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Lane TR, Ekins S. Defending Antiviral Cationic Amphiphilic Drugs That May Cause Drug-Induced Phospholipidosis. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:4125-4130. [PMID: 34516123 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
A recent publication in Science has proposed that cationic amphiphilic drugs repurposed for COVID-19 typically use phosholipidosis as their antiviral mechanism of action in cells but will have no in vivo efficacy. On the contrary, our viewpoint, supported by additional experimental data for similar cationic amphiphilic drugs, indicates that many of these molecules have both in vitro and in vivo efficacy with no reported phospholipidosis, and therefore, this class of compounds should not be avoided but further explored, as we continue the search for broad spectrum antivirals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas R Lane
- Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 840 Main Campus Drive, Lab 3510, Raleigh, North Carolina 27606, United States
| | - Sean Ekins
- Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 840 Main Campus Drive, Lab 3510, Raleigh, North Carolina 27606, United States
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Kim YJ, Venturini V, de la Torre JC. Progress in Anti-Mammarenavirus Drug Development. Viruses 2021; 13:v13071187. [PMID: 34206216 PMCID: PMC8310104 DOI: 10.3390/v13071187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 06/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Mammarenaviruses are prevalent pathogens distributed worldwide, and several strains cause severe cases of human infections with high morbidity and significant mortality. Currently, there is no FDA-approved antiviral drugs and vaccines against mammarenavirus and the potential treatment option is limited to an off-label use of ribavirin that shows only partial protective effect and associates with side effects. For the past few decades, extensive research has reported potential anti-mammarenaviral drugs and their mechanisms of action in host as well as vaccine candidates. This review describes current knowledge about mammarenavirus virology, progress of antiviral drug development, and technical strategies of drug screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Jin Kim
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; (Y.-J.K.); (V.V.)
| | - Victor Venturini
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; (Y.-J.K.); (V.V.)
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Experimental Sciences, Francisco de Vitoria University (UFV), Carretera Pozuelo-Majadahonda, Km 1,800, Pozuelo de Alarcón, 28223 Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan C. de la Torre
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; (Y.-J.K.); (V.V.)
- Correspondence:
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Lane TR, Dyall J, Mercer L, Goodin C, Foil DH, Zhou H, Postnikova E, Liang JY, Holbrook MR, Madrid PB, Ekins S. Repurposing Pyramax®, quinacrine and tilorone as treatments for Ebola virus disease. Antiviral Res 2020; 182:104908. [PMID: 32798602 PMCID: PMC7425680 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2020.104908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Revised: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
We have recently identified three molecules (tilorone, quinacrine and pyronaridine tetraphosphate) which all demonstrated efficacy in the mouse model of infection with mouse-adapted Ebola virus (EBOV) model of disease and had similar in vitro inhibition of an Ebola pseudovirus (VSV-EBOV-GP), suggesting they interfere with viral entry. Using a machine learning model to predict lysosomotropism these compounds were evaluated for their ability to possess a lysosomotropic mechanism in vitro. We now demonstrate in vitro that pyronaridine tetraphosphate is an inhibitor of Lysotracker accumulation in lysosomes (IC50 = 0.56 μM). Further, we evaluated antiviral synergy between pyronaridine and artesunate (Pyramax®), which are used in combination to treat malaria. Artesunate was not found to have lysosomotropic activity in vitro and the combination effect on EBOV inhibition was shown to be additive. Pyramax® may represent a unique example of the repurposing of a combination product for another disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas R Lane
- Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 840 Main Campus Drive, Lab 3510, Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA
| | - Julie Dyall
- Integrated Research Facility, Division of Clinical Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Luke Mercer
- Cambrex, 3501 Tricenter Blvd, Suite C, Durham, NC, 27713, USA
| | - Caleb Goodin
- Cambrex, 3501 Tricenter Blvd, Suite C, Durham, NC, 27713, USA
| | - Daniel H Foil
- Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 840 Main Campus Drive, Lab 3510, Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA
| | - Huanying Zhou
- Integrated Research Facility, Division of Clinical Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD, USA
| | | | - Janie Y Liang
- Integrated Research Facility, Division of Clinical Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Michael R Holbrook
- Integrated Research Facility, Division of Clinical Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Peter B Madrid
- SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA
| | - Sean Ekins
- Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 840 Main Campus Drive, Lab 3510, Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA.
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Salata C, Calistri A, Alvisi G, Celestino M, Parolin C, Palù G. Ebola Virus Entry: From Molecular Characterization to Drug Discovery. Viruses 2019; 11:v11030274. [PMID: 30893774 PMCID: PMC6466262 DOI: 10.3390/v11030274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2019] [Revised: 03/15/2019] [Accepted: 03/16/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is one of the most lethal transmissible infections, characterized by a high fatality rate, and caused by a member of the Filoviridae family. The recent large outbreak of EVD in Western Africa (2013–2016) highlighted the worldwide threat represented by the disease and its impact on global public health and the economy. The development of highly needed anti-Ebola virus antivirals has been so far hampered by the shortage of tools to study their life cycle in vitro, allowing to screen for potential active compounds outside a biosafety level-4 (BSL-4) containment. Importantly, the development of surrogate models to study Ebola virus entry in a BSL-2 setting, such as viral pseudotypes and Ebola virus-like particles, tremendously boosted both our knowledge of the viral life cycle and the identification of promising antiviral compounds interfering with viral entry. In this context, the combination of such surrogate systems with large-scale small molecule compounds and haploid genetic screenings, as well as rational drug design and drug repurposing approaches will prove priceless in our quest for the development of a treatment for EVD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristiano Salata
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, IT-35121 Padova, Italy.
| | - Arianna Calistri
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, IT-35121 Padova, Italy.
| | - Gualtiero Alvisi
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, IT-35121 Padova, Italy.
| | - Michele Celestino
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, IT-35121 Padova, Italy.
| | - Cristina Parolin
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, IT-35121 Padova, Italy.
| | - Giorgio Palù
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, IT-35121 Padova, Italy.
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Identification of Clotrimazole Derivatives as Specific Inhibitors of Arenavirus Fusion. J Virol 2019; 93:JVI.01744-18. [PMID: 30626681 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01744-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2018] [Accepted: 12/21/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Arenaviruses are a large family of emerging enveloped negative-strand RNA viruses that include several causative agents of viral hemorrhagic fevers. For cell entry, human-pathogenic arenaviruses use different cellular receptors and endocytic pathways that converge at the level of acidified late endosomes, where the viral envelope glycoprotein mediates membrane fusion. Inhibitors of arenavirus entry hold promise for therapeutic antiviral intervention and the identification of "druggable" targets is of high priority. Using a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus pseudotype platform, we identified the clotrimazole-derivative TRAM-34, a highly selective antagonist of the calcium-activated potassium channel KCa3.1, as a specific entry inhibitor for arenaviruses. TRAM-34 specifically blocked entry of most arenaviruses, including hemorrhagic fever viruses, but not Lassa virus and other enveloped viruses. Anti-arenaviral activity was likewise observed with the parental compound clotrimazole and the derivative senicapoc, whereas structurally unrelated KCa3.1 inhibitors showed no antiviral effect. Deletion of KCa3.1 by CRISPR/Cas9 technology did not affect the antiarenaviral effect of TRAM-34, indicating that the observed antiviral effect of clotrimazoles was independent of the known pharmacological target. The drug affected neither virus-cell attachment, nor endocytosis, suggesting an effect on later entry steps. Employing a quantitative cell-cell fusion assay that bypasses endocytosis, we demonstrate that TRAM-34 specifically inhibits arenavirus-mediated membrane fusion. In sum, we uncover a novel antiarenaviral action of clotrimazoles that currently undergo in vivo evaluation in the context of other human diseases. Their favorable in vivo toxicity profiles and stability opens the possibility to repurpose clotrimazole derivatives for therapeutic intervention against human-pathogenic arenaviruses.IMPORTANCE Emerging human-pathogenic arenaviruses are causative agents of severe hemorrhagic fevers with high mortality and represent serious public health problems. The current lack of a licensed vaccine and the limited treatment options makes the development of novel antiarenaviral therapeutics an urgent need. Using a recombinant pseudotype platform, we uncovered that clotrimazole drugs, in particular TRAM-34, specifically inhibit cell entry of a range of arenaviruses, including important emerging human pathogens, with the exception of Lassa virus. The antiviral effect was independent of the known pharmacological drug target and involved inhibition of the unusual membrane fusion mechanism of arenaviruses. TRAM-34 and its derivatives currently undergo evaluation against a number of human diseases and show favorable toxicity profiles and high stability in vivo Our study provides the basis for further evaluation of clotrimazole derivatives as antiviral drug candidates. Their advanced stage of drug development will facilitate repurposing for therapeutic intervention against human-pathogenic arenaviruses.
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