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Jiang S, Tian T, Li W, Liu T, Wang C, Hu G, Du R, Liu Y, Lu M. Mefloquine targets NLRP3 to reduce lipopolysaccharide-induced systemic inflammation and neural injury. EMBO Rep 2023; 24:e57101. [PMID: 37621232 PMCID: PMC10561175 DOI: 10.15252/embr.202357101] [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: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome plays an important role in the pathogenesis of a wide variety of human diseases. So far, drugs directly and specifically targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome are not available for clinical use since the safety and efficacy of new compounds are often unclear. A promising approach is thus to identify NLRP3 inhibitors from existing drugs that are already in clinical use. Here, we show that mefloquine, a well-known antimalarial drug, is a highly selective and potent NLRP3 inhibitor by screening a FDA-approved drug library. Mechanistically, mefloquine directly binds to the NLRP3 NACHT and LRR domains to prevent NLRP3 inflammasome activation. More importantly, mefloquine treatment attenuates the symptoms of lipopolysaccharide-induced systemic inflammation and Parkinson's disease-like neural damage in mice. Our findings identify mefloquine as a potential therapeutic agent for NLRP3-driven diseases and migth expand its clinical use considerably.
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Affiliation(s)
- Si‐Yuan Jiang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Department of PharmacologyNanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Tian Tian
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Department of PharmacologyNanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Wen‐Jie Li
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Department of PharmacologyNanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Ting Liu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Department of PharmacologyNanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Cong Wang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Department of PharmacologyNanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Gang Hu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Department of PharmacologyNanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Ren‐Hong Du
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Department of PharmacologyNanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Yang Liu
- Department of PharmacologyNanjing University of Chinese MedicineNanjingChina
| | - Ming Lu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Department of PharmacologyNanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
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Rizka Nurcahyaningtyas H, Irene A, Tri Wibowo J, Yunovilsa Putra M, Yanuar A. Identification of potential Indonesian marine invertebrate bioactive compounds as TMPRSS2 and SARS-CoV-2 Omicron spike protein inhibitors through computational screening. ARAB J CHEM 2023; 16:104984. [PMID: 37234226 PMCID: PMC10186851 DOI: 10.1016/j.arabjc.2023.104984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The coronavirus pandemic led to the announcement of a worldwide health emergency. The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, which swiftly spread worldwide, has fueled existing challenges. Appropriate medication is necessary to avoid severe SARS-CoV-2 disease. The human TMPRSS2 and SARS-CoV-2 Omicron spike protein, which are required for viral entry into the host phase, were identified as the target proteins through computational screening. Structure-based virtual screening; molecular docking; absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) analysis; and molecular dynamics simulation were the methods applied for TMPRSS2 and spike protein inhibitors. Bioactive marine invertebrates from Indonesia were employed as test ligands. Camostat and nafamostat (co-crystal) were utilized as reference ligands against TMPRSS2, whereas mefloquine was used as a reference ligand against spike protein. Following a molecular docking and dynamics simulation, we found that acanthomanzamine C has remarkable effectiveness against TMPRSS2 and spike protein. Compared to camostat (-8.25 kcal/mol), nafamostat (-6.52 kcal/mol), and mefloquine (-6.34 kcal/mol), acanthomanzamine C binds to TMPRSS2 and spike protein with binding energies of -9.75 kcal/mol and -9.19 kcal/mol, respectively. Furthermore, slight variances in the MD simulation demonstrated consistent binding to TMPRSS2 and spike protein after the initial 50 ns. These results are highly valuable in the search for a treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alfrina Irene
- Faculty of Pharmacy Universitas Indonesia, Depok 16424, West Java, Indonesia
| | - Joko Tri Wibowo
- Research Center for Vaccine and Drug, National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (BRIN), Cibinong, Indonesia
| | - Masteria Yunovilsa Putra
- Research Center for Vaccine and Drug, National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (BRIN), Cibinong, Indonesia
- National Metabolomics Collaborative Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, 16424, West Java, Indonesia
| | - Arry Yanuar
- Faculty of Pharmacy Universitas Indonesia, Depok 16424, West Java, Indonesia
- National Metabolomics Collaborative Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, 16424, West Java, Indonesia
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Miranda MD, Caldas GC, Ferreira VN, Barth OM, da Silva ADPD, Silva MST, Grinsztejn B, Veloso VG, Souza TM, da Silva EE, Barreto-Vieira DF. Monkeypox (Mpox) virus isolation and ultrastructural characterisation from a Brazilian human sample case. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 2023; 118:e230090. [PMID: 37646742 PMCID: PMC10469757 DOI: 10.1590/0074-02760230090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND According to the last 2023 Monkeypox (Mpox) Outbreak Global Map from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 100 countries with no Mpox infection report cases. Brazil stands out in this group and is the second country with the highest number of cases in the last outbreak. OBJECTIVE To contribute to knowledge of the virus infection effects in a cellular model, which is important for diagnosis infections not yet included in a provider´s differential diagnosis and for developing viral inhibition strategies. METHODS We describe a virus isolation protocol for a human clinical sample from a patient from Brazil, the viral growth in a cell model through plaque forming units (PFU) assay, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). FINDINGS We follow the viral isolation in Vero cell culture from a Mpox positive clinically diagnosed sample and show the infection effects on cellular structures using a TEM. MAIN CONCLUSIONS Understanding the impact of viral growth on cellular structures and its replication kinetics may offer better strategies for the development of new drugs with antiviral properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milene Dias Miranda
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Morfologia e Morfogênese Viral, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
| | - Gabriela Cardoso Caldas
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Morfologia e Morfogênese Viral, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Patologia, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
| | - Vivian Neuza Ferreira
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Morfologia e Morfogênese Viral, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
| | - Ortrud Monika Barth
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Morfologia e Morfogênese Viral, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
| | - Aline de Paula Dias da Silva
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Morfologia e Morfogênese Viral, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Saúde, Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Gestão da Inovação em Doenças Negligenciadas, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
| | - Mayara Secco Torres Silva
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
| | - Beatriz Grinsztejn
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
| | - Valdiléa Gonçalves Veloso
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
| | - Thiago Moreno Souza
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Saúde, Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Gestão da Inovação em Doenças Negligenciadas, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
| | - Edson Elias da Silva
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Vírus Respiratórios, Exantemáticos, Enterovírus e Emergências Virais, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
| | - Debora Ferreira Barreto-Vieira
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Morfologia e Morfogênese Viral, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
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Kawasaki Y, Abe H, Yasuda J. Comparison of genome replication fidelity between SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus in cell culture. Sci Rep 2023; 13:13105. [PMID: 37567927 PMCID: PMC10421855 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-40463-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Since the emergence of COVID-19, several SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) variants have emerged and spread widely. These variants are produced through replication errors of the viral genome by viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). Seasonal epidemics of influenza are also known to occur because of new variants of influenza A virus (IAV), which are generated by the introduction of mutations by viral RdRp with low fidelity. Variants with different antigenicities appear because of mutations in envelope glycoproteins. In this study, we calculated and compared the mutation rates in genome replication of IAV and SARS-CoV-2. Average mutation rates per passage were 9.01 × 10-5 and 3.76 × 10-6 substitutions/site for IAV and SARS-CoV-2, respectively. The mutation rate of SARS-CoV-2 was 23.9-fold lower than that of IAV because of the proofreading activity of the SARS-CoV-2 RdRp complex. Our data could be useful in establishing effective countermeasures against COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshiko Kawasaki
- Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, National Research Center for the Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases (CCPID), Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
- Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
| | - Haruka Abe
- Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, National Research Center for the Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases (CCPID), Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
- Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
| | - Jiro Yasuda
- Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, National Research Center for the Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases (CCPID), Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan.
- Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan.
- Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan.
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Omage FB, Madabeni A, Tucci AR, Nogara PA, Bortoli M, Rosa ADS, Neuza Dos Santos Ferreira V, Teixeira Rocha JB, Miranda MD, Orian L. Diphenyl Diselenide and SARS-CoV-2: in silico Exploration of the Mechanisms of Inhibition of Main Protease (M pro) and Papain-like Protease (PL pro). J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:2226-2239. [PMID: 36952618 PMCID: PMC10091420 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/25/2023]
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has prompted global efforts to develop therapeutics. The main protease of SARS-CoV-2 (Mpro) and the papain-like protease (PLpro) are essential for viral replication and are key targets for therapeutic development. In this work, we investigate the mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 inhibition by diphenyl diselenide (PhSe)2 which is an archetypal model of diselenides and a renowned potential therapeutic agent. The in vitro inhibitory concentration of (PhSe)2 against SARS-CoV-2 in Vero E6 cells falls in the low micromolar range. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations [level of theory: SMD-B3LYP-D3(BJ)/6-311G(d,p), cc-pVTZ] are used to inspect non-covalent inhibition modes of both proteases via π-stacking and the mechanism of covalent (PhSe)2 + Mpro product formation involving the catalytic residue C145, respectively. The in vitro CC50 (24.61 μM) and EC50 (2.39 μM) data indicate that (PhSe)2 is a good inhibitor of the SARS-CoV-2 virus replication in a cell culture model. The in silico findings indicate potential mechanisms of proteases' inhibition by (PhSe)2; in particular, the results of the covalent inhibition here discussed for Mpro, whose thermodynamics is approximatively isoergonic, prompt further investigation in the design of antiviral organodiselenides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Folorunsho Bright Omage
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul 97105-900, Brazil
| | - Andrea Madabeni
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università Degli Studi di Padova, Via Marzolo 1, Padova 35131, Italy
| | - Amanda Resende Tucci
- Laboratório de Vírus Respiratórios e Do Sarampo, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, Brazil
- Laboratório de Morfologia e Morfogênese Viral, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, Brazil
| | - Pablo Andrei Nogara
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul 97105-900, Brazil
| | - Marco Bortoli
- Institute of Computational Chemistry and Catalysis (IQCC) and Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Girona, C/M. A. Capmany 69, Girona 17003, Spain
| | - Alice Dos Santos Rosa
- Laboratório de Vírus Respiratórios e Do Sarampo, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, Brazil
- Laboratório de Morfologia e Morfogênese Viral, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, Brazil
| | - Vivian Neuza Dos Santos Ferreira
- Laboratório de Vírus Respiratórios e Do Sarampo, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, Brazil
- Laboratório de Morfologia e Morfogênese Viral, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, Brazil
| | - João Batista Teixeira Rocha
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul 97105-900, Brazil
| | - Milene Dias Miranda
- Laboratório de Vírus Respiratórios e Do Sarampo, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, Brazil
- Laboratório de Morfologia e Morfogênese Viral, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, Brazil
| | - Laura Orian
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università Degli Studi di Padova, Via Marzolo 1, Padova 35131, Italy
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Alsmadi MM. The investigation of the complex population-drug-drug interaction between ritonavir-boosted lopinavir and chloroquine or ivermectin using physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modeling. Drug Metab Pers Ther 2023; 38:87-105. [PMID: 36205215 DOI: 10.1515/dmpt-2022-0130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Therapy failure caused by complex population-drug-drug (PDDI) interactions including CYP3A4 can be predicted using mechanistic physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling. A synergy between ritonavir-boosted lopinavir (LPVr), ivermectin, and chloroquine was suggested to improve COVID-19 treatment. This work aimed to study the PDDI of the two CYP3A4 substrates (ivermectin and chloroquine) with LPVr in mild-to-moderate COVID-19 adults, geriatrics, and pregnancy populations. METHODS The PDDI of LPVr with ivermectin or chloroquine was investigated. Pearson's correlations between plasma, saliva, and lung interstitial fluid (ISF) levels were evaluated. Target site (lung epithelial lining fluid [ELF]) levels of ivermectin and chloroquine were estimated. RESULTS Upon LPVr coadministration, while the chloroquine plasma levels were reduced by 30, 40, and 20%, the ivermectin plasma levels were increased by a minimum of 425, 234, and 453% in adults, geriatrics, and pregnancy populations, respectively. The established correlation equations can be useful in therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and dosing regimen optimization. CONCLUSIONS Neither chloroquine nor ivermectin reached therapeutic ELF levels in the presence of LPVr despite reaching toxic ivermectin plasma levels. PBPK modeling, guided with TDM in saliva, can be advantageous to evaluate the probability of reaching therapeutic ELF levels in the presence of PDDI, especially in home-treated patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mo'tasem M Alsmadi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
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7
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Chaves OA, Lima CR, Fintelman-Rodrigues N, Sacramento CQ, de Freitas CS, Vazquez L, Temerozo JR, Rocha ME, Dias SS, Carels N, Bozza PT, Castro-Faria-Neto HC, Souza TML. Agathisflavone, a natural biflavonoid that inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication by targeting its proteases. Int J Biol Macromol 2022; 222:1015-1026. [PMID: 36183752 PMCID: PMC9525951 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.09.204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Despite the fast development of vaccines, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) still circulates through variants of concern (VoC) and escape the humoral immune response. SARS-CoV-2 has provoked over 200,000 deaths/months since its emergence and only a few antiviral drugs showed clinical benefit up to this moment. Thus, chemical structures endowed with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity are important for continuous antiviral development and natural products represent a fruitful source of substances with biological activity. In the present study, agathisflavone (AGT), a biflavonoid from Anacardium occidentale was investigated as a candidate anti-SARS-CoV-2 compound. In silico and enzymatic analysis indicated that AGT may target mainly the viral main protease (Mpro) and not the papain-like protease (PLpro) in a non-competitive way. Cell-based assays in type II pneumocytes cell lineage (Calu-3) showed that SARS-CoV-2 is more susceptible to AGT than to apigenin (APG, monomer of AGT), in a dose-dependent manner, with an EC50 of 4.23 ± 0.21 μM and CC50 of 61.3 ± 0.1 μM and with a capacity to inhibit the level of pro-inflammatory mediator tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). These results configure AGT as an interesting chemical scaffold for the development of novel semisynthetic antivirals against SARS-CoV-2.
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Ultrastructural analysis and three-dimensional reconstruction of cellular structures involved in SARS-CoV-2 spread. Histochem Cell Biol 2022; 159:47-60. [PMID: 36175690 PMCID: PMC9521873 DOI: 10.1007/s00418-022-02152-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The cytoskeleton not only deals with numerous interaction and communication mechanisms at the cellular level but also has a crucial role in the viral infection cycle. Although numerous aspects of SARS-CoV-2 virus interaction at the cellular level have been widely studied, little has been reported about the structural and functional response of the cytoskeleton. This work aims to characterize, at the ultrastructural level, the modifications in the cytoskeleton of infected cells, namely, its participation in filopodia formation, the junction of these nanostructures forming bridges, the viral surfing, and the generation of tunnel effect nanotubes (TNT) as probable structures of intracellular viral dissemination. The three-dimensional reconstruction from the obtained micrographs allowed observing viral propagation events between cells in detail for the first time. More profound knowledge about these cell-cell interaction models in the viral spread mechanisms could lead to a better understanding of the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 disease and to find new therapeutic strategies.
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Kamboj S, Rajput A, Rastogi A, Thakur A, Kumar M. Targeting non-structural proteins of Hepatitis C virus for predicting repurposed drugs using QSAR and machine learning approaches. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022; 20:3422-3438. [PMID: 35832613 PMCID: PMC9271984 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.06.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection causes viral hepatitis leading to hepatocellular carcinoma. Despite the clinical use of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) still there is treatment failure in 5–10% cases. Therefore, it is crucial to develop new antivirals against HCV. In this endeavor, we developed the “Anti-HCV” platform using machine learning and quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) approaches to predict repurposed drugs targeting HCV non-structural (NS) proteins. We retrieved experimentally validated small molecules from the ChEMBL database with bioactivity (IC50/EC50) against HCV NS3 (454), NS3/4A (495), NS5A (494) and NS5B (1671) proteins. These unique compounds were divided into training/testing and independent validation datasets. Relevant molecular descriptors and fingerprints were selected using a recursive feature elimination algorithm. Different machine learning techniques viz. support vector machine, k-nearest neighbour, artificial neural network, and random forest were used to develop the predictive models. We achieved Pearson’s correlation coefficients from 0.80 to 0.92 during 10-fold cross validation and similar performance on independent datasets using the best developed models. The robustness and reliability of developed predictive models were also supported by applicability domain, chemical diversity and decoy datasets analyses. The “Anti-HCV” predictive models were used to identify potential repurposing drugs. Representative candidates were further validated by molecular docking which displayed high binding affinities. Hence, this study identified promising repurposed drugs viz. naftifine, butalbital (NS3), vinorelbine, epicriptine (NS3/4A), pipecuronium, trimethaphan (NS5A), olodaterol and vemurafenib (NS5B) etc. targeting HCV NS proteins. These potential repurposed drugs may prove useful in antiviral drug development against HCV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sakshi Kamboj
- Virology Unit and Bioinformatics Centre, Institute of Microbial Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Sector 39A, Chandigarh 160036, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - Akanksha Rajput
- Virology Unit and Bioinformatics Centre, Institute of Microbial Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Sector 39A, Chandigarh 160036, India
| | - Amber Rastogi
- Virology Unit and Bioinformatics Centre, Institute of Microbial Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Sector 39A, Chandigarh 160036, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - Anamika Thakur
- Virology Unit and Bioinformatics Centre, Institute of Microbial Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Sector 39A, Chandigarh 160036, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - Manoj Kumar
- Virology Unit and Bioinformatics Centre, Institute of Microbial Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Sector 39A, Chandigarh 160036, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
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Commercially Available Flavonols Are Better SARS-CoV-2 Inhibitors Than Isoflavone and Flavones. Viruses 2022; 14:v14071458. [PMID: 35891437 PMCID: PMC9324382 DOI: 10.3390/v14071458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Revised: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the fast development of vaccines, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is still circulating and generating variants of concern (VoC) that escape the humoral immune response. In this context, the search for anti-SARS-CoV-2 compounds is still essential. A class of natural polyphenols known as flavonoids, frequently available in fruits and vegetables, is widely explored in the treatment of different diseases and used as a scaffold for the design of novel drugs. Therefore, herein we evaluate seven flavonoids divided into three subclasses, isoflavone (genistein), flavone (apigenin and luteolin) and flavonol (fisetin, kaempferol, myricetin, and quercetin), for COVID-19 treatment using cell-based assays and in silico calculations validated with experimental enzymatic data. The flavonols were better SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors than isoflavone and flavones. The increasing number of hydroxyl groups in ring B of the flavonols kaempferol, quercetin, and myricetin decreased the 50% effective concentration (EC50) value due to their impact on the orientation of the compounds inside the target. Myricetin and fisetin appear to be preferred candidates; they are both anti-inflammatory (decreasing TNF-α levels) and inhibit SARS-CoV-2 mainly by targeting the processability of the main protease (Mpro) in a non-competitive manner, with a potency comparable to the repurposed drug atazanavir. However, fisetin and myricetin might also be considered hits that are amenable to synthetic modification to improve their anti-SARS-CoV-2 profile by inhibiting not only Mpro, but also the 3′–5′ exonuclease (ExoN).
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