Promising Experimental Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Agent "SLL-0197800": The Prospective Universal Inhibitory Properties against the Coming Versions of the Coronavirus

ACS Omega. 2023 Sep 18;8(39):35538-35554. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.2c08073. eCollection 2023 Oct 3.

Abstract

Isoquinoline derivatives having some nucleosidic structural features are considered as candidate choices for effective remediation of the different severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections and their following disease, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). SLL-0197800 is a recently discovered isoquinoline compound with potential strong universal anticoronaviral activities against SARS-CoV-2 and its previous strains. SLL-0197800 nonspecifically hits the main protease (Mpro) enzyme of the different coronaviruses. Herein in the present study, we tested the probability of the previous findings of this experimental agent to be extended to comprise any coronavirus through concurrently disrupting the mutable-less replication enzymes like the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) protein as well as the 3'-to-5' exoribonuclease (ExoN) protein. The in vitro anti-RdRp/ExoN assay revealed the potent inhibitory activities of SLL-0197800 on the coronaviral replication with minute values of anti-RdRp and anti-RdRp/ExoN EC50 (about 0.16 and 0.27 μM, respectively). The preliminary in silico outcomes significantly supported these biochemical findings. To put it simply, the present important results of these extension efforts greatly reinforce and extend the SLL-0197800's preceding findings, showing that the restraining/blocking actions (i.e., inhibitory activities) of this novel investigational anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent against the Mpro protein could be significantly extended against other copying and multiplication enzymes such as RdRp and ExoN, highlighting the potential use of SLL-0197800 against the coming versions of the homicidal coronavirus (if any), i.e., revealing the probable nonspecific anticoronaviral features and qualities of this golden experimental drug against nearly any coronaviral strain, for instance, SARS-CoV-3.