Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39580003›Full record

ArticleBioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters2025

Synthesis and Structure-Activity Relationship of Covalent Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Papain-Like Protease with Antiviral Potency.

Catherine C Rouch, Arnab K Chatterjee, Connor McCarty, Lirui Song, Alan Chu, Kristen Johnson, Mina Heacock, Laura Riva, Case W McNamara, Karen C Wolff and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

14 authors.

Catherine C RouchCalibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines, A Division of Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Arnab K ChatterjeeCalibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines, A Division of Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Connor McCartyCalibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines, A Division of Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Lirui SongCalibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines, A Division of Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Alan ChuCalibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines, A Division of Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Kristen JohnsonCalibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines, A Division of Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Mina HeacockCalibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines, A Division of Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Laura RivaCalibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines, A Division of Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Case W McNamaraCalibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines, A Division of Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Karen C WolffCalibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines, A Division of Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Rebecca Greene-CramerDepartment of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA.
Anna De FalcoDepartment of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA.
Gaetano T MontelioneDepartment of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA.
Gennadii A GrabovyiCalibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines, A Division of Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Electronic address: ggrabovyi@scripps.edu.

Funding

Targeting druggable coronavirus proteinsU19AI171443 · NIAID · SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE · PI SUMIT K CHANDA, Arnab Kumar Chatterjee · 2022 to 2026
$101.4M
NIAID NIH HHS U19 AI171443
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The papain-like protease (PLpro) is a highly conserved domain encoded by the coronavirus (CoV) genome and it plays an essential role in the replication and maturation of the virus in addition to weakening host immune response. Due to the virus's reliance on PLpro for survival and propagation, small-molecule inhibitors of PLpro serve as an attractive model for direct-acting antiviral therapeutic agents against SARS-CoV-2. Building upon existing work aimed at designing covalent inhibitors against PLpro, we report the synthesis and structure-activity relationship of analogs based on the known covalent inhibitor 1 (Sanders, et al.2023). To evaluate the efficacy of synthesized derivatives, we conducted enzymatic inhibition assays, SARS-CoV-2/HeLa-ACE2 cellular potency and toxicity assays, and profiled the most promising analogs via in vitro ADME and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies. Additionally, we describe computational docking of profiled compounds bound to PLpro to elucidate the structure-activity relationship of compounds based on 1 and offer suggestions for optimizing the potency and selectivity of the electrophilic warhead and improving ADME and PK properties for this chemotype. Relative to the parent compound, new designs demonstrate comparable potency and target selectivity for PLpro. The accomplished SAR campaign provides novel insight for future development of antivirals against SARS-CoV-2.

Indexed as

Antiviral AgentsSARS-CoV-2AnimalsCoronavirus 3C ProteasesCoronavirus Papain-Like ProteasesCOVID-19 Drug TreatmentHumansMolecular StructureProtease InhibitorsStructure-Activity RelationshipAntiviral AgentsCoronavirus 3C ProteasesCoronavirus Papain-Like Proteasespapain-like protease, SARS-CoV-2Protease InhibitorsAntiviralCovalent inhibitorCOVID-19Fumarate esterPapain-like proteasePharmacokineticStructure–activity relationship

Identifiers

PMID39580003
PMCPMC11936407

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.