scholarly journals Pyrimidone inhibitors targeting Chikungunya Virus nsP3 macrodomain by fragment-based drug design

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0245013
Author(s):  
Sixue Zhang ◽  
Atefeh Garzan ◽  
Nicole Haese ◽  
Robert Bostwick ◽  
Yohanka Martinez-Gzegozewska ◽  
...  

The macrodomain of nsP3 (nsP3MD) is highly conserved among the alphaviruses and ADP-ribosylhydrolase activity of Chikungunya Virus (CHIKV) nsP3MD is critical for CHIKV viral replication and virulence. No small molecule drugs targeting CHIKV nsP3 have been identified to date. Here we report small fragments that bind to nsP3MD which were discovered by virtually screening a fragment library and X-ray crystallography. These identified fragments share a similar scaffold, 2-pyrimidone-4-carboxylic acid, and are specifically bound to the ADP-ribose binding site of nsP3MD. Among the fragments, 2-oxo-5,6-benzopyrimidine-4-carboxylic acid showed anti-CHIKV activity with an IC50 of 23 μM. Our fragment-based drug discovery approach provides valuable information to further develop a specific and potent nsP3 inhibitor of CHIKV viral replication based on the 2-pyrimidone-4-carboxylic acid scaffold. In silico studies suggest this pyrimidone scaffold could also bind to the macrodomains of other alphaviruses and coronaviruses and thus, have potential pan-antiviral activity.

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (a1) ◽  
pp. s38-s38
Author(s):  
Puja Pathuri ◽  
Susanne M. Saalau-Bethell ◽  
Andrew J. Woodhead ◽  
Valerio Berdini ◽  
Maria G. Carr ◽  
...  

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 1030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Maveyraud ◽  
Lionel Mourey

With the advent of structural biology in the drug discovery process, medicinal chemists gained the opportunity to use detailed structural information in order to progress screening hits into leads or drug candidates. X-ray crystallography has proven to be an invaluable tool in this respect, as it is able to provide exquisitely comprehensive structural information about the interaction of a ligand with a pharmacological target. As fragment-based drug discovery emerged in the recent years, X-ray crystallography has also become a powerful screening technology, able to provide structural information on complexes involving low-molecular weight compounds, despite weak binding affinities. Given the low numbers of compounds needed in a fragment library, compared to the hundreds of thousand usually present in drug-like compound libraries, it now becomes feasible to screen a whole fragment library using X-ray crystallography, providing a wealth of structural details that will fuel the fragment to drug process. Here, we review theoretical and practical aspects as well as the pros and cons of using X-ray crystallography in the drug discovery process.


2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 475-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda J. Price ◽  
Steven Howard ◽  
Benjamin D. Cons

Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) is a technique for identifying low molecular weight chemical starting points for drug discovery. Since its inception 20 years ago, FBDD has grown in popularity to the point where it is now an established technique in industry and academia. The approach involves the biophysical screening of proteins against collections of low molecular weight compounds (fragments). Although fragments bind to proteins with relatively low affinity, they form efficient, high quality binding interactions with the protein architecture as they have to overcome a significant entropy barrier to bind. Of the biophysical methods available for fragment screening, X-ray protein crystallography is one of the most sensitive and least prone to false positives. It also provides detailed structural information of the protein–fragment complex at the atomic level. Fragment-based screening using X-ray crystallography is therefore an efficient method for identifying binding hotspots on proteins, which can then be exploited by chemists and biologists for the discovery of new drugs. The use of FBDD is illustrated here with a recently published case study of a drug discovery programme targeting the challenging protein–protein interaction Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1:nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2.


Author(s):  
Qingxin Li ◽  
Congbao Kang

: Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) is a strategy to develop potent lead molecules and is frequently used in drug discovery projects of the pharmaceutical industry. This method starts from identifying a small-molecule fragment which usually binds weakly to the target and follows with a hit-to-lead step in which the fragment is grown into potent molecules that bind tightly to the target to affect its function. Quite a few drugs and compounds in clinical trials are developed using this approach, making FBDD a powerful strategy in drug discovery. FBDD can be applied to multiple targets and the hit rate in screening can be used in target druggability assessment. In this mini-review, we provide a summary for the development of FBDD. In addition to giving a brief summary of the methods used in fragment screening, we highlight some methods that are critical in the fragment growth. Biophysical methods and carefully chemical modification of the fragments are the key elements in FBDD. We show several strategies that can be utilized in FBDD. We emphasize that NMR spectroscopy such as 19F-NMR and 1H-15N-HSQC experiment and X-ray crystallography are important in FBDD due to their roles in fragment screening and understanding the binding modes of the fragment hits, which provides a strategy for fragment growth.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-144
Author(s):  
Diana I. S. P. Resende ◽  
Amalia M. Estévez ◽  
Andre M. Alker ◽  
Rainer E. Martin ◽  
Hans Peter Wessel

For the generation of compound libraries for drug discovery a central scaffold containing three exit vectors with defined chirality was devised starting from commercially available tri-O-acetyl-glucal. Surprisingly, the reaction of a 4-O-mesylate with sodium azide did not lead to the expected 4-azido-4-deoxy derivative but to a 3-azido-3-deoxy regioisomer via intermediate epoxide formation. The absolute stereochemical configuration of the final tetrahydropyran building block was proven by X-ray crystallography. This scaffold endowed with a carboxylic acid, a secondary alcohol, and an azide functionality may be connected to a DNA tag at any of the three distinct exit vectors, thus providing ready access to several different compound libraries. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 307
Author(s):  
Evelyn J. Franco ◽  
Xun Tao ◽  
Kaley C. Hanrahan ◽  
Jieqiang Zhou ◽  
Jürgen B. Bulitta ◽  
...  

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an alphavirus associated with a broad tissue tropism for which no antivirals or vaccines are approved. This study evaluated the antiviral potential of favipiravir (FAV), interferon-alpha (IFN), and ribavirin (RBV) against CHIKV as mono- and combination-therapy in cell lines that are clinically relevant to human infection. Cells derived from human connective tissue (HT-1080), neurons (SK-N-MC), and skin (HFF-1) were infected with CHIKV and treated with different concentrations of FAV, IFN, or RBV. Viral supernatant was sampled daily and the burden was quantified by plaque assay on Vero cells. FAV and IFN were the most effective against CHIKV on various cell lines, suppressing the viral burden at clinically achievable concentrations; although the degree of antiviral activity was heavily influenced by cell type. RBV was not effective and demonstrated substantial toxicity, indicating that it is not a feasible candidate for CHIKV. The combination of FAV and IFN was then assessed on all cell lines. Combination therapy enhanced antiviral activity in HT-1080 and SK-N-MC cells, but not in HFF-1 cells. We developed a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic model that described the viral burden and inhibitory antiviral effect. Simulations from this model predicted clinically relevant concentrations of FAV plus IFN completely suppressed CHIKV replication in HT-1080 cells, and considerably slowed down the rate of viral replication in SK-N-MC cells. The model predicted substantial inhibition of viral replication by clinical IFN regimens in HFF-1 cells. Our results highlight the antiviral potential of FAV and IFN combination regimens against CHIKV in clinically relevant cell types.


Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana L. Chávez-Hernández ◽  
Norberto Sánchez-Cruz ◽  
José L. Medina-Franco

Natural products and semi-synthetic compounds continue to be a significant source of drug candidates for a broad range of diseases, including coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is causing the current pandemic. Besides being attractive sources of bioactive compounds for further development or optimization, natural products are excellent substrates of unique substructures for fragment-based drug discovery. To this end, fragment libraries should be incorporated into automated drug design pipelines. However, public fragment libraries based on extensive collections of natural products are still limited. Herein, we report the generation and analysis of a fragment library of natural products derived from a database with more than 400,000 compounds. We also report fragment libraries of a large food chemical database and other compound datasets of interest in drug discovery, including compound libraries relevant for COVID-19 drug discovery. The fragment libraries were characterized in terms of content and diversity.


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