ABSTRACT
The coronavirus helicase is an essential enzyme required for viral replication/transcription pathways. Structural studies revealed a sulphate moiety that interacts with key residues within the nucleotide-binding site of the helicase. Compounds with a sulphoxide or a sulphone moiety could interfere with these interactions and consequently inhibit the enzyme. The molecular operating environment (MOE) was used to dock 189 sulphoxide and sulphone-containing FDA-approved compounds to the nucleotide-binding site. Zafirlukast, a leukotriene receptor antagonist used to treat chronic asthma, achieved the lowest docking score at -8.75 kcals/mol. The inhibitory effect of the compounds on the SARS-CoV-2 helicase dsDNA unwinding activity was tested by a FRET-based assay. Zafirlukast was the only compound to inhibit the enzyme (IC50 = 16.3 µM). The treatment of Vero E6 cells with 25 µM zafirlukast prior to SARS-CoV-2 infection decreased the cytopathic effects of SARS-CoV-2 significantly. These results suggest that zafirlukast alleviates SARS-CoV-2 pathogenicity by inhibiting the viral helicase and impairing the viral replication/transcription pathway. Zafirlukast could be clinically developed as a new antiviral treatment for SARS-CoV-2 and other coronavirus diseases. This discovery is based on molecular modelling, in vitro inhibition of the SARS-CoV helicase activity and cell-based SARS-CoV-2 viral replication.
Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , DNA Helicases/antagonists & inhibitors , Indoles/pharmacology , Phenylcarbamates/pharmacology , SARS-CoV-2/drug effects , Sulfonamides/pharmacology , Animals , Chlorocebus aethiops , Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer , Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship , SARS-CoV-2/enzymology , Vero Cells , Virus Replication/drug effects , COVID-19 Drug TreatmentABSTRACT
SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein undergoes RNA-induced phase separation (LLPS) and sequesters the host key stress granule (SG) proteins, Ras-GTPase-activating protein SH3-domain-binding protein 1 and 2 (G3BP1 and G3BP2) to inhibit SG formation. This will allow viral packaging and propagation in host cells. Based on a genomic-guided meta-analysis, here we identify upstream regulatory elements modulating the expression of G3BP1 and G3BP2 (collectively called G3BP1/2). Using this strategy, we have identified FOXA1, YY1, SYK, E2F-1, and TGFBR2 as activators and SIN3A, SRF, and AKT-1 as repressors of G3BP1/2 genes. Panels of the activators and repressors were then used to identify drugs that change their gene expression signatures. Two drugs, imatinib, and decitabine have been identified as putative modulators of G3BP1/2 genes and their regulators, suggesting their role as COVID-19 mitigation agents. Molecular docking analysis suggests that both drugs bind to G3BP1/2 with a much higher affinity than the SARS-CoV-2 N protein. This study reports imatinib and decitabine as candidate drugs against N protein and G3BP1/2 protein.
Subject(s)
Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing/chemistry , COVID-19 Drug Treatment , Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Proteins/chemistry , DNA Helicases/chemistry , Decitabine/chemistry , Imatinib Mesylate/chemistry , Molecular Docking Simulation , Molecular Dynamics Simulation , Poly-ADP-Ribose Binding Proteins/chemistry , RNA Helicases/chemistry , RNA Recognition Motif Proteins/chemistry , RNA-Binding Proteins/chemistry , SARS-CoV-2/chemistry , Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing/antagonists & inhibitors , Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing/metabolism , COVID-19/metabolism , Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Proteins/metabolism , DNA Helicases/antagonists & inhibitors , DNA Helicases/metabolism , Decitabine/pharmacology , Drug Delivery Systems , Genomics , Imatinib Mesylate/pharmacology , Phosphoproteins/chemistry , Phosphoproteins/metabolism , Poly-ADP-Ribose Binding Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Poly-ADP-Ribose Binding Proteins/metabolism , RNA Helicases/antagonists & inhibitors , RNA Helicases/metabolism , RNA Recognition Motif Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , RNA Recognition Motif Proteins/metabolism , RNA-Binding Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , RNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism , SARS-CoV-2/metabolismABSTRACT
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has accelerated the study of existing drugs. The mixture of homologs called ivermectin (avermectin-B1a [HB1a] + avermectin-B1b [HB1b]) has shown antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. However, there are few reports on the behavior of each homolog. We investigated the interaction of each homolog with promising targets of interest associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection from a biophysical and computational-chemistry perspective using docking and molecular dynamics. We observed a differential behavior for each homolog, with an affinity of HB1b for viral structures, and of HB1a for host structures considered. The induced disturbances were differential and influenced by the hydrophobicity of each homolog and of the binding pockets. We present the first comparative analysis of the potential theoretical inhibitory effect of both avermectins on biomolecules associated with COVID-19, and suggest that ivermectin through its homologs, has a multiobjective behavior.
Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/chemistry , Coronavirus 3C Proteases/antagonists & inhibitors , DNA Helicases/antagonists & inhibitors , Ivermectin/analogs & derivatives , alpha Karyopherins/antagonists & inhibitors , beta Karyopherins/antagonists & inhibitors , Animals , Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , Binding Sites , COVID-19/virology , Coronavirus 3C Proteases/chemistry , Coronavirus 3C Proteases/metabolism , DNA Helicases/chemistry , DNA Helicases/metabolism , Humans , Ivermectin/chemistry , Ivermectin/pharmacology , Kinetics , Mice , Molecular Docking Simulation , Molecular Dynamics Simulation , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , SARS-CoV-2/chemistry , SARS-CoV-2/drug effects , SARS-CoV-2/enzymology , Thermodynamics , alpha Karyopherins/chemistry , alpha Karyopherins/metabolism , beta Karyopherins/chemistry , beta Karyopherins/metabolism , COVID-19 Drug TreatmentABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic is the third outbreak this century of a zoonotic disease caused by a coronavirus, following the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 20031 and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 20122. Treatment options for coronaviruses are limited. Here we show that clofazimine-an anti-leprosy drug with a favourable safety profile3-possesses inhibitory activity against several coronaviruses, and can antagonize the replication of SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV in a range of in vitro systems. We found that this molecule, which has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, inhibits cell fusion mediated by the viral spike glycoprotein, as well as activity of the viral helicase. Prophylactic or therapeutic administration of clofazimine in a hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis led to reduced viral loads in the lung and viral shedding in faeces, and also alleviated the inflammation associated with viral infection. Combinations of clofazimine and remdesivir exhibited antiviral synergy in vitro and in vivo, and restricted viral shedding from the upper respiratory tract. Clofazimine, which is orally bioavailable and comparatively cheap to manufacture, is an attractive clinical candidate for the treatment of outpatients and-when combined with remdesivir-in therapy for hospitalized patients with COVID-19, particularly in contexts in which costs are an important factor or specialized medical facilities are limited. Our data provide evidence that clofazimine may have a role in the control of the current pandemic of COVID-19 and-possibly more importantly-in dealing with coronavirus diseases that may emerge in the future.