0000000000216883
AUTHOR
Andrea Gellert
Proline-Based Allosteric Inhibitors of Zika and Dengue Virus NS2B/NS3 Proteases
The NS2B/NS3 serine proteases of the Zika and Dengue flaviviruses are attractive targets for the development of antiviral drugs. We report the synthesis and evaluation of a new, proline-based compound class that displays allosteric inhibition of both proteases. The structural features relevant for protease binding and inhibition were determined to establish them as new lead compounds for flaviviral inhibitors. Based on our structure-activity relationship studies, the molecules were further optimized, leading to inhibitors with submicromolar IC50 values and improved lipophilic ligand efficiency. The allosteric binding site in the proteases was probed using mutagenesis and covalent modificati…
SAR of novel benzothiazoles targeting an allosteric pocket of DENV and ZIKV NS2B/NS3 proteases
In recent years, dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV), both mosquito-borne members of the Flaviviridae family, have emerged as intercontinental health issues since their vectors have spread from their tropical origins to temperate climate zones due to climate change and increasing globalization. DENV and ZIKV are positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses, whose genomes consist of three structural (capsid, membrane precursor, envelope) and seven non-structural (NS) proteins, all of which are initially expressed as a single precursor polyprotein. For virus maturation, the polyprotein processing is accomplished by host proteases and the viral NS2B/NS3 protease complex, whose inhibitors …
Conformational Dynamics of the Dengue Virus Protease Revealed by Fluorescence Correlation and Single-Molecule FRET Studies.
The dengue virus protease (DENV-PR) represents an attractive target for counteracting DENV infections. It is generally assumed that DENV-PR can exist in an open and a closed conformation and that active site directed ligands stabilize the closed state. While crystal structures of both the open and the closed conformation were successfully resolved, information about the prevalence of these conformations in solution remains elusive. Herein, we address the question of whether there is an equilibrium between different conformations in solution which can be influenced by addition of a competitive inhibitor. To this end, DENV-PR was statistically labeled by two dye molecules constituting a FRET …