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Costacurta F, Dodaro A, Bante D, Schöppe H, Sprenger B, Moghadasi SA, Fleischmann J, Pavan M, Bassani D, Menin S, Rauch S, Krismer L, Sauerwein A, Heberle A, Rabensteiner T, Ho J, Harris RS, Stefan E, Schneider R, Kaserer T, Moro S, von Laer D, Heilmann E. A comprehensive study of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M pro) inhibitor-resistant mutants selected in a VSV-based system. bioRxiv 2023:2023.09.22.558628. [PMID: 37808638 PMCID: PMC10557589 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.22.558628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Nirmatrelvir was the first protease inhibitor (PI) specifically developed against the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (3CLpro/Mpro) and licensed for clinical use. As SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread, variants resistant to nirmatrelvir and other currently available treatments are likely to arise. This study aimed to identify and characterize mutations that confer resistance to nirmatrelvir. To safely generate Mpro resistance mutations, we passaged a previously developed, chimeric vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV-Mpro) with increasing, yet suboptimal concentrations of nirmatrelvir. Using Wuhan-1 and Omicron Mpro variants, we selected a large set of mutants. Some mutations are frequently present in GISAID, suggesting their relevance in SARS-CoV-2. The resistance phenotype of a subset of mutations was characterized against clinically available PIs (nirmatrelvir and ensitrelvir) with cell-based and biochemical assays. Moreover, we showed the putative molecular mechanism of resistance based on in silico molecular modelling. These findings have implications on the development of future generation Mpro inhibitors, will help to understand SARS-CoV-2 protease-inhibitor-resistance mechanisms and show the relevance of specific mutations in the clinic, thereby informing treatment decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Costacurta
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Tyrol, Austria
| | - Andrea Dodaro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padua, Via F. Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - David Bante
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Tyrol, Austria
| | - Helge Schöppe
- Institute of Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Tyrol, Austria
| | - Bernhard Sprenger
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Austria
| | - Seyed Arad Moghadasi
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Institute for Molecular Virology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States
| | - Jakob Fleischmann
- Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Tyrol, Austria
- Tyrolean Cancer Research Institute (TKFI), Innrain 66, Innsbruck, 6020, Tyrol, Austria
| | - Matteo Pavan
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padua, Via F. Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padua, Via F. Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Silvia Menin
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padua, Via F. Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Stefanie Rauch
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Tyrol, Austria
| | - Laura Krismer
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Tyrol, Austria
| | - Anna Sauerwein
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Tyrol, Austria
| | - Anne Heberle
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Tyrol, Austria
| | - Toni Rabensteiner
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Tyrol, Austria
| | - Joses Ho
- Bioinformatics Institute, Agency for Science Technology and Research, Singapore
| | - Reuben S. Harris
- Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229, United States
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229, United States
| | - Eduard Stefan
- Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Tyrol, Austria
- Tyrolean Cancer Research Institute (TKFI), Innrain 66, Innsbruck, 6020, Tyrol, Austria
| | - Rainer Schneider
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Austria
| | - Teresa Kaserer
- Institute of Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Tyrol, Austria
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padua, Via F. Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Dorothee von Laer
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Tyrol, Austria
| | - Emmanuel Heilmann
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Tyrol, Austria
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Bassani D, Brigo A, Andrews-Morger A. Federated Learning in Computational Toxicology: An Industrial Perspective on the Effiris Hackathon. Chem Res Toxicol 2023; 36:1503-1517. [PMID: 37584277 PMCID: PMC10523574 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrestox.3c00137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023]
Abstract
In silico approaches have acquired a towering role in pharmaceutical research and development, allowing laboratories all around the world to design, create, and optimize novel molecular entities with unprecedented efficiency. From a toxicological perspective, computational methods have guided the choices of medicinal chemists toward compounds displaying improved safety profiles. Even if the recent advances in the field are significant, many challenges remain active in the on-target and off-target prediction fields. Machine learning methods have shown their ability to identify molecules with safety concerns. However, they strongly depend on the abundance and diversity of data used for their training. Sharing such information among pharmaceutical companies remains extremely limited due to confidentiality reasons, but in this scenario, a recent concept named "federated learning" can help overcome such concerns. Within this framework, it is possible for companies to contribute to the training of common machine learning algorithms, using, but not sharing, their proprietary data. Very recently, Lhasa Limited organized a hackathon involving several industrial partners in order to assess the performance of their federated learning platform, called "Effiris". In this paper, we share our experience as Roche in participating in such an event, evaluating the performance of the federated algorithms and comparing them with those coming from our in-house-only machine learning models. Our aim is to highlight the advantages of federated learning and its intrinsic limitations and also suggest some points for potential improvements in the method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Bassani
- Pharmaceutical Research &
Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Alessandro Brigo
- Pharmaceutical Research &
Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Andrews-Morger
- Pharmaceutical Research &
Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., 4070 Basel, Switzerland
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Scaini MC, Piccin L, Bassani D, Scapinello A, Pellegrini S, Poggiana C, Catoni C, Tonello D, Pigozzo J, Dall’Olmo L, Rosato A, Moro S, Chiarion-Sileni V, Menin C. Molecular Modeling Unveils the Effective Interaction of B-RAF Inhibitors with Rare B-RAF Insertion Variants. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:12285. [PMID: 37569660 PMCID: PMC10418914 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241512285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved MAPK inhibitors as a treatment for melanoma patients carrying a mutation in codon V600 of the BRAF gene exclusively. However, BRAF mutations outside the V600 codon may occur in a small percentage of melanomas. Although these rare variants may cause B-RAF activation, their predictive response to B-RAF inhibitor treatments is still poorly understood. We exploited an integrated approach for mutation detection, tumor evolution tracking, and assessment of response to treatment in a metastatic melanoma patient carrying the rare p.T599dup B-RAF mutation. He was addressed to Dabrafenib/Trametinib targeted therapy, showing an initial dramatic response. In parallel, in-silico ligand-based homology modeling was set up and performed on this and an additional B-RAF rare variant (p.A598_T599insV) to unveil and justify the success of the B-RAF inhibitory activity of Dabrafenib, showing that it could adeptly bind both these variants in a similar manner to how it binds and inhibits the V600E mutant. These findings open up the possibility of broadening the spectrum of BRAF inhibitor-sensitive mutations beyond mutations at codon V600, suggesting that B-RAF V600 WT melanomas should undergo more specific investigations before ruling out the possibility of targeted therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Chiara Scaini
- Immunology and Molecular Oncology Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, 35128 Padua, Italy; (M.C.S.); (S.P.); (C.P.); (C.C.); (D.T.); (A.R.); (C.M.)
| | - Luisa Piccin
- Melanoma Unit, Oncology 2 Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, 35128 Padua, Italy; (L.P.); (J.P.); (V.C.-S.)
| | - Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padua, Italy;
| | - Antonio Scapinello
- Anatomy and Pathological Histology Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, 35128 Padua, Italy;
| | - Stefania Pellegrini
- Immunology and Molecular Oncology Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, 35128 Padua, Italy; (M.C.S.); (S.P.); (C.P.); (C.C.); (D.T.); (A.R.); (C.M.)
| | - Cristina Poggiana
- Immunology and Molecular Oncology Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, 35128 Padua, Italy; (M.C.S.); (S.P.); (C.P.); (C.C.); (D.T.); (A.R.); (C.M.)
| | - Cristina Catoni
- Immunology and Molecular Oncology Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, 35128 Padua, Italy; (M.C.S.); (S.P.); (C.P.); (C.C.); (D.T.); (A.R.); (C.M.)
| | - Debora Tonello
- Immunology and Molecular Oncology Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, 35128 Padua, Italy; (M.C.S.); (S.P.); (C.P.); (C.C.); (D.T.); (A.R.); (C.M.)
| | - Jacopo Pigozzo
- Melanoma Unit, Oncology 2 Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, 35128 Padua, Italy; (L.P.); (J.P.); (V.C.-S.)
| | - Luigi Dall’Olmo
- Soft-Tissue, Peritoneum and Melanoma Surgical Oncology Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, 35128 Padua, Italy
- Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology (DISCOG), University of Padua, 35128 Padua, Italy
| | - Antonio Rosato
- Immunology and Molecular Oncology Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, 35128 Padua, Italy; (M.C.S.); (S.P.); (C.P.); (C.C.); (D.T.); (A.R.); (C.M.)
- Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology (DISCOG), University of Padua, 35128 Padua, Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padua, Italy;
| | - Vanna Chiarion-Sileni
- Melanoma Unit, Oncology 2 Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, 35128 Padua, Italy; (L.P.); (J.P.); (V.C.-S.)
| | - Chiara Menin
- Immunology and Molecular Oncology Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, 35128 Padua, Italy; (M.C.S.); (S.P.); (C.P.); (C.C.); (D.T.); (A.R.); (C.M.)
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Peck KE, Bassani D, Camara SM, Domingues MR, Sentell T, Velez MP, Pirkle CM. Adolescent childbirth and mobility disability among women ages 15-49: an analysis of population health surveys from 14 low-income and middle-income countries. BMJ Open 2023; 13:e072535. [PMID: 37474178 PMCID: PMC10360427 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-072535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/22/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Adolescent childbirth is associated with older adult adverse health outcomes that negatively affect mobility function, but these associations have not been studied globally in large samples of reproductive-age women. This study examines the association between age at first childbirth and mobility disability in national surveys from low-income and middle-income countries, and hypotheses that adolescent childbirth is associated with mobility disability. DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis. SETTING Population health surveys from 2013 to 2018 containing mobility disability measures among ever-pregnant women ages 15-49. These included 13 Demographic Health Surveys from Haiti, Pakistan, Uganda, Cambodia, Colombia, South Africa, Timor-Leste, Albania, Gambia, Maldives, Peru, Senegal and Yemen and 1 Maternal Health Survey from Ghana. PARTICIPANTS The sample included 157 988 women ages 15-49 years. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE Adolescent childbirth was defined as 10-19 years of age. Poisson regression models were used to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) of mobility disability among women who first gave birth during adolescence and in adult life (ages 20-45 years) in each country and across the whole sample. Countries were also analysed according to the use of standard and non-standard mobility disability measures. Covariates included current age, urban/rural residence, education and household wealth. RESULTS Prevalence of adolescent childbirth (17.5%-66.2%) and mobility disability (0.32%-21.45%) varied widely across countries. Adolescent childbirth was significantly (p<0.05) associated with greater mobility disability in six of eight countries using standard disability measures. Among the six countries that did not use standard disability measures, none showed a statistically significant association between adolescent childbirth and mobility disability. Considering the whole sample and adjusting for all covariates, women who gave birth during adolescence had greater prevalence of mobility disability (pooled PR 1.19, 95% CI 1.06-1.31). CONCLUSIONS This analysis suggests a moderate and consistent association of adolescent childbearing with subsequent mobility disability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine E Peck
- Office of Public Health Studies, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
| | - D Bassani
- Centre for Global Child Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Saionara Ma Camara
- Department of Physiotherapy, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
| | - Marlos R Domingues
- Postgraduate Programme in Physical Education, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Tetine Sentell
- Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
| | - Maria P Velez
- Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology & Public Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Catherine M Pirkle
- Office of Public Health Studies, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
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Bassani D, Moro S. Correction: Bassani, D.; Moro, S. Past, Present, and Future Perspectives on Computer-Aided Drug Design Methodologies. Molecules 2023, 28, 3906. Molecules 2023; 28:5223. [PMID: 37446950 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28135223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
In the published publication [...].
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
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Bassani D, Moro S. Past, Present, and Future Perspectives on Computer-Aided Drug Design Methodologies. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28093906. [PMID: 37175316 PMCID: PMC10180087 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28093906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Revised: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The application of computational approaches in drug discovery has been consolidated in the last decades. These families of techniques are usually grouped under the common name of "computer-aided drug design" (CADD), and they now constitute one of the pillars in the pharmaceutical discovery pipelines in many academic and industrial environments. Their implementation has been demonstrated to tremendously improve the speed of the early discovery steps, allowing for the proficient and rational choice of proper compounds for a desired therapeutic need among the extreme vastness of the drug-like chemical space. Moreover, the application of CADD approaches allows the rationalization of biochemical and interactive processes of pharmaceutical interest at the molecular level. Because of this, computational tools are now extensively used also in the field of rational 3D design and optimization of chemical entities starting from the structural information of the targets, which can be experimentally resolved or can also be obtained with other computer-based techniques. In this work, we revised the state-of-the-art computer-aided drug design methods, focusing on their application in different scenarios of pharmaceutical and biological interest, not only highlighting their great potential and their benefits, but also discussing their actual limitations and eventual weaknesses. This work can be considered a brief overview of computational methods for drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Bassani
- Pharmaceutical Research & Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., 4070 Basel, Switzerland
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
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Carbone D, De Franco M, Pecoraro C, Bassani D, Pavan M, Cascioferro S, Parrino B, Cirrincione G, Dall'Acqua S, Sut S, Moro S, Gandin V, Diana P. Structural Manipulations of Marine Natural Products Inspire a New Library of 3-Amino-1,2,4-Triazine PDK Inhibitors Endowed with Antitumor Activity in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Mar Drugs 2023; 21:md21050288. [PMID: 37233482 DOI: 10.3390/md21050288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the main aggressive types of cancer, characterized by late prognosis and drug resistance. Among the main factors sustaining PDAC progression, the alteration of cell metabolism has emerged to have a key role in PDAC cell proliferation, invasion, and resistance to standard chemotherapeutic agents. Taking into account all these factors and the urgency in evaluating novel options to treat PDAC, in the present work we reported the synthesis of a new series of indolyl-7-azaindolyl triazine compounds inspired by marine bis-indolyl alkaloids. We first assessed the ability of the new triazine compounds to inhibit the enzymatic activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases (PDKs). The results showed that most of derivatives totally inhibit PDK1 and PDK4. Molecular docking analysis was executed to predict the possible binding mode of these derivatives using ligand-based homology modeling technique. Evaluation of the capability of new triazines to inhibit the cell growth in 2D and 3D KRAS-wild-type (BxPC-3) and KRAS-mutant (PSN-1) PDAC cell line, was carried out. The results showed the capacity of the new derivatives to reduce cell growth with a major selectivity against KRAS-mutant PDAC PSN-1 on both cell models. These data demonstrated that the new triazine derivatives target PDK1 enzymatic activity and exhibit cytotoxic effects on 2D and 3D PDAC cell models, thus encouraging further structure manipulation for analogs development against PDAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Carbone
- Department of Biological, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123 Palermo, Italy
| | - Michele De Franco
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Camilla Pecoraro
- Department of Biological, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123 Palermo, Italy
| | - Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Matteo Pavan
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Stella Cascioferro
- Department of Biological, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123 Palermo, Italy
| | - Barbara Parrino
- Department of Biological, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123 Palermo, Italy
| | - Girolamo Cirrincione
- Department of Biological, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123 Palermo, Italy
| | - Stefano Dall'Acqua
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Stefania Sut
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Valentina Gandin
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Patrizia Diana
- Department of Biological, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123 Palermo, Italy
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Gianferrara T, Pavan M, Bassani D, Vincenzi F, Pasquini S, Bolcato G, Varani K, Spalluto G, Federico S, Moro S. Are two riboses better than one? The case of the recognition and activation of adenosine receptors. ChemMedChem 2023:e202300109. [PMID: 37114338 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202300109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Traditionally, molecular recognition between the orthosteric site of adenosine receptors and their endogenous ligand occurs with a 1:1 stoichiometry. Inspired by previous mechanistic insights derived from Supervised Molecular Dynamics (SuMD) simulations, which suggested an alternative 2:1 binding stoichiometry, we synthesized BRA1, a bis-ribosyl adenosine derivative, tested its ability to bind to and activate the members of the adenosine receptors family, and rationalized its activity through molecular modeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Gianferrara
- University of Trieste: Universita degli Studi di Trieste, Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, ITALY
| | - Matteo Pavan
- University of Padova: Universita degli Studi di Padova, Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, ITALY
| | - Davide Bassani
- University of Padova: Universita degli Studi di Padova, Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, ITALY
| | - Fabrizio Vincenzi
- University of Ferrara: Universita degli Studi di Ferrara, Department of Translational Medicine, ITALY
| | - Silvia Pasquini
- University of Ferrara: Universita degli Studi di Ferrara, Department of Chemical and Agricultural Sciences, ITALY
| | - Giovanni Bolcato
- University of Padova: Universita degli Studi di Padova, Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, ITALY
| | - Katia Varani
- University of Ferrara: Universita degli Studi di Ferrara, Department of Translational Medicine, ITALY
| | - Giampiero Spalluto
- University of Trieste: Universita degli Studi di Trieste, Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, ITALY
| | - Stephanie Federico
- University of Trieste: Universita degli Studi di Trieste, Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, ITALY
| | - Stefano Moro
- University of Padova, Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Via Marzolo, 5, 35131, Padova, ITALY
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Pecoraro C, De Franco M, Carbone D, Bassani D, Pavan M, Cascioferro S, Parrino B, Cirrincione G, Dall'Acqua S, Moro S, Gandin V, Diana P. 1,2,4-Amino-triazine derivatives as pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase inhibitors: Synthesis and pharmacological evaluation. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 249:115134. [PMID: 36709650 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Revised: 01/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Among the different hallmarks of cancer, deregulation of cellular metabolism turned out to be an essential mechanism in promoting cancer resistance and progression. The pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases (PDKs) are well known as key regulators in cells metabolic process and their activity was found to be overexpressed in different metabolic alerted types of cancer, including the high aggressive pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). To date few PDK inhibitors have been reported, and the different molecules developed are characterized by structural chemical diversity. In an attempt to find novel classes of potential PDK inhibitors, the molecular hybridization approach, which combine two or more active scaffolds in a single structure, was employed. Herein we report the synthesis and the pharmacological evaluation of the novel hybrid molecules, characterized by the fusion of three different pharmacophoric sub-units such as 1,2,4-amino triazines, 7-azaindoles and indoles, in a single structure. The synthesized derivatives demonstrated a promising ability in hampering the enzymatic activity of PDK1 and 4, further confirmed by docking studies. Interestingly, these derivatives retained a strong antiproliferative activity against pancreatic cancer cells either in 2D and 3D models. Mechanistic studies in highly aggressive PDAC cells confirmed their ability to hamper PDK axis and to induce cancer cell death by apoptosis. Moreover, in vivo translational studies in a murine syngeneic solid tumor model confirmed the ability of the most representative compounds to target the PDK system and highlight the ability to reduce the tumor growth without inducing substantial body weight changes in the treated mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilla Pecoraro
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, via Archirafi 32, 90123, Palermo, Italy
| | - Michele De Franco
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, via F. Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Daniela Carbone
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, via Archirafi 32, 90123, Palermo, Italy
| | - Davide Bassani
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), University of Padova, via F. Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Matteo Pavan
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), University of Padova, via F. Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Stella Cascioferro
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, via Archirafi 32, 90123, Palermo, Italy
| | - Barbara Parrino
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, via Archirafi 32, 90123, Palermo, Italy
| | - Girolamo Cirrincione
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, via Archirafi 32, 90123, Palermo, Italy
| | - Stefano Dall'Acqua
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, via F. Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), University of Padova, via F. Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Valentina Gandin
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, via F. Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy.
| | - Patrizia Diana
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, via Archirafi 32, 90123, Palermo, Italy.
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10
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Carbone D, De Franco M, Pecoraro C, Bassani D, Pavan M, Cascioferro S, Parrino B, Cirrincione G, Dall’Acqua S, Moro S, Gandin V, Diana P. Discovery of the 3-Amino-1,2,4-triazine-Based Library as Selective PDK1 Inhibitors with Therapeutic Potential in Highly Aggressive Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24043679. [PMID: 36835086 PMCID: PMC9959349 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24043679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases (PDKs) are serine/threonine kinases, that are directly involved in altered cancer cell metabolism, resulting in cancer aggressiveness and resistance. Dichloroacetic acid (DCA) is the first PDK inhibitor that has entered phase II clinical; however, several side effects associated with weak anticancer activity and excessive drug dose (100 mg/kg) have led to its limitation in clinical application. Building upon a molecular hybridization approach, a small library of 3-amino-1,2,4-triazine derivatives has been designed, synthesized, and characterized for their PDK inhibitory activity using in silico, in vitro, and in vivo assays. Biochemical screenings showed that all synthesized compounds are potent and subtype-selective inhibitors of PDK. Accordingly, molecular modeling studies revealed that a lot of ligands can be properly placed inside the ATP-binding site of PDK1. Interestingly, 2D and 3D cell studies revealed their ability to induce cancer cell death at low micromolar doses, being extremely effective against human pancreatic KRAS mutated cancer cells. Cellular mechanistic studies confirm their ability to hamper the PDK/PDH axis, thus leading to metabolic/redox cellular impairment, and to ultimately trigger apoptotic cancer cell death. Remarkably, preliminary in vivo studies performed on a highly aggressive and metastatic Kras-mutant solid tumor model confirm the ability of the most representative compound 5i to target the PDH/PDK axis in vivo and highlighted its equal efficacy and better tolerability profile with respect to those elicited by the reference FDA approved drugs, cisplatin and gemcitabine. Collectively, the data highlights the promising anticancer potential of these novel PDK-targeting derivatives toward obtaining clinical candidates for combatting highly aggressive KRAS-mutant pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Carbone
- Department of Biological, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123 Palermo, Italy
| | - Michele De Franco
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via F. Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Camilla Pecoraro
- Department of Biological, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123 Palermo, Italy
| | - Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via F. Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Matteo Pavan
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via F. Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Stella Cascioferro
- Department of Biological, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123 Palermo, Italy
| | - Barbara Parrino
- Department of Biological, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123 Palermo, Italy
| | - Girolamo Cirrincione
- Department of Biological, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123 Palermo, Italy
| | - Stefano Dall’Acqua
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via F. Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via F. Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Valentina Gandin
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via F. Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
- Correspondence: (V.G.); (P.D.)
| | - Patrizia Diana
- Department of Biological, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123 Palermo, Italy
- Correspondence: (V.G.); (P.D.)
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11
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Spinaci A, Buccioni M, Catarzi D, Cui C, Colotta V, Dal Ben D, Cescon E, Francucci B, Grieco I, Lambertucci C, Marucci G, Bassani D, Pavan M, Varano F, Federico S, Spalluto G, Moro S, Volpini R. "Dual Anta-Inhibitors" of the A 2A Adenosine Receptor and Casein Kinase CK1delta: Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, and Molecular Modeling Studies. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:167. [PMID: 37259317 PMCID: PMC9960553 DOI: 10.3390/ph16020167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Based on a screening of a chemical library of A2A adenosine receptor (AR) antagonists, a series of di- and tri-substituted adenine derivatives were synthesized and tested for their ability to inhibit the activity of the enzyme casein kinase 1 delta (CK1δ) and to bind adenosine receptors (ARs). Some derivatives, here called "dual anta-inhibitors", demonstrated good CK1δ inhibitory activity combined with a high binding affinity, especially for the A2AAR. The N6-methyl-(2-benzimidazolyl)-2-dimethyamino-9-cyclopentyladenine (17, IC50 = 0.59 μM and KiA2A = 0.076 μM) showed the best balance of A2AAR affinity and CK1δ inhibitory activity. Computational studies were performed to simulate, at the molecular level, the protein-ligand interactions involving the compounds of our series. Hence, the dual anta-inhibitor 17 could be considered the lead compound of new therapeutic agents endowed with synergistic effects for the treatment of chronic neurodegenerative and cancer diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Spinaci
- Medicinal Chemistry Unit, School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, Via Madonna delle Carceri, 62032 Camerino, Italy
| | - Michela Buccioni
- Medicinal Chemistry Unit, School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, Via Madonna delle Carceri, 62032 Camerino, Italy
| | - Daniela Catarzi
- Area del Farmaco e Salute del Bambino, Sezione di Farmaceutica e Nutraceutica, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via Ugo Schiff, 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy
| | - Chang Cui
- Medicinal Chemistry Unit, School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, Via Madonna delle Carceri, 62032 Camerino, Italy
| | - Vittoria Colotta
- Area del Farmaco e Salute del Bambino, Sezione di Farmaceutica e Nutraceutica, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via Ugo Schiff, 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy
| | - Diego Dal Ben
- Medicinal Chemistry Unit, School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, Via Madonna delle Carceri, 62032 Camerino, Italy
| | - Eleonora Cescon
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Licio Giorgieri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy
| | - Beatrice Francucci
- Medicinal Chemistry Unit, School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, Via Madonna delle Carceri, 62032 Camerino, Italy
| | - Ilenia Grieco
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Licio Giorgieri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy
| | - Catia Lambertucci
- Medicinal Chemistry Unit, School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, Via Madonna delle Carceri, 62032 Camerino, Italy
| | - Gabriella Marucci
- Medicinal Chemistry Unit, School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, Via Madonna delle Carceri, 62032 Camerino, Italy
| | - Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Matteo Pavan
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Flavia Varano
- Area del Farmaco e Salute del Bambino, Sezione di Farmaceutica e Nutraceutica, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via Ugo Schiff, 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy
| | - Stephanie Federico
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Licio Giorgieri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy
| | - Giampiero Spalluto
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Licio Giorgieri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Rosaria Volpini
- Medicinal Chemistry Unit, School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, Via Madonna delle Carceri, 62032 Camerino, Italy
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12
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Heilmann E, Costacurta F, Moghadasi SA, Ye C, Pavan M, Bassani D, Volland A, Ascher C, Weiss AKH, Bante D, Harris RS, Moro S, Rupp B, Martinez-Sobrido L, von Laer D. SARS-CoV-2 3CL pro mutations selected in a VSV-based system confer resistance to nirmatrelvir, ensitrelvir, and GC376. Sci Transl Med 2023; 15:eabq7360. [PMID: 36194133 PMCID: PMC9765458 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abq7360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 48.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Protease inhibitors are among the most powerful antiviral drugs. Nirmatrelvir is the first protease inhibitor specifically developed against the SARS-CoV-2 protease 3CLpro that has been licensed for clinical use. To identify mutations that confer resistance to this protease inhibitor, we engineered a chimeric vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) that expressed a polyprotein composed of the VSV glycoprotein (G), the SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro, and the VSV polymerase (L). Viral replication was thus dependent on the autocatalytic processing of this precursor protein by 3CLpro and release of the functional viral proteins G and L, and replication of this chimeric VSV was effectively inhibited by nirmatrelvir. Using this system, we applied nirmatrelvir to select for resistance mutations. Resistance was confirmed by retesting nirmatrelvir against the selected mutations in additional VSV-based systems, in an independently developed cellular system, in a biochemical assay, and in a recombinant SARS-CoV-2 system. We demonstrate that some mutants are cross-resistant to ensitrelvir and GC376, whereas others are less resistant to these compounds. Furthermore, we found that most of these resistance mutations already existed in SARS-CoV-2 sequences that have been deposited in the NCBI and GISAID databases, indicating that these mutations were present in circulating SARS-CoV-2 strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel Heilmann
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Austria
| | - Francesco Costacurta
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Austria
| | - Seyed Arad Moghadasi
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Institute for Molecular Virology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States
| | - Chengjin Ye
- Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA
| | - Matteo Pavan
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padua, Via F. Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padua, Via F. Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Andre Volland
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Austria
| | - Claudia Ascher
- Institute for Biomedical Aging Research, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Austria
| | | | - David Bante
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Austria
| | - Reuben S. Harris
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Institute for Molecular Virology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States
- Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229, United States
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229, United States
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padua, Via F. Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Bernhard Rupp
- Division of Genetic Epidemiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Austria
- k.-k. Hofkristallamt, San Diego, CA 92084, United States
| | | | - Dorothee von Laer
- Institute of Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Austria
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13
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Pavan M, Bassani D, Sturlese M, Moro S. From the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain to the XD and XE variants: is targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein still a pharmaceutically relevant option against COVID-19? J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2022; 37:1704-1714. [PMID: 35695095 PMCID: PMC9196651 DOI: 10.1080/14756366.2022.2081847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 genome has undergone several mutations. The emergence of such variants has resulted in multiple pandemic waves, contributing to sustaining to date the number of infections, hospitalisations, and deaths despite the swift development of vaccines, since most of these mutations are concentrated on the Spike protein, a viral surface glycoprotein that is the main target for most vaccines. A milestone in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has been represented by the development of Paxlovid, the first orally available drug against COVID-19, which acts on the Main Protease (Mpro). In this article, we analyse the structural features of both the Spike protein and the Mpro of the recently reported SARS-CoV-2 variant XE, as well the closely related XD and XF ones, discussing their impact on the efficacy of existing treatments against COVID-19 and on the development of future ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Pavan
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Mattia Sturlese
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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14
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Pavan M, Bassani D, Sturlese M, Moro S. Investigating RNA-protein recognition mechanisms through supervised molecular dynamics (SuMD) simulations. NAR Genom Bioinform 2022; 4:lqac088. [PMID: 36458023 PMCID: PMC9706429 DOI: 10.1093/nargab/lqac088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) plays a key regulatory role within the cell, cooperating with proteins to control the genome expression and several biological processes. Due to its characteristic structural features, this polymer can mold itself into different three-dimensional structures able to recognize target biomolecules with high affinity and specificity, thereby attracting the interest of drug developers and medicinal chemists. One successful example of the exploitation of RNA's structural and functional peculiarities is represented by aptamers, a class of therapeutic and diagnostic tools that can recognize and tightly bind several pharmaceutically relevant targets, ranging from small molecules to proteins, making use of the available structural and conformational freedom to maximize the complementarity with their interacting counterparts. In this scientific work, we present the first application of Supervised Molecular Dynamics (SuMD), an enhanced sampling Molecular Dynamics-based method for the study of receptor-ligand association processes in the nanoseconds timescale, to the study of recognition pathways between RNA aptamers and proteins, elucidating the main advantages and limitations of the technique while discussing its possible role in the rational design of RNA-based therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Pavan
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Mattia Sturlese
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +39 0498275704; Fax: +39 0498275366;
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15
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Pavan M, Menin S, Bassani D, Sturlese M, Moro S. Qualitative Estimation of Protein-Ligand Complex Stability through Thermal Titration Molecular Dynamics Simulations. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:5715-5728. [PMID: 36315402 PMCID: PMC9709921 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The prediction of ligand efficacy has long been linked to thermodynamic properties such as the equilibrium dissociation constant, which considers both the association and the dissociation rates of a defined protein-ligand complex. In the last 15 years, there has been a paradigm shift, with an increased interest in the determination of kinetic properties such as the drug-target residence time since they better correlate with ligand efficacy compared to other parameters. In this article, we present thermal titration molecular dynamics (TTMD), an alternative computational method that combines a series of molecular dynamics simulations performed at progressively increasing temperatures with a scoring function based on protein-ligand interaction fingerprints for the qualitative estimation of protein-ligand-binding stability. The protocol has been applied to four different pharmaceutically relevant test cases, including protein kinase CK1δ, protein kinase CK2, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 2, and SARS-CoV-2 main protease, on a variety of ligands with different sizes, structures, and experimentally determined affinity values. In all four cases, TTMD was successfully able to distinguish between high-affinity compounds (low nanomolar range) and low-affinity ones (micromolar), proving to be a useful screening tool for the prioritization of compounds in a drug discovery campaign.
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16
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Pavan M, Menin S, Bassani D, Sturlese M, Moro S. Implementing a Scoring Function Based on Interaction Fingerprint for Autogrow4: Protein Kinase CK1δ as a Case Study. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:909499. [PMID: 35874609 PMCID: PMC9301033 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.909499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
In the last 20 years, fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) has become a popular and consolidated approach within the drug discovery pipeline, due to its ability to bring several drug candidates to clinical trials, some of them even being approved and introduced to the market. A class of targets that have proven to be particularly suitable for this method is represented by kinases, as demonstrated by the approval of BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib. Within this wide and diverse set of proteins, protein kinase CK1δ is a particularly interesting target for the treatment of several widespread neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Computational methodologies, such as molecular docking, are already routinely and successfully applied in FBDD campaigns alongside experimental techniques, both in the hit-discovery and in the hit-optimization stage. Concerning this, the open-source software Autogrow, developed by the Durrant lab, is a semi-automated computational protocol that exploits a combination between a genetic algorithm and a molecular docking software for de novo drug design and lead optimization. In the current work, we present and discuss a modified version of the Autogrow code that implements a custom scoring function based on the similarity between the interaction fingerprint of investigated compounds and a crystal reference. To validate its performance, we performed both a de novo and a lead-optimization run (as described in the original publication), evaluating the ability of our fingerprint-based protocol to generate compounds similar to known CK1δ inhibitors based on both the predicted binding mode and the electrostatic and shape similarity in comparison with the standard Autogrow protocol.
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17
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Norris SA, Draper CE, Prioreschi A, Smuts CM, Ware LJ, Dennis C, Awadalla P, Bassani D, Bhutta Z, Briollais L, Cameron DW, Chirwa T, Fallon B, Gray CM, Hamilton J, Jamison J, Jaspan H, Jenkins J, Kahn K, Kengne AP, Lambert EV, Levitt N, Martin MC, Ramsay M, Roth D, Scherer S, Sellen D, Slemming W, Sloboda D, Szyf M, Tollman S, Tomlinson M, Tough S, Matthews SG, Richter L, Lye S. Building knowledge, optimising physical and mental health and setting up healthier life trajectories in South African women ( Bukhali): a preconception randomised control trial part of the Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative (HeLTI). BMJ Open 2022; 12:e059914. [PMID: 35450913 PMCID: PMC9024255 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION South Africa's evolving burden of disease is challenging due to a persistent infectious disease, burgeoning obesity, most notably among women and rising rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). With two thirds of women presenting at their first antenatal visit either overweight or obese in urban South Africa (SA), the preconception period is an opportunity to optimise health and offset transgenerational risk of both obesity and NCDs. METHODS AND ANALYSIS Bukhali is the first individual randomised controlled trial in Africa to test the efficacy of a complex continuum of care intervention and forms part of the Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative (HeLTI) consortium implementing harmonised trials in Canada, China, India and SA. Starting preconception and continuing through pregnancy, infancy and childhood, the intervention is designed to improve nutrition, physical and mental health and health behaviours of South African women to offset obesity-risk (adiposity) in their offspring. Women aged 18-28 years (n=6800) will be recruited from Soweto, an urban-poor area of Johannesburg. The primary outcome is dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry derived fat mass index (fat mass divided by height2) in the offspring at age 5 years. Community health workers will deliver the intervention randomly to half the cohort by providing health literacy material, dispensing a multimicronutrient supplement, providing health services and feedback, and facilitating behaviour change support sessions to optimise: (1) nutrition, (2) physical and mental health and (3) lay the foundations for healthier pregnancies and early child development. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION Ethical approval has been obtained from the Human Ethics Research Committee University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa (M1811111), the University of Toronto, Canada (19-0066-E) and the WHO Ethics Committee (ERC.0003328). Data and biological sample sharing policies are consistent with the governance policy of the HeLTI Consortium (https://helti.org) and South African government legislation (POPIA). The recruitment and research team will obtain informed consent. TRIAL REGISTRATION This trial is registered with the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (https://pactr.samrc.ac.za) on 25 March 2019 (identifier: PACTR201903750173871). PROTOCOL VERSION 20 March 2022 (version #4). Any protocol amendments will be communicated to investigators, Institutional Review Board (IRB)s, trial participants and trial registries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shane A Norris
- SAMRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg-Braamfontein, South Africa
- Global Health Research Institute, School of Human Development and Health, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Catherine E Draper
- SAMRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg-Braamfontein, South Africa
| | - Alessandra Prioreschi
- SAMRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg-Braamfontein, South Africa
| | - C M Smuts
- Centre of Excellence of Nutrition, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Lisa Jayne Ware
- SAMRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg-Braamfontein, South Africa
- DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Human Development, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - CindyLee Dennis
- Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Philip Awadalla
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - D Bassani
- Centre for Global Child Health, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Zulfiqar Bhutta
- Centre for Global Child Health, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Institute for Global Health and Development, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
| | | | - D William Cameron
- Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Ottawa Hospital General Campus, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Tobias Chirwa
- School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - B Fallon
- Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - C M Gray
- Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | - Jill Hamilton
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - J Jamison
- Community Services, Red River College, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Heather Jaspan
- Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | - Jennifer Jenkins
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kathleen Kahn
- School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- SAMRC Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), Uinversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - A P Kengne
- Non-communicable Diseases Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Estelle V Lambert
- Division of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | - Naomi Levitt
- Chronic Diseases Initiative for Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | | | - Michele Ramsay
- Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Daniel Roth
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Stephen Scherer
- The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Daniel Sellen
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Wiedaad Slemming
- Department of Paediatrics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg-Braamfontein, South Africa
| | - Deborah Sloboda
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - M Szyf
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Stephen Tollman
- School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- SAMRC Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), Uinversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Mark Tomlinson
- Institute for Life Course Health Research, University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Suzanne Tough
- Department of Paediatrics, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Stephen G Matthews
- Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Physiology, Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Linda Richter
- DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Human Development, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Stephen Lye
- SAMRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg-Braamfontein, South Africa
- Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Physiology, Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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18
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Bassani D, Pavan M, Federico S, Spalluto G, Sturlese M, Moro S. The Multifaceted Role of GPCRs in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A New Therapeutic Perspective? Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:4504. [PMID: 35562894 PMCID: PMC9106011 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23094504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/15/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a degenerating disease involving the motor neurons, which causes a progressive loss of movement ability, usually leading to death within 2 to 5 years from the diagnosis. Much effort has been put into research for an effective therapy for its eradication, but still, no cure is available. The only two drugs approved for this pathology, Riluzole and Edaravone, are onlyable to slow down the inevitable disease progression. As assessed in the literature, drug targets such as protein kinases have already been extensively examined as potential drug targets for ALS, with some molecules already in clinical trials. Here, we focus on the involvement of another very important and studied class of biological entities, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), in the onset and progression of ALS. This workaimsto give an overview of what has been already discovered on the topic, providing useful information and insights that can be used by scientists all around the world who are putting efforts into the fight against this very important neurodegenerating disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy; (D.B.); (M.P.); (M.S.)
| | - Matteo Pavan
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy; (D.B.); (M.P.); (M.S.)
| | - Stephanie Federico
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy; (S.F.); (G.S.)
| | - Giampiero Spalluto
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy; (S.F.); (G.S.)
| | - Mattia Sturlese
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy; (D.B.); (M.P.); (M.S.)
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy; (D.B.); (M.P.); (M.S.)
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Abstract
Despite a huge effort by the scientific community to determine the animal reservoir of SARS-CoV-2, which led to the identification of several SARS-CoV-2-related viruses both in bats and in pangolins, the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is still not clear. Recently, Temmam et al. reported the discovery of bat coronaviruses with a high degree of genome similarity with SARS-CoV-2, especially concerning the RBDs of the S protein, which mediates the capability of such viruses to enter and therefore infect human cells through a hACE2-dependent pathway. These viruses, especially the one named BANAL-236, showed a higher affinity for the hACE2 compared to the original strain of SARS-CoV-2. In the present work, we analyse the similarities and differences between the 3CL protease (main protease, Mpro) of these newly reported viruses and SARS-CoV-2, discussing their relevance relative to the efficacy of existing therapeutic approaches against COVID-19, particularly concerning the recently approved orally available Paxlovid, and the development of future ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Pavan
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Mattia Sturlese
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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20
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Bassani D, Pavan M, Sturlese M, Moro S. Sodium or Not Sodium: Should Its Presence Affect the Accuracy of Pose Prediction in Docking GPCR Antagonists? Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 15:ph15030346. [PMID: 35337144 PMCID: PMC8950631 DOI: 10.3390/ph15030346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Revised: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The function of the allosteric sodium ion in stabilizing the inactive form of GPCRs has been extensively described in the past decades. Its presence has been reported to be essential for the binding of antagonist molecules in the orthosteric site of these very important therapeutical targets. Among the GPCR–antagonist crystal structures available, in most cases, the sodium ion could not be experimentally resolved, obliging computational scientists using GPCRs as targets for virtual screening to ask: “Should the sodium ion affect the accuracy of pose prediction in docking GPCR antagonists?” In the present study, we examined the performance of three orthogonal docking programs in the self-docking of GPCR antagonists to try to answer this question. The results of the present work highlight that if the sodium ion is resolved in the crystal structure used as the target, it should also be taken into account during the docking calculations. If the crystallographic studies were not able to resolve the sodium ion then no advantage would be obtained if this is manually inserted in the virtual target. The outcomes of the present analysis are useful for researchers exploiting molecular docking-based virtual screening to efficiently identify novel GPCR antagonists.
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21
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Bolcato G, Pavan M, Bassani D, Sturlese M, Moro S. Ribose and Non-Ribose A2A Adenosine Receptor Agonists: Do They Share the Same Receptor Recognition Mechanism? Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10020515. [PMID: 35203724 PMCID: PMC8962312 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10020515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Adenosine receptors have been a promising class of targets for the development of new therapies for several diseases. In recent years, a renewed interest in this field has risen, thanks to the implementation of a novel class of agonists that lack the ribose moiety, once considered essential for the agonistic profile. Recently, an X-ray crystal structure of the A2A adenosine receptor has been solved, providing insights about the receptor activation from this novel class of agonists. Starting from this structural information, we have performed supervised molecular dynamics (SuMD) simulations to investigate the binding pathway of a non-nucleoside adenosine receptor agonist as well as one of three classic agonists. Furthermore, we analyzed the possible role of water molecules in receptor activation.
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22
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Pavan M, Bassani D, Bolcato G, Bissaro M, Sturles M, Moro S. Computational strategies to identify new drug candidates against neuroinflammation. Curr Med Chem 2022; 29:4756-4775. [PMID: 35135446 DOI: 10.2174/0929867329666220208095122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The even more increasing application of computational approaches in these last decades has deeply modified the process of discovery and commercialization of new therapeutic entities. This is especially true in the field of neuroinflammation, in which both the peculiar anatomical localization and the presence of the blood-brain barrier makeit mandatory to finely tune the candidates' physicochemical properties from the early stages of the discovery pipeline. The aim of this review is therefore to provide a general overview to the readers about the topic of neuroinflammation, together with the most common computational strategies that can be exploited to discover and design small molecules controlling neuroinflammation, especially those based on the knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of the biological targets of therapeutic interest. The techniques used to describe the molecular recognition mechanisms, such as molecular docking and molecular dynamics, will therefore be eviscerated, highlighting their advantages and their limitations. Finally, we report several case studies in which computational methods have been applied in drug discovery on neuroinflammation, focusing on the last decade's research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Pavan
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Giovanni Bolcato
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Maicol Bissaro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Mattia Sturles
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
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23
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Bassani D, Pavan M, Bolcato G, Sturlese M, Moro S. Re-Exploring the Ability of Common Docking Programs to Correctly Reproduce the Binding Modes of Non-Covalent Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Protease Mpro. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 15:ph15020180. [PMID: 35215293 PMCID: PMC8878732 DOI: 10.3390/ph15020180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2022] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
In the latest few decades, molecular docking has imposed itself as one of the most used approaches for computational drug discovery. Several docking benchmarks have been published, comparing the performance of different algorithms in respect to a molecular target of interest, usually evaluating their ability in reproducing the experimental data, which, in most cases, comes from X-ray structures. In this study, we elucidated the variation of the performance of three docking algorithms, namely GOLD, Glide, and PLANTS, in replicating the coordinates of the crystallographic ligands of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro). Through the comparison of the data coming from docking experiments and the values derived from the calculation of the solvent exposure of the crystallographic ligands, we highlighted the importance of this last variable for docking performance. Indeed, we underlined how an increase in the percentage of the ligand surface exposed to the solvent in a crystallographic complex makes it harder for the docking algorithms to reproduce its conformation. We further validated our hypothesis through molecular dynamics simulations, showing that the less stable protein–ligand complexes (in terms of root-mean-square deviation and root-mean-square fluctuation) tend to be derived from the cases in which the solvent exposure of the ligand in the starting system is higher.
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Bassani D, Ragazzi E, Lapolla A, Sartore G, Moro S. Omicron Variant of SARS-CoV-2 Virus: In Silico Evaluation of the Possible Impact on People Affected by Diabetes Mellitus. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2022; 13:847993. [PMID: 35321335 PMCID: PMC8935058 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.847993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 (Spike mutant B.1.1.529) carrying more than 30-point mutations in its structure, of which 15 are localized in the receptor-binding domain (RBD), allows to hypothesize a relevant change in interactivity with ACE2. In previous reports we hypothesized that the worse outcome of the COVID-19 disease in diabetes mellitus condition could be related to the non-enzymatic glycation of ACE2 receptor and an in silico evaluation led to the demonstration that the number of interactions is decreased in comparison to the unmodified model, possibly shifting the virus attack through different, multiple alternative entry routes. Given the evidenced features of this variant, we aimed to investigate with a computational approach the characteristics of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 with respect to its binding to human ACE-2 receptor, in a particular population, namely people affected by diabetes mellitus, at risk for unfavorable outcomes of the COVID-19. The computational analysis, considering the case in which all the lysine residues in the system are subjected to non-enzymatic glycation, confirmed that lysine glycation causes a general loss of interactivity between wild-type (WT)-Spike-RBD and ACE2. In the Omicron variant, Lys417 mutates into an asparagine, preventing the possible non-enzymatic glycation of this residue. Therefore, if non-enzymatic glycation seemed to cause a shift in the way in which the virus enters the cell from the ACE2-mediated mechanism to other pathways, in the case of the Omicron variant the ACE2-mediated approach of the virus seems to remain an important event to take into account. Indeed, interaction profile analysis, together with molecular mechanics-generalized Born surface area (MM-GBSA) calculations, suggests that the Omicron-Spike-RBD maintains a higher affinity for ACE2 subsequently to non-enzymatic glycation with respect to WT-Spike-RBD. The finding of the present computational study may suggest a different clinical relevance of the Omicron variant for the diabetes mellitus field, also in the possible direction of a lower severity of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Bassani
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences (DSF), Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), University of Padova School of Medicine and Surgery, Padua, Italy
| | - Eugenio Ragazzi
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences (DSF), University of Padova School of Medicine and Surgery, Padua, Italy
- *Correspondence: Eugenio Ragazzi,
| | - Annunziata Lapolla
- Department of Medicine (DIMED), University of Padova School of Medicine and Surgery, Padua, Italy
| | - Giovanni Sartore
- Department of Medicine (DIMED), University of Padova School of Medicine and Surgery, Padua, Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences (DSF), Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), University of Padova School of Medicine and Surgery, Padua, Italy
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25
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Sartore G, Bassani D, Ragazzi E, Traldi P, Lapolla A, Moro S. In silico evaluation of the interaction between ACE2 and SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein in a hyperglycemic environment. Sci Rep 2021; 11:22860. [PMID: 34819560 PMCID: PMC8613179 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02297-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The worse outcome of COVID-19 in people with diabetes mellitus could be related to the non-enzymatic glycation of human ACE2, leading to a more susceptible interaction with virus Spike protein. We aimed to evaluate, through a computational approach, the interaction between human ACE2 receptor and SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein under different conditions of hyperglycemic environment. A computational analysis was performed, based on the X-ray crystallographic structure of the Spike Receptor-Binding Domain (RBD)-ACE2 system. The possible scenarios of lysine aminoacid residues on surface transformed by glycation were considered: (1) on ACE2 receptor; (2) on Spike protein; (3) on both ACE2 receptor and Spike protein. In comparison to the native condition, the number of polar bonds (comprising both hydrogen bonds and salt bridges) in the poses considered are 10, 6, 6, and 4 for the states ACE2/Spike both native, ACE2 native/Spike glycated, ACE2 glycated/Spike native, ACE2/Spike both glycated, respectively. The analysis highlighted also how the number of non-polar contacts (in this case, van der Waals and aromatic interactions) significantly decreases when the lysine aminoacid residues undergo glycation. Following non-enzymatic glycation, the number of interactions between human ACE2 receptor and SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein is decreased in comparison to the unmodified model. The reduced affinity of the Spike protein for ACE2 receptor in case of non-enzymatic glycation may shift the virus to multiple alternative entry routes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Sartore
- Department of Medicine (DIMED), University of Padova School of Medicine and Surgery, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padua, Italy
| | - Davide Bassani
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences (DSF), Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), University of Padova School of Medicine and Surgery, Via Marzolo, 5, 35131, Padua, Italy
| | - Eugenio Ragazzi
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences (DSF), University of Padova School of Medicine and Surgery, Largo Meneghetti 2, 35131, Padua, Italy.
| | - Pietro Traldi
- Nano-Inspired Biomedicine Lab, Fondazione Istituto di Ricerca Pediatrica Città della Speranza, Corso Stati Uniti 4, 35127, Padua, Italy
| | - Annunziata Lapolla
- Department of Medicine (DIMED), University of Padova School of Medicine and Surgery, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padua, Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences (DSF), Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), University of Padova School of Medicine and Surgery, Via Marzolo, 5, 35131, Padua, Italy
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26
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Bolcato G, Cescon E, Pavan M, Bissaro M, Bassani D, Federico S, Spalluto G, Sturlese M, Moro S. A Computational Workflow for the Identification of Novel Fragments Acting as Inhibitors of the Activity of Protein Kinase CK1δ. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22189741. [PMID: 34575906 PMCID: PMC8471300 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22189741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Fragment-Based Drug Discovery (FBDD) has become, in recent years, a consolidated approach in the drug discovery process, leading to several drug candidates under investigation in clinical trials and some approved drugs. Among these successful applications of the FBDD approach, kinases represent a class of targets where this strategy has demonstrated its real potential with the approved kinase inhibitor Vemurafenib. In the Kinase family, protein kinase CK1 isoform δ (CK1δ) has become a promising target in the treatment of different neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In the present work, we set up and applied a computational workflow for the identification of putative fragment binders in large virtual databases. To validate the method, the selected compounds were tested in vitro to assess the CK1δ inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Bolcato
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy; (G.B.); (M.P.); (M.B.); (D.B.); (M.S.)
| | - Eleonora Cescon
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Licio Giorgeri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy; (E.C.); (S.F.); (G.S.)
| | - Matteo Pavan
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy; (G.B.); (M.P.); (M.B.); (D.B.); (M.S.)
| | - Maicol Bissaro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy; (G.B.); (M.P.); (M.B.); (D.B.); (M.S.)
| | - Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy; (G.B.); (M.P.); (M.B.); (D.B.); (M.S.)
| | - Stephanie Federico
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Licio Giorgeri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy; (E.C.); (S.F.); (G.S.)
| | - Giampiero Spalluto
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Licio Giorgeri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy; (E.C.); (S.F.); (G.S.)
| | - Mattia Sturlese
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy; (G.B.); (M.P.); (M.B.); (D.B.); (M.S.)
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy; (G.B.); (M.P.); (M.B.); (D.B.); (M.S.)
- Correspondence:
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27
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Pavan M, Bolcato G, Bassani D, Sturlese M, Moro S. Supervised Molecular Dynamics (SuMD) Insights into the mechanism of action of SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitor PF-07321332. J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2021; 36:1646-1650. [PMID: 34289752 PMCID: PMC8300928 DOI: 10.1080/14756366.2021.1954919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The chemical structure of PF-07321332, the first orally available Covid-19 clinical candidate, has recently been revealed by Pfizer. No information has been provided about the interaction pattern between PF-07321332 and its biomolecular counterpart, the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro). In the present work, we exploited Supervised Molecular Dynamics (SuMD) simulations to elucidate the key features that characterise the interaction between this drug candidate and the protease, emphasising similarities and differences with other structurally related inhibitors such as Boceprevir and PF-07304814. The structural insights provided by SuMD will hopefully be able to inspire the rational discovery of other potent and selective protease inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Pavan
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Giovanni Bolcato
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Mattia Sturlese
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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28
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Bissaro M, Bolcato G, Pavan M, Bassani D, Sturlese M, Moro S. Front Cover: Inspecting the Mechanism of Fragment Hits Binding on SARS‐CoV‐2 M
pro
by Using Supervised Molecular Dynamics (SuMD) Simulations (ChemMedChem 13/2021). ChemMedChem 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202100444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maicol Bissaro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS) Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova via Marzolo 5 35131 Padova Italy
| | - Giovanni Bolcato
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS) Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova via Marzolo 5 35131 Padova Italy
| | - Matteo Pavan
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS) Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova via Marzolo 5 35131 Padova Italy
| | - Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS) Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova via Marzolo 5 35131 Padova Italy
| | - Mattia Sturlese
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS) Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova via Marzolo 5 35131 Padova Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS) Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova via Marzolo 5 35131 Padova Italy
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29
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Bissaro M, Bolcato G, Pavan M, Bassani D, Sturlese M, Moro S. Inspecting the Mechanism of Fragment Hits Binding on SARS-CoV-2 M pro by Using Supervised Molecular Dynamics (SuMD) Simulations. ChemMedChem 2021; 16:2075-2081. [PMID: 33797868 PMCID: PMC8250706 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202100156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Computational approaches supporting the early characterization of fragment molecular recognition mechanism represent a valuable complement to more expansive and low‐throughput experimental techniques. In this retrospective study, we have investigated the geometric accuracy with which high‐throughput supervised molecular dynamics simulations (HT‐SuMD) can anticipate the experimental bound state for a set of 23 fragments targeting the SARS‐CoV‐2 main protease. Despite the encouraging results herein reported, in line with those previously described for other MD‐based posing approaches, a high number of incorrect binding modes still complicate HT‐SuMD routine application. To overcome this limitation, fragment pose stability has been investigated and integrated as part of our in‐silico pipeline, allowing us to prioritize only the more reliable predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maicol Bissaro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Giovanni Bolcato
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Matteo Pavan
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Davide Bassani
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Mattia Sturlese
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Moro
- Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35131, Padova, Italy
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Theodoro H, Bassani D, Silva J, Mendes K, Cibeira G, Olinto M. Abdominal obesity, sleep and behavioral characteristics among brazilian shift working women. Sleep Med 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2019.11.1062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Jha P, Kumar R, Khera A, Bhattacharya M, Arora P, Gajalakshmi V, Bhatia P, Kam D, Bassani D, Sullivan A, Suraweera W, McLaughlin C, Dhingra N, Nagelkerke N. O6-4.2 HIV mortality and infection in India: estimates from nationally representative mortality survey of 1.1 million homes. Br J Soc Med 2011. [DOI: 10.1136/jech.2011.142976b.79] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Suraweera W, Malhotra V, Bassani D, Morris S, Mony P, Jotkar R, Jha P. O6-5.1 Million death study mortality classification (MDS-MC) system for verbal autopsies. Br J Soc Med 2011. [DOI: 10.1136/jech.2011.142976b.84] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Bassani D, Sabatini M, Scanziani E, De Francesco L, Coccioli G, Guaitani A, Bartosek I. Bone invasion by Walker 256 carcinoma, line A in young and adult rats: effects of etidronate. Oncology 1990; 47:160-5. [PMID: 2107481 DOI: 10.1159/000226810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Line A of Walker 256 carcinoma implanted in the muscle adjacent to the tibia of young (6 weeks) and adult (9 months) male rats invaded the bone. Osteolysis and reactive growth were greater in the bone of young animals than in adults. Ethane-1-hydroxy-1, 1-bisphosphonate prevented bone lysis and tumor invasion of the cortex both in young and adult animals. This model may be useful for studies of age-related differences in tumor infiltration into the bone and for investigating drug effects on this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Bassani
- Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Milano, Italia
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Filippeschi S, Colombo T, Bassani D, De Francesco L, Arioli P, D'Incalci M, Bartosek I, Guaitani A. Antitumor activity of the novel nitrosourea S10036 in rodent tumors. Anticancer Res 1988; 8:1351-4. [PMID: 3064716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The activity of the novel anticancer agent diethyl 1-3-(chloroethyl)-3-nitrosoureido ethyl phosphonate (S10036) was investigated on several rodent tumors. S10036 showed a good efficacy, comparable to that of the anticancer agent BCNU, against i.p transplanted P388 and L1210 leukemias. S10036 was very effective against the primary tumor and metastases of i.m transplanted M5076 reticular cell sarcoma of the mouse and against subline A of the Walker carcinoma of the rat. It was inactive against rodent tumors resistant to BCNU such as L1210/BCNU, ICIG-Ci4 murine fibrosarcoma and the Walker carcinoma subline B in the rat.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Filippeschi
- Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Milan, Italy
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