1
|
van Vliet VJE, De Silva A, Mark BL, Kikkert M. Viral deubiquitinating proteases and the promising strategies of their inhibition. Virus Res 2024; 344:199368. [PMID: 38588924 PMCID: PMC11025011 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2024.199368] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
Several viruses are now known to code for deubiquitinating proteases in their genomes. Ubiquitination is an essential post-translational modification of cellular substrates involved in many processes in the cell, including in innate immune signalling. This post-translational modification is regulated by the ubiquitin conjugation machinery, as well as various host deubiquitinating enzymes. The conjugation of ubiquitin chains to several innate immune related factors is often needed to induce downstream signalling, shaping the antiviral response. Viral deubiquitinating proteins, besides often having a primary function in the viral replication cycle by cleaving the viral polyprotein, are also able to cleave ubiquitin chains from such host substrates, in that way exerting a function in innate immune evasion. The presence of viral deubiquitinating enzymes has been firmly established for numerous animal-infecting viruses, such as some well-researched and clinically important nidoviruses, and their presence has now been confirmed in several plant viruses as well. Viral proteases in general have long been highlighted as promising drug targets, with a current focus on small molecule inhibitors. In this review, we will discuss the range of viral deubiquitinating proteases known to date, summarise the various avenues explored to inhibit such proteases and discuss novel strategies and models intended to inhibit and study these specific viral enzymes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vera J E van Vliet
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Leiden University Center of Infectious Diseases (LU-CID), Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, South Holland, the Netherlands; The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Anuradha De Silva
- Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Brian L Mark
- Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Marjolein Kikkert
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Leiden University Center of Infectious Diseases (LU-CID), Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, South Holland, the Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
van Vliet VJE, Huynh N, Palà J, Patel A, Singer A, Slater C, Chung J, van Huizen M, Teyra J, Miersch S, Luu GK, Ye W, Sharma N, Ganaie SS, Russell R, Chen C, Maynard M, Amarasinghe GK, Mark BL, Kikkert M, Sidhu SS. Ubiquitin variants potently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 PLpro and viral replication via a novel site distal to the protease active site. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1011065. [PMID: 36548304 PMCID: PMC9822107 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [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: 09/13/2022] [Revised: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has made it clear that combating coronavirus outbreaks benefits from a combination of vaccines and therapeutics. A promising drug target common to all coronaviruses-including SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2-is the papain-like protease (PLpro). PLpro cleaves part of the viral replicase polyproteins into non-structural protein subunits, which are essential to the viral replication cycle. Additionally, PLpro can cleave both ubiquitin and the ubiquitin-like protein ISG15 from host cell substrates as a mechanism to evade innate immune responses during infection. These roles make PLpro an attractive antiviral drug target. Here we demonstrate that ubiquitin variants (UbVs) can be selected from a phage-displayed library and used to specifically and potently block SARS-CoV-2 PLpro activity. A crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 PLpro in complex with a representative UbV reveals a dimeric UbV bound to PLpro at a site distal to the catalytic site. Yet, the UbV inhibits the essential cleavage activities of the protease in vitro and in cells, and it reduces viral replication in cell culture by almost five orders of magnitude.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vera J. E. van Vliet
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Leiden University Center of Infectious Diseases (LU-CID), Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, South Holland, The Netherlands
- The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Nhan Huynh
- The Anvil Institute, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
- School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Judith Palà
- The Anvil Institute, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
- School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ankoor Patel
- Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Alex Singer
- The Anvil Institute, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
- School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Cole Slater
- Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Jacky Chung
- The Anvil Institute, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
- School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mariska van Huizen
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Leiden University Center of Infectious Diseases (LU-CID), Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, South Holland, The Netherlands
| | - Joan Teyra
- The Anvil Institute, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
- School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Shane Miersch
- The Anvil Institute, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
- School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Gia-Khanh Luu
- The Anvil Institute, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
- School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Wei Ye
- The Anvil Institute, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
- School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nitin Sharma
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Safder S. Ganaie
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Raquel Russell
- Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Chao Chen
- The Anvil Institute, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
- School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mindy Maynard
- The Anvil Institute, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
- School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Gaya K. Amarasinghe
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Brian L. Mark
- Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Marjolein Kikkert
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Leiden University Center of Infectious Diseases (LU-CID), Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, South Holland, The Netherlands
| | - Sachdev S. Sidhu
- The Anvil Institute, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
- School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|