Furin is a potential target protein associated with numerous diseases; especially closely related to tumors and multiple viral infections including SARS-CoV-2. Most of the existing efficient furin inhibitors adopt a substrate analogous structure, and other types of small molecule inhibitors need to be discovered urgently. In this study, a high-throughput screening combining virtual and physical screening of natural product libraries was performed, coupled with experimental validation and preliminary mechanistic assays at the molecular level, cellular level, and molecular simulation. A novel furin inhibitor, permethrin, which is a derivative from pyrethrin I generated by Pyrethrum cinerariifolium Trev. was identified, and this study confirmed that it binds to a novel allosteric pocket of furin through non-competitive inhibition. It exhibits a very favorable protease-selective inhibition and good cellular activity and specificity. In summary, permethrin shows a new parent nucleus with a new mode of inhibition. It could be used as a highly promising lead compound against furin for targeting related tumors and various resistant viral infections, including SARS-CoV-2.
Keywords: allosteric inhibitor; furin inhibitor; non-competitive inhibitor; permethrin; pyrethrin I.