Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36801630›Full record

ArticleJournal of infection and public health2023

Identifying non-nucleoside inhibitors of RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase of SARS-CoV-2 through per-residue energy decomposition-based pharmacophore modeling, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulation.

Shahkaar Aziz, Muhammad Waqas, Tapan Kumar Mohanta, Sobia Ahsan Halim, Aqib Iqbal, Amjad Ali, Asaad Khalid, Ashraf N Abdalla, Ajmal Khan, Ahmed Al-Harrasi

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of infection and public health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
3.6field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Unlocking the potential ofFrontiers in bioinformatics · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.

Shahkaar AzizInstitute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar 25000, Pakistan.
Muhammad WaqasDepartment of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Hazara University Mansehra, 2100, Pakistan; Natural and Medical Sciences Research Center, University of Nizwa, Birkat-ul-Mouz 616, Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman.
Tapan Kumar MohantaNatural and Medical Sciences Research Center, University of Nizwa, Birkat-ul-Mouz 616, Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman.
Sobia Ahsan HalimNatural and Medical Sciences Research Center, University of Nizwa, Birkat-ul-Mouz 616, Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman.
Aqib IqbalInstitute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar 25000, Pakistan; Department of Biotechnology, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan 23200, Pakistan. Electronic address: aqib72@aup.edu.pk.
Amjad AliDepartment of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Hazara University Mansehra, 2100, Pakistan.
Asaad KhalidSubstance Abuse and Toxicology Research Center, Jazan University, P.O. Box: 114, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia; Medicinal and Aromatic Plants and Traditional Medicine Research Institute, National Center for Research, P. O. Box 2404, Khartoum, Sudan.
Ashraf N AbdallaDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia.
Ajmal KhanNatural and Medical Sciences Research Center, University of Nizwa, Birkat-ul-Mouz 616, Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman. Electronic address: ajmalkhan@unizwa.edu.om.
Ahmed Al-HarrasiNatural and Medical Sciences Research Center, University of Nizwa, Birkat-ul-Mouz 616, Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman. Electronic address: aharrasi@unizwa.edu.om.
University of Nizwa · OMAbdul Wali Khan University Mardan · PKHazara University · PKNational Centre for Research · SDThe University of Agriculture, Peshawar · PKUmm al-Qura University · SA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

objectiveThe current coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered a worldwide health and economic crisis. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes the disease and completes its life cycle using the RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRp) enzyme, a prominent target for antivirals. In this study, we have computationally screened ∼690 million compounds from the ZINC20 database and 11,698 small molecule inhibitors from DrugBank to find existing and novel non-nucleoside inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2 RdRp.

methodsHerein, a combination of the structure-based pharmacophore modeling and hybrid virtual screening methods, including per-residue energy decomposition-based pharmacophore screening, molecular docking, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity evaluation were employed to retrieve novel as well as existing RdRp non-nucleoside inhibitors from large chemical databases. Besides, molecular dynamics simulation and Molecular Mechanics/Generalized Born Surface Area (MM/GBSA) method were used to investigate the binding stability and calculate the binding free energy of RdRp-inhibitor complexes.

resultsBased on docking scores and significant binding interactions with crucial residues (Lys553, Arg557, Lys623, Cys815, and Ser816) in the RNA binding site of RdRp, three existing drugs, ZINC285540154, ZINC98208626, ZINC28467879, and five compounds from ZINC20 (ZINC739681614, ZINC1166211307, ZINC611516532, ZINC1602963057, and ZINC1398350200) were selected, and the conformational stability of RdRp due to their binding was confirmed through molecular dynamics simulation. The free energy calculations revealed these compounds possess strong binding affinities for RdRp. In addition, these novel inhibitors exhibited drug-like features, good absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion profile and were found to be non-toxic.

conclusionThe compounds identified in the study by multifold computational strategy can be validated in vitro as potential non-nucleoside inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 RdRp and holds promise for the discovery of novel drugs against COVID-19 in future.

Indexed as

COVID-19SARS-CoV-2Antiviral AgentsHumansMolecular Docking SimulationMolecular Dynamics SimulationPharmacophoreRNARNA-Dependent RNA PolymeraseAntiviral AgentsRNARNA-Dependent RNA PolymeraseCOVID-19Molecular dynamics simulationNon-nucleoside inhibitorsPharmacophore ModelingRNA-dependent RNA-polymeraseSARS-CoV-2Virtual Screening

Identifiers

PMID36801630
PMCPMC9927802
OpenAlexW4320717226

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.