Anti-COVID-19 Potential of Withaferin-A and Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester.
Curr Top Med Chem
; 24(9): 830-842, 2024.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38279743
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The recent COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic triggered research on the development of new vaccines/drugs, repurposing of clinically approved drugs, and assessment of natural anti-COVID-19 compounds. Based on the gender difference in the severity of the disease, such as a higher number of men hospitalized and in intense care units, variations in sex hormones have been predicted to play a role in disease susceptibility. Cell surface receptors (Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2; ACE2 and a connected transmembrane protease serine 2- TMPSS2) are upregulated by androgens. Conversely, androgen antagonists have also been shown to lower ACE2 levels, implying their usefulness in COVID-19 management.OBJECTIVES:
In this study, we performed computational and cell-based assays to investigate the anti- COVID-19 potential of Withaferin-A and Caffeic acid phenethyl ester, natural compounds from Withania somnifera and honeybee propolis, respectively.METHODS:
Structure-based computational approach was adopted to predict binding stability, interactions, and dynamics of the two test compounds to three target proteins (androgen receptor, ACE2, and TMPRSS2). Further, in vitro, cell-based experimental approaches were used to investigate the effect of compounds on target protein expression and SARS-CoV-2 replication.RESULTS:
Computation and experimental analyses revealed that (i) CAPE, but not Wi-A, can act as androgen antagonist and hence inhibit the transcriptional activation function of androgen receptor, (ii) while both Wi-A and CAPE could interact with ACE2 and TMPRSS2, Wi-A showed higher binding affinity, and (iii) combination of Wi-A and CAPE (Wi-ACAPE) caused strong downregulation of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression and inhibition of virus infection.CONCLUSION:
Wi-A and CAPE possess multimodal anti-COVID-19 potential, and their combination (Wi-ACAPE) is expected to provide better activity and hence warrant further attention in the laboratory and clinic.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Phenylethyl Alcohol
/
Caffeic Acids
/
Serine Endopeptidases
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Withanolides
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Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2
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SARS-CoV-2
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COVID-19 Drug Treatment
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Curr Top Med Chem
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article