scholarly journals Exploring molnupiravir (EIDD-2801) by molecular docking, temperature-dependent dynamics simulations, and DFT calculations on the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) from SARS-CoV-2

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edeildo Silva-Júnior ◽  
Leandro Silva
Author(s):  
Mahendera Kumar Meena ◽  
Durgesh Kumar ◽  
Kamlesh Kumari ◽  
Nagendra Kumar Kaushik ◽  
Rammapa Venkatesh Kumar ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shabana Bibi ◽  
Mohammad Mehedi Hasan ◽  
Yuan-Bing Wang ◽  
Stavros P. Papadakos ◽  
Hong Yu

Background: SARS-CoV-2, which emerged in Wuhan, China, is a new global threat that has killed millions of people and continues to do so. This pandemic has not only threatened human life but has also triggered economic downturns across the world. Researchers have made significant strides in discovering molecular insights into SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and developing vaccines, but there is still no successful cure for SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. Objective: The present study has proposed a drug-repositioning pipeline for the design and discovery of an effective fungal-derived bioactive metabolite as a drug candidate against SARS-CoV-2. Methods: Fungal derivative “Cordycepin” was selected for this study to investigate the inhibitory properties against RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) (PDB ID: 6M71) of SARS-CoV-2. The pharmacological profile, intermolecular interactions, binding energy, and stability of the compound were determined utilizing cheminformatic approaches. Subsequently, molecular dynamic simulation was performed to better understand the binding mechanism of cordycepin to RdRp. Results: The pharmacological data and retrieved molecular dynamics simulations trajectories suggest excellent drug-likeliness and greater structural stability of cordycepin, while the catalytic residues (Asp760, Asp761), as well as other active site residues (Trp617, Asp618, Tyr619, Trp800, Glu811) of RdRp, showed better stability during the overall simulation span. Conclusion: Promising results of pharmacological investigation along with molecular simulations revealed that cordycepin exhibited strong inhibitory potential against SARS-CoV-2 polymerase enzyme (RdRp). Hence, cordycepin should be highly recommended to test in a laboratory to confirm its inhibitory potential against the SARS-CoV-2 polymerase enzyme (RdRp).


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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Peter T. Habib

Introduction: The infections with the Nipah virus (NiV) are highly infectious and may lead to severe febrile encephalitis. High mortality rates in southeastern Asia, including Bengal, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Madagascar, the Philippines, Thailand, and India, have been reported in NiV outbreaks. Considering the high risk of an epidemic, NiV was declared a priority pathogen by the World Health Organization. However, for the treatment of this infection, there is no effective therapy or approved FDA medicines. RNA-dependent polymerase RNA (RdRp) plays an important role in viral replication among the nine well-known proteins of NiV.Material and Methods: Fourteen antiviral molecules have been computerized for NiV RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and demonstrated a potential inhibition effect against coronavirus (NiV-RdRp). A multi-step molecular docking process, followed by extensive analyzes of molecular binding interactions, binding energy estimates, synthetic accessibility assessments, and toxicity tests.Results: Molecular docking analysis reveals that Uprifosbuvir is the most suitable inhibitor for RdRp of Nipah Virus regarding the binding affinity and binding in the target cavity. Although, such studies need clinical confirmation.Conclusion: The role of anti-viral molecules as a ligand against RNA-dependent RNA polymerase is critical important in the current era. Computational tools such as molecular docking has proven its power in the analysis of molecules interaction. Our analysis reveals the Uprifosbuvir might be a candidate RdRp inhibitor. This study should further investigate the properties of the already identified anti-viral molecules followed by a pharmacological investigation of these in-silico findings in suitable models.


2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 864-873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudramani Pokhrel ◽  
Prem Chapagain ◽  
Jessica Siltberg-Liberles

Introduction. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has taken humanity off guard. Following an outbreak of SARS-CoV in 2002, and MERS-CoV about 10 years later, SARS-CoV-2 is the third coronavirus in less than 20 years to cross the species barrier and start spreading by human-to-human transmission. It is the most infectious of the three, currently causing the COVID-19 pandemic. No treatment has been approved for COVID-19. We previously proposed targets that can serve as binding sites for antiviral drugs for multiple coronaviruses, and here we set out to find current drugs that can be repurposed as COVID-19 therapeutics. Aim. To identify drugs against COVID-19, we performed an in silico virtual screen with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs targeting the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP), a critical enzyme for coronavirus replication. Methodology. Initially, no RdRP structure of SARS-CoV-2 was available. We performed basic sequence and structural analysis to determine if RdRP from SARS-CoV was a suitable replacement. We performed molecular dynamics simulations to generate multiple starting conformations that were used for the in silico virtual screen. During this work, a structure of RdRP from SARS-CoV-2 became available and was also included in the in silico virtual screen. Results. The virtual screen identified several drugs predicted to bind in the conserved RNA tunnel of RdRP, where many of the proposed targets were located. Among these candidates, quinupristin is particularly interesting because it is expected to bind across the RNA tunnel, blocking access from both sides and suggesting that it has the potential to arrest viral replication by preventing viral RNA synthesis. Quinupristin is an antibiotic that has been in clinical use for two decades and is known to cause relatively minor side effects. Conclusion. Quinupristin represents a potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic. At present, we have no evidence that this drug is effective against SARS-CoV-2 but expect that the biomedical community will expeditiously follow up on our in silico findings.


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