Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of first-in-class indomethacin-based PROTACs degrading SARS-CoV-2 main protease and with broad-spectrum antiviral activity

To date, Proteolysis Targeting Chimera (PROTAC) technology has been successfully applied to mediate proteasomal-induced degradation of several pharmaceutical targets mainly related to oncology, immune disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases. On the other hand, its exploitation in the field of antiviral drug discovery is still in its infancy. Recently, we described two indomethacin (INM)-based PROTACs displaying broad-spectrum antiviral activity against coronaviruses. Here, we report the design, synthesis, and characterization of a novel series of INM-based PROTACs that recruit either Von-Hippel Lindau (VHL) or cereblon (CRBN) E3 ligases. The panel of INM-based PROTACs was also enlarged by varying the linker moiety. The antiviral activity resulted very susceptible to this modification, particularly for PROTACs hijacking VHL as E3 ligase, with one piperazine-based compound (PROTAC 6) showing potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in infected human lung cells. Interestingly, degradation assays in both uninfected and virus-infected cells with the most promising PROTACs emerged so far (PROTACs 5 and 6) demonstrated that INM-PROTACs do not degrade human PGES-2 protein, as initially hypothesized, but induce the concentration-dependent degradation of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) both in Mpro-transfected and in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells. Importantly, thanks to the target degradation, INM-PROTACs exhibited a considerable enhancement in antiviral activity with respect to indomethacin, with EC50 values in the low-micromolar/nanomolar range. Finally, kinetic solubility as well as metabolic and chemical stability were measured for PROTACs 5 and 6. Altogether, the identification of INM-based PROTACs as the first class of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro degraders demonstrating activity also in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells represents a significant advance in the development of effective, broad-spectrum anti-coronavirus strategies.

Indomethacin-based PROTACs as pan-coronavirus antiviral agents

Indomethacin (INM), a well-known non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, has recently gained attention for its antiviral activity demonstrated in drug repurposing studies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Although the mechanism of action of INM is not yet fully understood, recent studies have indicated that it acts at an early stage of the coronaviruses (CoVs) replication cycle. In addition, a proteomic study reported that the anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of INM could be also ascribed to its ability to inhibit human prostaglandin E synthase type 2 (PGES-2), a host protein which interacts with the SARS-CoV-2 NSP7 protein. Although INM does not potently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication in infected Vero E6 cells, here we have explored for the first time the application of the Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs) technology in order to develop more potent INM-derived PROTACs with anti-CoV activity. In this study, we report the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of a series of INM-based PROTACs endowed with antiviral activity against a panel of human CoVs, including different SARS-CoV-2 strains. Two PROTACs showed a strong improvement in antiviral potency compared to INM. Molecular modelling studies support human PGES-2 as a potential target of INM-based antiviral PROTACs, thus paving the way toward the development of host-directed anti-CoVs strategies. To the best of our knowledge, these PROTACs represent the first-in-class INM-based PROTACs with antiviral activity and also the first example of the application of PROTACs to develop pan-coronavirus agents.

On the production of ancient Egyptian blue: Multi-modal characterization and micron-scale luminescence mapping

The ancient pigment Egyptian blue has long been studied for its historical significance; however, recent work has shown that its unique visible induced luminescent property can be used both to identify the pigment and to inspire new materials with this characteristic. In this study, a multi-modal characterization approach is used to explore variations in ancient production of Egyptian blue from shabti statuettes found in the village of Deir el-Medina in Egypt (Luxor, West Bank) dating back to the New Kingdom (18^th-20^th Dynasties; about 1550–1077 BCE). Using quantitative SEM-EDS analysis, we identify two possible production groups of the Egyptian blue and demonstrate the presence of multiple phases within samples using cluster analysis and ternary diagram representations. Using both macro-scale non-invasive (X-rays fluorescence and multi-spectral imaging) and micro-sampling (SEM-EDS and Raman confocal microspectroscopy) techniques, we correlate photoluminescence and chemical composition of the ancient samples. We introduce Raman spectroscopic imaging as a means to capture simultaneously visible-induced luminesce and crystal structure and utilize it to identify two classes of luminescing and non-luminescing silicate phases in the pigment that may be connected to production technologies. The results presented here provide a new framework through which Egyptian blue can be studied and inform the design of new materials based on its luminescent property.