ZHANG CHAO (US)
ZHAO JUN (US)
ESPINOSA BIANCA (US)
QIN CHAO (US)
SAVAS ALI (US)
RAO YOULIANG (US)
WANG TING-YU (US)
FENG PINGHUI (US)
ZHANG CHAO (US)
ZHAO JUN (US)
ESPINOSA BIANCA (US)
QIN CHAO (US)
SAVAS ALI (US)
RAO YOULIANG (US)
WANG TING YU (US)
WO2020245664A1 | 2020-12-10 |
US20030083523A1 | 2003-05-01 |
OU ET AL.: "A path towards SARS-CoV-2 attenuation: metabolic pressure on CTP synthesis rules the virus evolution", BIORXIV, 21 June 2020 (2020-06-21), pages 1 - 32, Retrieved from the Internet
EMAMI ET AL., A SMALL MOLECULE INHIBITOR OF CTP SYNTHETASE IDENTIFIED BY DIFFERENTIAL ACTIVITY ON A BACILLUS SUBTILIS MUTANT DEFICIENT IN CLASS A PENICILLIN-BINDING PROTEINS, vol. 11, 26 August 2020 (2020-08-26), pages 1 - 12
What is claimed is: 1. A compound of Formula I: wherein, R1 is –NH(C=O)CH2X wherein X is a leaving group; R2 is –(C=O)NRaR3 or –NRa(C=O)R3, wherein Ra is H or –(C1-C6)alkyl; R3 is –(C1-C6)alkyl, –(C3-C6)cycloalkyl, phenyl-R4, or 5- or 6-membered heteroaryl; and R4 is –O(C1-C6)alkyl, –(C1-C6)alkyl, halo, or H; wherein R1 is in the beta-position relative to R2, and each (C1-C6)alkyl moiety is independently saturated or unsaturated and optionally interrupted by a heteroatom. 2. The compound of claim 1 wherein the compound is represented by Formula II: 3. The compound of claim 1 wherein the compound is represented by Formula III: 4. The compound of claim 3 wherein R1 is at the 4-position. 5. The compound of claim 3 wherein R1 is at the 5-position. 6. The compound of any one of claims 1-5 wherein X is halo, N3, methanesulfonate (OMs), or p-toluenesulfonate (OTs). 7. The compound of claim 1 wherein X is chloro. 8. The compound of claim 1 wherein R3 is pentyl, phenyl-OCH3, phenyl-H, or imidazolyl. 9. The compound of claim 1 wherein R3 is phenyl-R4 and R4 is ortho-OCH3. 10. The compound of claim 1 wherein the compound is: or (BE-2-15), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. 11. The compound of claim 10 wherein the compound is: 12. The compound of claim 1 wherein the compound is: 13. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a compound of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient. 14. A method for antiviral treatment comprising administering to a subject in need thereof a therapeutically effective amount of the composition of claim 13, thereby inhibiting replication of a virus that has infected the subject. 15. The method of claim 14 wherein the method comprises administering the composition in combination with one or more additional therapeutic agents; wherein the combination is administered simultaneously or sequentially. 16. The method of claim 14 wherein the virus is a coronavirus. 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the coronavirus is Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV). 18. The method of claim 14 wherein the compound is an inhibitor of cytidine triphosphate synthetase 1 (CTPS1). 19. A method of treating a human subject identified as having or suspected of having COVID-19, the method comprising administering to the subject an effective amount of a cytidine triphosphate synthetase 1 (CTPS1) inhibitor effective to reduce interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) deamidation, thereby treating the subject. 20. The method of claim 19 wherein the CTPS1 inhibitor is a compound of claim 1. |
( ), ( ), or (BE-2-15), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. This disclosure provides for certain enzymatic inhibitor compounds generally comprising formula IV: wherein the definitions of R 1 and R 3 are that same as for formula I, II or III. In some embodiments , the enzymatic inhibitor compound is: (Q6ca), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. In certain preferred embodiments, the enzymatic inhibitor compound is one or more of: ( ), ( ), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. In certain preferred embodiments, the enzymatic inhibitor compound is one or more of: ( ), or or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. In some embodiments, the enzymatic compounds maybe formulated into a pharmaceutical composition comprising the enzymatic inhibitor compound and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient. In some embodiments the enzymatic inhibitor compound reduces, eliminates, or otherwise inhibits the enzymatic activity of cellular glutamine amidotransferases. In some embodiments, the enzymatic inhibitor reduces or eliminates enzymatic activity of cytidine triphosphate synthetase 1 (CTPS1). In some embodiments, the CTPS1 inhibitor is one or more of AE-1-10, BE-2-10, BE- 2-15, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8, C9, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, and B8. In other embodiments, the CTPS1 inhibitor is one or more of AE-1-10, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8, C9, B1, B2, B4, B5, B7 and B8. In some embodiments, the CTPS1 inhibitor is one or more of C5, C9, B1, B2, B4, B5, and B7. Embodiments of the disclosure also provide for a method of antiviral treatment comprising administering to a subject in need thereof a therapeutically effective amount of a compound as described herein or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, or administering a composition comprising a therapeutically effective amount of a compound as described herein or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, thereby inhibiting replication of a virus that has infected the subject. Preferably, the compound is one or more AE-1-10, BE-2-10, BE-2-15, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8, C9, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, and B8. In other embodiments, the compound is one or more of AE-1-10, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8, C9, B1, B2, B4, B5, B7 and B8. In some embodiments, the antiviral treatment comprises treatment for an infection caused by a coronavirus such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and variants thereof. In some embodiments, coronavirus infection is SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19 disease. In some embodiments, a method for antiviral treatment comprises administering to a subject having or suspected of having a viral infection the enzymatic inhibitor compound or the pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, in combination with one or more additional therapeutic agents. In some embodiments, the enzymatic inhibitor or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and the one or more additional therapeutic agents are administered simultaneously or sequentially. In some embodiments, a method for antiviral treatment comprises administering to a subject having or suspected of having a viral infection a composition comprising the enzymatic inhibitor compound or the pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, in combination with one or more additional therapeutic agents. In some embodiments, the composition comprising the enzymatic inhibitor or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and the one or more additional therapeutic agents are administered simultaneously or sequentially. It is contemplated that any convenient type of therapeutic agent may be employed, where examples of therapeutic agent types include, but are not limited to, small molecules, nucleic acids, specific binding member for a coronavirus protein, such as, but not limited to, antibodies, aptamers, peptides, etc. In some embodiments, the therapeutic agent is an antibody that binds to a coronavirus protein. An antibody that specifically binds to a coronavirus protein can be polyclonal or monoclonal antibody or fragments that are sufficient to bind a coronavirus protein. The antibody fragments can be, for example, monomeric Fab fragments, monomeric Fab′ fragments, or dimeric F(ab)′2 fragments, single-chain antibody molecules (scFv) or humanized or chimeric antibodies produced from monoclonal antibodies by replacement of the constant regions of the heavy and light chains to produce chimeric antibodies or replacement of both the constant regions and the framework portions of the variable regions to produce humanized antibodies. In some embodiments, the therapeutic agent is a nucleic acid. The nucleic acids may include DNA or RNA molecules. In certain embodiments, the nucleic acids modulate, e.g., inhibit or reduce, the activity of a gene or protein, e.g., by reducing or downregulating the expression of the gene. The nucleic acid may be a single stranded or double-stranded and may include modified or unmodified nucleotides or non-nucleotides or various mixtures and combinations thereof. In some cases, the active agent includes intracellular gene silencing molecules by way of RNA splicing and molecules that provide an antisense oligonucleotide effect or an RNA interference (RNAi) effect useful for inhibiting gene function. In some cases, gene silencing molecules, such as, e.g., antisense RNA, short temporary RNA (stRNA), double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), small interfering RNA (siRNA), short hairpin RNA (shRNA), microRNA (miRNA), tiny non-coding RNA (tncRNA), snRNA, snoRNA, and other RNAi-like small RNA constructs, may be used to target a protein-coding as well as non-protein-coding genes. In some cases, the nucleic acids include antisense compounds. In some cases, the nucleic acids include molecules which may be utilized in RNA interference (RNAi) such as double stranded RNA including small interfering RNA (siRNA), locked nucleic acid (LNA) inhibitors, peptide nucleic acid (PNA) inhibitors, etc. In some embodiments, the gene silencing molecules target the human CTSP1 gene described, for example, in the NCBI database accession number NG_034208.1, or an mRNA transcript thereof such as described in, but not limited to, the NCBI database accession numbers NM_001905.4, NM_001301237.2, AI190299.1 AK130549.1 AK225899.1 AK297386.1 AK299122.1 AK303797.1, AK304817.1, BC009408.1, BQ642049.1, DA639348.1, DC313620.1, and X52142.1. In some embodiments, the targeted gene is a homolog of human CTSP1. In some embodiments, the additional therapeutic agent is one or more of paxlovid, sotrovimab, remdesivir, molnupiravir, tocilizumab, bamlanivimab plus etesevimab, and casirivimab plus imdevimab, imatinib mesylate, nilotinib hydrochlorde, dasatinib interferons, ribavirin, adefovir, tenofovir, acyclovir, brivudin, cidofovir, fomivirsen, foscarnet, ganciclovir, penciclovir, amantadine, rimantadine, zanamivir, chloroquine phosphate, hydroxychloroquine sulfate, mefloquine, amodiaquine dihydrochloride dihydrate, and gemcitabine hydrochloride. The disclosure also provides for a method of treating a human subject identified as having or suspected of having COVID-19, the method comprising administering to the subject an effective amount of a cytidine triphosphate synthetase 1 (CTPS1) inhibitor, thereby treating the subject. In some embodiments, a method of treating a human subject identified as having or suspected of having COVID-19 comprises administering to the subject an effective amount of a cytidine triphosphate synthetase 1 (CTPS1) inhibitor effective to reduce interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) deamidation, thereby treating the subject. In some embodiments, the CTPS1 inhibitor or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof is formulated into a composition. In some embodiments, the CTPS1 inhibitor is a compound according to formula I, II, or II. In other embodiments, the CTPS1 inhibitor is one or more of compounds of AE-1-10, BE-2-10, BE-2-15, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8, C9, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, and B8. In other embodiments, the CTPS1 inhibitor is one or more of AE-1-10, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8, C9, B1, B2, B4, B5, B7 and B8. In some embodiments, he CTPS1 inhibitor is one or more of C5, C9, B1, B2, B4, B5, and B7. Results and Discussion Identification of SARS-CoV-2 Proteins that Induce IRF3 Deamidation and Inhibit IFN Induction. SARS-CoV-2 is highly infectious and transmissible in human population. Ongoing research is keen on viral entry, how viral post-entry mechanisms contribute to the SARS-CoV-2 infection is not understood. We hypothesize that SARS-CoV-2 encodes a number of viral polypeptides to modulate host innate immune response, thereby promoting viral replication and dissemination. To test this idea, we first compared the antiviral gene expression induced by SARS-CoV-2, with that by Sendai virus, a prototype RNA virus. In normal human bronchial epithelial cells (NHBE), Sendai virus induced a rapid and robust expression of all antiviral genes with a peak at 6 hour post-infection (hpi) and an increase fold ranging from ~15,000 (for ISG15) to 800,000 (for IFNB1) (Fig. 1A). By stark contrast, SARS-CoV-2 induced a weak and delayed expression of antiviral genes, peaking at 96 hpi (Fig. 1A). The fold induction of these antiviral genes by SARS-CoV-2 was roughly three orders of magnitude lower than that induced by Sendai virus. Similar patterns were observed in human Calu-3 lung cancer cells and Caco-2 colorectal cancer cells, two cell lines that support robust SARS-CoV-2 replication (Fig. 7A and 7B). Interestingly, although delayed, the expression of Mx1 in Calu-3 and Caco-2 cells induced by SARS-CoV-2 was as robust as that induced by Sendai virus. To determine whether RNA derived from SARS-CoV-2-infected cells is able to trigger innate immune activation, we extracted total RNA from SARS-CoV-2-infected NHBE cells and, along with poly(I:C) transfected into NHBE cells. When mRNA of IFNB1, ISG15, ISG56, CCL5 and Mx1 was analyzed, we found that total RNA extracted from SARS-CoV-2-infected NHBE cells, but not that from mock-infected NHBE cells, induced antiviral gene expression as potently as poly(I:C) (Fig. 1B). These results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 inhibits antiviral innate immune defense. To understand the viral mechanisms of immune modulation, we screened viral polypeptides with an expression library for IFN-β induction by Sendai virus. This reporter assay identified several SARS-CoV-2 proteins, including ORF6, ORF7b, ORF8, ORF9b, N, Nsp7, Nsp8 and Nsp13, that inhibit IFN induction to various extent (Fig. 1C). To validate, we transfected 293T cells with plasmids expressing these individual viral polypeptides and found that all six viral polypeptides inhibited the expression of antiviral genes, including IFNB1, ISG56 and CCL5, in response to Sendai virus infection (Fig. 1D). Importantly, ORF6 and N were previously reported to inhibit the nuclear important of transcription factors (e.g., IRF3) and sequester viral double- stranded RNA, respectively, to suppress innate immune defense. Thus, we further examined the other six viral proteins for the inhibition of IFN induction. Nevertheless, these results demonstrate that multiple viral polypeptides can inhibit IFN induction. SARS-CoV-2 is a coronavirus that likely induces innate immune activation via RNA sensors such as RIG-I and MDA5. To determine the target of inhibition, we over-expressed key components of this pathway, including RIG-I-N (2CARD-only), MAVS, TBK1 and IRF3, and examined IFN-β induction by reporter assay (Fig. 7C). Notably, the RIG-I-N is a constitutively active form of RIG-I independent of RNA ligand. This assay showed that ORF7b, ORF8 and Nsp13 can significantly inhibit IFN induction by the expression of more than one component of the RIG-I-IFN pathway, while ORF9b, Nsp7 and Nsp8 had no significant inhibition of IFN induction by ectopic expression (Fig. 7D). Further analysis demonstrated that ORF8 and Nsp13 potently inhibited IRF3-mediated IFN induction, suggesting that IRF3 is the point of inhibition (Fig. 1E). Thus, we focused on IRF3 regulation by these viral polypeptides, with an interest in deamidation, a process that can be catalyzed by metabolic glutamine amidotransferases. When endogenous IRF3 was analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, we found that ORF7b, ORF8, NSP8 and NSP13 induced a shift of IRF3 toward the negative side of the gel strip, suggesting the deamidation of IRF3 (Fig. 1F). Interestingly, expression of N induced a shift of IRF3 in the upper-left direction, suggesting possible phosphorylation. We also investigated interaction between IRF3 and these viral proteins by co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP). As shown in Fig. 1G, IRF3 directly interacted with ORF7b, ORF8, and ORF9b, but not ORF6, Nsp7, Nsp8 and Nsp13.These results collectively show that SARS-CoV-2 targets IRF3 for inhibition. Identification of CTPS1 that Inhibits IFN Induction. Given that multiple SARS-CoV- 2 viral polypeptides induce IRF3 deamidation, we reasoned that a cellular enzyme catalyzes IRF3 deamidation. The human genome encodes 11 glutamine amidotransferases that can potentially function as protein deamidases. With shRNA-mediated knockdown, we screened for cellular GATs whose knockdown increase IFN induction by Sendai virus infection. This experiment showed that depletion of CTPS1 elevated Sendai virus-induced IFN expression by ~1.5-fold (Fig. 2A). Remarkably, depletion of the closely-related CTPS2 had no significant effect on IFN induction. The knockdown efficiency of these cellular GATs was validated in our recent publications. Notably, depletion of several GATs, including PPAT, ASNS and NADSYN1, reduced IFN induction, possibly due to the essential roles of these metabolic enzymes in cell proliferation and survival. To examine the role of CTPS1 in innate immune defense, we constructed 293T cell lines that express two independent shRNA and validated CTPS1 depletion by quantitative real-time PCR and immunoblotting (Fig. 2B and 8A). Compared with control cells, Sendai virus infection induced higher transcript levels of IFNB1, CCL5, ISG56 and ISG15, in CTPS1-depleted 293T cells as analyzed by real-time PCR (Fig. 2C). The elevated production of IFN-β and CCL5 was further confirmed by ELISA (Fig. 2D). Similarly, depletion of CTPS1 in human THP-1 monocytes (Fig. 2E) elevated IFN-β and CCL5 expression and production in response to Sendai virus infection (Fig. 2F and 8B). Consistent with the elevated antiviral immune response, depletion of CTPS1 reduced the replication of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) by ~10-fold in 293T cells (Fig. 2G). These results collectively demonstrate that CTPS1 negatively regulates IFN induction in response to Sendai virus infection. To assess the role of CTPS1 in SARS-CoV-2 infection, we depleted CTPS1 in NHBE cells (Fig. 2H) and assess antiviral gene expression and viral replication. Real-time PCR analysis indicated that depletion of CTPS1 increased the expression of IFNB1, ISG15, ISG56 and CCL5 by a factor of ranging from ~15 (for ISG15 and 56), to 1000 (for CCL5) (Fig. 2I). Conversely, depletion of CTPS1 reduced SARS-CoV-2 RNA abundance by two-fold for N and E genes, and >10-fold for Nsp1 gene (Fig. 2J), which correlated with four-fold reduction in viral titer in the medium at 48 h post-infection (Fig.2K). Similar results were observed in Caco-2 cells for elevated antiviral gene expression in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection upon CTPS1 depletion (Fig. 8C and 8D). This result also correlated with reduced SARS-CoV-2 replication as analyzed by real- time PCR for viral gene expression and plaque assay for infectious virions in the medium (Fig.8E and 8F). These results show that CTPS1 negatively regulates antiviral immune response against SARS-CoV-2 and deficiency in CTPS1 promotes antiviral gene expression to impede SARS-CoV- 2 replication. CTPS1 Interacts with and Deamidates IRF3. To determine the point of inhibition, we used the ectopic expression system as described in Fig. 7C. Reporter assay indicated that depletion of CTPS1 increased the IFN-β induction activated by the ectopic expression of all components, including RIG-I-N, TBK1 and IRF3-5D, of the RIG-I-IFN pathway (Fig. 3A). The specific effect of CTPS1 depletion on IFN-β expression induced by IRF3-5D supports the conclusion that deamidation likely targets IRF3 for inhibition (Fig. 9A). CTPS1 is a metabolic enzyme that catalyzes the synthesis of CTP from UTP and glutamine. We hypothesize that CTPS1 targets IRF3 for deamidation to inhibit IFN induction. To test this hypothesis, we first determined whether the enzyme activity of CTPS1 is required for its inhibition. We generated the enzyme-deficient mutant (C399A/H526A/E528A) of CTPS1 (CTPS1-ED) and performed a reporter assay. This result showed that wild-type CTPS1, but not the enzyme-deficient mutant, inhibited IFN-β induction induced by Sendai virus infection in a dose-dependent manner (Fig. 9B). Furthermore, an inhibitor of cellular GATs, 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine (DON) elevated Sendai virus -induced IFN-β gene expression in both CTPS1 depleted and control 293T cells (Fig. 9C). These results support the conclusion that the enzyme activity of CTPS1 is necessary for the inhibition of IFN induction. Next, we assessed whether CTPS1 interacts with IRF3 by co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP). As shown in Fig.3B, CTPS1 was readily detected in protein complexes precipitated with antibody against IRF3, indicating the physical interaction between IRF3 and CTPS1. The interaction between IRF3 and CTPS1 was confirmed by co-IP assay from transiently transfected 293T cells (Fig. 9D). However, CTPS2 failed to interact with IRF3. To determine whether CTPS1 is a possible deamidase, we depleted CTPS1 with shRNA and examined IRF3 charge by two- dimensional gel electrophoresis. Indeed, knockdown of CTPS1 shifted IRF3 toward the negative charge end of the gel strip, indicating the increased charge due to CTPS1 depletion (Fig. 3C). Similarly, the ectopic expression of the enzyme-deficient CTPS1-ED mutant also shifted IRF3 toward the negative pole of the gel strip (Fig. 3D). We then sought to identify the site of deamidation using tandem mass spectrometry. We purified IRF3 in transfected 293T cells, without or with the ectopic expression of CTPS1-ED. Tandem mass spectrometry analysis consistently identified N85, N389 and N397 as deamidation sites Deamidation of Q15, N184 and N217 was observed to much less extent. We generated IRF3 mutants containing individual deamidated residues, i.e., Q>E and N>D mutations, and analyzed their activity in IFN induction. Remarkably, the N85D mutation nearly deprived IRF3 to activate the IFNB1 promoter, while N389D and N397D elevated the activity of IRF3 to do so (Fig. 3E and 9E). Given that the phenotype of the IRF3-N85D mutant is consistent with the inhibition of CTPS1-mediated deamidation, we focused on this mutant in this study. To test whether CTPS1 is a deamidase of IRF3, we purified GST-IRF3, CTPS1 wild-type and the enzyme-deficient CTPS1-ED mutant from 293T cells to high homogeneity (Fig. 3F), and performed IRF3 in vitro deamidation assay. When IRF3 was analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, CTPS1, but not the CTPS1-ED mutant, shifted IRF3 toward the positive end of the gel strip, indicative of deamidation (Fig.3G). This result indicates that CTPS1 can function as a bona fide deamidase of IRF3. To assess the specificity of CTPS1-mediated deamidation, we used the deamidated IRF3-N85D mutant and CTPS1 depletion for IRF3 charge analysis. Two- dimensional gel electrophoresis analysis indicated that depletion of CTPS1 shifted IRF3 wild-type toward the negative pole of the gel strip, while had no effect on the deamidated IRF3-N85D (Fig. 3H). Similarly, depletion of CTPS1 failed to shift IRF3-N85A and IRF3-N85Q, indicating that IRF3-N85A and IRF3-N85Q are resistant to CTPS1-mediated deamidation (Fig. 9F). Consistent with this result, IRF3-N85A demonstrated higher IFN induction by reporter assay compared with wild-type IRF3 (Fig.9G). However, IRF3-N85Q had lower IFN induction compared to wild-type, likely due to steric hindrance in DNA-binding (see next section). Together, these results support the conclusion that CTPS1 targets N85 of IRF3 for deamidation. Deamidated IRF3 Fails to Bind Cognate Responsive Elements within Promoters of Pro-inflammatory Genes. CTPS1 negatively impacts IFN induction, we thus probed the deamidation in regulating IRF3-mediated inflammatory gene expression using the deamidated IRF3-N85D and deamidation-resistant IRF3-N85A mutants. First, we “reconstituted” IRF3 expression in I - mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) (Fig. 4A) and examined antiviral immune response upon Sendai virus infection. Real-time PCR analysis indicated that IRF3- N85D, compared with IRF3 wild-type, failed to induce the expression of IFNs and IFN- stimulated genes (Fig. 4B). By contrast, the deamidation-resistant IRF3-N85A mutant more potently activated the expression of these IFNs and ISGs than wild-type IRF3 (Fig. 4C). To profile the global gene expression in MEFs “reconstituted” with IRF3-N85D, we performed RNA sequencing and discovered that “reconstituted” expression of wild-type IRF3 activated the expression of a broad spectrum of IFNs and ISGs, while that of IRF3-N85D failed to do so. The ability of IRF3 wild-type, IRF3-N85D and IRF3-N85A to activate antiviral gene expression also correlated with IFN-β and CXCL10 production in the medium in response to Sendai virus infection (Fig. 4D and 4E). These results show that deamidation inhibits IRF3-mediated expression of IFNs and ISGs. In response to Sendai virus infection, IRF3 undergoes phosphorylation, dimerization and nuclear translocation to activate the expression of inflammatory genes. To probe the effect of deamidation on IRF3 activation, we analyzed these events of IRF3 activation using wild-type IRF3 and IRF3-N85D. Immunoblotting analyses, with phosphor-specific antibody for IRF3 and native gel electrophoresis, indicated that IRF3-N85D was phosphorylated and dimerized at higher levels than wild-type IRF3 (Fig. 10A). Immunofluorescence microscopy analysis showed that wild-type IRF3 and IRF3-N85D accumulated in the nucleus at similar rate (Fig. 10B and 10C). Thus, deamidation did not impair the phosphorylation, dimerization and nuclear translocation of IRF3 when activated by Sendai virus infection. In collaboration with other transcription factors, IRF3 acts in concert in the so-called “enhancesome” of the IFN-β promoter, which has been well characterized by structural studies. In the structure of the DNA-protein complex, the N85 residue of IRF3 makes a direct contact with the backbone of dsDNA via hydrogen bond. Deamidation of N85 is predicted to disrupt the hydrogen bond and create a negative charge that will repel the highly negatively charged backbone of dsDNA. Thus, we performed chromosome immunoprecipitation and quantified DNA by real- time PCR. Wild-type IRF3, but not IRF3-N85D, enriched the sequences of IFNs, including Ifnb and Ifna4, in response to Sendai virus infection (Fig. 4F). Consistent with this, an in vitro gel shift assay using purified IRF3 proteins indicated that wild-type IRF3 bound to its cognate consensus sequence and IRF3-N85D failed to do so (Fig. 4G). These results collectively show that deamidation impairs IRF3 to bind to its responsive element in promoters of inflammatory genes. To determine the effect of IRF3 deamidation on SARS-CoV-2 replication, we first infected MEFs “reconstituted” with wild-type IRF3 and IRF3-N85D with GFP-marked VSV. We found that wild-type IRF3 markedly reduced VSV replication by immunofluorescence microscopy and plaque assay (Fig. 10D and 10E). By contrast, IRF3-N85D only marginally reduced VSV replication. Next, we examined SARS-CoV-2 replication in these cells. To facilitate SARS-CoV- 2 infection, we established MEF cell lines stably expressing human ACE2 (Fig. 10F). These “reconstituted” MEFs were infected with SARS-CoV-2 and examined for innate immune response. Quantitative real-time analyses indicated that wild-type IRF3 induced modest level of expression of Ifnb, Isg15, Isg56 and Cxcl10 (Fig. 10G). While IRF3-N85A more robustly induced gene expression, IRF3-N85D had minimal induction of these genes. Conversely, wild-type IRF3 and IRF3-N85A reduced viral RNAs by ~40% to 70%, while IRF3-N85D had no apparent effect on the RNA levels of Nsp1 and E, or reduced N RNA by ~45%. Plaque assay further showed that wild-type IRF3 and IRF3-N85A diminished infectious SARS-CoV in the medium by 75% and 90%, respectively, while IRF3-N85D only reduced by ~30% (Fig.4H). Thus, deamidation impairs IRF3 to defeat SARS-CoV-2 replication. SARS-CoV-2 Nsp8 and ORF8 Induce IRF3 Deamidation via CTPS1. To probe the virus-host interaction underpinning CTPS1-mediated IRF3 deamidation, we then examined viral proteins that interact with CTPS1 using the SARS-CoV-2 expression library. A co-IP assay identified multiple SARS-CoV-2 polypeptides that co-precipitated with CTPS1 in transfected 293T cells, including ORF7b, ORF8, M, Nsp8, Nsp10 and Nsp14 (Fig. 11A). The interaction between CTPS1 and these SARS-CoV-2 proteins were further validated by co-IP assay using endogenous CTPS1 (Fig. 5A). Three out of the six CTPS1-interacting SARS-CoV-2 polypeptides, i.e., ORF7b, ORF8 and Nsp8, also induced IRF3 deamidation in transfected 293T cells (Fig. 1D). We reasoned that these SARS-CoV-2 polypeptides usurp CTPS1 to promote IRF3 deamidation. To test this, we depleted CTPS1 with shRNA and examined IRF3 deamidation. Indeed, depletion of CTPS1 shifted IRF3 toward the negative side of the gel strip (Fig. 5B). Apparent shift of IRF3 was observed in the presence of ORF8 and NSP8, a minor portion of IRF3 was shifted with ORF7b expression, when CTPS1 was depleted (Fig. 5B). To further validate this, we used wild-type IRF3 and the deamidation-resistant IRF3-N85A for two- dimension gel electrophoresis. This revealed that wild-type IRF3, but not the IRF3-N85A, was shifted by ORF8 and Nsp8 expression (Fig. 5C). Interestingly, ORF7b expression shifted both wild-type IRF3 and IRF3-N85A, suggesting that ORF7b induces the deamidation of IRF3 at sites other than N85. Nevertheless, these results show that ORF8 and NSP8 induce the CTPS1- mediated deamidation of N85 of IRF3. To dissect the mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 polypeptides promote CTPS1-mediated deamidation of IRF3, we determined whether ORF8 and Nsp8 impact the CTPS1-IRF3 interaction by co-IP assays. In 293T cells transiently expressing ORF8, more CTPS1 was precipitated by IRF3, indicating an elevated interaction between CTPS1 and IRF3 (Fig. 5D). However, Nsp8 had no effect on this interaction. Next, we determined whether ORF8 and Nsp8 affect CTPS1 activity to deamidate IRF3. To do that, we purified CTPS1, without or with SARS-CoV-2 polypeptides, from transfected 293T cells and performed in vitro deamidation assay. This analysis indicated that ORF8, and to a lesser extent, Nsp8 increased CTPS1 activity to deamidate IRF3 (Fig. 5E). Together, these results collectively show that SARS-CoV-2 polypeptides can promote CTPS1 to deamidate IRF3. SARS-CoV-2 ORF8 Activates CTPS1 to Promote Nucleotide Synthesis. CTPS1 is responsible for the synthesis of CTP that is crucial for a balanced nucleotide pool during cell proliferation and viral replication. Activated nucleotide synthesis is likely to favor transcription and genome replication during SARS-CoV-2 infection. We then examined the metabolite of the glycolysis and nucleotide synthesis pathways. In colorectal cancer Caco-2 cell line that supports SARS-CoV-2 replication, we found that SARS-CoV-2 infection had no significant effect on the intracellular concentration of CTP. However, the relative concentration of UTP and UDP, and to a less extent UMP, immediate precursors of CTP, was significantly increased in Caco-2 cells at 72 h after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Strikingly, CTP and UTP were significantly decreased at 96 h post-infection. These results support the rate-limiting role of CTP synthetases in catalyzing UTP to CTP conversion and the decrease of CTP and UTP at 96 hpi is likely due to a rapid consumption. To determine the rate of synthesis that reflects the activity of CTPS1, we analyzed CTP synthesis using isotope tracing with [ 15 N]glutamine (Fig. 5E). Compared with mock- infected cells, SARS-CoV-2 increased the labeled (M+1) CTP by >2-fold in Caco-2 cells with a 30-minute tracing (Fig. 5F). Interestingly, SARS-CoV-2 infection had no apparent effect on the [ 15 N]UTP (M+1) under similar conditions, indicating the specificity of CTPS1 activated during SARS-CoV-2 infection. The [ 15 N]UTP (M+1) is the product of the de novo pyrimidine synthesis where CAD catalyzes dihydroorotate synthesis using glutamine. Next, we established Caco-2 cell lines that stably express SARS-CoV-2 polypeptides, including ORF7b, ORF8 and Nsp8. When flux analysis with [ 15 N]glutamine was performed, we found that cells expressing ORF7b and ORF8 had >3- and 5-fold more [ 15 N]CTP (M+1) compared to control cells (Vector group), respectively (Fig. 5G). Consistently, ORF7b and ORF8 also increased [ 15 N]CDP (M+1), presumably a product hydrolyzed from CTP. However, Nsp8 expression had no apparent effect on labeled [ 15 N]CTP. Similar results were also observed for these SARS-CoV-2 polypeptides in LoVo colorectal cancer cells that support SARS-CoV-2 replication (Fig. 11B and Fig. 11C). These results show that ORF7b and ORF8 promote CTP synthesis. To probe the effect of ORF7b and ORF8 on the enzyme activity of CTPS1, we purified CTPS1 from stable 293T cells with transient expression of ORF7b and ORF8, and performed in vitro CTP synthesis reaction to characterize the kinetic parameters Kcat and Km of CTPS1 (Fig. 5H). As showed in Fig. 5I and Table 1, Both ORF7b and ORF8 elevated the K cat of CTPS1, and ORF8 also increase Km of CTPS1. Table 1. Kinetic constants for CTP synthetase. K m and K cat were calculated by Michaelis-Menten equation. Inhibitors of CTPS1 Impede SARS-CoV-2 Replication. Inhibition of CTPS1 is expected to reduce CTP supply and restore IFN induction, thereby impeding SARS-CoV-2 replication. We sought to develop small molecule inhibitors of CTPS1 to defeat SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19. In an experiment to identify cellular targets of Q6ca that demonstrates antiviral activity, we performed click-based cross-linking, affinity purification and mass spectrometry analysis. This led to the identification of CTPS1 as a cellular target of Q6ca, although ranked lower than several other proteins (data not shown). With Q6ca as the lead scaffold, we derivatized three molecules and tested whether they inhibited IRF3 deamidation. As analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, we found that AE-1-10 demonstrated the best efficacy to inhibit IRF3 deamidation in Caco-2 cells expressing ORF8 or A549 cells expressing Nsp8, although the other three molecules had modest inhibition as well (Fig. 6A and 12A). Accordingly, AE-1-10 increased IFNB1 expression in a dose-dependent manner in 293T cells infected with Sendai virus, while the other three molecules had marginal effect (Fig. 12B). To determine the specificity of AE-1-10, we depleted CTPS1 in 293T cells for luciferase report assay. We found that AE-1-10 elevated IFN induction in control 293T cells but failed to do so in CTPS1-depleted 293T cells and had no effect on NF-κB activation (Fig. 6B and 12C). To validate that AE-1-10 targets CTPS1, we employed BE-2-10, a close relative of AE-1-10 with a reactive alkyne warhead, for biochemical labeling using 293T cells expressing CTPS1. This assay showed that BE-1-10 reacted with CTPS1 in a dose-dependent manner (Fig. 6C). Taken together, these results demonstrate that AE-1-10 inhibits CTPS1 to elevate IFN induction. Activated CTPS1 also increases CTP supply in cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 to facilitate viral replication. With Caco-2 cells that stably express ORF8, we performed [ 15 N]glutamine flux analysis with AE-1-10 treatment. As shown in Fig. 6D, AE-1-10 treatment reduced [ 15 N]CTP and, much more so [ 15 N]CDP in a dose-dependent manner. Similar reduction was observed in ORF8 expressed LoVo cells after AE-1-10 treatment (Fig. 12D). Similarly, AE- 1-10 also reduced the intracellular concentration of [ 15 N]CTP and [ 15 N]CDP in Caco-2 cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 (Fig. 6E). These results show that an inhibitor of CTPS1 can reduce CTP synthesis in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells and in cells expressing ORF8. To probe the biological significance of AE-1-10 treatment, we analyzed the expression of antiviral genes, including IFNB1, ISG56, CCL5 and Mx1, in SARS-CoV-2-infected Caco-2 cells. Real-time PCR analysis indicated that AE-1-10 elevated the expression of these antiviral genes at the concentration of 2 and 6 µM (Fig. 6F). Consistent with the elevated antiviral gene expression, the expression of viral genes, including Nsp1, N and E, was reduced by AE-1-10 in a dose- dependent manner (Fig.6G), with more than 50% and 75% reduction at the concentration of 2 and 6 µM, respectively. The reduced viral gene expression also correlated with lower viral yield, in which AE-1-10 reduced viral yield by ~10- and 100-fold at the concentrations of 2 and 6 µM (Fig. 6H). Similar results were observed in SARS-CoV-2-infected NHBE cells when treated with AE- 1-10, including elevated antiviral gene expression and reduced viral RNA and yield (Fig. 12E- 12G). These results collectively show that AE-1-10 inhibits CTPS1 to impede nucleotide synthesis and restore IFN induction, thus synergizing to diminish SARS-CoV-2 replication. To improve the antiviral potency of AE-1-10, we designed nine more molecules based on AE-1-10, named them C1-C9, and successfully obtained eight out of 9, except C3. NMR and mass spectrometry analyses indicate that these molecules were homogenous and demonstrated physical- chemical properties consistent with their molecular scaffolds (data not shown). Cell toxicity test showed that these molecules had no significant effect on cell viability up to 3 µM and reduced cell viability and proliferation at 9 µM, likely due to the diminished CTP supply when CTPS1 was inhibited (Fig. 12H). An IFN induction reporter assay showed that four out of eight derivatives, including C4, C5, C8 and C9, had improved effect to increase IFN induction, compared with AE- 1-10 (Fig.12I). Whereas C6 and C7 demonstrated modest effect, C1 and C2 had no effect on IFN induction. Thus, we selected five derivatives, including C4, C5, C7, C8 and C9 for further SARS- CoV-2 study. Consistent with their ability to enhance IFN induction, C9 and C5 showed more robust antiviral activity in SARS-CoV-2 infection as determined by plaque assay (Fig. 6I), compared to AE-1-10. The result of plaque assay also correlated with SARS-CoV-2 gene expression in Caco-2 cells (Fig. 12J). These results identified a number of CTPS1 inhibitors that potently antagonize SARS-CoV-2 replication in cultured cells. Further antiviral activity and cytotoxicity in several cell lines are shown in Fig. 13A-D. And the C9 compound was shown to protect against infection with SARS-CoV-2 infection (Fig. 14A-G). Built on data from the C series of small molecules, we further synthesized a new B series compounds and tested their antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2. When viral RNA was examined by real-time PCR analysis, we found that treatment of B1, B2 and B7 reduced viral RNA abundance by the order of 5 magnitude compared to the vehicle (DMSO) (Fig.15A and Fig.15B). Consistent with previous data, C9 reduced viral RNA abundance by an order of magnitude of 2. The other three compounds, B4, B5 and B8 also had significant improvement compared to C9. These results also correlated with viral titer as determined by plaque assay. Specifically, compounds B1, B2, B7 reduced viral titer to the limit of detection, while B5 and B8 had better effect than C9 that reduced SARS-CoV-2 titer by an order of 3 magnitude (Fig.15C). Importantly, when these compounds were used to treat Caco-2 cells without SARS-CoV-2, cell viability and proliferation were not significantly affected up to 4 µM, indicating that the antiviral activity of these small molecules is not derived from their cytotoxicity (Fig. 15D). Studies involving cultured cells, model animals and COVID-19 patients indicate that SARS-CoV-2 effectively inhibits the production of type I and III interferons. However, the molecular mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 does so is not understood. Earlier works comparing SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences to those of other beta coronaviruses, particularly SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, predict putative viral polypeptides in modulating host innate immune defense, including IFN induction. Here, we report that SARS-CoV-2 deploys multiple proteins to activate CTPS1, which promotes CTP synthesis, while inactivates IRF3 and mutes IFN induction. Remarkably, pharmacological inhibition of CTPS1 potently impedes CTP synthesis and effectively restores IFN induction, thereby diminishing SARS-CoV-2 replication and offering an antiviral strategy targeting a host enzyme. Dysregulated immune response, described as “cytokine storm”, is a characteristic shared among COVID-19 patients under severe and critical. Among the skewed cytokine profile, type I IFNs are produced at very low or under detection levels, which likely contributes to the rapid replication of SARS-CoV-2 in these patients. However, recent reports indicate that the majority of severe and critical COVID-19 patients show low inflammatory cytokines, compared with patients infected with influenza virus. To dissect the mechanism of innate immune evasion by SARS-CoV- 2, we first showed that RNA produced from SARS-CoV-2-infected NHBE cells is potent to induce IFN, whereas SARS-CoV-2 failed to do so during infection when compared with Sendai virus, suggesting that viral proteins antagonize IFN induction. Indeed, a screen utilizing the SARS-CoV- 2 expression library identified ORF7b, ORF8, Nsp8 and Nsp13 as inhibitors of IFN induction. Further analysis showed that these SARS-CoV-2 polypeptides target IRF3 for post-translational modification. Given the ubiquitous role of type I IFN in host innate immune defense against viral infection, regulatory mechanisms governing IRF3 activation are expected to operate independent of cell type and tissue origin (Ivashkiv and Donlin, 2014; Stetson and Medzhitov, 2006). Upstream components, such as pattern recognition receptors and their cognate adaptors, may be tissue- and cell type-specific. Accordingly, viral factors targeting these downstream components likely function in a tissue-dependent manner, and those meddling the downstream components, such as IRF3, are anticipated to work independent of tissues or organs. In the lung, the epithelial cells and pneumocytes of the airway and respiratory track are the first responders in IFN production during SARS-CoV-2 infection. The SARS-CoV-2 polypeptides that induce IRF3 deamidation are relatively small and unlikely to function as intrinsic deamidases. Indeed, a focused shRNA-mediated screen targeting cellular glutamine amidotransferases (GATs) identified CTPS1 as a negative regulator of IFN induction. CTPS1 belongs to the cellular GAT family that is known for their metabolic functions in biosynthesis of cellular building blocks in preparation for proliferation. CTPS1 demonstrates intrinsic activity to deamidate IRF3 in vitro and in cells, which is dependent on the active site required for the glutamine-hydrolysis activity (known as glutaminase) in catalyzing CTP synthesis. This study adds CTPS1 to the growing list of protein deamidases that are originally known as cellular GATs, expanding the functional repertoire of protein deamidation and GATs in immune regulation. Interestingly, CTPS1 and CTPS2 share 74% amino acid homology and were predicted to be functionally redundant. CTPS1, but not CTPS2, interacts with IRF3 in cells, suggesting that these two closely-related enzymes are functionally distinct. Indeed, loss or deficiency of CTPS1 due to mutations was found to impair CTP synthesis in T cell proliferation and result in primary immune deficiency, despite that CTPS2 is highly expressed in T cells. Given the pivotal roles of CTPS1 in T cell-mediated adaptive immunity, it remains interesting whether the protein- deamidating activity of CTPS1 is important for T cell immune function. Deamidation results in the loss of DNA-binding activity of IRF3 to its cognate sequences, supporting the role of deamidation in diminishing IFN induction by IRF3. This constitutes a strategy that viruses effectively shut down antiviral gene expression during infection. Similarly, cells may deploy this mechanism to curtail gene expression that is not essential during proliferation when CTPS1 is highly active. Such a mechanism is analogous to the CAD-mediated RelA deamidation that shunts RelA to transactivate the expression of key glycolytic enzymes in promoting carbon metabolism during S phase. SARS-CoV-2 hijacks CTPS1-mediated IRF3 deamidation to evade IFN induction during infection, which may explain previous observations that SARS-CoV-2 fails to induce IFN production in COVID-19 patients and in animal models. Intriguingly, deamidated IRF3, similar to deamidated RelA, translocates into the nucleus, suggesting that deamidated IRF3 may have unidentified functions relevant to biological processes in the nucleus. Nucleotide supply is a rate-limiting factor for cell proliferation and virus replication. As intracellular obligate pathogens, viruses rely on cellular machinery for their macromolecular biosynthesis. During viral productive infection, nucleotides are used for transcription, translation (ribosome regeneration), genome replication and lipid synthesis for assembly and maturation. Not surprisingly, viruses often activate metabolic enzymes to fuel nucleotide synthesis in support of their replication (Sanchez and Lagunoff, 2015). We discovered that SARS-CoV-2 infection and the expression of ORF7b and ORF8 activate CTPS1 to promote de novo CTP synthesis, thereby fueling viral replication. Strikingly, activated CTPS1 also inhibits type I IFN induction via deamidating IRF3. Thus, SARS-CoV-2 couples the inhibition of type I IFN induction to CTP synthesis via activating CTPS1. This predicts that SARS-CoV-2 relies on CTPS1 for its replication, and conversely inhibiting CTPS1 likely impedes SARS-CoV-2 replication. Indeed, depletion and pharmacological inhibition of CTPS1 greatly diminished CTP synthesis and effectively restored antiviral IFN induction. Here we report the development of several small molecules that target CTPS1 for inhibition. These molecules demonstrate activity to stimulate IFN induction, but not NF- ^B activation. CTPS1 and CAD negatively regulate the IFN and NF-κB induction, respectively. The specific stimulation of IFN induction by AE-1-10 and its derivative thus suggests their inhibition on CTPS1, but not CAD. Furthermore, the effect of AE-1-10 on IFN induction was observed in wild-type cells and this effect was abolished in CTPS1-depleted cells, supporting the conclusion that AE-1-10 inhibits CTPS1 to boost IFN production. Indeed, a derivative of AE-1-10 carrying reactive warhead cross-links with CTPS1 by in vitro assay. These results collectively show that AE-1-10 targets CTPS1 to promote IFN induction. Given that CTPS1 is essential for cell proliferation, AE-1-10 potentially induces toxicity in proliferating cells. The premise is that SARS- CoV-2 activates CTPS1 to facilitate its replication, which permits the selective inhibition of CTPS1 with low dose of AE-1-10 and its derivatives. Additionally, we cannot exclude the possibility that AE-1-10 and its derivatives target cellular proteins other than CTPS1. Future experiments will be necessary to further optimize the conditions that minimize the side effect of these CTPS1 inhibitors. Pharmaceutical Formulations The compounds described herein can be used to prepare therapeutic pharmaceutical compositions, for example, by combining the compounds with a pharmaceutically acceptable diluent, excipient, or carrier. The compounds may be added to a carrier in the form of a salt or solvate. For example, in cases where compounds are sufficiently basic or acidic to form stable nontoxic acid or base salts, administration of the compounds as salts may be appropriate. Examples of pharmaceutically acceptable salts are organic acid addition salts formed with acids that form a physiologically acceptable anion, for example, tosylate, methanesulfonate, acetate, citrate, malonate, tartrate, succinate, benzoate, ascorbate, α-ketoglutarate, and β-glycerophosphate. Suitable inorganic salts may also be formed, including hydrochloride, halide, sulfate, nitrate, bicarbonate, and carbonate salts. Pharmaceutically acceptable salts may be obtained using standard procedures well known in the art, for example by reacting a sufficiently basic compound such as an amine with a suitable acid to provide a physiologically acceptable ionic compound. Alkali metal (for example, sodium, potassium or lithium) or alkaline earth metal (for example, calcium) salts of carboxylic acids can also be prepared by analogous methods. The compounds of the formulas described herein can be formulated as pharmaceutical compositions and administered to a mammalian host, such as a human patient, in a variety of forms. The forms can be specifically adapted to a chosen route of administration, e.g., oral or parenteral administration, by intravenous, intramuscular, topical or subcutaneous routes. The compounds described herein may be systemically administered in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle, such as an inert diluent or an assimilable edible carrier. For oral administration, compounds can be enclosed in hard or soft-shell gelatin capsules, compressed into tablets, or incorporated directly into the food of a patient's diet. Compounds may also be combined with one or more excipients and used in the form of ingestible tablets, buccal tablets, troches, capsules, elixirs, suspensions, syrups, wafers, and the like. Such compositions and preparations typically contain at least 0.1% of active compound. The percentage of the compositions and preparations can vary and may conveniently be from about 0.5% to about 60%, about 1% to about 25%, or about 2% to about 10%, of the weight of a given unit dosage form. The amount of active compound in such therapeutically useful compositions can be such that an effective dosage level can be obtained. The tablets, troches, pills, capsules, and the like may also contain one or more of the following: binders such as gum tragacanth, acacia, corn starch or gelatin; excipients such as dicalcium phosphate; a disintegrating agent such as corn starch, potato starch, alginic acid and the like; and a lubricant such as magnesium stearate. A sweetening agent such as sucrose, fructose, lactose or aspartame; or a flavoring agent such as peppermint, oil of wintergreen, or cherry flavoring, may be added. When the unit dosage form is a capsule, it may contain, in addition to materials of the above type, a liquid carrier, such as a vegetable oil or a polyethylene glycol. Various other materials may be present as coatings or to otherwise modify the physical form of the solid unit dosage form. For instance, tablets, pills, or capsules may be coated with gelatin, wax, shellac or sugar and the like. A syrup or elixir may contain the active compound, sucrose or fructose as a sweetening agent, methyl and propyl parabens as preservatives, a dye and flavoring such as cherry or orange flavor. Any material used in preparing any unit dosage form should be pharmaceutically acceptable and substantially non-toxic in the amounts employed. In addition, the active compound may be incorporated into sustained-release preparations and devices. The active compound may be administered intravenously or intraperitoneally by infusion or injection. Solutions of the active compound or its salts can be prepared in water, optionally mixed with a nontoxic surfactant. Dispersions can be prepared in glycerol, liquid polyethylene glycols, triacetin, or mixtures thereof, or in a pharmaceutically acceptable oil. Under ordinary conditions of storage and use, preparations may contain a preservative to prevent the growth of microorganisms. Pharmaceutical dosage forms suitable for injection or infusion can include sterile aqueous solutions, dispersions, or sterile powders comprising the active ingredient adapted for the extemporaneous preparation of sterile injectable or infusible solutions or dispersions, optionally encapsulated in liposomes. The ultimate dosage form should be sterile, fluid and stable under the conditions of manufacture and storage. The liquid carrier or vehicle can be a solvent or liquid dispersion medium comprising, for example, water, ethanol, a polyol (for example, glycerol, propylene glycol, liquid polyethylene glycols, and the like), vegetable oils, nontoxic glyceryl esters, and suitable mixtures thereof. The proper fluidity can be maintained, for example, by the formation of liposomes, by the maintenance of the required particle size in the case of dispersions, or by the use of surfactants. The prevention of the action of microorganisms can be brought about by various antibacterial and/or antifungal agents, for example, parabens, chlorobutanol, phenol, sorbic acid, thimerosal, and the like. In many cases, it will be preferable to include isotonic agents, for example, sugars, buffers, or sodium chloride. Prolonged absorption of the injectable compositions can be brought about by agents delaying absorption, for example, aluminum monostearate and/or gelatin. Sterile injectable solutions can be prepared by incorporating the active compound in the required amount in the appropriate solvent with various other ingredients enumerated above, as required, optionally followed by filter sterilization. In the case of sterile powders for the preparation of sterile injectable solutions, methods of preparation can include vacuum drying and freeze-drying techniques, which yield a powder of the active ingredient plus any additional desired ingredient present in the solution. For topical administration, compounds may be applied in pure form, e.g., when they are liquids. However, it will generally be desirable to administer the active agent to the skin as a composition or formulation, for example, in combination with a dermatologically acceptable carrier, which may be a solid, a liquid, a gel, or the like. Useful solid carriers include finely divided solids such as talc, clay, microcrystalline cellulose, silica, alumina, and the like. Useful liquid carriers include water, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), alcohols, glycols, or water-alcohol/glycol blends, in which a compound can be dissolved or dispersed at effective levels, optionally with the aid of non-toxic surfactants. Adjuvants such as fragrances and additional antimicrobial agents can be added to optimize the properties for a given use. The resultant liquid compositions can be applied from absorbent pads, used to impregnate bandages and other dressings, or sprayed onto the affected area using a pump-type or aerosol sprayer. Thickeners such as synthetic polymers, fatty acids, fatty acid salts and esters, fatty alcohols, modified celluloses, or modified mineral materials can also be employed with liquid carriers to form spreadable pastes, gels, ointments, soaps, and the like, for application directly to the skin of the user. Examples of dermatological compositions for delivering active agents to the skin are known to the art; for example, see U.S. Patent Nos. 4,992,478, 4,820,508, 4,608,392, and 4,559,157. Such dermatological compositions can be used in combinations with the compounds described herein where an ingredient of such compositions can optionally be replaced by a compound described herein, or a compound described herein can be added to the composition. Useful dosages of the compounds described herein can be determined by comparing their in vitro activity, and in vivo activity in animal models. Methods for the extrapolation of effective dosages in mice, and other animals, to humans are known to the art; for example, see U.S. Patent No. 4,938,949 (Borch et al.). The amount of a compound, or an active salt or derivative thereof, required for use in treatment will vary not only with the particular compound or salt selected but also with the route of administration, the nature of the condition being treated, and the age and condition of the patient, and will be ultimately at the discretion of an attendant physician or clinician. In general, however, a suitable dose will be in the range of from about 0.5 to about 100 mg/kg, e.g., from about 10 to about 75 mg/kg of body weight per day, such as 3 to about 50 mg per kilogram body weight of the recipient per day, preferably in the range of 6 to 90 mg/kg/day, most preferably in the range of 15 to 60 mg/kg/day. The compound is conveniently formulated in unit dosage form; for example, containing 5 to 1000 mg, conveniently 10 to 750 mg, most conveniently, 50 to 500 mg of active ingredient per unit dosage form. In one embodiment, the invention provides a composition comprising a compound of the invention formulated in such a unit dosage form. The compound can be conveniently administered in a unit dosage form, for example, containing 5 to 1000 mg/m 2 , conveniently 10 to 750 mg/m 2 , most conveniently, 50 to 500 mg/m 2 of active ingredient per unit dosage form. The desired dose may conveniently be presented in a single dose or as divided doses administered at appropriate intervals, for example, as two, three, four or more sub-doses per day. The sub-dose itself may be further divided, e.g., into a number of discrete loosely spaced administrations. The desired dose may conveniently be presented in a single dose or as divided doses administered at appropriate intervals, for example, as two, three, four or more sub-doses per day. The sub-dose itself may be further divided, e.g., into a number of discrete loosely spaced administrations; such as multiple inhalations from an insufflator or by application of a plurality of drops into the eye. The following Examples are intended to illustrate the above invention and should not be construed as to narrow its scope. One skilled in the art will readily recognize that the Examples suggest many other ways in which the invention could be practiced. It should be understood that numerous variations and modifications may be made while remaining within the scope of the invention. EXAMPLES Example 1. Materials and Methods Cell culture. HEK293T, A549, LoVo, IRF3/7 -/- mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) were cultured in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM, Hyclone). THP1 cells were cultured in RPMI 1640 medium. Caco-2, Calu-3 were cultured in MEM medium. All these media were supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS, HyClone), penicillin (100 U/mL) and streptomycin (100 μg/mL) and maintained at 37 ℃ in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2. Primary normal, human bronchial/tracheal epithelial cells (NHBE) were cultured in airway epithelial cell medium according to the ATCC recommendation. Viruses. Sendai virus (SeV) was purchased from Charles River. Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) was amplified using Vero cells. SARS-CoV-2 was propagated in Vero E6 cells. All SARS- CoV-2 related viral propagation, viral infection, and vital titration were performed in biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) facility (USC). SARS-CoV-2 propagation: Vero E6 cells were seeded at 1.5 x 10 6 cells per T25 flask for 12 h. Cells were washed with FBS-free DMEM medium once, and infected with SARS-CoV-2 at MOI 0.005 in FBS-free DMEM medium. Cells were checked daily for cytopathic effect (CPE). Virus-containing medium was harvested when virus-induced CPE reached approximately 80% (around 72 h after viral infection), centrifuge at 3000 rpm for 5 min, and store at -80 ℃. SARS-CoV-2 infection: NHBE (1.5 x 10 5 cells), Calu-3 (5 x 10 5 cells) or Caco-2 cells (2 x 10 5 cells) were seeded in one well of 12-well plates. Cells were washed with FBS-free medium before viral infection. SARS-CoV-2 was diluted in 250 μl (per well) medium corresponding to the cell line. Viral infection was incubated on a rocker for 45 min at 37°C. Cells were washed with fresh medium, and medium containing 10% FBS was added. SARS-CoV-2 viral titration (plaque assay): Vero E6 cells were seeded in 6- or 12-well plates. When cell confluence reaches 100%, cells were washed with FBS-free medium, and infected with serially diluted SARS-CoV-2. After infection, medium was removed, and overlay medium containing FBS-free 1 x DMEM and 1% low-melting point agarose was added. At 72 h post infection, cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde (PFA) overnight, and stained with 0.2% crystal violet. Plaques were counted on a light box. Plasmids. Luciferase reporter plasmids for IFN-β, NF-κB promoters, RIG-I-N, MAVS, TBK1, IRF3-5D and shRNA for human glutamine amidotransferases (CTPS1, CTPS2, GFPT1, GFPT2, GMPS, PFAS, PPAT, CPS1, ASNS and NADSYN1) were described previously (Zhao et al. (2016b), Cell Host Microbe 20, 770-784, and Zhou et al. (2020), Nature 579, 270-273. A cDNA construct was used to amplify and clone CTPS1 into mammalian expression vectors. Point mutants of IRF3 and CTPS1, including IRF3-Q15E, IRF3-N85D, IRF3-N184D, IRF3-N217D, IRF3- N389D, IRF3-N397D, IRF3-N85A, IRF3-N85Q, and CTPS1 enzyme-deficient (CTPS1-ED) mutant (C399A/H526A/E528A) were generated by site-directed mutagenesis and confirmed by sequencing. Lentiviral expression constructs containing IRF3, CTPS1 and hACE2 were generated from pCDH-CMV-EF1-Puro or pCDH-CMV-EF1-Hygro by molecular cloning. pLVX-EF1alpha- 2XStrep-IRES-Puro containing SARS-CoV-2 viral genes. Quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Total RNA was extracted from mock- or virus-infected cells using TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen). cDNA was synthesized from one microgram total RNA using reverse transcriptase (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer’s instruction. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) reaction was performed with SYBR Green Master Mix (Sigma) or qPCRBIO SyGreen Blue Mix Lo-ROX (Genesee Scientific). Relative mRNA abundance was calculated by 2 -ΔΔCt method. Primers for qRT-PCR were listed in Table 3. Lentivirus-mediated Stable Cell Line Construction. Lentivirus production was carried out in HEK293T cells. Briefly, 293T cells were co-transfected with packaging plasmids (VSV-G, DR8.9) and pCDH lentiviral expression vector or lentiviral shRNA plasmids. At 48 h post transfection, the medium was harvested and filtered. HEK293T, mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), Caco-2, LoVo and A549 cells were infected with lentivirus-containing medium, with polybrene (8 ug/ml) and centrifugation at 1800 rpm for 50 min at 30℃. Cells were incubated at 37℃ for 6 h, and replaced with fresh DMEM with 10% FBS. At 48 h post infection, cells were selected with puromycin (1-2 μg/ml) or hygromycin (200 μg/ml) and stable cell lines were maintained with DMEM containing corresponding antibiotics. To establish IRF3 knockout cell line, 293T cells were transduced with lentivirus expressing sgRNA targeting IRF3 (pL-CRISPR.EFS.PAC-Targeting-IRF3, Table 3) and selected with 1 μg/ml puromycin. Single colonies were isolated and screened by immunoblotting with IRF3 antibody. Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assay. HEK293T cells in 24-well plates (~50% cell density) were transfected with reporter plasmid cocktail containing 50 ng luciferase reporter plasmids (ISRE-luc, IFN-β-luc or NF-κB), 5 ng TK-renilla luciferase reporter (control vector) and the indicated expression plasmids by calcium phosphate precipitation. Whole cell lysates were prepared at 24 – 30 h post-transfection, and used for dual luciferase assay according to the manufacturer’s instruction (Promega). Confocal Microscopy Analysis. Irf3 -/- Irf7 -/- MEFs reconstituted with Flag-IRF3 wild- type, Flag-IRF3-N85D were infected with or without SeV (100 HA units/ml). Sixteen hours later, cells were washed, fixed according to methods well known in the art. Cells were incubated with primary mouse monoclonal anti-Flag antibody and Alex Fluor 488-congugated goat secondary antibody, and analyzed with confocal microscope (Leica). Protein Expression and Purification. HEK293T cells were transfected with plasmids containing Flag-tagged or GST-Tagged genes of interest. Cells were harvested at 48 h post- transfection, and lysed in Triton X-100 buffer (20 mM Tris, pH 7.5, 150 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 20 mM β-glycerophosphate, 10% glycerol) supplemented with a protease inhibitor cocktail (Roche). Whole cell lysates (WCLs) were sonicated, incubated at 4℃ for 30 min on a rotator, and centrifuged at 12,000 rpm for 30 min. Supernatant was filtered, and precleared with sepharose 4B agarose beads (Thermo) at 4℃ for 1 h. The pre-cleared WCLs were incubated with anti-FLAG M2 agarose beads or glutathione-conjugated agarose beads at 4℃ for 4 h. Anti-FLAG M2 magnetic beads were washed extensively with lysis buffer and eluted with 0.2 mg/ml 3xFlag peptide. GST beads were extensively washed and used immediately for in vitro on-column deamidation assay. Concentration of purified proteins was analyzed by SDS-PAGE and Coomassie staining, with BSA as a standard. Two-dimensional Gel Electrophoresis. Cells (1 × 10 6 ) were resuspended in 150 µl rehydration buffer (8 M Urea, 2% CHAPS, 0.5% IPG buffer, 0.002% bromophenol blue), sonicated three times, and incubated for 15 min on ice. Whole cell lysates were centrifuged at 12,000 g for 15 min. Supernatants were loaded to IEF strips for isoelectric focusing with a program comprising: 20 V, 10 h (rehydration); 500 V, 1 h; 1000 V, 1 h; 1000-5000 V, 4 h; 5000 V, 4 h. Then, strips were incubated with SDS equilibration buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl [pH8.8], 6 M urea, 30% glycerol, 2% SDS, 0.001% Bromophenol Blue) containing 10 mg/ml DTT for 15 min and SDS equilibration buffer containing 2-iodoacetamide for 15 min. Strips were washed with SDS -PAGE buffer, resolved by SDS-PAGE, and analyzed by immunoblotting. In vitro Deamidation Assay. Expression plasmids containing IRF3-WT-GST, IRF3- N85D-GST, Flag-CTPS1 were transfected into HEK293T cells. Cell lysates were prepared at 48 h post transfection and proteins were purified with Flag M2 agarose beads (Sigma) or glutathione- conjugated agarose beads (Sigma). In vitro on-column deamidation of IRF3 was performed as previously reported (Zhao et al., 2020, Cell Metab 31, 937-955 e937). Briefly, 0.2 μg of CTPS1 and 0.6 μg of IRF3-WT-GST or IRF3-N85D-GST (on beads) were added to a total volume of 50 μl. The reaction was carried out at 37 ℃ for 45 min in deamidation buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl at pH 8.0, 20 mM MgCl 2 , 5 mM KC1, 1 mM ATP, 1 mM GTP). IRF3-WT-GST or IRF3-N85D-GST were eluted with rehydration buffer (8 M Urea, 2% CHAPS, 0.5% IPG Buffer, 0.002% bromophenol blue) at room temperature and analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting. Mass Spectrometry Analysis for Deamidation Sites. To identify deamidation sites, HEK293T cells were transfected with a plasmid containing IRF3-GST without or with that containing the enzyme-deficient CTPS1 mutant (Flag-CTPS1-ED). Transfected cells were harvested at 48 h post transfected and IRF3-GST was purified with glutathione-conjugated agarose beads from whole cell lysates. Purified proteins were subjected to SDS-PAGE and Coomassie blue staining. Gel slices containing IRF3-GST were prepared for in-gel digestion and mass spectrometry analysis (Poochon Scientific). Metabolic Profiling and Isotope Tracing. Caco2 cells were mock-infected or infected with SARS-CoV-2 at MOI = 1. Cells were harvested at 6 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h post-infection for metabolite analysis. To analyze the effect of SARS-CoV-2 proteins on nucleotide synthesis, LoVo and Caco2 stable cell lines stably expressing SARS-CoV-2 ORF7b, ORF8 and NSP8 were cultured with medium containing [ 15 N]glutamine for 30 min and 1 h. Cells were washed with 1 ml ice-cold ammonium acetate (NH 4 AcO, 150 mM, pH 7.3), added 1 ml -80℃ cold MeOH, and incubated at -80 ℃ for 20 min. After incubation, cells were scraped off and supernatants were transferred into microfuge tubes. Samples were pelleted at 4 ℃ for 5 min at 15k rpm. The supernatant was transferred into new microfuge tubes, dried at room temperature under vacuum, and re-suspended in water for LC-MS run. Samples were randomized and analyzed on a Q-Exactive Plus hybrid quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometer coupled to Vanquish UHPLC system (Thermo Fisher). The mass spectrometer was run in polarity switching mode (+3.00 kV/-2.25 kV) with an m/z window ranging from 65 to 975. Mobile phase A was 5 mM NH 4 AcO, pH 9.9, and mobile phase B was acetonitrile. Metabolites were separated on a Luna 3 μm NH2 100 NH2 100A˚ (150 x 2.0 mm) column (Phenomenex). The flow rate was 0.3 ml/min, and the gradient was from 15% A to 95% A in 18 min, followed by an isocratic step for 9 min and re-equilibration for 7 min. All samples were run in biological triplicate. Metabolites were detected and quantified as area under the curve based on retention time and accurate mass (5 ppm) using the TraceFinder 4.1 (Thermo Scientific) software. Raw data was corrected for naturally occurring 15 N abundance. CTPS1 Enzymatic Activity Assay. Flag-CTPS1 expressed 293T stable cell line was transfected with plasmids containing SARS-CoV-2 ORF7b, ORF8, NSP8 and empty vector for 40 h. CTPS1 was purified with anti-FLAG M2 agarose via one-step affinity chromatography. CTPS1 activity was determined by measuring the conversion of UTP to CTP via mass spectrometry. The standard reaction mixture containing 50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0), 10 mM MgCl2, 10 mM 2- mercaptoethanol, 2 mM L-glutamine, 1 mM GTP, 1 mM ATP, 1 mM UTP, and an appropriate dilution of CTPS1 in a total volume of 50 μl. The reactions were equilibrated to 37 ℃ for 45 min, and quenched by adding 250 μl cold (-80 ℃) methanol and incubating at -80 ℃ for 20 min. The metabolites were analyzed by LS-MS as described above. Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Control and CTPS1-depleted 293T or THP1 cells, Irf3 -/- Irf7 -/- MEF reconstituted with IRF3-WT, IRF3-N85D, IRF3-N85A and empty vector were infected with SeV (100 HAU/ml). Medium of cells was harvested at the indicated time points. Human IFN-β, CCL5, and mouse IFN-β, CXCL10 were analyzed by commercial ELISA kits according to the manufacturer’s instruction. Electrophoresis Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA). Flag-IRF3-WT and Flag-IRF3-N85D were purified from HEK293T cells. Binding reactions were carried out in 20 μl volumes containing: 2.5 nM P32 labeled DNA probe targeting IFN-β promoter (forward: GCACCGCTAACCGAAACCGAAACTGTGC (SEQ ID NO: 41); reverse: GCACAGTTTCGGTTTCGGTTAGCGGTGC) (SEQ ID NO: 42); 10 mM Tris pH 7.5; 50 mM NaCl; 2 mM DTT and indicated purified Flag-IRF3-WT or Flag-IRF3-N85D. Unlabeled probe (cold probe) was used for competition assay. Reactions were incubated at room temperature for 45 min, and resolved in 6% polyacrylamide gels (29:1 crosslinking) with 0.5 × TBE running buffer at 200 V/cm on ice until the loading dye front reached the bottom of the gel. Gels were dried and analyzed using phosphorimaging instrumentation. Small Molecule Synthesis. Reagents and solvents were obtained from commercial suppliers and used without further purification, unless otherwise stated. Flash column chromatography was carried out using an automated system (Teledyne Isco CombiFlash. Reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was carried out on a Shimadzu HPLC system. All anhydrous reactions were carried out under nitrogen atmosphere. NMR spectra were obtained on Varian VNMRS-500, VNMRS-600, or Mercury-400. (1) Synthesis of compounds AE-1-10, BE-2-10, and C1-C9: Step 1: X (1 eq.) and Y (1.2 eq.) were dissolved in DCM/DMF (4:1). HBTU (4 eq.) and triethylamine (4 eq.) were added and the solution was allowed to stir at room temperature for 16 hours. After 16 hours, the reaction mixture was diluted with EtOAc and washed with 10% Na2CO3 followed by brine 3 times. The organic layer was dried with Na 2 SO 4 and concentrated by rotary evaporation. The residue was purified via flash column chromatography (EtOAc/Hex). All products moved to Step 2 except for the C2 intermediate, which first moved to Step 1.2. Table 2. Synthesis of target compounds. Step 1.2 (only applies to C2): The C2 intermediate from Step 1 (1 eq) was dissolved in dry THF and cooled to 0 o C. NaH (60% in oil) (1.5 eq) was added portion wise to the stirring solution. Methyl iodide (1.1 eq.) was added drop wise. The reaction mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature. The round bottom was transferred to oil bath and refluxed at 75 o C for 2 hrs. The reaction mixture was poured in ice water and was extracted with EtOAc 3 times. The organic layer was washed with brine 2 times, dried with Na 2 SO 4 , and concentrated by rotary evaporation. The residue was purified via flash column chromatography and the intermediate moved onto Step 2. Step 2: Intermediates from Steps 1 and 1.2 (1 eq.) were dissolved in MeOH. Zn (5 eq.) and NH 4 Cl (5 eq.) were added, and the mixture was allowed to stir at room temperature for 16 hr. The reaction mixture was dissolved in EtOA and washed with 10% Na2CO3 followed by brine 3 times. The organic layer was dried over NaSO4 and concentrated by rotary evaporation to yield the intermediates which were used in the next reaction without further purification. Step 3: Intermediates from Step 3 (1 eq.) were dissolved in anhydrous DCM/THF (1:4) under nitrogen gas. DIPEA (1.2 eq) was added via syringe. Chloroacetyl chloride (1.2 eq) was added via syringe slowly dropwise. The reaction mixture was allowed to stir overnight. The mixture was diluted with EtOAc and washed with 10% Na 2 CO 3 . The organic layer was dried over NaSO4 and the residue was purified via flash chromatography (EtOAc/Hexane) to yield the final products. (2) Synthesis of BE-2-10-biotin. BE-2-10 (1 eq.) and PEG-2-biotin-azide (1.1 eq.), were dissolved in DMF.0.5 M CuSO4 (0.2 eq), 0.5 M sodium ascorbate (0.2 eq), and 0.5 M TBTA (0.2 eq) were added. The reaction was allowed to stir for 24 hours. The reaction mixture was added to water and extracted 5 times with EtOAc. The residue was recrystallized with ether to yield BE-2- 10-biotin. Drug Treatment. For SARS-CoV-2 infection, Caco-2 or NHBE cells were pre-treated with AE-1-10 or its derivatives (C2, C4, C5, C7, C8 and C9) for 2 h. Then the medium were removed. Cells were washed and infected with SARS-CoV-2. Afterwards, medium containing virus was removed, and cells were cultured with drug-containing medium. Drugs were added at each 24 h after viral infection until the end of the experiments. DMSO was used as control. To test the effect of AE-1-10 on IRF3 deamidation, ORF8 or Nsp8 expressed Caco-2 or A549 cells were treated with 5 μM AE-1-10 for 4 h. To analyze the effect of AE-1-10 on intracellular metabolites, ORF8 expressed Caco-2 or LoVo cells were treated with 5 μM AE-1-10 for 2 h. Table 3. Primer Pairs ) ( Q ) IRF3 gRNA1 CTGGTGCATATGTTCCCGGGAGG (SEQ ID NO: 39) IRF3 gRNA2 GCCGTAGGCCGTGCTTCCAAGGG (SEQ ID NO: 40) Example 2. Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms. The following formulations illustrate representative pharmaceutical dosage forms that may be used for the therapeutic or prophylactic administration of a compound of a formula described herein, a compound specifically disclosed herein, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof (hereinafter referred to as 'Compound X'): (i) Tablet 1 mg/tablet 'Compound X' 100.0 Lactose 77.5 Povidone 15.0 Croscarmellose sodium 12.0 Microcrystalline cellulose 92.5 Magnesium stearate 3.0 300.0 (ii) Tablet 2 mg/tablet 'Compound X' 20.0 Microcrystalline cellulose 410.0 Starch 50.0 Sodium starch glycolate 15.0 Magnesium stearate 5.0 500.0 (iii) Capsule mg/capsule 'Compound X' 10.0 Colloidal silicon dioxide 1.5 Lactose 465.5 Pregelatinized starch 120.0 Magnesium stearate 3.0 600.0 (iv) Injection 1 (1 mg/mL) mg/mL 'Compound X' (free acid form) 1.0 Dibasic sodium phosphate 12.0 Monobasic sodium phosphate 0.7 Sodium chloride 4.5 1.0 N Sodium hydroxide solution q.s. (pH adjustment to 7.0-7.5) Water for injection q.s. ad 1 mL (v) Injection 2 (10 mg/mL) mg/mL 'Compound X' (free acid form) 10.0 Monobasic sodium phosphate 0.3 Dibasic sodium phosphate 1.1 Polyethylene glycol 400 200.0 0.1 N Sodium hydroxide solution q.s. (pH adjustment to 7.0-7.5) Water for injection q.s. ad 1 mL (vi) Aerosol mg/can 'Compound X' 20 Oleic acid 10 Trichloromonofluoromethane 5,000 Dichlorodifluoromethane 10,000 Dichlorotetrafluoroethane 5,000 (vii) Topical Gel 1 wt.% 'Compound X' 5% Carbomer 934 1.25% Triethanolamine q.s. (pH adjustment to 5-7) Methyl paraben 0.2% Purified water q.s. to 100g (viii) Topical Gel 2 wt.% 'Compound X' 5% Methylcellulose 2% Methyl paraben 0.2% Propyl paraben 0.02% Purified water q.s. to 100g (ix) Topical Ointment wt.% 'Compound X' 5% Propylene glycol 1% Anhydrous ointment base 40% Polysorbate 80 2% Methyl paraben 0.2% Purified water q.s. to 100g (x) Topical Cream 1 wt.% 'Compound X' 5% White bees wax 10% Liquid paraffin 30% Benzyl alcohol 5% Purified water q.s. to 100g (xi) Topical Cream 2 wt.% 'Compound X' 5% Stearic acid 10% Glyceryl monostearate 3% Polyoxyethylene stearyl ether 3% Sorbitol 5% Isopropyl palmitate 2 % Methyl Paraben 0.2% Purified water q.s. to 100g These formulations may be prepared by conventional procedures well known in the pharmaceutical art. It will be appreciated that the above pharmaceutical compositions may be varied according to well-known pharmaceutical techniques to accommodate differing amounts and types of active ingredient 'Compound X'. Aerosol formulation (vi) may be used in conjunction with a standard, metered dose aerosol dispenser. Additionally, the specific ingredients and proportions are for illustrative purposes. Ingredients may be exchanged for suitable equivalents and proportions may be varied, according to the desired properties of the dosage form of interest. While specific embodiments have been described above with reference to the disclosed embodiments and examples, such embodiments are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of the invention. Changes and modifications can be made in accordance with ordinary skill in the art without departing from the invention in its broader aspects as defined in the following claims. All publications, patents, and patent documents are incorporated by reference herein, as though individually incorporated by reference. No limitations inconsistent with this disclosure are to be understood therefrom. The invention has been described with reference to various specific and preferred embodiments and techniques. However, it should be understood that many variations and modifications may be made while remaining within the spirit and scope of the invention.