Abstract
Coronaviruses (CoVs), a genus containing about 26 known species to date, cause highly prevalent diseases and are often severe or fatal in humans and animals. In 2003, a previously unknown coronavirus was identified to be the etiological agent of a global outbreak of a form of life-threatening pneumonia called severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). No efficacious therapy is currently available, and vaccines and drugs are under development to prevent SARSCoV infection in many countries. The CoV main protease (Mpro), which plays a pivotal role in viral gene expression and replication through a highly complex cascade involving the proteolytic processing of replicase polyproteins, is an attractive target for drug design. This review summarizes the recent advances in biological and structural studies, together with development of inhibitors targeting CoV Mpros. It is expected that inhibitors targeting CoV Mpros could be developed into wide-spectrum antiviral drugs against existing and possible future emerging CoV-associated diseases.
Keywords: Coronavirus, main protease, drug design
Current Pharmaceutical Design
Title: Drug Design Targeting the Main Protease, the Achilles Heel of Coronaviruses
Volume: 12 Issue: 35
Author(s): Haitao Yang, Mark Bartlam and Zihe Rao
Affiliation:
Keywords: Coronavirus, main protease, drug design
Abstract: Coronaviruses (CoVs), a genus containing about 26 known species to date, cause highly prevalent diseases and are often severe or fatal in humans and animals. In 2003, a previously unknown coronavirus was identified to be the etiological agent of a global outbreak of a form of life-threatening pneumonia called severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). No efficacious therapy is currently available, and vaccines and drugs are under development to prevent SARSCoV infection in many countries. The CoV main protease (Mpro), which plays a pivotal role in viral gene expression and replication through a highly complex cascade involving the proteolytic processing of replicase polyproteins, is an attractive target for drug design. This review summarizes the recent advances in biological and structural studies, together with development of inhibitors targeting CoV Mpros. It is expected that inhibitors targeting CoV Mpros could be developed into wide-spectrum antiviral drugs against existing and possible future emerging CoV-associated diseases.
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Cite this article as:
Yang Haitao, Bartlam Mark and Rao Zihe, Drug Design Targeting the Main Protease, the Achilles Heel of Coronaviruses, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2006; 12 (35) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161206779010369
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161206779010369 |
Print ISSN 1381-6128 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4286 |
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