High-throughput screening identifies established drugs as SARS-CoV-2 PLpro inhibitors

Yao Zhao, Xiaoyu Du, Yinkai Duan, Xiaoyan Pan, Yifang Sun, Tian You, Lin Han, Zhenming Jin, Weijuan Shang, Jing Yu, Hangtian Guo, Qianying Liu, Yan Wu, Chao Peng, Jun Wang, Chenghao Zhu, Xiuna Yang, Kailin Yang, Ying Lei, Luke W. Guddat, Wenqing Xu, Gengfu Xiao, Lei Sun, Leike Zhang, Zihe Rao, Haitao Yang

10.1007/s13238-021-00836-9

Research curated

Abstract

A new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has been identified as the etiologic agent for the COVID-19 outbreak. Currently, effective treatment options remain very limited for this disease; therefore, there is an urgent need to identify new anti-COVID-19 agents. In this study, we screened over 6,000 compounds that included approved drugs, drug candidates in clinical trials, and pharmacologically active compounds to identify leads that target the SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PLpro). Together with main protease (Mpro), PLpro is responsible for processing the viral replicase polyprotein into functional units. Therefore, it is an attractive target for antiviral drug development. Here we discovered four compounds, YM155, cryptotanshinone, tanshinone I and GRL0617 that inhibit SARS-CoV-2 PLpro with IC50 values ranging from 1.39 to 5.63 μmol/L. These compounds also exhibit strong antiviral activities in cell-based assays. YM155, an anticancer drug candidate in clinical trials, has the most potent antiviral activity with an EC50 value of 170 nmol/L. In addition, we have determined the crystal structures of this enzyme and its complex with YM155, revealing a unique binding mode. YM155 simultaneously targets three “hot” spots on PLpro, including the substrate-binding pocket, the interferon stimulating gene product 15 (ISG15) binding site and zinc finger motif. Our results demonstrate the efficacy of this screening and repurposing strategy, which has led to the discovery of new drug leads with clinical potential for COVID-19 treatments.

Source: PMC

Related molecules

Name	Synonyms	Genes
Sepantronium bromide	YM155
Cryptotanshinone
Tanshinone I
Papain-like proteinases 1/2	Non-structural protein 3, papain like viral protease, nsp3, PL1-PRO/PL2-PRO, PLP1/PLP2, p195, Plpro	rep, ORF1a-1b

Related interactions

Target	Drug	Type	Result
Papain-like proteinases 1/2	Sepantronium bromide	In vitro	positive
Papain-like proteinases 1/2	Cryptotanshinone	In vitro	positive
Papain-like proteinases 1/2	Tanshinone I	In vitro	positive
Papain-like proteinases 1/2	GRL0617	In vitro	positive