanism of action in labelling nucleophilic sidechains, especially cysteines. The vast number of tractable cysteines promotes a wide range of target proteins to examine; however, our focus was put on functional cysteines. We chose the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 harboring Cys145 at the active site that is a structurally characterized and clinically validated target of covalent inhibitors. We screened an in-house, cysteine-targeting covalent inhibitor library which resulted in several covalent fragment hits with benzoxazole, benzothiazole and benzimidazole cores. Thione derivatives and Michael acceptors were selected for further investigations with the objective of exploring the mechanism of inhibition of the thiones and using the thoroughly characterized Michael acceptors for benchmarking our studies. Classical and hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) molecular dynamics simulations were carried out that revealed a new mechanism of covalent cysteine labelling by thione derivatives, which was supported by QM and free energy calculations and by a wide range of experimental results. Our study shows that the molecular recognition step plays a crucial role in the overall binding of both sets of molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Levente M Mihalovits
- Medicinal Chemistry Research Group, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok krt. 2, 1117, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Levente Kollár
- Medicinal Chemistry Research Group, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok krt. 2, 1117, Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Organic Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3., 1111, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Dávid Bajusz
- Medicinal Chemistry Research Group, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok krt. 2, 1117, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Damijan Knez
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva cesta 7, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Krištof Bozovičar
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva cesta 7, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tímea Imre
- Medicinal Chemistry Research Group, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok krt. 2, 1117, Budapest, Hungary
- MS Metabolomics Research Group, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok krt. 2, 1117, Budapest, Hungary
| | - György G Ferenczy
- Medicinal Chemistry Research Group, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok krt. 2, 1117, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Stanislav Gobec
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva cesta 7, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - György M Keserű
- Medicinal Chemistry Research Group, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok krt. 2, 1117, Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Organic Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3., 1111, Budapest, Hungary
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12
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Goullieux M, Zoete V, Röhrig UF. Two-Step Covalent Docking with Attracting Cavities. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:7847-7859. [PMID: 38049143 PMCID: PMC10751798 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c01055] [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: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023]
Abstract
Due to their various advantages, interest in the development of covalent drugs has been renewed in the past few years. It is therefore important to accurately describe and predict their interactions with biological targets by computer-aided drug design tools such as docking algorithms. Here, we report a covalent docking procedure for our in-house docking code Attracting Cavities (AC), which mimics the two-step mechanism of covalent ligand binding. Ligand binding to the protein cavity is driven by nonbonded interactions, followed by the formation of a covalent bond between the ligand and the protein through a chemical reaction. To test the performance of this method, we developed a diverse, high-quality, openly accessible re-docking benchmark set of 95 covalent complexes bound by 8 chemical reactions to 5 different reactive amino acids. Combination with structures from previous studies resulted in a set of 304 complexes, on which AC obtained a success rate (rmsd ≤ 2 Å) of 78%, outperforming two state-of-the-art covalent docking codes, genetic optimization for ligand docking (GOLD (66%)) and AutoDock (AD (35%)). Using a more stringent success criterion (rmsd ≤ 1.5 Å), AC reached a success rate of 71 vs 55% for GOLD and 26% for AD. We additionally assessed the cross-docking performance of AC on a set of 76 covalent complexes of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease. On this challenging test set of mainly small and highly solvent-exposed ligands, AC yielded success rates of 58 and 28% for re-docking and cross-docking, respectively, compared to 45 and 17% for GOLD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde Goullieux
- SIB
Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Molecular Modeling Group, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Vincent Zoete
- SIB
Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Molecular Modeling Group, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department
of Oncology UNIL-CHUV, Lausanne University, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
Lausanne Branch, CH-1066 Epalinges, Switzerland
| | - Ute F. Röhrig
- SIB
Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Molecular Modeling Group, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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13
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Shim SY. Late-Stage C-H Activation of Drug (Derivative) Molecules with Pd(ll) Catalysis. Chemistry 2023; 29:e202302620. [PMID: 37846586 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202302620] [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: 08/10/2023] [Revised: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
This review comprehensively analyses representative examples of Pd(II)-catalyzed late-stage C-H activation reactions and demonstrates their efficacy in converting C-H bonds at multiple positions within drug (derivative) molecules into diverse functional groups. These transformative reactions hold immense potential in medicinal chemistry, enabling the efficient and selective functionalization of specific sites within drug molecules, thereby enhancing their pharmacological activity and expanding the scope of potential drug candidates. Although notable articles have focused on late-stage C-H functionalization reactions of drug-like molecules using transition-metal catalysts, reviews specifically focusing on late-stage C-H functionalization reactions of drug (derivative) molecules using Pd(II) catalysts are required owing to their prominence as the most widely utilized metal catalysts for C-H activation and their ability to introduce a myriad of functional groups at specific C-H bonds. The utilization of Pd-catalyzed C-H activation methodologies demonstrates impressive success in introducing various functional groups, such as cyano (CN), fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), aromatic rings, olefin, alkyl, alkyne, and hydroxyl groups, to drug (derivative) molecules with high regioselectivity and functional-group tolerance. These breakthroughs in late-stage C-H activation reactions serve as invaluable tools for drug discovery and development, thereby offering strategic options to optimize drug candidates and drive the exploration of innovative therapeutic solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Su Yong Shim
- Infectious Diseases Therapeutic Research Center Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) KRICT School, University of Science and Technology, Daejeon, 34114, Republic of Korea
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14
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Rajan S, Yoon HS. Covalent ligands of nuclear receptors. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 261:115869. [PMID: 37857142 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115869] [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: 07/20/2023] [Revised: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Nuclear receptors (NRs) are ligand-induced transcriptional factors implicated in several physiological pathways. Naïve ligands bind to their cognate receptors and modulate gene expression as agonists or antagonists. It has been observed that some ligands bind via covalent bonding with the NR Ligand Binding Domain (LBD) residues. While many such instances have been known since the 1980s, a consolidated account of these ligands and their interactions with NR-LBD is yet to be documented. To negate this, we have culled out the human NR-LBDs that form a covalent attachment with ligands. According to the study, 16 of the 48 human NRs have been targeted by covalent ligands. It was found that conserved cysteines prone to covalent attachment are predominantly located in NR-LBD helices 3 and 11. These conserved cysteines are also observed in many of the remaining NRs, which can be probed for their reactivity. Thus, the structural insights into NR-LBD interactions with covalent ligands presented here would aid drug discovery efforts targeting NRs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sreekanth Rajan
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, 637551, Singapore
| | - Ho Sup Yoon
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, 637551, Singapore; College of Pharmacy, CHA University, 120 Haeryong-ro, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, 11160, Republic of Korea; CHA Advanced Research Institute, 335 Pangyo-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, 13488, Republic of Korea.
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15
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Cuellar ME, Yang M, Karavadhi S, Zhang YQ, Zhu H, Sun H, Shen M, Hall MD, Patnaik S, Ashe KH, Walters MA, Pockes S. An electrophilic fragment screening for the development of small molecules targeting caspase-2. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 259:115632. [PMID: 37453329 PMCID: PMC10529632 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115632] [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: 03/21/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Recent Alzheimer's research has shown increasing interest in the caspase-2 (Casp2) enzyme. However, the available Casp2 inhibitors, which have been pentapeptides or peptidomimetics, face challenges for use as CNS drugs. In this study, we successfully screened a 1920-compound chloroacetamide-based, electrophilic fragment library from Enamine. Our two-point dose screen identified 64 Casp2 hits, which were further evaluated in a ten-point dose-response study to assess selectivity over Casp3. We discovered compounds with inhibition values in the single-digit micromolar and sub-micromolar range, as well as up to 32-fold selectivity for Casp2 over Casp3. Target engagement analysis confirmed the covalent-irreversible binding of the selected fragments to Cys320 at the active site of Casp2. Overall, our findings lay a strong foundation for the future development of small-molecule Casp2 inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew E Cuellar
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, USA
| | - Mu Yang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, USA
| | - Surendra Karavadhi
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
| | - Ya-Qin Zhang
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
| | - Hu Zhu
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
| | - Hongmao Sun
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
| | - Min Shen
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
| | - Matthew D Hall
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
| | - Samarjit Patnaik
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
| | - Karen H Ashe
- Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota, 2101 6th Street SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Michael A Walters
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, USA.
| | - Steffen Pockes
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, USA; Institute of Pharmacy, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany.
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16
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Vanangamudi M, Palaniappan S, Kathiravan MK, Namasivayam V. Strategies in the Design and Development of Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs). Viruses 2023; 15:1992. [PMID: 37896769 PMCID: PMC10610861 DOI: 10.3390/v15101992] [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: 08/15/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a potentially life-threatening infectious disease caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). To date, thousands of people have lost their lives annually due to HIV infection, and it continues to be a big public health issue globally. Since the discovery of the first drug, Zidovudine (AZT), a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI), to date, 30 drugs have been approved by the FDA, primarily targeting reverse transcriptase, integrase, and/or protease enzymes. The majority of these drugs target the catalytic and allosteric sites of the HIV enzyme reverse transcriptase. Compared to the NRTI family of drugs, the diverse chemical class of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) has special anti-HIV activity with high specificity and low toxicity. However, current clinical usage of NRTI and NNRTI drugs has limited therapeutic value due to their adverse drug reactions and the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains. To overcome drug resistance and efficacy issues, combination therapy is widely prescribed for HIV patients. Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) includes more than one antiretroviral agent targeting two or more enzymes in the life cycle of the virus. Medicinal chemistry researchers apply different optimization strategies including structure- and fragment-based drug design, prodrug approach, scaffold hopping, molecular/fragment hybridization, bioisosterism, high-throughput screening, covalent-binding, targeting highly hydrophobic channel, targeting dual site, and multi-target-directed ligand to identify and develop novel NNRTIs with high antiviral activity against wild-type (WT) and mutant strains. The formulation experts design various delivery systems with single or combination therapies and long-acting regimens of NNRTIs to improve pharmacokinetic profiles and provide sustained therapeutic effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Murugesan Vanangamudi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Amity Institute of Pharmacy, Amity University Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior 474005, Madhya Pradesh, India;
| | - Senthilkumar Palaniappan
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore 641021, Tamilnadu, India;
- Center for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore 641021, Tamilnadu, India
| | - Muthu Kumaradoss Kathiravan
- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Research Lab, SRM College of Pharmacy, SRMIST, Kattankulathur 603203, Tamilnadu, India;
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, SRM College of Pharmacy, SRMIST, Kattankulathur 603203, Tamilnadu, India
| | - Vigneshwaran Namasivayam
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Institute, University of Bonn, 53121 Bonn, Germany
- LIED, University of Lübeck and University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538 Lübeck, Germany
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17
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Sakanyan V, Iradyan N, Alves de Sousa R. Targeted Strategies for Degradation of Key Transmembrane Proteins in Cancer. BIOTECH 2023; 12:57. [PMID: 37754201 PMCID: PMC10526213 DOI: 10.3390/biotech12030057] [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: 07/05/2023] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Targeted protein degradation is an attractive technology for cancer treatment due to its ability to overcome the unpredictability of the small molecule inhibitors that cause resistance mutations. In recent years, various targeted protein degradation strategies have been developed based on the ubiquitin-proteasome system in the cytoplasm or the autophagy-lysosomal system during endocytosis. In this review, we describe and compare technologies for the targeted inhibition and targeted degradation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), one of the major proteins responsible for the onset and progression of many types of cancer. In addition, we develop an alternative strategy, called alloAUTO, based on the binding of new heterocyclic compounds to an allosteric site located in close proximity to the EGFR catalytic site. These compounds cause the targeted degradation of the transmembrane receptor, simultaneously activating both systems of protein degradation in cells. Damage to the EGFR signaling pathways promotes the inactivation of Bim sensor protein phosphorylation, which leads to the disintegration of the cytoskeleton, followed by the detachment of cancer cells from the extracellular matrix, and, ultimately, to cancer cell death. This hallmark of targeted cancer cell death suggests an advantage over other targeted protein degradation strategies, namely, the fewer cancer cells that survive mean fewer chemotherapy-resistant mutants appear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vehary Sakanyan
- Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Nantes, 44035 Nantes, France
- ProtNeteomix, 29 rue de Provence, 44700 Orvault, France
| | - Nina Iradyan
- Institute of Fine Organic Chemistry after A. Mnjoyan, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan 0014, Armenia;
| | - Rodolphe Alves de Sousa
- Faculté des Sciences Fondamentales et Biomédicales, Université Paris Descartes, UMR 8601, CBMIT, 75006 Paris, France;
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18
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Srinivasan B. Non-equilibrium modalities of inhibition: Characterizing irreversible inhibition for the ErbB receptor family members. Methods Enzymol 2023; 690:85-108. [PMID: 37858541 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2023.08.004] [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] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Most drug target interactions for clinically approved small-molecules are non-equilibrium slow-onset, tight-binding or irreversible in nature, with pronounced element of time-dependence of inhibition. Analysis of such modality of inhibition requires a continuous enzyme kinetic measurement that can yield complete progress curves and an automated high-throughput analysis pipeline. Given the increasing emphasis on designing non-equilibrium modes of inhibiting an enzyme target (especially irreversible), the above specified pipeline for data generation and analysis is essential for extracting parameters to guide decisions in early drug discovery. In this manuscript, the methodology and data analysis protocol from our irreversible inhibitor characterization campaigns for the ErbB receptor family members is presented. Guidance is provided on the appropriate design of assay to generate quality data, setting up the analysis and estimation of inactivation rate (kinact) and the pseudo-equilibrium binding affinity (KI) constant (or their ratio kinact/KI) in a high-throughput manner for the inhibitor interacting with the protein target of interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bharath Srinivasan
- Mechanistic and Structural Biology, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
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19
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Kornicka A, Gzella K, Garbacz K, Jarosiewicz M, Gdaniec M, Fedorowicz J, Balewski Ł, Kokoszka J, Ordyszewska A. Indole-Acrylonitrile Derivatives as Potential Antitumor and Antimicrobial Agents-Synthesis, In Vitro and In Silico Studies. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:918. [PMID: 37513830 PMCID: PMC10386429 DOI: 10.3390/ph16070918] [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: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
A series of 2-(1H-indol-2-yl)-3-acrylonitrile derivatives, 2a-x, 3, 4a-b, 5a-d, 6a-b, and 7, were synthesized as potential antitumor and antimicrobial agents. The structures of the prepared compounds were evaluated based on elemental analysis, IR, 1H- and 13NMR, as well as MS spectra. X-ray crystal analysis of the representative 2-(1H-indol-2-yl)-3-acrylonitrile 2l showed that the acrylonitrile double bond was Z-configured. All compounds were screened at the National Cancer Institute (USA) for their activities against a panel of approximately 60 human tumor cell lines and the relationship between structure and in vitro antitumor activity is discussed. Compounds of interest 2l and 5a-d showed significant growth inhibition potency against various tumor cell lines with the mean midpoint GI50 values of all tests in the range of 0.38-7.91 μM. The prominent compound with remarkable activity (GI50 = 0.0244-5.06 μM) and high potency (TGI = 0.0866-0.938 μM) against some cell lines of leukemia (HL-60(TB)), non-small cell lung cancer (NCI-H522), colon cancer (COLO 205), CNS cancer (SF-539, SNB-75), ovarian cancer ((OVCAR-3), renal cancer (A498, RXF 393), and breast cancer (MDA-MB-468) was 3-[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-2-(1-methyl-1H-indol-2-yl)acrylonitrile (5c). Moreover, the selected 2-(1H-indol-2-yl)-3-acrylonitriles 2a-c and 2e-x were evaluated for their antibacterial and antifungal activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens as well as Candida albicans. Among them, 2-(1H-indol-2-yl)-3-(1H-pyrrol-2-yl)acrylonitrile (2x) showed the most potent antimicrobial activity and therefore it can be considered as a lead structure for further development of antimicrobial agents. Finally, molecular docking studies as well as drug-likeness and ADME profile prediction were carried out.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita Kornicka
- Department of Chemical Technology of Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-416 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Karol Gzella
- Department of Chemical Technology of Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-416 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Garbacz
- Department of Oral Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-204 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Małgorzata Jarosiewicz
- Department of Oral Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-204 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Maria Gdaniec
- Faculty of Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
| | - Joanna Fedorowicz
- Department of Chemical Technology of Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-416 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Łukasz Balewski
- Department of Chemical Technology of Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-416 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Jakub Kokoszka
- Department of Chemical Technology of Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-416 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Anna Ordyszewska
- Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Advanced Materials Centers, Gdańsk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
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Rungruangmaitree R, Phoochaijaroen S, Chimprasit A, Saparpakorn P, Pootanakit K, Tanramluk D. Structural analysis of the coronavirus main protease for the design of pan-variant inhibitors. Sci Rep 2023; 13:7055. [PMID: 37120654 PMCID: PMC10148699 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34305-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/01/2023] Open
Abstract
With the rapid rate of SARS-CoV-2 Main protease (Mpro) structures deposition, a computational method that can combine all the useful structural features becomes crucial. This research focuses on the frequently occurring atoms and residues to find a generalized strategy for inhibitor design given a large amount of protein complexes from SARS-CoV in contrast to SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. By superposing large numbers of the ligands onto the protein template and grid box, we can analyse which part of the structure is conserved from position-specific interaction for both data sets for the development of pan-Mpro antiviral design. The difference in conserved recognition sites from the crystal structures can be used to determine specificity determining residues for designing selective drugs. We can display pictures of the imaginary shape of the ligand by unionising all atoms from the ligand. We also pinpoint the most probable atom adjustments to imitate the frequently found densities from the ligand atoms statistics. With molecular docking, Molecular Dynamics simulation, and MM-PBSA methods, a carbonyl replacement at the nitrile warhead (N5) of Paxlovid's Nirmatrelvir (PF-07321332) was suggested. By gaining insights into the selectivity and promiscuity regions for proteins and ligands, crucial residues are highlighted, and the antiviral design strategies are proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sakao Phoochaijaroen
- Integrative Computational BioScience (ICBS) Center, Mahidol University, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, 73170, Thailand
| | - Aunlika Chimprasit
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Chatuchak, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand
| | - Patchreenart Saparpakorn
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Chatuchak, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand
| | - Kusol Pootanakit
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Mahidol University, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, 73170, Thailand
| | - Duangrudee Tanramluk
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Mahidol University, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, 73170, Thailand.
- Integrative Computational BioScience (ICBS) Center, Mahidol University, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, 73170, Thailand.
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Zhou X, Ji Y, Zhou J. Multiple Strategies to Develop Small Molecular KRAS Directly Bound Inhibitors. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28083615. [PMID: 37110848 PMCID: PMC10146153 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28083615] [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: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 04/08/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
KRAS gene mutation is widespread in tumors and plays an important role in various malignancies. Targeting KRAS mutations is regarded as the "holy grail" of targeted cancer therapies. Recently, multiple strategies, including covalent binding strategy, targeted protein degradation strategy, targeting protein and protein interaction strategy, salt bridge strategy, and multivalent strategy, have been adopted to develop KRAS direct inhibitors for anti-cancer therapy. Various KRAS-directed inhibitors have been developed, including the FDA-approved drugs sotorasib and adagrasib, KRAS-G12D inhibitor MRTX1133, and KRAS-G12V inhibitor JAB-23000, etc. The different strategies greatly promote the development of KRAS inhibitors. Herein, the strategies are summarized, which would shed light on the drug discovery for both KRAS and other "undruggable" targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xile Zhou
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 79 Qingchun Road, Hangzhou 310003, China
| | - Yang Ji
- Drug Development and Innovation Center, College of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, 688 Yingbin Road, Jinhua 321004, China
| | - Jinming Zhou
- Drug Development and Innovation Center, College of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, 688 Yingbin Road, Jinhua 321004, China
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Zhou Z, Meng B, An J, Zhao F, Sun Y, Zeng D, Wang W, Gao S, Xia Y, Dun C, De Clercq E, Pannecouque C, Zhan P, Kang D, Liu X. Covalently Targeted Highly Conserved Tyr318 to Improve the Drug Resistance Profiles of HIV-1 NNRTIs: A Proof-of-Concept Study. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24021215. [PMID: 36674730 PMCID: PMC9865928 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24021215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Revised: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
This study presents proof of concept for designing a novel HIV-1 covalent inhibitor targeting the highly conserved Tyr318 in the HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors binding pocket to improve the drug resistance profiles. The target inhibitor ZA-2 with a fluorosulfate warhead in the structure was found to be a potent inhibitor (EC50 = 11-246 nM) against HIV-1 IIIB and a panel of NNRTIs-resistant strains, being far superior to those of NVP and EFV. Moreover, ZA-2 was demonstrated with lower cytotoxicity (CC50 = 125 µM). In the reverse transcriptase inhibitory assay, ZA-2 exhibited an IC50 value of 0.057 µM with the ELISA method, and the MALDI-TOF MS data demonstrated the covalent binding mode of ZA-2 with the enzyme. Additionally, the molecular simulations have also demonstrated that compounds can form covalent binding to the Tyr318.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenzhen Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Bairu Meng
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Jiaqi An
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Fabao Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Yanying Sun
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Dan Zeng
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Wenna Wang
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Shenghua Gao
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Yu Xia
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Caiyun Dun
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Erik De Clercq
- Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Rega Institute for Medical Research, K.U. Leuven, Herestraat 49 Postbus 1043 (09.A097), B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Christophe Pannecouque
- Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Rega Institute for Medical Research, K.U. Leuven, Herestraat 49 Postbus 1043 (09.A097), B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Peng Zhan
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
- China-Belgium Collaborative Research Center for Innovative Antiviral Drugs of Shandong Province, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Dongwei Kang
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
- China-Belgium Collaborative Research Center for Innovative Antiviral Drugs of Shandong Province, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
- Correspondence: (D.K.); (X.L.)
| | - Xinyong Liu
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
- China-Belgium Collaborative Research Center for Innovative Antiviral Drugs of Shandong Province, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
- Correspondence: (D.K.); (X.L.)
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