as-601245 and Disease-Models--Animal

When Zika virus emerged as a public health emergency there were no drugs or vaccines approved for its prevention or treatment. We used a high-throughput screen for Zika virus protease inhibitors to identify several inhibitors of Zika virus infection. We expressed the NS2B-NS3 Zika virus protease and conducted a biochemical screen for small-molecule inhibitors. A quantitative structure-activity relationship model was employed to virtually screen ∼138,000 compounds, which increased the identification of active compounds, while decreasing screening time and resources. Candidate inhibitors were validated in several viral infection assays. Small molecules with favorable clinical profiles, especially the five-lipoxygenase-activating protein inhibitor, MK-591, inhibited the Zika virus protease and infection in neural stem cells. Members of the tetracycline family of antibiotics were more potent inhibitors of Zika virus infection than the protease, suggesting they may have multiple mechanisms of action. The most potent tetracycline, methacycline, reduced the amount of Zika virus present in the brain and the severity of Zika virus-induced motor deficits in an immunocompetent mouse model. As Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs, the tetracyclines could be quickly translated to the clinic. The compounds identified through our screening paradigm have the potential to be used as prophylactics for patients traveling to endemic regions or for the treatment of the neurological complications of Zika virus infection.

Topics: Animals; Antiviral Agents; Artificial Intelligence; Chlorocebus aethiops; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; High-Throughput Screening Assays; Immunocompetence; Inhibitory Concentration 50; Methacycline; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Protease Inhibitors; Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship; Small Molecule Libraries; Vero Cells; Zika Virus; Zika Virus Infection

Recent evidence suggests that activation of the c-Jun NH2-terminal protein kinase (JNK) signal transduction pathway may play a role in ischemia-induced cell death. Thus, preventing the activation of JNK, or c-Jun phosphorylation could be neuroprotective. In the current study, we report that a small molecule, AS601245 (1,3-benzothiazol-2-yl (2-[[2-(3-pyridinyl) ethyl] amino]-4 pyrimidinyl) acetonitrile), which has been shown to inhibit the JNK signaling pathway, promotes cell survival after cerebral ischemia. In vivo, AS601245 (40, 60, and 80 mg/kg) administered i.p. provided significant protection against the delayed loss of hippocampal CA1 neurons in a gerbil model of transient global ischemia. This effect is mediated by JNK inhibition and therefore by c-Jun expression and phosphorylation. A significant neuroprotective effect of AS601245 administered either by i.p. injection (6, 18, and 60 mg/kg) or as i.v. bolus (1 mg/kg) followed by an i.v. infusion (0.6 mg/kg/h) was also observed in rats after focal cerebral ischemia. These data suggest that the use of JNK inhibitors such as AS601245 may be a relevant strategy in the therapy of ischemic insults.

Topics: Acetonitriles; Animals; Benzothiazoles; Brain Ischemia; Disease Models, Animal; Gerbillinae; JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; Lipopolysaccharides; Mice; Mice, Inbred C3H; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; Neuroprotective Agents; Phosphorylation; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Thiazoles; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha