Press release: More achievements within the Exscalate4Cov project

A Blueprint for High Affinity SARS-CoV-2 Mpro Inhibitors from Activity-Based Compound Library Screening Guided by Analysis of Protein Dynamics

The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus outbreak continues to spread at a rapid rate worldwide. The main protease (Mpro) is an attractive target for anti-COVID-19 agents. Unexpected difficulties have been encountered in the design of specific inhibitors. Here, by analyzing an ensemble of ∼30 000 SARS-CoV-2 Mpro conformations from crystallographic studies and molecular simulations, we show that small structural variations in the binding site dramatically impact ligand binding properties. Hence, traditional druggability indices fail to adequately discriminate between highly and poorly druggable conformations of the binding site. By performing ∼200 virtual screenings of compound libraries on selected protein structures, we redefine the protein’s druggability as the consensus chemical space arising from the multiple conformations of the binding site formed upon ligand binding.

This procedure revealed a unique SARS-CoV-2 Mpro blueprint that led to a definition of a specific structure-based pharmacophore. The latter explains the poor transferability of potent SARS-CoV Mpro inhibitors to SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, despite the identical sequences of the active sites. Importantly, application of the pharmacophore predicted novel high affinity inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, that were validated by in vitro assays performed here and by a newly solved X-ray crystal structure. These results provide a strong basis for effective rational drug design campaigns against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and a new computational approach to screen protein targets with malleable binding sites.

Original Article: ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci. 2021
Jonas Gossen, Simone Albani, Anton Hanke, Benjamin P. Joseph, Cathrine Bergh, Maria Kuzikov, Elisa Costanzi, Candida Manelfi, Paola Storici, Philip Gribbon, Andrea R. Beccari, Carmine Talarico, Francesca Spyrakis, Erik Lindahl, Andrea Zaliani, Paolo Carloni, Rebecca C. Wade, Francesco Musiani, Daria B. Kokh, and Giulia Rossetti.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsptsci.0c00215  pdf
 

Identification of Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3CL-Pro Enzymatic Activity Using a Small Molecule in Vitro Repurposing Screen

Compound repurposing is an important strategy for the identification of effective treatment options against SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease. In this regard, SARS-CoV-2 main protease (3CL-Pro), also termed M-Pro, is an attractive drug target as it plays a central role in viral replication by processing the viral polyproteins pp1a and pp1ab at multiple distinct cleavage sites. We here report the results of a repurposing program involving 8.7 K compounds containing marketed drugs, clinical and preclinical candidates, and small molecules regarded as safe in humans. We confirmed previously reported inhibitors of 3CL-Pro and have identified 62 additional compounds with IC50 values below 1 μM and profiled their selectivity toward chymotrypsin and 3CL-Pro from the Middle East respiratory syndrome virus. A subset of eight inhibitors showed anticytopathic effect in a Vero-E6 cell line, and the compounds thioguanosine and MG-132 were analyzed for their predicted binding characteristics to SARS-CoV-2 3CL-Pro. The X-ray crystal structure of the complex of myricetin and SARS-Cov-2 3CL-Pro was solved at a resolution of 1.77 Å, showing that myricetin is covalently bound to the catalytic Cys145 and therefore inhibiting its enzymatic activity.

Original Article: ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci. 2021
Maria Kuzikov, Elisa Costanzi, Jeanette Reinshagen, Francesca Esposito, Laura Vangeel, Markus Wolf, Bernhard Ellinger, Carsten Claussen, Gerd Geisslinger, Angela Corona, Daniela Iaconis, Carmine Talarico, Candida Manelfi, Rolando Cannalire, Giulia Rossetti, Jonas Gossen, Simone Albani, Francesco Musiani, Katja Herzog, Yang Ye, Barbara Giabbai, Nicola Demitri, Dirk Jochmans, Steven De Jonghe, Jasper Rymenants, Vincenzo Summa, Enzo Tramontano, Andrea R. Beccari, Pieter Leyssen, Paola Storici, Johan Neyts, Philip Gribbon, and Andrea Zaliani.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsptsci.0c00216 pdf
 




 

 
Ultima modifica il Martedì, 13 Aprile 2021 08:48