scholarly journals Molecular Docking Unveils Prospective Inhibitors for the SARS-COV-2 Main Protease

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 1473-1483
Author(s):  
Fawad Ahmad ◽  
Saima Ikram ◽  
Jamshaid Ahmad ◽  
Irshad ur Rehman ◽  
Saeed Ullah Khattak ◽  
...  

The recent emergence of a novel coronavirus strain (SARS-CoV-2) has stimulated global efforts to identify potential drugs that target proteins expressed by this novel coronavirus. Among these, the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 (3CL-protease (3CLPro), also known as (MPro) is one of the best choices for the scientists to target. 3CLPro is involved in the processing of polyproteins into mature non-structural viral proteins. An X-ray crystallographic structure (PDB ID 6LU7) of this protein was obtained from the PDB database. ChemDiv libraries of ~80,000 antiviral and ~13,000 coronavirus-targeting molecules were screened against the 3D structure of 3CLPro of SARS-CoV-2. We have identified a panel of molecules that showed an activity and potentially block the active site of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease. These molecules can be investigated further to develop effective virus-inhibiting molecules to treat this highly distressing disease, causing extreme unrest across the globe.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 3780-3801

The widespread global COVID-19 pandemic due to the lack of specific treatment and the urgent situation requires the use of all resources to remedy this scourge. The current study aimed to use molecular docking tools to find potential drug candidates for treatment. The pyrano[2,3-c] pyrazole 5(a-e) was targeted against the Main protease (Mpro), which plays a vital role in the replication and transcription of the Corona viral genome. The 3CL Protease (PDB ID 6LU7) was modeled, and the compounds were docked using Autodock Vina software, and ADMET data have been studied. All synthesized compounds were well engaged into the active site of the main protease with strong hydrogen bond interaction and a good score of energy. The 5b have been classed as the best inhibitor with an energy score of -6.2 kcal/mol, similar to the one given by chloroquine (-6.2Kcal/mol). Moreover, the molecular interaction studies showed that protease structure had multiple active site residues for all studied compounds. Our finding confirms the potential of these derivatives as lead compounds against the selected target protein of coronavirus, which needs further analysis and dynamic simulation studies to propose then develop a new antiviral treatment.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Navaneethakrishnan Krishnamoorthy ◽  
Khalid Fakhro

Abstract Most attempts to target the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV2 are focusing on the main protease (Mpro) 1,2. We already have access to high resolution 3D-structures of the SARS-CoV2 Mpro, which were developed with inhibitors as co-crystals using X-ray crystallography 3-9. However, >19,000 missense mutations in the Mpro have already been reported 10. The mutations encompassing 282 amino acid positions and these “hotspots” might change the Mpro structure and activity, potentially rendering novel antivirals and vaccines ineffective. Here we identified 24 mutational “coldspots” that have resisted mutation since the virus was first detected. We compared the structure-function relationship of these coldspots with several SARS-CoV2 Mpro X-ray crystal structures. We found that three coldspot residues (Leu141, Phe185 and Gln192) help to form the active site, while six (Gly2, Arg4, Tyr126, Lys137, Leu141 and Leu286) contribute to dimer formation that is required for Mpro activity. Importantly, seven coldpots are conserved among other coronaviruses and available on the surface of the active site and at the dimer interface for targeting. The identification and short list of these coldspots offers a new perspective to target the SARS-CoV2 Mpro while avoiding mutation-based drug resistance.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Navaneethakrishnan Krishnamoorthy ◽  
Khalid Fakhro

Abstract Most attempts to target the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV2 are focusing on the main protease (Mpro) 1-9. However, >19,000 mutations in the Mpro have already been reported 10. The mutations encompassing 282 amino acid positions and these “hotspots” might change the Mpro structure and activity, potentially rendering novel antivirals and vaccines ineffective. Here we identified 24 mutational “coldspots” that have resisted mutation since the virus was first detected. We compared the structure-function relationship of these coldspots with several SARS-CoV2 Mpro X-ray crystal structures. We found that three coldspot residues (Leu141, Phe185 and Gln192) help to form the active site, while six (Gly2, Arg4, Tyr126, Lys137, Leu141 and Leu286) contribute to dimer formation that is required for Mpro activity. The surface of the dimer interface is more resistant to mutations compared to the active site. Interestingly, 16 coldspots are found in conserved patterns when compared with other coronaviruses. Importantly, several conserved coldpots are available on the surface of the active site and at the dimer interface for targeting. The identification and short list of these coldspots offers a new perspective to target the SARS-CoV2 Mpro while avoiding mutation-based drug resistance.


BioTechniques ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bijun Cheng ◽  
Tianjiao Li

The outbreak of viral pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that began in December 2019 caused high mortality. It has been suggested that the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 may be an important target to discover pharmaceutical compounds for the therapy of this life-threatening disease. Remdesivir, ritonavir and chloroquine have all been reported to play a role in suppressing SARS-CoV-2. Here, we applied a molecular docking method to study the binding stability of these drugs with SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. It appeared that the ligand–protein binding stability of the alliin and SARS-CoV-2 Mpro complex was better than others. The results suggested that alliin may serve as a good candidate as an inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. Therefore, the present research may provide some meaningful guidance for the prevention and treatment of SARS-CoV-2.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 319-331
Author(s):  
K. Gopalasatheeskumar ◽  
Karthikeyen Lakshmanan ◽  
Anguraj Moulishankar ◽  
Jerad Suresh ◽  
D. Kumuthaveni Babu ◽  
...  

COVID-19 is the infectious pandemic disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The COVID-19 is spread globally in a short span of time. The Ministry of AYUSH, India which promotes Siddha and other Indian system of medicine recommends the use of formulation like Nilavembu Kudineer and Kaba Sura Kudineer Chooranam (KSKC). The present work seeks to provide the evidence for the action of 74 different constituents of the KSKC formulation acting on two critical targets. That is main protease and SARS-CoV-2 RNAdependent RNA polymerase target through molecular docking studies. The molecular docking was done by using AutoDock Tools 1.5.6 of the 74 compounds, about 50 compounds yielded docking results against COVID-19 main protease while 42 compounds yielded against SARSCoV- 2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. This research has concluded that the KSKC has the lead molecules that inhibits COVID-19’s target of main protease of COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.


Author(s):  
Sheng Zhang ◽  
Maj Krumberger ◽  
Michael A. Morris ◽  
Chelsea Marie T. Parrocha ◽  
James H. Griffin ◽  
...  

This paper describes the structure-based design of a preliminary drug candidate against COVID-19 using free software and publicly available X-ray crystallographic structures. The goal of this tutorial is to disseminate skills in structure-based drug design and to allow others to unleash their own creativity to design new drugs to fight the current pandemic. The tutorial begins with the X-ray crystallographic structure of the main protease (M<sup>pro</sup>) of the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) bound to a peptide substrate and then uses the UCSF Chimera software to modify the substrate to create a cyclic peptide inhibitor within the M<sup>pro</sup> active site. Finally, the tutorial uses the molecular docking software AutoDock Vina to show the interaction of the cyclic peptide inhibitor with both SARS-CoV M<sup>pro</sup> and the highly homologous SARS-CoV-2 M<sup>pro</sup>. The supporting information (supplementary material) provides an illustrated step-by-step protocol, as well as a video showing the inhibitor design process, to help readers design their own drug candidates for COVID-19 and the coronaviruses that will cause future pandemics. An accompanying preprint in bioRxiv [https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.03.234872] describes the synthesis of the cyclic peptide and the experimental validation as an inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 M<sup>pro</sup>.


Author(s):  
Linlin Zhang ◽  
Daizong Lin ◽  
Xinyuanyuan Sun ◽  
Katharina Rox ◽  
Rolf Hilgenfeld

AbstractA novel coronavirus has been identified as the causative agent of a massive outbreak of atypical pneumonia originating at Wuhan, Hubei province, China. Involved in the formation of the coronavirus replication complex, the viral main protease (Mpro, also called 3CLpro) represents an attractive target for therapy. We determined the crystal structure of the unliganded Mpro at 1.75 Å resolution and used this structure to guide optimization of a series of alpha-ketoamide inhibitors. The main goal of the optimization efforts was improvement of the pharmacokinetic properties of the compounds. We further describe 1.95- and 2.20-Å crystal structures of the complex between the enzyme and the most potent alpha-ketoamide optimized this way. These structures will form the basis for further development of these compounds to antiviral drugs.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anurag Agrawal ◽  
Nem Kumar Jain ◽  
Neeraj Kumar ◽  
Giriraj T Kulkarni

This study belongs to identification of suitable COVID-19 inhibitors<br><div><br></div><div>Coronavirus became pandemic very soon and is a potential threat to human lives across the globe. No approved drug is currently available therefore an urgent need has been developed for any antiviral therapy for COVID-19. For the molecular docking study, ten herbal molecules have been included in the current study. The three-dimensional chemical structures of molecules were prepared through ChemSketch 2015 freeware. Molecular docking study was performed using AutoDock 4.2 simulator and Discovery studio 4.5 was employed to predict the active site of target enzyme. Result indicated that all-natural molecules found in the active site of enzyme after molecular docking. Oxyacanthine and Hypericin (-10.990 and -9.05 and kcal/mol respectively) have shown good binding efficacy among others but Oxyacanthine was the only natural product which made some of necessary interactions with residues in the enzyme require for target inhibition. Therefore Oxyacanthine may be considered to be potential inhibitor of main protease enzyme of virus but need to be explored for further drug development process. <br></div>


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