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Mahgoub RE, Mohamed FE, Ali BR, Ferreira J, Rabeh WM, Atatreh N, Ghattas MA. Discovery of pyrimidoindol and benzylpyrrolyl inhibitors targeting SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M pro) through pharmacophore modelling, covalent docking, and biological evaluation. J Mol Graph Model 2024; 127:108672. [PMID: 37992552 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmgm.2023.108672] [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: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
The main protease (Mpro) enzyme has an imperative function in disease progression and the life cycle of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Although the orally active drug nirmatrelvir (co-administered with ritonavir as paxlovid) has been approved for emergency use as the frontline antiviral agent, there are a number of limitations that necessitate the discovery of new drug scaffolds, such as poor pharmacokinetics and susceptibility to proteolytic degradation due to its peptidomimetic nature. This study utilized a novel virtual screening workflow that combines pharmacophore modelling, multiple-receptor covalent docking, and biological evaluation in order to find new Mpro inhibitors. After filtering and analysing ∼66,000 ligands from three different electrophilic libraries, 29 compounds were shortlisted for experimental testing, and two of them exhibited ≥20% inhibition at 100 μM. Our top candidate, GF04, is a benzylpyrrolyl compound that exhibited the highest inhibition activity of 38.3%, with a relatively small size (<350 Da) and leadlike character. Interestingly, our approach also identified another hit, DR07, a pyrimidoindol with a non-peptide character, and a molecular weight of 438.9 Da, reporting an inhibition of 26.3%. The established approach detailed in this study, in conjunction with the discovered inhibitors, has the capacity to yield novel perspectives for devising covalent inhibitors targeting the COVID-19 Mpro enzyme and other comparable targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radwa E Mahgoub
- College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi, 112612, United Arab Emirates; AAU Health and Biomedical Research Centre, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi, 112612, United Arab Emirates
| | - Feda E Mohamed
- Department of Genetics and Genomics, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, 15551, United Arab Emirates
| | - Bassam R Ali
- Department of Genetics and Genomics, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, 15551, United Arab Emirates; Zayed Centre for Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, 15551, United Arab Emirates
| | - Juliana Ferreira
- Science Division, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, 129188, United Arab Emirates
| | - Wael M Rabeh
- Science Division, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, 129188, United Arab Emirates
| | - Noor Atatreh
- College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi, 112612, United Arab Emirates; AAU Health and Biomedical Research Centre, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi, 112612, United Arab Emirates
| | - Mohammad A Ghattas
- College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi, 112612, United Arab Emirates; AAU Health and Biomedical Research Centre, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi, 112612, United Arab Emirates.
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2
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Zhang K, Wang T, Li M, Liu M, Tang H, Wang L, Ye K, Yang J, Jiang S, Xiao Y, Xie Y, Lu M, Zhang X. Discovery of quinazolin-4-one-based non-covalent inhibitors targeting the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 main protease (SARS-CoV-2 M pro). Eur J Med Chem 2023; 257:115487. [PMID: 37257212 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115487] [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: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 04/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 continues to pose a great threat to public health while various vaccines are available worldwide. Main protease (Mpro) has been validated as an effective anti-COVID-19 drug target. Using medicinal chemistry and rational drug design strategies, we identified a quinazolin-4-one series of nonpeptidic, noncovalent SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors based on baicalein, 5,6,7-trihydroxy-2-phenyl-4H-chromen-4-one. In particular, compound C7 exhibits superior inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro relative to baicalein (IC50 = 0.085 ± 0.006 and 0.966 ± 0.065 μM, respectively), as well as improved physicochemical and drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) properties. In addition, C7 inhibits viral replication in SARS-CoV-2-infected Vero E6 cells more effectively than baicalein (EC50 = 1.10 ± 0.12 and 5.15 ± 1.64 μM, respectively) with low cytotoxicity (CC50 > 50 μM). An X-ray co-crystal structure reveals a non-covalent mechanism of action, and a noncanonical binding mode not observed by baicalein. These results suggest that C7 represents a promising lead for development of more effective SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors and anti-COVID-19 drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kuojun Zhang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Tianyu Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Maotian Li
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Life Science and Technology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Mu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), Shanghai Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, 200032, Shanghai, China
| | - He Tang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Lin Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Ke Ye
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Jiamei Yang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Sheng Jiang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Yibei Xiao
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Youhua Xie
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), Shanghai Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, 200032, Shanghai, China.
| | - Meiling Lu
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Life Science and Technology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China.
| | - Xiangyu Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China.
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Malebari AM, E A Ahmed H, Ihmaid SK, Omar AM, Muhammad YA, Althagfan SS, Aljuhani N, A A El-Sayed AA, Halawa AH, El-Tahir HM, Turkistani SA, Almaghrabi M, K B Aljohani A, El-Agrody AM, Abulkhair HS. Exploring the dual effect of novel 1,4-diarylpyranopyrazoles as antiviral and anti-inflammatory for the management of SARS-CoV-2 and associated inflammatory symptoms. Bioorg Chem 2023; 130:106255. [PMID: 36403336 PMCID: PMC9671780 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2022.106255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2022] [Revised: 10/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
COVID-19 and associated substantial inflammations continue to threaten humankind triggering death worldwide. So, the development of new effective antiviral and anti-inflammatory medications is a major scientific goal. Pyranopyrazoles have occupied a crucial position in medicinal chemistry because of their biological importance. Here, we report the design and synthesis of a series of sixteen pyranopyrazole derivatives substituted with two aryl groups at N-1 and C-4. The designed compounds are suggested to show dual activity to combat the emerging Coronaviruses and associated substantial inflammations. All compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antiviral activity and cytotoxicity against SARS-CoV infected Vero cells. As well, the in vitro assay of all derivatives against the SARS-CoV Mpro target was performed. Results revealed the potential of three pyranopyrazoles (22, 27, and 31) to potently inhibit the viral main protease with IC50 values of 2.01, 1.83, and 4.60 μM respectively compared with 12.85 and 82.17 μM for GC-376 and lopinavir. Additionally, in vivo anti-inflammatory testing for the most active compound 27 proved its ability to reduce levels of two cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6). Molecular docking and dynamics simulation revealed consistent results with the in vitro enzymatic assay and indicated the stability of the putative complex of 27 with SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. The assessment of metabolic stability and physicochemical properties of 27 have also been conducted. This investigation identified a set of metabolically stable pyranopyrazoles as effective anti-SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and suppressors of host cell cytokine release. We believe that the new compounds deserve further chemical optimization and evaluation for COVID-19 treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azizah M Malebari
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Alsulaymanyah, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hany E A Ahmed
- Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia; Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City 11884, Cairo, Egypt.
| | - Saleh K Ihmaid
- Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia; Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jadara University Irbid, Jordan
| | - Abdelsattar M Omar
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Alsulaymanyah, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia; Center for Artificial Intelligence in Precision Medicines, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Yosra A Muhammad
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Alsulaymanyah, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sultan S Althagfan
- Clinical and Hospital Pharmacy Department, Taibah University, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Naif Aljuhani
- Pharmacology and Toxicology Department, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdel-Aziz A A El-Sayed
- Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Islamic University of Madinah, Madinah, Saudi Arabia; Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
| | - Ahmed H Halawa
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Heba M El-Tahir
- Pharmacology and Toxicology Department, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Mohammed Almaghrabi
- Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed K B Aljohani
- Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed M El-Agrody
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Hamada S Abulkhair
- Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City 11884, Cairo, Egypt; Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Horus University-Egypt, International Coastal Road, New Damietta 34518, Egypt.
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Yang Z, Wang W, Qi Y, Yang Y, Chen CH, Liu JZ, Chu GX, Bao GH. Exploring new catechin derivatives as SARS-CoV-2 M pro inhibitors from tea by molecular networking, surface plasma resonance, enzyme inhibition, induced fit docking, and metadynamics simulations. Comput Biol Med 2022; 151:106288. [PMID: 36401970 PMCID: PMC9652097 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2022.106288] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Revised: 10/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 Mpro (Mpro) is the critical cysteine protease in coronavirus viral replication. Tea polyphenols are effective Mpro inhibitors. Therefore, we aim to isolate and synthesize more novel tea polyphenols from Zhenghedabai (ZHDB) white tea methanol-water (MW) extracts that might inhibit COVID-19. Through molecular networking, 33 compounds were identified and divided into 5 clusters. Further, natural products molecular network (MN) analysis showed that MN1 has new phenylpropanoid-substituted ester-catechin (PSEC), and MN5 has the important basic compound type hydroxycinnamoylcatechins (HCCs). Thus, a new PSEC (1, PSEC636) was isolated, which can be further detected in 14 green tea samples. A series of HCCs were synthesized (2-6), including three new acetylated HCCs (3-5). Then we used surface plasmon resonance (SPR) to analyze the equilibrium dissociation constants (KD) for the interaction of 12 catechins and Mpro. The KD values of PSEC636 (1), EGC-C (2), and EC-CDA (3) were 2.25, 2.81, and 2.44 μM, respectively. Moreover, compounds 1, 2, and 3 showed the potential Mpro inhibition with IC50 5.95 ± 0.17, 9.09 ± 0.22, and 23.10 ± 0.69 μM, respectively. Further, we used induced fit docking (IFD), binding pose metadynamics (BPMD), and molecular dynamics (MD) to explore the stable binding pose of Mpro-1, showing that 1 could tightly bond with the amino acid residues THR26, HIS41, CYS44, TYR54, GLU166, and ASP187. The computer modeling studies reveal that the ester, acetyl, and pyrogallol groups could improve inhibitory activity. Our research suggests that these catechins are effective Mpro inhibitors, and might be developed as therapeutics against COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zi Yang
- Natural Products Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Anhui Engineering Laboratory for Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Traditional Medicine Resources, West Anhui University, Lu'an, Anhui, 237012, China
| | - Yan Qi
- Natural Products Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, China
| | - Yi Yang
- Natural Products Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, China
| | - Chen-Hui Chen
- Natural Products Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, China
| | - Jia-Zheng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau Institute for Applied Research in Medicine and Health, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory of Respiratory Infectious Disease, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, 999078, Macau
| | - Gang-Xiu Chu
- School of Information and Computer, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, China,Corresponding author
| | - Guan-Hu Bao
- Natural Products Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, China,Corresponding author
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Janković N, Milović E, Jovanović JĐ, Marković Z, Vraneš M, Stanojković T, Matić I, Crnogorac MĐ, Klisurić O, Cvetinov M, Abbas Bukhari SN. A new class of half-sandwich ruthenium complexes containing Biginelli hybrids: anticancer and anti-SARS-CoV-2 activities. Chem Biol Interact 2022; 363:110025. [PMID: 35752294 PMCID: PMC9220501 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2022.110025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [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: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In order to discover new dual-active agents, a series of novel Biginelli hybrids (tetrahydropyrimidines) and their ruthenium(II) complexes were synthesized. Newly synthesized compounds were characterized by IR, NMR, and X-ray techniques and investigated for their cytotoxic effect on human cancer cell lines HeLa, LS174, A549, A375, K562 and normal fibroblasts (MRC-5). For further examination of the cytotoxic mechanisms of novel complexes, two of them were chosen for analyzing their effects on the distribution of HeLa cells in the cell cycle phases. The results of the flow cytometry analysis suggest that the proportion of cells in G2/M phase was decreased following the increase of subG1 phase in all treatments. These results confirmed that cells treated with 5b and 5c were induced to undergo apoptotic death. The ruthenium complexes 5a-5d show significant inhibitory potency against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. Therefore, molecule 5b has significance, while 5e possesses the lowest values of ΔGbind and Ki, which are comparable to cinanserin, and hydroxychloroquine. In addition, achieved results will open a new avenue in drug design for more research on the possible therapeutic applications of dual-active Biginelli-based drugs (anticancer-antiviral). Dual-active drugs based on the hybridization concept "one drug curing two diseases" could be a successful tactic in healing patients who have cancer and the virus SARS-CoV-2 at the same time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nenad Janković
- University of Kragujevac, Institute for Information Technologies Kragujevac, Department of Science, Jovana Cvijića bb, Kragujevac, 34000, Serbia.
| | - Emilija Milović
- University of Kragujevac, Institute for Information Technologies Kragujevac, Department of Science, Jovana Cvijića bb, Kragujevac, 34000, Serbia
| | - Jelena Đorović Jovanović
- University of Kragujevac, Institute for Information Technologies Kragujevac, Department of Science, Jovana Cvijića bb, Kragujevac, 34000, Serbia
| | - Zoran Marković
- University of Kragujevac, Institute for Information Technologies Kragujevac, Department of Science, Jovana Cvijića bb, Kragujevac, 34000, Serbia
| | - Milan Vraneš
- Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Environmental Protection, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia
| | - Tatjana Stanojković
- Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Pasterova 14, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Ivana Matić
- Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Pasterova 14, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia
| | | | - Olivera Klisurić
- University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Science, Department of Physics, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia
| | - Miroslav Cvetinov
- Academy of Arts, University of Novi Sad, Đure Jakšića 7, Novi Sad, Serbia
| | - Syed Nasir Abbas Bukhari
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Aljouf, Sakaka, 72388, Saudi Arabia
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Ge R, Shen Z, Yin J, Chen W, Zhang Q, An Y, Tang D, Satz AL, Su W, Kuai L. Discovery of SARS-CoV-2 main protease covalent inhibitors from a DNA-encoded library selection. SLAS Discov 2022; 27:79-85. [PMID: 35063690 PMCID: PMC8767972 DOI: 10.1016/j.slasd.2022.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Covalent inhibitors targeting the main protease (Mpro, or 3CLpro) of SARS-CoV-2 have shown promise in preclinical investigations. Herein, we report the discovery of two new series of molecules that irreversibly bind to SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. These acrylamide containing molecules were discovered using our covalent DNA-encoded library (DEL) screening platform. Following selection against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, off-DNA compounds were synthesized and investigated to determine their inhibitory effects, the nature of their binding, and to generate preliminary structure-activity relationships. LC-MS analysis indicates a 1:1 (covalent) binding stoichiometry between our hit molecules and SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. Fluorescent staining assay for covalent binding in the presence of cell lysate suggests reasonable selectivity for SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. And lastly, inhibition of enzymatic activity was also observed against a panel of 3CLpro enzymes from different coronavirus strains, with IC50 values ranging from inactive to single digit micromolar. Our results indicate that DEL selection is a useful approach for identifying covalent inhibitors of cysteine proteases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Ge
- WuXi AppTec, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai 200131, China
| | - Zuyuan Shen
- WuXi AppTec, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai 200131, China
| | - Jian Yin
- WuXi AppTec, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai 200131, China
| | - Wenhua Chen
- WuXi AppTec, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai 200131, China
| | - Qi Zhang
- WuXi AppTec, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai 200131, China
| | - Yulong An
- WuXi AppTec, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai 200131, China
| | - Dewei Tang
- WuXi AppTec, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai 200131, China
| | | | - Wenji Su
- WuXi AppTec, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai 200131, China.
| | - Letian Kuai
- WuXi AppTec(,) 55 Cambridge Parkway, 8th Floor(,) Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
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Xiao T, Wei Y, Cui M, Li X, Ruan H, Zhang L, Bao J, Ren S, Gao D, Wang M, Sun R, Li M, Lin J, Li D, Yang C, Zhou H. Effect of dihydromyricetin on SARS-CoV-2 viral replication and pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis. Phytomedicine 2021; 91:153704. [PMID: 34419736 PMCID: PMC8349562 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2021.153704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Revised: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 08/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease-2019) has spread widely around the world and impacted human health for millions. The lack of effective targeted drugs and vaccines forces scientific world to search for new effective antiviral therapeutic drugs. It has reported that flavonoids have potential inhibitory activity on SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and anti-inflammatory properties. Dihydromyricetin, as a flavonol, also has antiviral and anti-inflammatory potential. However, the inhibition of dihydromyricetin on SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and the protective effect of dihydromyricetin on pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis have not been proved and explained. PURPOSE The coronavirus main protease (Mpro) is essential for SARS-CoV-2 replication and to be recognized as an attractive drug target, we expect to find the inhibitor of Mpro. Novel coronavirus infection can cause severe inflammation and even sequelae of pulmonary fibrosis in critically ill patients. We hope to find a drug that can not only inhibit virus replication but also alleviate inflammation and pulmonary fibrosis in patients. METHODS FRET-based enzymatic assay was used to evaluate the inhibit activity of dihydromyricetin on SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. Molecular docking was used to identify the binding pose of dihydromyricetin with SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. The protective effects of dihydromyricetin against BLM-induced pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis were investigated in C57BL6 mice. BALF and lung tissue were collected for inflammation cells count, ELISA, masson and HE staining, western blotting and immunohistochemistry to analyze the effects of dihydromyricetin on pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis. MTT, western blotting, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and wound healing were used to analyze the effects of dihydromyricetin on lung fibrosis mechanisms in Mlg cells. RESULTS In this study, we found that dihydromyricetin is a potent inhibitor targeting the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro with a half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 1.716 ± 0.419 μM, using molecular docking and the FRET-based enzymatic assay. The binding pose of dihydromyricetin with SARS-CoV-2 Mpro was identified using molecular docking method. In the binding pocket of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, the dihydrochromone ring of dihydromyricetin interact with the imidazole side chain of His163 through π-π stacking. The 1-oxygen of dihydromyricetin forms a hydrogen bond with the backbone nitrogen of Glu166. The 3-, 7-, 3'- and 4'-hydroxyl of dihydromyricetin interact with Gln189, Leu141, Arg188 and Thr190 through hydrogen bonds. Moreover, our results showed that dihydromyricetin can significantly alleviate BLM-induced pulmonary inflammation by inhibiting the infiltration of inflammation cells and the secretion of inflammation factors in the early process and also ameliorate pulmonary fibrosis by improving pulmonary function and down-regulate the expression of α-SMA and fibronectin in vivo. Our results also showed that dihydromyricetin inhibits the migration and activation of myofibroblasts and extracellular matrix production via transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1/Smad signaling pathways. CONCLUSION Dihydromyricetin is an effective inhibitor for SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and it prevents BLM-induced pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis in mice. Dihydromyricetin will be a potential medicine for the treatment of COVID-19 and its sequelae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Haihe Education Park, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin 300353, People's Republic of China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Yuli Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Haihe Education Park, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin 300353, People's Republic of China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Mengqi Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Haihe Education Park, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin 300353, People's Republic of China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Xiaohe Li
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Haihe Education Park, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin 300353, People's Republic of China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Hao Ruan
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Haihe Education Park, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin 300353, People's Republic of China
| | - Liang Zhang
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Nankai University, 300192 Tianjin, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiali Bao
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Haihe Education Park, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin 300353, People's Republic of China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Shanfa Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Haihe Education Park, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin 300353, People's Republic of China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Dandi Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Haihe Education Park, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin 300353, People's Republic of China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Ming Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Haihe Education Park, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin 300353, People's Republic of China
| | - Ronghao Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Haihe Education Park, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin 300353, People's Republic of China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Mingjiang Li
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Nankai University, 300192 Tianjin, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianping Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Haihe Education Park, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin 300353, People's Republic of China
| | - Dongmei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Haihe Education Park, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin 300353, People's Republic of China.
| | - Cheng Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Haihe Education Park, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin 300353, People's Republic of China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, Tianjin, China.
| | - Honggang Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Haihe Education Park, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin 300353, People's Republic of China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, Tianjin, China.
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Bharadwaj S, Lee KE, Dwivedi VD, Kang SG. Computational insights into tetracyclines as inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2 M pro via combinatorial molecular simulation calculations. Life Sci 2020; 257:118080. [PMID: 32653520 PMCID: PMC7347340 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2020.118080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [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: 04/08/2020] [Revised: 07/06/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic raised by SARS-CoV-2 is a public health emergency. However, lack of antiviral drugs and vaccine against human coronaviruses demands a concerted approach to challenge the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Under limited resource and urgency, combinatorial computational approaches to identify the potential inhibitor from known drugs could be applied against risen COVID-19 pandemic. Thereof, this study attempted to purpose the potent inhibitors from the approved drug pool against SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro). To circumvent the issue of lead compound from available drugs as antivirals, antibiotics with broad spectrum of viral activity, i.e. doxycycline, tetracycline, demeclocycline, and minocycline were chosen for molecular simulation analysis against native ligand N3 inhibitor in SARS-CoV-2 Mpro crystal structure. Molecular docking simulation predicted the docking score >−7 kcal/mol with significant intermolecular interaction at the catalytic dyad (His41 and Cys145) and other essential substrate binding residues of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. The best ligand conformations were further studied for complex stability and intermolecular interaction profiling with respect to time under 100 ns classical molecular dynamics simulation, established the significant stability and interactions of selected antibiotics by comparison to N3 inhibitor. Based on combinatorial molecular simulation analysis, doxycycline and minocycline were selected as potent inhibitor against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro which can used in combinational therapy against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiv Bharadwaj
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Biotechnology, College of Life and Applied Sciences, Yeungnam University, 280 Daehak-Ro, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk 38541, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyung Eun Lee
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Biotechnology, College of Life and Applied Sciences, Yeungnam University, 280 Daehak-Ro, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk 38541, Republic of Korea
| | - Vivek Dhar Dwivedi
- Centre for Bioinformatics, Computational and Systems Biology, Pathfinder Research and Training Foundation, Greater Noida, India.
| | - Sang Gu Kang
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Biotechnology, College of Life and Applied Sciences, Yeungnam University, 280 Daehak-Ro, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk 38541, Republic of Korea.
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Gurung AB, Ali MA, Lee J, Farah MA, Al-Anazi KM. Unravelling lead antiviral phytochemicals for the inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 M pro enzyme through in silico approach. Life Sci 2020; 255:117831. [PMID: 32450166 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2020.117831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2020] [Revised: 05/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
A new SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) belonging to the genus Betacoronavirus has caused a pandemic known as COVID-19. Among coronaviruses, the main protease (Mpro) is an essential drug target which, along with papain-like proteases catalyzes the processing of polyproteins translated from viral RNA and recognizes specific cleavage sites. There are no human proteases with similar cleavage specificity and therefore, inhibitors are highly likely to be nontoxic. Therefore, targeting the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro enzyme with small molecules can block viral replication. The present study is aimed at the identification of promising lead molecules for SARS-CoV-2 Mpro enzyme through virtual screening of antiviral compounds from plants. The binding affinity of selected small drug-like molecules to SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, SARS-CoV Mpro and MERS-CoV Mpro were studied using molecular docking. Bonducellpin D was identified as the best lead molecule which shows higher binding affinity (−9.28 kcal/mol) as compared to the control (−8.24 kcal/mol). The molecular binding was stabilized through four hydrogen bonds with Glu166 and Thr190 as well as hydrophobic interactions via eight residues. The SARS-CoV-2 Mpro shows identities of 96.08% and 50.65% to that of SARS-CoV Mpro and MERS-CoV Mpro respectively at the sequence level. At the structural level, the root mean square deviation (RMSD) between SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and SARS-CoV Mpro was found to be 0.517 Å and 0.817 Å between SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and MERS-CoV Mpro. Bonducellpin D exhibited broad-spectrum inhibition potential against SARS-CoV Mpro and MERS-CoV Mpro and therefore is a promising drug candidate, which needs further validations through in vitro and in vivo studies.
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