ArticleJournal of virology2024
Efficacy of host cell serine protease inhibitor MM3122 against SARS-CoV-2 for treatment and prevention of COVID-19.
Article in Journal of virology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Identification of Four Compounds with S-RBD-Binding and Pseudovirus Entry-Inhibitory Activity.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Lock out: targeting TMPRSS2 to block influenza and coronaviruses.Journal of virology · 2026Review
- Cerebrospinal fluid and frontal cortex TMPRSS2 and ACE2 protein levels differ in Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease.Acta neuropathologica communications · 2026Article
- Molecular mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 entry: implications for biomedical strategies.Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR · 2025Review
- Risk for COVID-19 Vulnerability in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Assessing Alterations in ACE2 and TMPRSS2.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Exploring the role of hepsin in prostate cancer: bioinformatics, molecular Docking and molecular dynamics simulations.Discover oncology · 2025Article
- From N-0385 to N-0920: Unveiling a Host-Directed Protease Inhibitor with Picomolar Antiviral Efficacy against Prevalent SARS-CoV-2 Variants.Journal of medicinal chemistry · 2025Article
- Host proteases: key regulators in viral infection and therapeutic targeting.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Review
- RationalJournal of medicinal chemistry · 2024Article
- Use of protease substrate specificity screening in the rational design of selective protease inhibitors with unnatural amino acids: Application to HGFA, matriptase, and hepsin.Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
- Update of
Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
We developed a novel class of peptidomimetic inhibitors targeting several host cell human serine proteases, including transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2), matriptase, and hepsin. TMPRSS2 is a membrane-associated protease that is highly expressed in the upper and lower respiratory tracts and is utilized by SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses to proteolytically process their glycoproteins, enabling host cell entry, replication, and dissemination of new virus particles. We have previously shown that compound MM3122 exhibited subnanomolar potency against all three proteases and displayed potent antiviral effects against SARS-CoV-2 in a cell viability assay. Herein, we demonstrate that MM3122 potently inhibits viral replication in human lung epithelial cells and is also effective against the EG.5.1 variant of SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, we evaluated MM3122 in a mouse model of COVID-19 and demonstrated that MM3122 administered intraperitoneally (IP) before (prophylactic) or after (therapeutic) SARS-CoV-2 infection had significant protective effects against weight loss and lung congestion and reduced pathology. Amelioration of COVID-19 disease was associated with a reduction in proinflammatory cytokine and chemokine production after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Prophylactic, but not therapeutic, administration of MM3122 also reduced virus titers in the lungs of SARS-CoV-2-infected mice. Therefore, MM3122 is a promising lead candidate small-molecule drug for the treatment and prevention of infections caused by SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses. IMPORTANCE: SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging RNA coronaviruses are a present and future threat in causing widespread endemic and pandemic infection and disease. In this paper, we have shown that the novel host cell protease inhibitor, MM3122, blocks SARS-CoV-2 viral replication and is efficacious as both a prophylactic and a therapeutic drug for the treatment of COVID-19 given intraperitoneally in mice. Targeting host proteins and pathways in antiviral therapy is an underexplored area of research, but this approach promises to avoid drug resistance by the virus, which is common in current antiviral treatments.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.