Quinolizidines as Novel SARS-CoV-2 Entry Inhibitors.

Journal Article (Journal Article)

COVID-19, caused by the highly transmissible severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has rapidly spread and become a pandemic since its outbreak in 2019. We have previously discovered that aloperine is a new privileged scaffold that can be modified to become a specific antiviral compound with markedly improved potency against different viruses, such as the influenza virus. In this study, we have identified a collection of aloperine derivatives that can inhibit the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into host cells. Compound 5 is the most potent tested aloperine derivative that inhibited the entry of SARS-CoV-2 (D614G variant) spike protein-pseudotyped virus with an IC50 of 0.5 µM. The compound was also active against several other SARS-CoV-2 variants including Delta and Omicron. Results of a confocal microscopy study suggest that compound 5 inhibited the viral entry before fusion to the cell or endosomal membrane. The results are consistent with the notion that aloperine is a privileged scaffold that can be used to develop potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 entry inhibitors.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Huang, L; Zhu, L; Xie, H; Goodwin, JS; Rana, T; Xie, L; Chen, C-H

Published Date

  • August 25, 2022

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 23 / 17

PubMed ID

  • 36077056

Pubmed Central ID

  • PMC9455918

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1422-0067

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.3390/ijms23179659

Language

  • eng

Conference Location

  • Switzerland