Pomotrelvir and Nirmatrelvir Binding and Reactivity with SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease: Implications for Resistance Mechanisms from Computations.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl
; 63(40): e202409527, 2024 Oct 01.
Article
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| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38959351
ABSTRACT
We investigate the inhibition mechanism between pomotrelvir and the SARS-CoV-2 main protease using molecular mechanics and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics simulations. Alchemical transformations where each Pi group of pomotrelvir was transformed into its counterpart in nirmatrelvir were performed to unravel the individual contribution of each group to the binding and reaction processes. We have shown that while a γ-lactam ring is preferred at position P1, a δ-lactam ring is a good alternative for the design of inhibitors for variants presenting mutations at positionâ
166. For the P2 position, tertiary amines are preferred with respect to secondary amines. Flexible side chains at the P2 position can disrupt the preorganization of the active site, favouring the exploration of non-reactive conformations. The substitution of the P2â
group of pomotrelvir by that of nirmatrelvir resulted in a compound, named as C2, that presents a better binding free energy and a higher population of reactive conformations in the Michaelis complex. Analysis of the chemical reaction to form the covalent complex has shown a similar reaction mechanism and activation free energies for pomotrelvir, nirmatrelvir and C2. We hope that these findings could be useful to design better inhibitors to fight present and future variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
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Texto completo:
1
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Simulación de Dinámica Molecular
/
Proteasas 3C de Coronavirus
/
SARS-CoV-2
Límite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
España