Identifying SARS-CoV-2 antiviral compounds by screening for small molecule inhibitors of nsp14/nsp10 exoribonuclease
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Berta Canal Allison McClure Joseph Curran Mary Wu Rachel Ulferts Florian Weissmann Jingkun Zeng Agostina Bertolin Jennifer Milligan Souradeep Basu Lucy Drury Tom D Deegan Ryo Fujisawa Emma Roberts Clovis Basier Karim Labib Rupert Beale Michael Howell John DiffleyAbstract
SARS-CoV-2 is a coronavirus that emerged in 2019 and rapidly spread across the world causing a deadly pandemic with tremendous social and economic costs. Healthcare systems worldwide are under great pressure, and there is an urgent need for effective antiviral treatments. The only currently approved antiviral treatment for COVID-19 is remdesivir, an inhibitor of viral genome replication. SARS-CoV-2 proliferation relies on the enzymatic activities of the non-structural proteins (nsp), which makes them interesting targets for the development of new antiviral treatments. With the aim to identify novel SARS-CoV-2 antivirals, we have purified the exoribonuclease/methyltransferase (nsp14) and its cofactor (nsp10) and developed biochemical assays compatible with high-throughput approaches to screen for exoribonuclease inhibitors. We have screened a library of over 5000 commercial compounds and identified patulin and aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA) as inhibitors of nsp14 exoribonuclease in vitro. We found that patulin and ATA inhibit replication of SARS-CoV-2 in a VERO E6 cell-culture model. These two new antiviral compounds will be valuable tools for further coronavirus research as well as potentially contributing to new therapeutic opportunities for COVID-19.
Journal details
Journal Biochemical Journal
Volume 478
Issue number 13
Pages 2445-2464
Available online
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Publisher website (DOI) 10.1042/BCJ20210198
Figshare View on figshare
Europe PubMed Central 34198326
Pubmed 34198326
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