Three naturally occurring substances found in foods such as red wine, olive oil and green tea are promising candidates for manufacturing drugs that fight the coronavirus. Deci’s Petra III X-ray source thoroughly examined a large library of natural substances to identify those that bind to a key enzyme essential for coronavirus replication.
As reported in the Journal of Communications Biology by the team led by Christian Betzel from the University of Hamburg and Alke Meins from DESY, all three compounds are already used as active ingredients in existing drugs. However, there is a need to find out whether and when these compounds can be used to make corona medicine.
According to study lead author Vasundhara Srinivasan from the University of Hamburg, “We tested 500 compounds from the Karachi Library of Natural Compounds to see if they bind to the papain-like protease of the novel coronavirus, one of the main targets for an antiviral . medicine.” “A substance can prevent an enzyme from functioning if it binds to the enzyme in the proper place.”
An essential enzyme for viral replication is papain-like protease (PlPro). A cell that has been taken over by the coronavirus is forced to produce components for fresh virus particles. These proteins are produced as a broad string. PLpro then separates the protein from the chain using a molecular pair of scissors. If this process is stopped the proteins are unable to assemble the virus particles.
However, according to Srinivasan, “PlPro serves another important purpose for the virus. The immune system protein ISG15 is inhibited, which significantly impairs the cell’s ability to defend itself. We suppress the cell’s immune response by inhibiting PlPro. can improve.”
Each of the 500 natural compounds in solution was combined with PLpro for the experiments to give them a chance to bind to the enzyme. With a conventional light microscope, it is impossible to determine whether a substance binds to an enzyme. Instead, the mixture was used to grow smaller crystals. The crystal produced a distinctive diffraction pattern under intense X-ray illumination from PETRA III on Experimental Station P11, which allowed the researchers to reconstruct the enzyme’s structure down to the level of individual atoms. Meants says that using this data, “we can generate atomically accurate 3-dimensional models of the enzyme and see where else a substance binds to it.”
Screening revealed that the three phenols interact with the enzyme. One of these, hydroxymethyl phenol (YRL), was isolated for the experiments from the Lawsonia alba rosemary tree. It is a substance found in many foods, including red wine and virgin olive oil, and is used to treat arrhythmias. The anti-tumor agent hydroxybenzaldehyde (HBA) is also known to speed up wound healing. From the copperplate akalifa torta, it was isolated. Green tea contains methyl hydroxybenzoate (HE9), an antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties that was isolated from the French marigold Tagetes patula.
In subsequent experiments developed and carried out by Hevila Brognaro in Betzel’s group, the three phenols reduced the activity of PlPro in living cells by 50% to 70%. According to Betzell, who is also a member of the Cluster of Excellence CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter, “the advantage of these substances is their proven safety.” “Many foods naturally contain these substances. However, green tea will not cure your corona infection! Just as it will not cure your cancer or heal your wounds. Further research is needed to determine this.” There is a need as to how these phenols can be used or not. To make corona medicine.”
The same scientists previously screened thousands of currently available drugs in a separate screening for potential inhibitors of the main protease (Mpro) of the coronavirus in PETRA III, which is also a molecular pair of scissors and a primary potential drug target. Several corona drug candidates were found during the screening, and the most promising ones have now started preclinical testing. One of the very few projects around the world that looked at both the primary goals of COVID-19 was DESY’s Corona Initiative and the University of Hamburg, emphasizes Betzel.
University of Hamburg, University of So Paulo in Brazil, European XFEL, Diamond Light Source in United Kingdom, Bahauddin Zakaria University in Pakistan, Hospital Israeli Albert Einstein in Brazil, Scientific Platform Pasteur researchers in Brazil, European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Hamburg, Translational in Hamburg The Fraunhofer Institute of Medicine and Pharmacology, the Josef Stefan Institute in Slovenia, and the Center of Excellence in the United States participated in the new study.
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