Download MendeleyPotent Noncovalent Inhibitors of the Main Protease of SARS-CoV-2 from Molecular Sculpting of the Drug Perampanel Guided by Free Energy Perturbation Calculations.
Zhang, C.H., Stone, E.A., Deshmukh, M., Ippolito, J.A., Ghahremanpour, M.M., Tirado-Rives, J., Spasov, K.A., Zhang, S., Takeo, Y., Kudalkar, S.N., Liang, Z., Isaacs, F., Lindenbach, B., Miller, S.J., Anderson, K.S., Jorgensen, W.L.(2021) ACS Cent Sci 7: 467-475
- PubMed: 33786375
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acscentsci.1c00039
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
7L10, 7L11, 7L12, 7L13, 7L14 - PubMed Abstract:
Starting from our previous finding of 14 known drugs as inhibitors of the main protease (M pro ) of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, we have redesigned the weak hit perampanel to yield multiple noncovalent, nonpeptidic inhibitors with ca. 20 nM IC 50 values in a kinetic assay. Free-energy perturbation (FEP) calculations for M pro -ligand complexes provided valuable guidance on beneficial modifications that rapidly delivered the potent analogues. The design efforts were confirmed and augmented by determination of high-resolution X-ray crystal structures for five analogues bound to M pro . Results of cell-based antiviral assays further demonstrated the potential of the compounds for treatment of COVID-19. In addition to the possible therapeutic significance, the work clearly demonstrates the power of computational chemistry for drug discovery, especially FEP-guided lead optimization.
Organizational Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8107, United States.
