ABSTRACT
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5B RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) plays a central role in virus replication. NS5B has no functional equivalent in mammalian cells, and as a consequence is an attractive target for selective inhibition. This paper describes the discovery of a novel family of HCV NS5B non-nucleoside inhibitors inspired by the bioisosterism between sulfonamide and phosphonamide. Systematic structural optimization in this new series led to the identification of IDX375, a potent non-nucleoside inhibitor that is selective for genotypes 1a and 1b. The structure and binding domain of IDX375 were confirmed by X-ray co-crystalisation study.
Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/chemistry , Hepacivirus/enzymology , Lactams/chemistry , Organophosphorus Compounds/chemistry , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Allosteric Regulation , Animals , Antiviral Agents/chemical synthesis , Antiviral Agents/metabolism , Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , Binding Sites , Crystallography, X-Ray , Genotype , Half-Life , Haplorhini , Hepacivirus/genetics , Hepacivirus/physiology , Humans , Lactams/pharmacology , Mice , Molecular Dynamics Simulation , Organophosphorus Compounds/pharmacology , Protein Structure, Tertiary , Rats , Structure-Activity Relationship , Sulfonamides/chemistry , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/metabolism , Virus Replication/drug effectsABSTRACT
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5B RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) plays a central role in virus replication. NS5B has no functional equivalent in mammalian cells and, as a consequence, is an attractive target for selective inhibition. This Letter describes the discovery of a new family of HCV NS5B non-nucleoside inhibitors, based on the bioisosterism between amide and phosphonamidate functions. As part of this program, SAR in this new series led to the identification of IDX17119, a potent non-nucleoside inhibitor, active on the genotypes 1b, 2a, 3a and 4a. The structure and binding domain of IDX17119 were confirmed by X-ray co-crystallization study.
