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Main Authors: Milewska, Aleksandra, Konkel, Robert, Hoffmann, Markus, Pöhlmann, Stefan, Szczepański, Artur, Fröhlich, Tony, Popowicz, Grzegorz, Overlinge, Donata, Mazur-Marzec, Hanna, Pyrć, Krzysztof
Format: Artículo científico
Language:en
Published: Virology 2026
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Online Access:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41349205/
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author Milewska, Aleksandra
Konkel, Robert
Hoffmann, Markus
Pöhlmann, Stefan
Szczepański, Artur
Fröhlich, Tony
Popowicz, Grzegorz
Overlinge, Donata
Mazur-Marzec, Hanna
Pyrć, Krzysztof
author_facet Milewska, Aleksandra
Konkel, Robert
Hoffmann, Markus
Pöhlmann, Stefan
Szczepański, Artur
Fröhlich, Tony
Popowicz, Grzegorz
Overlinge, Donata
Mazur-Marzec, Hanna
Pyrć, Krzysztof
Milewska, Aleksandra
Konkel, Robert
Hoffmann, Markus
Pöhlmann, Stefan
Szczepański, Artur
Fröhlich, Tony
Popowicz, Grzegorz
Overlinge, Donata
Mazur-Marzec, Hanna
Pyrć, Krzysztof
collection PubMed - marine biology
contents Spumigins produced by Nodularia spumigena are natural serine protease inhibitors with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. Milewska, Aleksandra Konkel, Robert Hoffmann, Markus Pöhlmann, Stefan Szczepański, Artur Fröhlich, Tony Popowicz, Grzegorz Overlinge, Donata Mazur-Marzec, Hanna Pyrć, Krzysztof Humans SARS-CoV-2 Chlorocebus aethiops Vero Cells Serine Proteinase Inhibitors Antiviral Agents Animals COVID-19 Drug Treatment Serine Endopeptidases Virus Replication Virus Internalization A549 Cells Cyanobacteria COVID-19 Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus Peptides, Cyclic COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has led to significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. The pandemic has sparked extensive efforts to develop therapeutic strategies targeting either the virus itself or human proteins involved in the infection, resulting in hundreds of potential drugs and numerous clinical trials. In the search for new anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug candidates, we focussed on natural products. Using the cyanobacteria as a source of new structures due to their unique metabolism, two spumigins were isolated from the Baltic cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena and tested for their activity against SARS-CoV-2. These compounds efficiently reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection in human A549 cells and fully differentiated primary human airway epithelium cell systems, in which viral entry depends on activation of the viral spike protein by the cellular serine protease, such as TMPRSS2. In contrast, the compounds did not inhibit viral replication in Vero cells, which lack TMPRSS2 but have high levels of cysteine protease cathepsin L, which may serve as an alternative for spike protein activation. Biochemical assays showed that spumigins inhibit TMPRSS2 with an EC ranging from 17 to 85 nM at which no toxicity is observed. Good parameters of identified inhibitors prove that cyanobacteria may serve as a rich source for new scaffolds reaching beyond the canonical chemical combinatorial space.
format Artículo científico
id pubmed_41349205
institution PubMed
language en
publishDate 2026
publisher Virology
record_format pubmed
spellingShingle Spumigins produced by Nodularia spumigena are natural serine protease inhibitors with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity.
Milewska, Aleksandra
Konkel, Robert
Hoffmann, Markus
Pöhlmann, Stefan
Szczepański, Artur
Fröhlich, Tony
Popowicz, Grzegorz
Overlinge, Donata
Mazur-Marzec, Hanna
Pyrć, Krzysztof
Humans
SARS-CoV-2
Chlorocebus aethiops
Vero Cells
Serine Proteinase Inhibitors
Antiviral Agents
Animals
COVID-19 Drug Treatment
Serine Endopeptidases
Virus Replication
Virus Internalization
A549 Cells
Cyanobacteria
COVID-19
Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus
Peptides, Cyclic
Spumigins produced by Nodularia spumigena are natural serine protease inhibitors with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. Milewska, Aleksandra Konkel, Robert Hoffmann, Markus Pöhlmann, Stefan Szczepański, Artur Fröhlich, Tony Popowicz, Grzegorz Overlinge, Donata Mazur-Marzec, Hanna Pyrć, Krzysztof Humans SARS-CoV-2 Chlorocebus aethiops Vero Cells Serine Proteinase Inhibitors Antiviral Agents Animals COVID-19 Drug Treatment Serine Endopeptidases Virus Replication Virus Internalization A549 Cells Cyanobacteria COVID-19 Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus Peptides, Cyclic COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has led to significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. The pandemic has sparked extensive efforts to develop therapeutic strategies targeting either the virus itself or human proteins involved in the infection, resulting in hundreds of potential drugs and numerous clinical trials. In the search for new anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug candidates, we focussed on natural products. Using the cyanobacteria as a source of new structures due to their unique metabolism, two spumigins were isolated from the Baltic cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena and tested for their activity against SARS-CoV-2. These compounds efficiently reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection in human A549 cells and fully differentiated primary human airway epithelium cell systems, in which viral entry depends on activation of the viral spike protein by the cellular serine protease, such as TMPRSS2. In contrast, the compounds did not inhibit viral replication in Vero cells, which lack TMPRSS2 but have high levels of cysteine protease cathepsin L, which may serve as an alternative for spike protein activation. Biochemical assays showed that spumigins inhibit TMPRSS2 with an EC ranging from 17 to 85 nM at which no toxicity is observed. Good parameters of identified inhibitors prove that cyanobacteria may serve as a rich source for new scaffolds reaching beyond the canonical chemical combinatorial space.
title Spumigins produced by Nodularia spumigena are natural serine protease inhibitors with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity.
topic Humans
SARS-CoV-2
Chlorocebus aethiops
Vero Cells
Serine Proteinase Inhibitors
Antiviral Agents
Animals
COVID-19 Drug Treatment
Serine Endopeptidases
Virus Replication
Virus Internalization
A549 Cells
Cyanobacteria
COVID-19
Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus
Peptides, Cyclic
url https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41349205/