Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
Brief Article
submitted for publication) was used to verify the mutation role
on the activity profile of (R)- and (S)-1 and of (R)- and (S)-2.
It could be argued that the use of static unrefined complexes
cannot account for the dynamic aspect of ligand binding,
nevertheless the CM4 models is able to highlight some aspects
that would be otherwise ignored to interpret the experimental
data. Application of the CM4 model to the inhibitors
successfully reproduced the experimental eudismic ratio of
(R) and (S) enantiomers as well as the increase of potency of 2
compared to 1. In particular, among the residues around the
RT NNBP a main role can be quantitatively attributed to
Lys101 that was not considered in the RT mutated list. Other
important residues for the binding strength were the highly
conserved Trp229 and Tyr188 residues. The latter (Tyr188 in
the WT isoform) serves as a steric anchor point to fulfill the
concomitant lack of interactions that occurs in other mutation
points such as in the case of V106A (Figure 2).
effect of K103N RT mutation on the (R)-1 and (R)-2 activities
was further characterized. A ComBinE model based on 14
complexes between RT and EFV and NVP without any
knowledge of the herein reported compounds, reproduced with
acceptable errors of prediction quantitatively the differences
between different pyrimidinone derivatives and their enan-
tiomers and was used to gain insight into the role of RT
mutations on the inhibitors’ biological activities.
EXPERIMENTAL SECTION
Chemistry. Melting points were determined on a Buchi 530
melting point apparatus and are uncorrected. H NMR spectra were
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1
recorded at 400 MHz on a Bruker AC 400 spectrometer; chemical
shifts are reported in δ units relative to the internal reference
tetramethylsilane (Me4Si). All of the compounds were routinely
1
checked by TLC and H NMR. TLC was performed on aluminum
backed silica gel plates (Merck DC, Alufolien Kieselgel 60 F254) with
spots visualized by UV light. All of the solvents were reagent grade
and, when necessary, were purified and dried by standard methods.
Concentration of solutions after reactions and extractions involved the
use of a rotary evaporator operating at a reduced pressure of ca. 20
Torr. Organic solutions were dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate.
Elemental analysis has been used to determine purity of the described
compounds, that is >95%. Analytical results are within 0.40% of the
theoretical values. All chemicals were purchased from Aldrich Chimica,
Milan (Italy), or from Lancaster Synthesis GmbH, Milan (Italy), and
were of the highest purity.
Preparation of 6-[1-(2,6-Difluorophenyl)-ethyl]-5-methyl-2-
nitroamino-3H-pyrimidin-4-one (4). See Supporting Information.
Preparation of 6-[1-(2,6-Difluorophenyl)-ethyl]-5-methyl-2-
(methyl-n-propyl-amino)-3H-pyrimidin-4-one (1). A mixture of
6-[1-(2,6-difluorophenyl)-ethyl]-5-methyl-2-nitroamino-3H-pyrimi-
din-4-one 4 (100 mg, 0.322 mmol) and N-methyl-N-propylamine
(707.2 mg, 9.66 mmol, 0.99 mL) was heated in a sealed tube of a Parr
apparatus at 120 °C for 5 h. After cooling, the crude residue was
dissolved in ethyl acetate (15 mL) and water (15 mL). The aqueous
phase was extracted with ethyl acetate (3 × 15 mL). The organic
extracts were washed with brine (1 × 20 mL), dried, evaporated under
reduced pressure, and purified by column chromatography (silica gel,
ethyl acetate/chloroform 1:2) to give the desired product 1 as a white
powder (75.1 mg, 72.6%); mp 128−130 °C (dichloromethane/diethyl
Figure 2. Comparison between (R)-2 (green carbon atoms) docked
into WT (yellow) and V106A mutated (gray) RT. The only residue
that appreciably moves is Tyr188. The mutated Ala106 is displayed in
magenta.
1
ether). H NMR (CDCl3) δ 10.70 (s, 1H, NH), 7.13 (m, 1H, H
benzene ring), 6.81 (m, 2H, H benzene ring), 4.54 (q, 1H, CHCH3),
3.50 (m, 1H, NCHHCH2CH3), 3.37 (m, 1H, NCHHCH2CH3), 3.06
(s, 3H, NCH3), 1.93 (s, 3H, CH3), 1.64 (d, 3H, CHCH3), 1.54 (m,
2H, NCH2CH2CH3), 0.88 (s, 3H, NCH2CH2CH3). Anal. C, H, N, F:
% Calcd C, 63.54; H, 6.59; N, 13.08; F, 11.82, Percent found C, 63.22;
H, 6.48; N, 13.25; F, 12.01.
Enantioseparation and Chiroptical Characterization. See
Supporting Information.
Molecular Modeling: ComBinE and Docking Calculations.
See Supporting Information.
Biology: Anti-HIV Activity in Lymphoid Cells. Biological
activity of the compounds was tested in the lymphoid MT-4 cell
line (received from the NIH AIDS Reagent Program) against the WT
HIV-1 NL4−3 strain and three different HIV-1 strains, as described
before.11,12 For a brief description, see Supporting Information.
Anti-HIV Reverse Transcriptase Assays. RNA-dependent DNA
polymerase activity was assayed as described13 in the presence of 0.5
μg of poly(rA)/oligo(dT)10:1 (0.3 μM 3′-OH ends), 10 μM [3H]-
dTTP (1 Ci/mmol), and 2−4 nM RT in the presence of 8% final
concentration of DMSO. For a brief description, see Supporting
Information.
CONCLUSION
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Among the most potent pyrimidine derivatives described by us
as anti-HIV-1 agents, the N,N-DABO 1 and the DABO−DAPY
hybrid 2, both carrying a stereogenic center at the C6-benzylic
position and previously prepared and tested as racemates, were
resolved and characterized for their enantioselective activities in
HIV-1-infected cells as well as by enzyme assays. In both
cellular and enzyme assays, the R enantiomers of the two
compounds were significantly more potent than the S
counterparts, the racemates having an intermediate behavior
compared to the corresponding single enantiomers. (R)-2 was
typically more efficient than (R)-1 as well as than the reference
compounds TMC120, NVP, and EFV in inhibiting the
cytopathic effect of HIV-1 strains in MT-4 cells with the
exception of the Y181C mutant, against which TMC120 and
EFV showed the highest effects. However, (R)-2 was one
magnitude order less toxic than TMC120 and EFV, thus
reaching a very high selectivity index. In enzyme assays, (R)-2
displayed the highest inhibitory activities against RT WT,
K103N, V106A, and Y188L, while against L100I and Y181I
(joined in this case to EFV) (R)-1 was more efficient. The
ASSOCIATED CONTENT
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* Supporting Information
Details on enantioseparation and absolute configuration
assignment, biochemistry and molecular modeling studies,
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dx.doi.org/10.1021/jm201308v | J. Med. Chem. 2012, 55, 3558−3562