atb-346 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

Mechanisms of gastric defence under conditions of combined influence of acute stress and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are still poorly studied. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of different types of NSAIDs (naproxen, celecoxib and ATB-346) in producing experimental gastric lesions (induced by water-restraint stress (WRS) or by epinephrine (EPN) injection) and to determine the role of lipid peroxidation and the nitric oxide (NO) system in the pathogenesis of the damage. Male rats were used (eight per group) in this work. The NSAIDs were all administered at a dose 10 mg kg(-1) 30 min prior to WRS or EPN injection. Administration of naproxen to the control rats caused development of gastric lesions, whereas administration of a hydrogen sulfide (H2S)-releasing NSAID (ATB-346) or a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor (celecoxib) did not cause gastric damage. In contrast, lipid peroxidation processes were enhanced in all groups as was the activity of NO synthase (NOS). Pretreatment with naproxen in the WRS model caused an increase in severity of damage and a decrease in NOS activity. ATB-346 displayed beneficial effects, manifested by a decrease in the area of gastric damage, but parameters of lipid peroxidation and the NOS system did not differ substantially from those in the group treated with naproxen. Administration of different NSAIDs under conditions of EPN-induced gastric damage resulted in the decrease in NOS activity and lipid peroxidation. None of the tested NSAIDs exacerbated EPN-induced gastric mucosal injury; indeed, they all reduced the extent of damage.

Topics: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Biomarkers; Celecoxib; Disease Models, Animal; Epinephrine; Gastric Mucosa; Hydrogen Sulfide; Lipid Peroxidation; Male; Naproxen; Nitric Oxide; Nitric Oxide Synthase; Pyrazoles; Rats, Wistar; Restraint, Physical; Severity of Illness Index; Stomach Ulcer; Stress, Psychological; Sulfonamides