Kuiru Sa

Central nervous system (CNS) disease is one of the most important causes of human death. Because of their complex pathogenesis, more and more attention has been paid to them. At present, drug treatment of the CNS is the main means; however, most drugs only relieve symptoms, and some have certain toxicity and side effects. Natural compounds derived from plants can provide safer and more effective alternatives. Alkaloids are common nitrogenous basic organic compounds found in nature, which exist widely in many kinds of plants and have unique application value in modern medicine. For example, Galantamine and Huperzine A from medicinal plants are widely used drugs on the market to treat Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, the main purpose of this review is to provide the available information on natural alkaloids with the activity of treating central nervous system diseases in order to explore the trends and perspectives for the further study of central nervous system drugs. In this paper, 120 alkaloids with the potential effect of treating central nervous system diseases are summarized from the aspects of sources, structure types, mechanism of action and structure-activity relationship.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread globally since 2020. The nucleocapsid (N) protein plays a crucial role in the life cycle of SARS-CoV-2. Here, we established a method to screen inhibitors of N protein by using microscale thermophoresis assays to obtain potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents. We identified 1,7-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1,4,6-heptatrien-3-one ( N-17 , a diphenylheptane) as a compound with outstanding inhibitory activity. We further validated the binding of N-17 to the N-terminal domain of N protein (N-NTD) by using drug affinity responsive target stability assays. We evaluated the ability of N-17 to bind N protein and predicted the affinity of N-17 to the N-NTD with molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation. N-17 exhibited excellent anti-viral activity against HCoV-OC43 and SARS-CoV-2, with EC 50 values of 0.16 ± 0.01 μM and 0.17 ± 0.07 μM, respectively. Thus, we discovered a novel SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor targeting the N protein and validated its anti-viral activity in vitro . Our results may contribute to the development of promising therapeutic agents for COVID-19.

Tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) inhibitors are the treatment of choice for autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and Crohn’s disease. Herein, some Benpyrine derivatives with stronger binding affinity, better activity, better solubility, and higher synthetic efficiency were identified using structure-based drug design and optimization strategies. Among the synthesized series of compounds, 10 directly binds to TNF-α and blocks the activation of TNF-α-trigged caspase and NF-κB signaling pathway. Compound 10 represents a promising scaffold for the further development of TNF-α inhibitors. Drug development based on compound 10 may provide a new strategy for the treatment of TNF-α-mediated autoimmune diseases.