Synthesis, evaluation, and mechanism of 1-(4-(arylethylenylcarbonyl)phenyl)-4-carboxy-2-pyrrolidinones as potent reversible SARS-CoV-2 entry inhibitors.

A class of 1-(4-(arylethylenylcarbonyl)phenyl)-4-carboxy-2-pyrrolidinones were designed and synthesized via Michael addition, cyclization, aldol condensation, and deprotonation to inhibit the human transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) and Furin, which are involved in priming the SARS-CoV-2 Spike for virus entry. The most potent inhibitor 2f (81) was found to efficiently inhibit the replication of various SARS-CoV-2 delta and omicron variants in VeroE6 and Calu-3 cells, with EC50 range of 0.001-0.026 µM by pre-incubation with the virus to avoid the virus entry. The more potent antiviral activities than the proteases inhibitory activities led to discovery that the synthesized compounds also inhibited Spike's receptor binding domain (RBD):angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) interaction as a main target, and their antiviral activities were enhanced by inhibiting TMPRSS2 and/or Furin. To further confirm the blocking effect of 2f (81) on virus entry, SARS-CoV-2 Spike pseudovirus was used in the entry assay and the results showed that the compound inhibited the pseudovirus entry in a ACE2-dependent pathway, via mainly inhibiting RBD:ACE2 interaction and TMPRSS2 activity in Calu-3 cells. Finally, in the in vivo animal model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the oral administration of 25 mg/kg 2f (81) in hamsters resulted in reduced bodyweight loss and 5-fold lower viral RNA levels in nasal turbinate three days post-infection. Our findings demonstrated the potential of the lead compound for further preclinical investigation as a potential treatment for SARS-CoV-2.

Pterostilbene carboxaldehyde thiosemicarbazone, a resveratrol derivative inhibits 17ß-Estradiol induced cell migration and proliferation in HUVECs.

Angiogenesis plays important roles in tumor growth and metastasis, thus development of a novel angiogenesis inhibitor is essential for the improvement of therapeutics against cancer. Thrombospondins-1 (TSP-1) is a potent endogenous inhibitor of angiogenesis that acts through direct effects on endothelial cell migration, proliferation, survival, and activating apoptotic pathways. TSP-1 has been shown to disrupt estrogen-induced endothelial cell proliferation and migration. Here we investigated the potential of pterostilbene carboxaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (PTERC-T), a novel resveratrol (RESV) derivative, to inhibit angiogenesis induced by female sex steroids, particularly 17ß-Estradiol (E2), on Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and to elucidate the involvement of TSP-1 in PTERC-T action. Our results showed that PTERC-T significantly inhibited 17ß-E2-stimulated proliferation of HUVECs and induced apoptosis as determined by annexin V/propidium iodide staining and cleaved caspase-3 expression. Furthermore, PTERC-T also inhibited endothelial cell migration, and invasion in chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. In contrast, RESV failed to inhibit 17ß-E2 induced HUVECs proliferation and invasion at similar dose. PTERC-T was also found to increase TSP-1 protein expression levels in a dose-dependent manner which, however, was counteracted by co-incubation with p38MAPK or JNK inhibitors, suggesting involvement of these pathways in PTERC-T action. These results suggest that the inhibitory effect of PTERC-T on 17ß-E2 induced angiogenesis is associated, at least in part, with its induction of endothelial cell apoptosis and inhibition of cell migration through targeting TSP-1. Thus, PTERC-T could be considered as a potential lead compound for developing a class of new drugs targeting angiogenesis-related diseases.

Understanding the mode of action of a pterostilbene derivative as anti-inflammatory agent.

Inflammatory response plays an important role not only in the normal physiology, but also in the pathology of certain diseases such as cancers. In our previous study, we found a novel derivative of pterostilbene (PTER), to be an effective inducer of apoptosis in human breast and prostate cancer cells affecting various cellular targets. Herein, we further attempted to investigate its anti-inflammatory potential followed by its probable mode of action. The newly developed compound was tested for its anti-inflammatory actions in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages and carrageenan induced rat paw edema models. Our data showed that the derivative inhibited the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) as well as the downstream products like nitric oxide (NO) and PGE2, at much lower doses as compared to PTER. This effect was found to be associated with the inhibition of phosphorylation/degradation of IκB-α and nuclear translocation of the p-NFκB p65. Moreover, inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and activator protein-1 (AP-1) was also observed. In addition, the newly developed compound also reduced the paw edema, the tissue content of NO, PGE2 and expression of iNOS and COX-2 proteins within the tissues after λ-carrageenan stimulation. Taken together, our findings provide the possibility that the PTER derivative might have enhanced cancer chemopreventive potential based on its stronger anti-NFκB and anti-inflammatory activities as compared to its natural counterpart, i.e., PTER. Thus, this compound can be used towards the development of an effective anti-inflammatory agent.