The zymogenic form of SARS-CoV-2 main protease: A discrete target for drug discovery

Kód výsledku v IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F61388963%3A_____%2F25%3A00604028" target="_blank" >RIV/61388963:_____/25:00604028 - isvavai.cz</a>

Nalezeny alternativní kódy

RIV/00216208:11310/25:10497378

Výsledek na webu

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2024.108079" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2024.108079</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2024.108079" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.jbc.2024.108079</a>

Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

The zymogenic form of SARS-CoV-2 main protease: A discrete target for drug discovery

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) main protease (Mpro) autocatalytically releases itself out of the viral polyprotein to form a fully active mature dimer in a manner that is not fully understood. Here, we introduce several tools to help elucidate differences between cis (intramolecular) and trans (intermolecular) proteolytic processing and to evaluate inhibition of precursor Mpro. We found that many mutations at the P1 position of the N-terminal autoprocessing site do not block cis autoprocessing but do inhibit trans processing. Notably, substituting the wild-type glutamine at the P1 position with isoleucine retains Mpro in an unprocessed precursor form that can be purified and further studied. We also developed a cell-based reporter assay suitable for compound library screening and evaluation in HEK293T cells. This assay can detect both overall Mpro inhibition and the fraction of uncleaved preMpro through separable fluorescent signals. We observed that inhibitory compounds preferentially block mature Mpro. Bofutrelvir and a novel compound designed in-house showed the lowest selectivity between precursor and mature Mpro, indicating that inhibition of both forms may be possible. Additionally, we observed positive modulation of precursor activity at low concentrations of inhibitors. Our findings help expand understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 viral life cycle and may facilitate development of strategies to target preMpro for inhibition or premature activation of Mpro.

Název v anglickém jazyce

The zymogenic form of SARS-CoV-2 main protease: A discrete target for drug discovery

Popis výsledku anglicky

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) main protease (Mpro) autocatalytically releases itself out of the viral polyprotein to form a fully active mature dimer in a manner that is not fully understood. Here, we introduce several tools to help elucidate differences between cis (intramolecular) and trans (intermolecular) proteolytic processing and to evaluate inhibition of precursor Mpro. We found that many mutations at the P1 position of the N-terminal autoprocessing site do not block cis autoprocessing but do inhibit trans processing. Notably, substituting the wild-type glutamine at the P1 position with isoleucine retains Mpro in an unprocessed precursor form that can be purified and further studied. We also developed a cell-based reporter assay suitable for compound library screening and evaluation in HEK293T cells. This assay can detect both overall Mpro inhibition and the fraction of uncleaved preMpro through separable fluorescent signals. We observed that inhibitory compounds preferentially block mature Mpro. Bofutrelvir and a novel compound designed in-house showed the lowest selectivity between precursor and mature Mpro, indicating that inhibition of both forms may be possible. Additionally, we observed positive modulation of precursor activity at low concentrations of inhibitors. Our findings help expand understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 viral life cycle and may facilitate development of strategies to target preMpro for inhibition or premature activation of Mpro.

Druh

J_imp - Článek v periodiku v databázi Web of Science

CEP obor

—

OECD FORD obor

10608 - Biochemistry and molecular biology

Projekt

Výsledek vznikl pri realizaci vícero projektů. Více informací v záložce Projekty.

Návaznosti

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Rok uplatnění

2025

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Název periodika

Journal of Biological Chemistry

ISSN

0021-9258

e-ISSN

1083-351X

Svazek periodika

301

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

1

Stát vydavatele periodika

NL - Nizozemsko

Počet stran výsledku

18

Strana od-do

108079

Kód UT WoS článku

001413903500001

EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

2-s2.0-85214493014