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  3. Discovery of highly potent covalent SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitors bearing 2-sulfoxyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole scaffold for combating COVID-19

Discovery of highly potent covalent SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitors bearing 2-sulfoxyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole scaffold for combating COVID-19

  • Eur J Med Chem. 2023 Aug 17;260:115721. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115721.
Fu-Mao Zhang 1,  Ting Huang 2,  Feng Wang 1,  Gui-Shan Zhang 1,  Donglan Liu 2,  Jun Dai 3,  Jian-Wei Zhang 1,  Qing-Hua Li 1,  Guo-Qiang Lin 1,  Dingding Gao 4,  Jincun Zhao 5,  Ping Tian 6
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 The Research Center of Chiral Drugs, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center for TCM Chemical Biology, Innovation Research Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China.
  • 2 State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510182, China.
  • 3 Guangzhou Customs District Technology Center, Guangzhou, 510700, China.
  • 4 The Research Center of Chiral Drugs, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center for TCM Chemical Biology, Innovation Research Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China. Electronic address: gaodingding@shutcm.edu.cn.
  • 5 State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510182, China. Electronic address: zhaojincun@gird.cn.
  • 6 The Research Center of Chiral Drugs, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center for TCM Chemical Biology, Innovation Research Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China. Electronic address: tianping@shutcm.edu.cn.
PMID: 37598484 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115721
Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has emerged as a major public health crisis, posing a significant threat to human well-being. Despite the availability of vaccines, COVID-19 continues to spread owing to the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 mutants. This highlights the urgent need for the discovery of more effective drugs to combat COVID-19. As an important target for COVID-19 treatment, 3C-like Protease (3CLpro) plays a crucial role in the replication of SARS-CoV-2. In our previous research, we demonstrated the potent inhibitory activities of compound A1, which contains a 2-sulfonyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole scaffold, against SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro. Herein, we present a detailed investigation of structural optimization of A1 and conduct a study on the structure-activity relationship. Among the various compounds tested, sulfoxide D6 demonstrates a potent irreversible inhibitory activity (IC50 = 0.030 μM) against SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro, as well as a favorable selectivity towards host cysteine proteases such as Cathepsin B and Cathepsin L. Utilizing mass spectrometry-based peptide profiling, we found that D6 covalently binds to Cys145 of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro. Some representative compounds, namely C11, D9 and D10 also demonstrates Antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 in Vero E6 cells. Overall, the investigation of the 2-sulfoxyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole scaffold as a novel cysteine reactive warhead would provide valuable insights into the design of potent covalent 3CLpro inhibitors for COVID-19 treatment.

Keywords

2-sulfoxyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole; COVID-19; Covalent inhibitor; SARS-CoV-2 3CL(pro).

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