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Samolej J, Mendonca DC, Upfold N, McElwee M, Landsberger M, Yakimovich A, Patel AH, Strang BL, Mercer J. Bisbenzimide compounds inhibit the replication of prototype and pandemic potential poxviruses. Microbiol Spectr 2024; 12:e0407223. [PMID: 38376353 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.04072-23] [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: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
We previously identified the bisbenzimide Hoechst 33342 (H42) as a potent multi-stage inhibitor of the prototypic poxvirus, the vaccinia virus (VACV), and several parapoxviruses. A recent report showed that novel bisbenzimide compounds similar in structure to H42 could prevent human cytomegalovirus replication. Here, we assessed whether these compounds could also serve as poxvirus inhibitors. Using virological assays, we show that these bisbenzimide compounds inhibit VACV spread, plaque formation, and the production of infectious progeny VACV with relatively low cell toxicity. Further analysis of the VACV lifecycle indicated that the effective bisbenzimide compounds had little impact on VACV early gene expression but inhibited VACV late gene expression and truncated the formation of VACV replication sites. Additionally, we found that bisbenzimide compounds, including H42, can inhibit both monkeypox and a VACV mutant resistant to the widely used anti-poxvirus drug TPOXX (Tecovirimat). Therefore, the tested bisbenzimide compounds were inhibitors of both prototypic and pandemic potential poxviruses and could be developed for use in situations where anti-poxvirus drug resistance may occur. Additionally, these data suggest that bisbenzimide compounds may serve as broad-activity antiviral compounds, targeting diverse DNA viruses such as poxviruses and betaherpesviruses.IMPORTANCEThe 2022 mpox (monkeypox) outbreak served as a stark reminder that due to the cessation of smallpox vaccination over 40 years ago, most of the human population remains susceptible to poxvirus infection. With only two antivirals approved for the treatment of smallpox infection in humans, the need for additional anti-poxvirus compounds is evident. Having shown that the bisbenzimide H33342 is a potent inhibitor of poxvirus gene expression and DNA replication, here we extend these findings to include a set of novel bisbenzimide compounds that show anti-viral activity against mpox and a drug-resistant prototype poxvirus mutant. These results suggest that further development of bisbenzimides for the treatment of pandemic potential poxviruses is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerzy Samolej
- Insititute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Diogo Correa Mendonca
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, United Kingdom
- CVR-CRUSH, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Nicole Upfold
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, United Kingdom
- CVR-CRUSH, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Marion McElwee
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, United Kingdom
- CVR-CRUSH, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Mariann Landsberger
- Insititute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Artur Yakimovich
- Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS), Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V. (HZDR), Görlitz, Germany
| | - Arvind H Patel
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, United Kingdom
- CVR-CRUSH, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Blair L Strang
- Institute for Infection and Immunity, St George's, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jason Mercer
- Insititute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
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Meehan GR, Herder V, Allan J, Huang X, Kerr K, Mendonca DC, Ilia G, Wright DW, Nomikou K, Gu Q, Molina Arias S, Hansmann F, Hardas A, Attipa C, De Lorenzo G, Cowton V, Upfold N, Palmalux N, Brown JC, Barclay WS, Filipe ADS, Furnon W, Patel AH, Palmarini M. Phenotyping the virulence of SARS-CoV-2 variants in hamsters by digital pathology and machine learning. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1011589. [PMID: 37934791 PMCID: PMC10656012 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011589] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has continued to evolve throughout the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, giving rise to multiple variants of concern (VOCs) with different biological properties. As the pandemic progresses, it will be essential to test in near real time the potential of any new emerging variant to cause severe disease. BA.1 (Omicron) was shown to be attenuated compared to the previous VOCs like Delta, but it is possible that newly emerging variants may regain a virulent phenotype. Hamsters have been proven to be an exceedingly good model for SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. Here, we aimed to develop robust quantitative pipelines to assess the virulence of SARS-CoV-2 variants in hamsters. We used various approaches including RNAseq, RNA in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, and digital pathology, including software assisted whole section imaging and downstream automatic analyses enhanced by machine learning, to develop methods to assess and quantify virus-induced pulmonary lesions in an unbiased manner. Initially, we used Delta and Omicron to develop our experimental pipelines. We then assessed the virulence of recent Omicron sub-lineages including BA.5, XBB, BQ.1.18, BA.2, BA.2.75 and EG.5.1. We show that in experimentally infected hamsters, accurate quantification of alveolar epithelial hyperplasia and macrophage infiltrates represent robust markers for assessing the extent of virus-induced pulmonary pathology, and hence virus virulence. In addition, using these pipelines, we could reveal how some Omicron sub-lineages (e.g., BA.2.75 and EG.5.1) have regained virulence compared to the original BA.1. Finally, to maximise the utility of the digital pathology pipelines reported in our study, we developed an online repository containing representative whole organ histopathology sections that can be visualised at variable magnifications (https://covid-atlas.cvr.gla.ac.uk). Overall, this pipeline can provide unbiased and invaluable data for rapidly assessing newly emerging variants and their potential to cause severe disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gavin R. Meehan
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
- CVR-CRUSH, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
| | - Vanessa Herder
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
- CVR-CRUSH, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
| | - Jay Allan
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
| | - Xinyi Huang
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
| | - Karen Kerr
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
- CVR-CRUSH, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
| | - Diogo Correa Mendonca
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
- CVR-CRUSH, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
| | - Georgios Ilia
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
| | - Derek W. Wright
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
| | - Kyriaki Nomikou
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
| | - Quan Gu
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
| | - Sergi Molina Arias
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
- CVR-CRUSH, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
| | - Florian Hansmann
- Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, Germany
| | - Alexandros Hardas
- Department of Pathobiology & Population Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, North Mymms, United Kingdom
| | - Charalampos Attipa
- The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | | | - Vanessa Cowton
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
| | - Nicole Upfold
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
- CVR-CRUSH, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
| | - Natasha Palmalux
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan C. Brown
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, United Kingdom
| | - Wendy S. Barclay
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Wilhelm Furnon
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
| | - Arvind H. Patel
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
- CVR-CRUSH, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, United Kingdom
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Upfold N, Ross C, Tastan Bishop Ö, Knox C. The In Silico Prediction of Hotspot Residues that Contribute to the Structural Stability of Subunit Interfaces of a Picornavirus Capsid. Viruses 2020; 12:v12040387. [PMID: 32244486 PMCID: PMC7232237 DOI: 10.3390/v12040387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [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: 03/04/2020] [Revised: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The assembly of picornavirus capsids proceeds through the stepwise oligomerization of capsid protein subunits and depends on interactions between critical residues known as hotspots. Few studies have described the identification of hotspot residues at the protein subunit interfaces of the picornavirus capsid, some of which could represent novel drug targets. Using a combination of accessible web servers for hotspot prediction, we performed a comprehensive bioinformatic analysis of the hotspot residues at the intraprotomer, interprotomer and interpentamer interfaces of the Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) capsid. Significantly, many of the predicted hotspot residues were found to be conserved in representative viruses from different genera, suggesting that the molecular determinants of capsid assembly are conserved across the family. The analysis presented here can be applied to any icosahedral structure and provides a platform for in vitro mutagenesis studies to further investigate the significance of these hotspots in critical stages of the virus life cycle with a view to identify potential targets for antiviral drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Upfold
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa;
- Correspondence:
| | - Caroline Ross
- Research Unit in Bioinformatics (RUBi), Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa; (C.R.); (Ö.T.B.)
| | - Özlem Tastan Bishop
- Research Unit in Bioinformatics (RUBi), Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa; (C.R.); (Ö.T.B.)
| | - Caroline Knox
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa;
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Upfold N, Ross C, Bishop ÖT, Luke GA, Knox C. The generation and characterisation of neutralising antibodies against the Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) GDVII capsid reveals the potential binding site of the host cell co-receptor, heparan sulfate. Virus Res 2018; 244:153-163. [DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2017.11.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2017] [Revised: 11/09/2017] [Accepted: 11/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Ross C, Upfold N, Luke GA, Bishop ÖT, Knox C. Subcellular localisation of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) capsid subunit VP1 vis-á-vis host protein Hsp90. Virus Res 2016; 222:53-63. [PMID: 27269472 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2016.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [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: 05/05/2016] [Revised: 05/30/2016] [Accepted: 06/02/2016] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
The VP1 subunit of the picornavirus capsid is the major antigenic determinant and mediates host cell attachment and virus entry. To investigate the localisation of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) VP1 during infection, a bioinformatics approach was used to predict a surface-exposed, linear epitope region of the protein for subsequent expression and purification. This region, comprising the N-terminal 112 amino acids of the protein, was then used for rabbit immunisation, and the resultant polyclonal antibodies were able to recognise full length VP1 in infected cell lysates by Western blot. Following optimisation, the antibodies were used to investigate the localisation of VP1 in relation to Hsp90 in infected cells by indirect immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy. At 5h post infection, VP1 was distributed diffusely in the cytoplasm with strong perinuclear staining but was absent from the nucleus of all cells analysed. Dual-label immunofluorescence using anti-TMEV VP1 and anti-Hsp90 antibodies indicated that the distribution of both proteins colocalised in the cytoplasm and perinuclear region of infected cells. This is the first report describing the localisation of TMEV VP1 in infected cells, and the antibodies produced provide a valuable tool for investigating the poorly understood mechanisms underlying the early steps of picornavirus assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Ross
- Research Unit in Bioinformatics (RUBi), Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - Nicole Upfold
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - Garry A Luke
- Centre for Biomolecular Sciences, School of Biology, Biomolecular Sciences Building, University of St. Andrews, North Haugh, St. Andrews, Scotland KY16 9ST, UK
| | - Özlem Tastan Bishop
- Research Unit in Bioinformatics (RUBi), Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - Caroline Knox
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa.
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