Disubstituted Bis-THF Moieties as New P2 Ligands in Nonpeptidal HIV-1 Protease Inhibitors.

A series of darunavir analogues featuring a substituted bis-THF ring as P2 ligand have been synthesized and evaluated. High affinity protease inhibitors (PIs) with an interesting activity on wild-type HIV and a panel of multi-PI resistant HIV-1 mutants containing clinically observed, primary mutations were identified using a cell-based assay. A number of PIs have been synthesized that show equivalent and greater activity for HIV-1 mutant strains as compared to wild-type HIV-1. The activity on the purified enzyme was confirmed for a selection of analogues.

The synthesis and in vivo evaluation of 2',2'-difluoro KRN7000.

The synthesis of 2',2'-difluoro KRN7000 is described. In vivo evaluation demonstrates that this fluorinated glycolipid induces CD1d-dependent TCR activation of NKT cells, with a bias towards Th2 cytokine production.

Synthesis and in vivo evaluation of 4-deoxy-4,4-difluoro-KRN7000.

The synthesis of 4-deoxy-4,4-difluoro-KRN7000 starting from phytosphingosine is described. Key steps include a regioselective benzylation of azidophytosphingosine and a deoxofluor-mediated fluorination of the corresponding 4-ketone. This fluorination failed completely when the adjacent 3-OH was protected as benzyl ether but proceeded well when a benzoyl group was used. The biological evaluation reveals a bias toward Th1 cytokine induction upon Natural Killer T cell activation.

Synthesis and anti-HIV1 biological activity of novel 5''-ATSAO compounds.

Aza TSAO-T derivatives bearing a substituted dihydroisothiazole dioxide ring with a phenyl group at 5'' position were prepared. Biological evaluation showed that phenyl group gives rise to a dramatical decrease of the inhibitory effect.

Synthesis, anti-HIV-1 activity, and modeling studies of N-3 Boc TSAO compound.

The synthesis and the biological evaluation of the anti-HIV-1 activity of TSAO-Boc(3)T (8) are described. The computational analysis showed that the N-3 Boc group promotes new interactions in the binding site of the enzyme leading to a good inhibitory activity.

Enantioselective synthesis and selective monofunctionalization of (4R,6R)-4,6- dihydroxy-2,8-dioxabicyclo[3.3.0]octane.

An efficient, enantioselective synthesis of a disubstituted bis-THF scaffold 5 is described, as well as an efficient differentiation of the 1,3-diol unit. [reaction: see text]

Computational analysis of aza analogues of [2',5'-bis-O-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-beta-D-ribofuranose]-3'-spiro-5"-(4"-amino-1",2"-oxathiole-2",2"-dioxide) (TSAO) as HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors: relevance of conformational properties on the inhibitory activity.

We have carried out a theoretical analysis of aza analogues of [2',5'-bis-O-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-beta-D-ribofuranosyl]-3'-spiro-5"-(4"-amino-1",2"-oxathiole-2",2"-dioxide) by a variety of computational tools, aimed to account for the effect of the endocyclic amino moiety N-2" on the inhibitory activity against HIV-1. Docking studies suggest that compounds substituted at the N-3 and N-2' ' positions present the same binding mode to the [2',5'-bis-O-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-beta-D-ribofuranosyl]-3'-spiro-5"-(4"-amino-1",2"-oxathiole-2",2"-dioxide)thymine prototype, where the endocyclic amino group remains mostly exposed to the solvent. A careful conformational analysis performed through different theoretical levels, from molecular mechanics to high-level quantum mechanical calculations, provides a rationalization based on conformational preferences, which appears as strongly determined by the substitution at N-2", and on electrostatic effects from the bulk water.

First synthesis and evaluation of the inhibitory effects of aza analogues of TSAO on HIV-1 replication.

Aza TSAO-T derivatives bearing a dihydroisothiazole dioxide ring instead of an oxathiole dioxide ring at the C-3' position on the sugar moiety were prepared. We have synthesized four families of compounds depending on substitution at both N-3 and N-2' '. Biological evaluation showed that these compounds are HIV-1(III(B))-specific and potent reverse transcriptase inhibitors with EC(50) values between 0.13 and 3.5 microM in cell culture.

Synthesis of 4-amino-5-H-2,3-dihydroisothiazole-1,1-dioxide ring systems on sugar templates via carbanion-mediated sulfonamide intramolecular cyclization reactions (CSIC protocols) of glyco-alpha-sulfonamidonitriles.

The carbanion-mediated sulfonate intramolecular cyclizations (CSIC protocols) of glyco-alpha-sulfonamidonitriles derived from readily available monosaccharides have been extensively investigated using potassium carbonate, cesium carbonate, n-BuLi, and LDA as bases. As a result, a series of enantiomerically pure spiro(4-amino-5-H-2,3-dihydroisothiazole-1,1-dioxide) derivatives have been prepared efficiently and isolated in good yield. The synthesis of these new bicyclic systems is key to accessing a novel range of aza analogues of TSAO nucleosides (ATSAOs).

Synthesis of AZA analogues of TSAO.

TSAO derivatives which were first synthesized in 1992 have shown strong inhibitory effect and selectivity against HIV-1 (Camarasa, M.J.; Pérez-Pérez, M.J.; San-Félix, A.; Balzarini, J.; De Clercq, E. J. Med. Chem. 1992, 35, 2721-2727). The structure-activity relationship of these derivatives has shown strong binding between the amino acids constituting the reverse transcriptase and the different pharmacophore (tert-butyldimethylsilyl group, amino and sulfonate groups of the TSAO derivatives) (Camarasa, M.J.; San-Félix, A.; Pérez-Pérez, M.J.; Velázquez, S., Alvarez, R.; Chamorro, C.; Jimeno, M.L.; Pérez, C.; Gago, F.; De Clercq, E.; Balzarini, J. J. Carbohydr. Chem. 2000, 19, 6403-6406). We described the synthesis of an original TSAO analogue where, basically, the O-1'' atom is replaced by a nitrogen atom.