Scientific Technological Center of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry of NAS, Institute of Fine Organic Chemistry of A.L. Mnjoyan, Yerevan, Armenia.
Group of Antiviral Defense Mechanisms, Institute of Molecular Biology of NAS, Yerevan, Armenia.
Emerg Microbes Infect. 2021 Dec;10(1):783-796. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2021.1902751.
African swine fever virus (ASFV) is the causal agent of a fatal disease of domestic swine for which no effective antiviral drugs are available. Recently, it has been shown that microtubule-targeting agents hamper the infection cycle of different viruses. In this study, we conducted in silico screening against the colchicine binding site (CBS) of tubulin and found three new compounds with anti-ASFV activity. The most promising antiviral compound (6b) reduced ASFV replication in a dose-dependent manner (IC50 = 19.5 μM) with no cellular (CC50 > 500 μM) and animal toxicity (up to 100 mg/kg). Results also revealed that compound 6b interfered with ASFV attachment, internalization and egress, with time-of-addition assays, showing that compound 6b has higher antiviral effects when added within 2-8 h post-infection. This compound significantly inhibited viral DNA replication and disrupted viral protein synthesis. Experiments with ASFV-infected porcine macrophages disclosed that antiviral effects of the compound 6b were similar to its effects in Vero cells. Tubulin polymerization assay and confocal microscopy demonstrated that compound 6b promoted tubulin polymerization, acting as a microtubule-stabilizing, rather than a destabilizing agent in cells. In conclusion, this work emphasizes the idea that microtubules can be targets for drug development against ASFV.
非洲猪瘟病毒(ASFV)是一种致命的家畜疾病病原体,目前尚无有效的抗病毒药物。最近的研究表明,微管靶向药物可以干扰多种病毒的感染周期。在本研究中,我们针对微管蛋白的秋水仙碱结合位点(CBS)进行了计算机筛选,发现了三种具有抗 ASFV 活性的新化合物。最有前途的抗病毒化合物(6b)以剂量依赖的方式降低 ASFV 的复制(IC50 = 19.5 μM),而没有细胞毒性(CC50 > 500 μM)和动物毒性(高达 100 mg/kg)。结果还表明,化合物 6b 干扰了 ASFV 的附着、内化和出芽,时间添加试验表明,化合物 6b 在感染后 2-8 小时内添加时具有更高的抗病毒效果。该化合物显著抑制病毒 DNA 复制并破坏病毒蛋白合成。用感染 ASFV 的猪巨噬细胞进行的实验表明,化合物 6b 的抗病毒作用与其在 Vero 细胞中的作用相似。微管蛋白聚合试验和共聚焦显微镜表明,化合物 6b 促进微管蛋白聚合,在细胞中作为微管稳定而非解聚剂。总之,这项工作强调了微管可以成为开发抗 ASFV 药物的靶点。