RESUMEN
The COVID-19 pandemic is the third outbreak this century of a zoonotic disease caused by a coronavirus, following the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 20031 and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 20122. Treatment options for coronaviruses are limited. Here we show that clofazimine-an anti-leprosy drug with a favourable safety profile3-possesses inhibitory activity against several coronaviruses, and can antagonize the replication of SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV in a range of in vitro systems. We found that this molecule, which has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, inhibits cell fusion mediated by the viral spike glycoprotein, as well as activity of the viral helicase. Prophylactic or therapeutic administration of clofazimine in a hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis led to reduced viral loads in the lung and viral shedding in faeces, and also alleviated the inflammation associated with viral infection. Combinations of clofazimine and remdesivir exhibited antiviral synergy in vitro and in vivo, and restricted viral shedding from the upper respiratory tract. Clofazimine, which is orally bioavailable and comparatively cheap to manufacture, is an attractive clinical candidate for the treatment of outpatients and-when combined with remdesivir-in therapy for hospitalized patients with COVID-19, particularly in contexts in which costs are an important factor or specialized medical facilities are limited. Our data provide evidence that clofazimine may have a role in the control of the current pandemic of COVID-19 and-possibly more importantly-in dealing with coronavirus diseases that may emerge in the future.
Asunto(s)
Antivirales/farmacología , Clofazimina/farmacología , Coronavirus/clasificación , Coronavirus/efectos de los fármacos , SARS-CoV-2/efectos de los fármacos , Adenosina Monofosfato/análogos & derivados , Adenosina Monofosfato/farmacología , Adenosina Monofosfato/uso terapéutico , Alanina/análogos & derivados , Alanina/farmacología , Alanina/uso terapéutico , Animales , Antiinflamatorios/farmacocinética , Antiinflamatorios/farmacología , Antiinflamatorios/uso terapéutico , Antivirales/farmacocinética , Antivirales/uso terapéutico , Disponibilidad Biológica , Fusión Celular , Línea Celular , Clofazimina/farmacocinética , Clofazimina/uso terapéutico , Coronavirus/crecimiento & desarrollo , Coronavirus/patogenicidad , Cricetinae , ADN Helicasas/antagonistas & inhibidores , Sinergismo Farmacológico , Femenino , Humanos , Estadios del Ciclo de Vida/efectos de los fármacos , Masculino , Mesocricetus , Profilaxis Pre-Exposición , SARS-CoV-2/crecimiento & desarrollo , Especificidad de la Especie , Glicoproteína de la Espiga del Coronavirus/antagonistas & inhibidores , Transcripción Genética/efectos de los fármacos , Transcripción Genética/genéticaRESUMEN
SUMMARY: The interaction between tumor and immune system plays a crucial role in both cancer development and treatment response. To facilitate comprehensive investigation of tumor-immune interactions, we have designed a user-friendly web portal TISIDB, which integrated multiple types of data resources in oncoimmunology. First, we manually curated 4176 records from 2530 publications, which reported 988 genes related to anti-tumor immunity. Second, genes associated with the resistance or sensitivity of tumor cells to T cell-mediated killing and immunotherapy were identified by analyzing high-throughput screening and genomic profiling data. Third, associations between any gene and immune features, such as lymphocytes, immunomodulators and chemokines, were pre-calculated for 30 TCGA cancer types. In TISIDB, biologists can cross-check a gene of interest about its role in tumor-immune interactions through literature mining and high-throughput data analysis, and generate testable hypotheses and high quality figures for publication. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: http://cis.hku.hk/TISIDB. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Asunto(s)
Sistema Inmunológico , Neoplasias , Algoritmos , Humanos , Publicaciones , Programas InformáticosRESUMEN
Martynoside (MAR), a bioactive component in several well-known tonic traditional Chinese herbs, exhibits pro-hematopoietic activity during 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) treatment. However, the molecular target and the mechanism of MAR are poorly understood. Here, by adopting the mRNA display with a library of even-distribution (md-LED) method, we systematically examined MAR-protein interactions in vitro and identified the ribosomal protein L27a (RPL27A) as a key cellular target of MAR. Structural and mutational analysis confirmed the specific interaction between MAR and the exon 4,5-encoded region of RPL27A. MAR attenuated 5-FU-induced cytotoxicity in bone marrow nucleated cells, increased RPL27A protein stability, and reduced the ubiquitination of RPL27A at lys92 (K92) and lys94 (K94). Disruption of MAR binding at key residues of RPL27A completely abolished the MAR-induced stabilization. Furthermore, by integrating label-free quantitative ubiquitination proteomics, transcriptomics, and ribosome function assays, we revealed that MAR restored RPL27A protein levels and thus rescued ribosome biogenesis impaired by 5-FU. Specifically, MAR increased mature ribosomal RNA (rRNA) abundance, prevented ribosomal protein degradation, facilitated ribosome assembly, and maintained nucleolar integrity. Collectively, our findings characterize the target of a component of Chinese medicine, reveal the importance of ribosome biogenesis in hematopoiesis, and open up a new direction for improving hematopoiesis by targeting RPL27A.