Search results for " small inhibitors"

The dimer-monomer equilibrium of SARS-CoV-2 main protease is affected by small molecule inhibitors

2021

AbstractThe maturation of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which is the etiological agent at the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, requires a main protease Mpro to cleave the virus-encoded polyproteins. Despite a wealth of experimental information already available, there is wide disagreement about the Mpro monomer-dimer equilibrium dissociation constant. Since the functional unit of Mpro is a homodimer, the detailed knowledge of the thermodynamics of this equilibrium is a key piece of information for possible therapeutic intervention, with small molecules interfering with dimerization being potential broad-spectrum antiviral drug leads. In the present study, we exploit Small Angle X-ray Scattering (…

Natural bioactive molecules induce a reduction of surface alpha-enolase in breast cancer cells

Cell surface expression of alpha-enolase, a glycolytic enzyme displaying moonlighting activities, has been shown to contribute to cancer cell invasion and metastasis formation. Although the functional role of surface alpha-enolase in cancer spreading has been clearly linked to the protein non-enzymatic function of binding plasminogen and enhancing plasmin formation, the cellular pathways underlying cell surface transport remain largely elusive. We have previously demonstrated that pro-invasive stimuli promote the surface expression of alpha-enolase in breast cancer cells. To further investigate alpha-enolase translocation to the plasma membrane and to identify the signaling involved in this…