scholarly journals Blue Biotechnology: Computational Screening of Sarcophyton Cembranoid Diterpenes for SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Inhibition

Marine Drugs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 391
Author(s):  
Mahmoud A. A. Ibrahim ◽  
Alaa H. M. Abdelrahman ◽  
Mohamed A. M. Atia ◽  
Tarik A. Mohamed ◽  
Mahmoud F. Moustafa ◽  
...  

The coronavirus pandemic has affected more than 150 million people, while over 3.25 million people have died from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As there are no established therapies for COVID-19 treatment, drugs that inhibit viral replication are a promising target; specifically, the main protease (Mpro) that process CoV-encoded polyproteins serves as an Achilles heel for assembly of replication-transcription machinery as well as down-stream viral replication. In the search for potential antiviral drugs that target Mpro, a series of cembranoid diterpenes from the biologically active soft-coral genus Sarcophyton have been examined as SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors. Over 360 metabolites from the genus were screened using molecular docking calculations. Promising diterpenes were further characterized by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations based on molecular mechanics-generalized Born surface area (MM-GBSA) binding energy calculations. According to in silico calculations, five cembranoid diterpenes manifested adequate binding affinities as Mpro inhibitors with ΔGbinding < −33.0 kcal/mol. Binding energy and structural analyses of the most potent Sarcophyton inhibitor, bislatumlide A (340), was compared to darunavir, an HIV protease inhibitor that has been recently subjected to clinical-trial as an anti-COVID-19 drug. In silico analysis indicates that 340 has a higher binding affinity against Mpro than darunavir with ΔGbinding values of −43.8 and −34.8 kcal/mol, respectively throughout 100 ns MD simulations. Drug-likeness calculations revealed robust bioavailability and protein-protein interactions were identified for 340; biochemical signaling genes included ACE, MAPK14 and ESR1 as identified based on a STRING database. Pathway enrichment analysis combined with reactome mining revealed that 340 has the capability to re-modulate the p38 MAPK pathway hijacked by SARS-CoV-2 and antagonize injurious effects. These findings justify further in vivo and in vitro testing of 340 as an antiviral agent against SARS-CoV-2.

Jurnal Kimia ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 221
Author(s):  
N. M. P. Susanti ◽  
N. P. L. Laksmiani ◽  
N. K. M. Noviyanti ◽  
K. M. Arianti ◽  
I K. Duantara

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that begins with endothelial dysfunction, it caused fat accumulation and plaque growth in the inner arteries walls. Endothelial dysfunction will activate the Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) pathway involving ERK1, ERK2, JNK1, JNK2, and p38MAPK proteins, as well as the Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-kB) pathway involving IKK proteins. Terpinen-4-ol is constituent found in the bangle rhizome. The purpose of this study were to determine the affinity and mechanisms of terpinen-4-ol against ERK1, ERK2, JNK1, JNK2, and p38MAPK proteins as anti-inflammatory in atherosclerosis performed using molecular docking method. The study was conducted exploratively with several steps such as preparation and optimization of terpinen-4-ol structure, preparation of 3D ERK1, ERK2, JNK1, JNK2, and p38MAPK proteins, validation method of molecular docking, and docking terpinen-4-ol in these proteins. The docking result are assessed from the binding energy and hydrogen bonds formed between terpinen-4-ol and proteins. The smaller value of binding energy terpinen-4-ol with target proteins showed the complex that form more stable. The result showed that terpinen-4-ol and has activity in inhibiting the inflammatory process because it is able to disturb ERK1, ERK2, JNK1, JNK2, and p38MAPK proteins with respective bond energy values -5,12; -5,24; -5,08; -5,88; and -4,99 Kcal/mol. The molecular mechanism in inhibiting the activity of ERK1, ERK2, JNK1, JNK2, and p38MAPK proteins is through the formation of hydrogen bonds in these proteins. These results show that terpinen-4-ol have the potential to inhibit inflammatory process and the formation of atherosclerotic plaque can be obstructed. Keywords : atherosclerosis, terpinen-4-ol, molecular docking, in silico


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahoor Ahmad Bhat ◽  
Dheeraj Chitara ◽  
Jawed Iqbal1 ◽  
Sanjeev. B.S. ◽  
Arumugam Madhumalar

<h3>Repurposing of antivirals is an attractive therapeutic option for the treatment of COVID-19. M<sup>pro </sup>(also called 3CL<sup>pro</sup>) is a key protease of SARS-CoV-2 involved in viral replication, and is a promising drug target for testing the existing antivirals. A major challenge to test the efficacy of antivirals is the conformational plasticity of M<sup>pro</sup> and its future mutation prone flexibility. To address this, we hereby propose combination therapy by drugging two specific additional pockets of M<sup>pro</sup> probed in our studies. Long scale Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations provide evidence of these additional sites being allosteric. Suitable choice of drugs in catalytic and allosteric pockets appear to be essential for combination therapy. Current study, based on docking and extensive set of MD simulations, finds the combination of Elbasvir, Glecaprevir, Ritonavir to be a viable candidate for further experimental drug testing/pharmacophore design for M<sup>pro</sup>. </h3>


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (40) ◽  
pp. 23099-23106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abd Al-Aziz A. Abu-Saleh ◽  
Ibrahim E. Awad ◽  
Arpita Yadav ◽  
Raymond A. Poirier

Computational investigation of novel inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2 Mpro.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rauda A. Mohamed ◽  
Keat Khim Ong ◽  
Norhana Abdul Halim ◽  
Noor Azilah Mohd Kasim ◽  
Siti Aminah Mohd Noor ◽  
...  

The search for new compounds other than oxime as potential reactivator that is effective upon organophosphate poisoning treatments is desired. The less efficacy of oxime treatment has been the core factor. Fourteen compounds have been screened via in silico approach for their potential as sarin-inhibited human acetylcholinesterase poisoning antidotes. The selection of the compounds to be synthesized based on this computational screening, reduces the time and cost needed. To perform the docking study of sarin-inhibited acetylcholinesterase and reactivator-sarin inhibited acetylcholinesterase complexations, a bioinformatics tool was used. Estimation of the nucleophilic attack distance and binding energy of fourteen potential compounds with sarin inhibited acetylcholinesterase complexes to determine their antidote capacities was carried out using Autodock. A commercially available antidote, 2-PAM was used for the comparison. The best docked-pose was further examined with molecular dynamics simulation. Apart from being lipophilic, a compound with a carboxylic acid, (R)-Boc-nipecotic acid is shown to exhibit 6.29 kcal/mol binding energy with 8.778 Å distance of nucleophilic attack. The stability and flexibility of the sarin-inhibited acetylcholinesterase, complexed with (R)-Boc-nipecotic acid suggests this compound should be tested experimentally as a new, promising antidote for sarin-inhibited acetylcholinesterase poisoning.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahoor Ahmad Bhat ◽  
Dheeraj Chitara ◽  
Jawed Iqbal1 ◽  
Sanjeev. B.S. ◽  
Arumugam Madhumalar

<h3>Repurposing of antivirals is an attractive therapeutic option for the treatment of COVID-19. M<sup>pro </sup>(also called 3CL<sup>pro</sup>) is a key protease of SARS-CoV-2 involved in viral replication, and is a promising drug target for testing the existing antivirals. A major challenge to test the efficacy of antivirals is the conformational plasticity of M<sup>pro</sup> and its future mutation prone flexibility. To address this, we hereby propose combination therapy by drugging two specific additional pockets of M<sup>pro</sup> probed in our studies. Long scale Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations provide evidence of these additional sites being allosteric. Suitable choice of drugs in catalytic and allosteric pockets appear to be essential for combination therapy. Current study, based on docking and extensive set of MD simulations, finds the combination of Elbasvir, Glecaprevir, Ritonavir to be a viable candidate for further experimental drug testing/pharmacophore design for M<sup>pro</sup>. </h3>


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 2082
Author(s):  
Mahmoud A. A. Ibrahim ◽  
Alaa H. M. Abdelrahman ◽  
Tarik A. Mohamed ◽  
Mohamed A. M. Atia ◽  
Montaser A. M. Al-Hammady ◽  
...  

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent for the COVID-19 pandemic, which generated more than 1.82 million deaths in 2020 alone, in addition to 83.8 million infections. Currently, there is no antiviral medication to treat COVID-19. In the search for drug leads, marine-derived metabolites are reported here as prospective SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors. Two hundred and twenty-seven terpene natural products isolated from the biodiverse Red-Sea ecosystem were screened for inhibitor activity against the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) using molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations combined with molecular mechanics/generalized Born surface area binding energy calculations. On the basis of in silico analyses, six terpenes demonstrated high potency as Mpro inhibitors with ΔGbinding ≤ −40.0 kcal/mol. The stability and binding affinity of the most potent metabolite, erylosides B, were compared to the human immunodeficiency virus protease inhibitor, lopinavir. Erylosides B showed greater binding affinity towards SARS-CoV-2 Mpro than lopinavir over 100 ns with ΔGbinding values of −51.9 vs. −33.6 kcal/mol, respectively. Protein–protein interactions indicate that erylosides B biochemical signaling shares gene components that mediate severe acute respiratory syndrome diseases, including the cytokine- and immune-signaling components BCL2L1, IL2, and PRKC. Pathway enrichment analysis and Boolean network modeling were performed towards a deep dissection and mining of the erylosides B target–function interactions. The current study identifies erylosides B as a promising anti-COVID-19 drug lead that warrants further in vitro and in vivo testing.


Computation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Ahmad Muhammad ◽  
Kanikar Muangchoo ◽  
Auwal Muhammad ◽  
Ya’u Sabo Ajingi ◽  
Ibrahim Yahaya Muhammad ◽  
...  

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was found to be a severe threat to global public health in late 2019. Nevertheless, no approved medicines have been found to inhibit the virus effectively. Anti-malarial and antiviral medicines have been reported to target the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This paper chose eight natural eucalyptus compounds to study their binding interactions with the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) to assess their potential for becoming herbal drugs for the new SARS-CoV-2 infection virus. In-silico methods such as molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and Molecular Mechanics Poisson Boltzmann Surface Area (MM/PBSA) analysis were used to examine interactions at the atomistic level. The results of molecular docking indicate that Mpro has good binding energy for all compounds studied. Three docked compounds, α-gurjunene, aromadendrene, and allo-aromadendrene, with highest binding energies of −7.34 kcal/mol (−30.75 kJ/mol), −7.23 kcal/mol (−30.25 kJ/mol), and −7.17 kcal/mol (−29.99 kJ/mol) respectively, were simulated with GROningen MAchine for Chemical Simulations (GROMACS) to measure the molecular interactions between Mpro and inhibitors in detail. Our MD simulation results show that α-gurjunene has the strongest binding energy of −20.37 kcal/mol (−85.21 kJ/mol), followed by aromadendrene with −18.99 kcal/mol (−79.45 kJ/mol), and finally allo-aromadendrene with −17.91 kcal/mol (−74.95 kJ/mol). The findings indicate that eucalyptus may be used to inhibit the Mpro enzyme as a drug candidate. This is the first computational analysis that gives an insight into the potential role of structural flexibility during interactions with eucalyptus compounds. It also sheds light on the structural design of new herbal medicinal products against Mpro.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Chase Pectol ◽  
Christopher Ryan DeLaney ◽  
Jiyun Zhu ◽  
Drake M. Mellott ◽  
Ardala Katzfuss ◽  
...  

By repurposing DNICs designed for other medicinal purposes, the possibility of protease inhibition was investigated in silico using AutoDock 4.2.6 (AD4) and in vitro via a FRET protease assay. AD4...


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Athira Nair D ◽  
James T J

Abstract Background: Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), caused by novel SARS CoV-2 is rapidly spreading all over the World creating a global public health emergency at unprecedented levels. Till today, no effective treatments or vaccines against this global pandemic is reported and hence to identify lead compounds having potential action in controlling the spread the pandemic is a global concern. This study aimed at in silico screening of phytocompounds from M.oleiera leaf against novel SARS CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) through molecular docking. M.oleiera is an Indian medicinal plant as well as a vegetable, all parts of the plant is medicinally useful and is being used in many of the traditional and Ayurvedic medicinal preparations. Result: When the 19 compounds identified from M.oleifera leaf methanolic extract by Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LCMS/MS) analysis and 5 FDA approved anti-viral drugs were screened in silico with SARS CoV-2 main protease (Mpro), the following compounds showed top interaction; apigenin-7-O-rutinoside (-8.8 kcal/mol), Mudanpioside (-8.3 kcal/mol), isoquercetin (-8 kcal/mol), isoquercitrin (-8 kcal/mol), quercetin (-7.8 kcal/mol) and dihydroquercetin (-7.8 kcal/mol). Anti-viral drugs: Raltegravir (-7.2 kcal/mol), Lopinavir-Ritonavir (-7.7 kcal/mol), maraviroc (-8.2 kcal/mol), Nelfinavir (-8.3 kcal/mol) and Tipranavir (-9.2 kcal/mol) also showed active interaction with Mpro. Preliminary phytochemical screening of methanol extract showed the presence of flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, phenols, coumarins, saponins, steroids and phytosteroids. In vitro antioxidant activity of methanolic extract of M.oleifera also showed greater activity, which would ameliorate the post-COVID secondary infection. Conclusion: Hence these compounds from M.oleifera, which are our diet based components, which can interact with the Mpro and curtail COVID-19 virus multiplication in the host cell.


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