Zinc pyrithione is a potent inhibitor of PLPro and cathepsin L enzymes with ex vivo inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 entry and replication
Jerneja Kladnik, Ana Dolinar, Jakob Kljun, David Perea, Judith Grau-Expósito, Meritxell Genescà, Marko Novinec, Maria J Buzon, Iztok Turel
Journal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry, doi:10.1080/14756366.2022.2108417
Zinc pyrithione (1a), together with its analogues 1b-h and ruthenium pyrithione complex 2a, were synthesised and evaluated for the stability in biologically relevant media and anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. Zinc pyrithione revealed potent in vitro inhibition of cathepsin L (IC 50 ¼1.88 ± 0.49 mM) and PL Pro (IC 50 ¼0.50 ± 0.07 mM), enzymes involved in SARS-CoV-2 entry and replication, respectively, as well as antiviral entry and replication properties in an ex vivo system derived from primary human lung tissue. Zinc complexes 1b-h expressed comparable in vitro inhibition. On the contrary, ruthenium complex 2a and the ligand pyrithione a itself expressed poor inhibition in mentioned assays, indicating the importance of the selection of metal core and structure of metal complex for antiviral activity. Safe, effective, and preferably oral at-home therapeutics for COVID-19 are needed and as such zinc pyrithione, which is also commercially available, could be considered as a potential therapeutic agent against SARS-CoV-2.
Disclosure statement No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Funding The
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