1. |
- Li, Binjie, et al.
(författare)
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Identification of a Pentasaccharide Lead Compound with High Affinity to the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein via In Silico Screening
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. - : MDPI. - 1661-6596 .- 1422-0067. ; 24:22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The spike (S) protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is critical to mediate fusion with the host cell membrane through interaction with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Additionally, heparan sulfate (HS) on the host cell surface acts as an attachment factor to facilitate the binding of the S receptor binding domain (RBD) to the ACE2 receptor. Aiming at interfering with the HS-RBD interaction to protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection, we have established a pentasaccharide library composed of 14,112 compounds covering the possible sulfate substitutions on the three sugar units (GlcA, IdoA, and GlcN) of HS. The library was used for virtual screening against RBD domains of SARS-CoV-2. Molecular modeling was carried out to evaluate the potential antiviral properties of the top-hit pentasaccharide focusing on the interactive regions around the interface of RBD-HS-ACE2. The lead pentasaccharide with the highest affinity for RBD was analyzed via drug-likeness calculations, showing better predicted druggable profiles than those currently reported for RBD-binding HS mimetics. The results provide significant information for the development of HS-mimetics as anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents.
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2. |
- Maccarana, Marco, et al.
(författare)
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Inhibitors of dermatan sulfate epimerase 1 decreased accumulation of glycosaminoglycans in mucopolysaccharidosis type I fibroblasts
- 2024
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Ingår i: Glycobiology. - : Oxford University Press. - 0959-6658 .- 1460-2423. ; 34:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genetic deficiency of alpha-L-iduronidase causes mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS-I) disease, due to accumulation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) including chondroitin/dermatan sulfate (CS/DS) and heparan sulfate (HS) in cells. Currently, patients are treated by infusion of recombinant iduronidase or by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. An alternative approach is to reduce the L-iduronidase substrate, through limiting the biosynthesis of iduronic acid. Our earlier study demonstrated that ebselen attenuated GAGs accumulation in MPS-I cells, through inhibiting iduronic acid producing enzymes. However, ebselen has multiple pharmacological effects, which prevents its application for MPS-I. Thus, we continued the study by looking for novel inhibitors of dermatan sulfate epimerase 1 (DS-epi1), the main responsible enzyme for production of iduronic acid in CS/DS chains. Based on virtual screening of chemicals towards chondroitinase AC, we constructed a library with 1,064 compounds that were tested for DS-epi1 inhibition. Seventeen compounds were identified to be able to inhibit 27%–86% of DS-epi1 activity at 10 μM. Two compounds were selected for further investigation based on the structure properties. The results show that both inhibitors had a comparable level in inhibition of DS-epi1while they had negligible effect on HS epimerase. The two inhibitors were able to reduce iduronic acid biosynthesis in CS/DS and GAG accumulation in WT and MPS-I fibroblasts. Docking of the inhibitors into DS-epi1 structure shows high affinity binding of both compounds to the active site. The collected data indicate that these hit compounds may be further elaborated to a potential lead drug used for attenuation of GAGs accumulation in MPS-I patients.
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3. |
- Yu, Mingjia, et al.
(författare)
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Elucidating the Binding Mode between Heparin and Inflammatory Cytokines by Molecular Modeling
- 2021
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Ingår i: ChemistryOpen. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2191-1363. ; 10:10, s. 966-975
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Heparan sulfate (HS) interacts with a broad spectrum of inflammatory cytokines, thereby modulating their biological activities. It is believed that there is a structural-functional correlation between each protein and sugar sequences in the HS polysaccharides, however, the information in this regard is limited. In this study, we compared the binding of four inflammatory cytokines (CCL8, IL-1beta, IL-2 and IL-6) to immobilized heparin by an SPR analysis. To define the molecular base of the binding, we used a heparin pentasaccharide as representative structure to dock into the 3D-molecular structure of the cytokines. The results show a discrepancy in KD values obtained by SPR analysis and theoretical calculation, pointing to the importance to apply more than one method when describing affinity between proteins and HS. By cluster analysis of the complex formed between the pentasaccharide and cytokines, we have identified several groups in heparin forming strong hydrogen bonds with all four cytokines, which is a significant finding. This molecular and conformational information should be valuable for rational design of HS/heparin-mimetics to interfere cytokine-HS interactions.
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4. |
- Yu, Mingjia, et al.
(författare)
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Elucidating the Interactions Between Heparin/Heparan Sulfate and SARS-CoV-2-Related Proteins : An Important Strategy for Developing Novel Therapeutics for the COVID-19 Pandemic
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-889X. ; 7
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Owing to the high mortality and the spread rate, the infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 has become a major threat to public health and social economy, leading to over 70 million infections and 1. 6 million deaths to date. Since there are currently no effective therapeutic or widely available vaccines, it is of urgent need to look for new strategies for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection diseases. Binding of a viral protein onto cell surface heparan sulfate (HS) is generally the first step in a cascade of interaction that is required for viral entry and the initiation of infection. Meanwhile, interactions of selectins and cytokines (e.g., IL-6 and TNF-α) with HS expressed on endothelial cells are crucial in controlling the recruitment of immune cells during inflammation. Thus, structurally defined heparin/HS and their mimetics might serve as potential drugs by competing with cell surface HS for the prevention of viral adhesion and modulation of inflammatory reaction. In this review, we will elaborate coronavirus invasion mechanisms and summarize the latest advances in HS-protein interactions, especially proteins relevant to the process of coronavirus infection and subsequent inflammation. Experimental and computational techniques involved will be emphasized.
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5. |
- Zhang, Tianji, et al.
(författare)
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Interacting polymer-modification enzymes in heparan sulfate biosynthesis
- 2023
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Ingår i: Carbohydrate Polymers. - : Elsevier. - 0144-8617 .- 1879-1344. ; 299
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Glucuronyl 5-epimerase (Hsepi) converts D-glucuronic acid (GlcA) into L-iduronic acid (IdoA) units, through a mechanism involving reversible abstraction of a proton at C5 of hexuronic acid residues. Incubations of a [4GlcA beta 1-4GlcNSO3 alpha 1-]n precursor substrate with recombinant enzymes in a D2O/H2O medium enabled an isotope exchange approach to the assessment of functional interactions of Hsepi with hexuronyl 2-O-sulfotrans-ferase (Hs2st) and glucosaminyl 6-O-sulfotransferase (Hs6st), both involved in the final polymer-modification steps. Enzyme complexes were supported by computational modeling and homogeneous time resolved fluores-cence. GlcA and IdoA D/H ratios related to product composition revealed kinetic isotope effects that were interpreted in terms of efficiency of the coupled epimerase and sulfotransferase reactions. Evidence for a func-tional Hsepi/Hs6st complex was provided by selective incorporation of D atoms into GlcA units adjacent to 6-O -sulfated glucosamine residues. The inability to achieve simultaneous 2-O-and 6-O-sulfation in vitro supported topologically separated reactions in the cell. These findings provide novel insight into the roles of enzyme in-teractions in heparan sulfate biosynthesis.
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