The ongoing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has been proven to be more severe than the previous coronavirus outbreaks due to the virus' high transmissibility. With the emergence of new variants, this global phenomenon took a more dramatic turn, with many countries recently experiencing higher surges of confirmed cases and deaths. On top of this, the inadequacy of effective treatment options for COVID-19 aggravated the problem.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe severity of the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the search for drugs against SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we explored approaches myxobacterial secondary metabolites against various receptor-binding regions of SARS-CoV-2 spike which are responsible in recognition and attachment to host cell receptors mechanisms, namely ACE2, GRP78, and NRP1. In general, cyclic depsipeptide chondramides conferred high affinities toward the spike RBD, showing strong binding to the known viral hot spots Arg403, Gln493 and Gln498 and better selectivity compared to most host cell receptors studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInhibition of the major cyclic adenosine monophosphate-metabolizing enzyme PDE4 has shown potential for the discovery of drugs for cancer, inflammation, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. As a springboard to explore new anti-cancer and anti-Alzheimer's chemical prototypes from rare Annonaceae species, the present study evaluated anti-PDE4B along with antiproliferative and anti-cholinesterase activities of the extracts of the Philippine endemic species using assays and framed the resulting biological significance through computational binding and reactivity-based experiments. Thus, the PDE4 B2B-inhibiting dichloromethane sub-extract (UaD) of elicited antiproliferative activity against chronic myelogenous leukemia (K-562) and cytostatic effects against human cervical cancer (HeLa).
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