| Literature DB >> 36040262 |
Martin Klima1, Aliakbar Khalili Yazdi2, Fengling Li2, Irene Chau2, Taraneh Hajian2, Albina Bolotokova2, H Ümit Kaniskan3, Yulin Han3, Ke Wang4,5, Deyao Li4,5, Minkui Luo4,5, Jian Jin3, Evzen Boura1, Masoud Vedadi2,6.
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 nsp10-nsp16 complex is a 2'-O-methyltransferase (MTase) involved in viral RNA capping, enabling the virus to evade the immune system in humans. It has been considered a valuable target in the discovery of antiviral therapeutics, as the RNA cap formation is crucial for viral propagation. Through cross-screening of the inhibitors that we previously reported for SARS-CoV-2 nsp14 MTase activity against nsp10-nsp16 complex, we identified two compounds (SS148 and WZ16) that also inhibited nsp16 MTase activity. To further enable the chemical optimization of these two compounds towards more potent and selective dual nsp14/nsp16 MTase inhibitors, we determined the crystal structure of nsp10-nsp16 in complex with each of SS148 and WZ16. As expected, the structures revealed the binding of both compounds to S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) binding pocket of nsp16. However, our structural data along with the biochemical mechanism of action determination revealed an RNA-dependent SAM-competitive pattern of inhibition for WZ16, clearly suggesting that binding of the RNA first may help the binding of some SAM competitive inhibitors. Both compounds also showed some degree of selectivity against human protein MTases, an indication of great potential for chemical optimization towards more potent and selective inhibitors of coronavirus MTases.Entities:
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; SS148; WZ16; nsp10; nsp16
Mesh:
Substances:
Year: 2022 PMID: 36040262 PMCID: PMC9375521 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4395
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Protein Sci ISSN: 0961-8368 Impact factor: 6.993
FIGURE 1Inhibition of nsp10–nsp16 complex MTase activity. Effect of seven previously published inhibitors of nsp14 MTase activity was tested on nsp10–nsp16 complex methyltransferase activity using the radiometric assay as described in material and methods. Only SS148 and WZ16 inhibited nsp16 complex MTase activity. The structure of each compound is shown above each plot. SAH was used as a control. Experiments were performed in triplicate and IC50 values are presented in Table 1
Inhibition of nsp10–nsp16 MTase activity
| Compound | IC50 (μM) | Hill slope |
|---|---|---|
| SS148 | 1.2 ± 0.4 | 0.9 ± 0.4 |
| WZ16 | 3.4 ± 0.7 | 1.2 ± 0.2 |
| SAH | 2.2 ± 0.2 | 0.6 ± 0.1 |
Note: Values are from Figure 1 and are presented as mean ± SD from triplicate experiments (N = 3).
FIGURE 2Crystal structures of the SARS‐CoV‐2 nsp10–nsp16 2'‐O‐RNA methyltransferase in complex with the SS148 (PDB ID: 7R1T) and WZ16 (PDB ID: 7R1U) inhibitors. (a) Overall view of the nsp10–nsp16/SS148 complex. The protein backbone is shown in cartoon representation; the nsp16 and nsp10 proteins are depicted in yellow and orange, respectively. The SS148 ligand is shown in stick representation and colored according to elements: carbon, green; nitrogen, blue; oxygen, red; phosphorus, orange; sulfur, yellow. The unbiased Fo‐Fc omit map contoured at 3σ is shown around the SS148 ligand. (b) Detailed view of the SS148 ligand binding site. The SS148 ligand and side chains of selected nsp10–nsp16 amino acid residues are shown in stick representation with carbon atoms colored according to the protein assignment and other elements colored as in (a). Water molecules are shown as gray spheres; hydrogen atoms are not shown. Selected hydrogen bonds involved in the nsp10–nsp16/SS148 interaction are presented as dotted black lines. (c) Overall view of the nsp10–nsp16/WZ16 complex, depicted as in (a). The unbiased Fo‐Fc omit map contoured at 2σ is shown around the WZ16 ligand and around the putative GpppA dinucleoside triphosphate. (d) Detailed view of the WZ16 ligand binding site, depicted as in (b)
FIGURE 3Mechanism of action (MOA) of inhibitors. (a, c) IC50 values were determined at a fixed concentration of RNA substrate at K m RNA (1 μM) and varying concentrations of SAM (up to 10 μM/5x K m SAM). Linear correlation of the increase in IC50 values and the increase in SAM concentration indicated a SAM competitive pattern of inhibition. (b, d) IC50 values were also determined at varying concentrations of RNA (up to 5 μM; 5x K m RNA) and fixed 10 μM of SAM (5x K m SAM). The experiments were performed in triplicate (N = 3) and IC50 values are presented as mean ± SD. A pattern of noncompetitive inhibition with respect to RNA (b; no change in IC50 values as the concentration of RNA increased) was observed with SS148, indicating RNA binding does not affect SS148 binding. An uncompetitive pattern of inhibition with respect to RNA (d; the decrease in IC50 values as the RNA concentration increased) indicated that the binding of RNA can increase affinity of WZ16 in a concentration‐dependent manner
FIGURE 4Comparison of WZ16 and SAH inhibition of human MTases. Selectivity of () WZ16 against 33 human protein arginine, lysine, RNA and DNA methyltransferases was tested at 20 μM in parallel with assessing the inhibition of the same proteins by () SAH (the product of the reaction) at the same concentration (20 μM). The black‐ and gray‐dashed lines indicate the 50% and 25% inhibition cut off, respectively. Experiments were performed in triplicate as described previously