Reverse transcriptase of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) has two enzymatic functions. One of the functions is ribonuclease (RNase) H activity concerning the digestion of only RNA of RNA/DNA hybrid. The RNase H activity is an attractive target for a new class of anti-HIV drugs because no approved inhibitor is available now. In our previous studies, an agent bearing 5-nitro-furan-2-carboxylic acid ester core was found from chemical screening and dozens of the derivatives were synthesized to improve compound potency. In this work, some parts of the chemical structure were modulated to deepen our understanding of the structure–activity relationship of the analogous compounds. Several derivatives having nitro-furan-phenyl-ester skeleton were shown to be potent RNase H inhibitors. Attaching methoxy-carbonyl and methoxy groups to the phenyl ring increased the inhibitory potency. No significant cytotoxicity was observed for these active derivatives. In contrast, the derivatives having nitro-furan-benzyl-ester skeleton showed modest inhibitory activities regardless of attaching diverse kinds of functional groups to the benzyl ring. Both the modulation of the 5-nitro-furan-2-carboxylic moiety and the conversion of the ester linkage resulted in a drastic decrease in inhibitory potency. These findings are informative for designing potent inhibitors of RNase H enzymatic activity of HIV-1.
人类免疫缺陷病毒 1 型(HIV-1)的逆转录酶具有两种酶功能。其中一个功能是
核糖核酸酶(RNase)H 活性,它只消化 RNA/DNA 混合体中的 RNA。RNase H 活性是一类新型抗艾滋病毒药物的诱人靶点,因为目前还没有获得批准的
抑制剂。在我们以前的研究中,通过
化学筛选发现了一种以 5-硝基
呋喃-2-
羧酸酯为核心的药剂,并合成了数十种衍
生物以提高化合物的效力。在这项工作中,我们对部分
化学结构进行了调整,以加深对类似化合物结构-活性关系的理解。研究表明,几种具有硝基
呋喃-苯基酯骨架的衍
生物是有效的 RNase H
抑制剂。在苯基环上连接甲氧基羰基和甲氧基基团可提高抑制效力。这些活性衍
生物没有观察到明显的细胞毒性。相比之下,具有硝基
呋喃-苄酯骨架的衍
生物无论在苄基环上连接何种官能团,都显示出适度的抑制活性。对 5-硝基-
呋喃-2-羧基的调节和酯连接的转换都会导致抑制效力的急剧下降。这些发现对设计有效的 HIV-1 RNase H 酶活性
抑制剂具有参考价值。