Discovery of Novel Small Molecule Anti-HCV Agents via the CypA Inhibitory Mechanism Using O-Acylation-Directed Lead Optimization
作者:Wenzhong Yan、Jie Qing、Hanbing Mei、Fei Mao、Jin Huang、Jin Zhu、Hualiang Jiang、Lei Liu、Linqi Zhang、Jian Li
DOI:10.3390/molecules200610342
日期:——
In this work, the relationship between cyclophilin A (CypA) and HCV prompted us to screen a series of small molecule CypA inhibitors which were previously reported by our group. Among them, compound 1, discovered as a non-immunosuppressive anti-HCV agent with an EC50 value of 0.67 μM in a virus assay, was selected for further study. Subsequent chemical modification by O-acylation led to a novel class of molecules, among which compound 25 demonstrated the most potent anti-HCV activity in the virus assay (EC50 = 0.19 μM), but low cytotoxicity and hERG cardiac toxicity. The following studies (a solution stability assay and a simple pharmacokinetic test together with a CypA enzyme inhibition assay) preliminarily indicated that 25 was a prodrug of 1. To the best of our knowledge, 25 is probably the most potent currently reported small molecule anti-HCV agent acting via the CypA inhibitory mechanism. Consequently, our study has provided a new potential small molecule for curing HCV infection.
在本项工作中,我们基于亲环蛋白A(CypA)与丙型肝炎病毒(HCV)的关联,筛选了我们课题组先前报道的一系列小分子CypA抑制剂。其中,化合物1在病毒检测中表现出0.67μM的EC50值,被发现是一种非免疫抑制性的抗HCV剂,因此被选作进一步研究的对象。随后的化学修饰通过O-酰化引入了一类新型分子,其中化合物25在病毒检测中展现出最强的抗HCV活性(EC50=0.19μM),且具有较低的细胞毒性和心脏毒性(hERG毒性低)。后续的研究(溶液稳定性测定、简单的药代动力学测试以及CypA酶抑制试验)初步表明,25可能是1的前药。据我们所知,25或许是当前报道的通过CypA抑制机制发挥作用的最强效的小分子抗HCV药物。因此,我们的研究为治疗HCV感染提供了新的潜在小分子药物。