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HIV-1 reverse transcriptase is one of the most attractive targets for the treatment of AIDS. However, the rapid emergence of drug-resistant strains and unsatisfactory drug-like properties seriously limit the clinical application of HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). Here we show that a series of piperazine sulfonyl-bearing diarylpyrimidine-based NNRTIs were designed to improve the potency against wild-type and NNRTI-resistant strains by enhancing backbone-binding interactions. Among them, compound 18b1 demonstrates single-digit nanomolar potency against the wild-type and five mutant HIV-1 strains, which is significantly better than the approved drug etravirine. The co-crystal structure analysis and molecular dynamics simulation studies were conducted to explain the broad-spectrum inhibitory activity of 18b1 against reverse transcriptase variants. Besides, compound 18b1 demonstrates improved water solubility, cytochrome P450 liability, and other pharmacokinetic properties compared to the currently approved diarylpyrimidine (DAPY) NNRTIs. Therefore, we consider compound 18b1 a potential lead compound worthy of further study. Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) exhibit promising anti-HIV-1 activities, however, their effectiveness is limited by drug resistant mutations, low solubility, and drug-drug interactions. Here, the authors develop a series of piperazine sulfonyl-bearing diarylpyrimidine based NNRTIs which show improved potency against HIV-1 by enhancing backbone-binding interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) capsid (CA) protein is a promising target for developing novel anti‐HIV drugs. Starting from highly anticipated CA inhibitors PF‐74, we used scaffold hopping strategy to design a series of novel 1,2,4‐triazole phenylalanine derivatives by targeting an unexplored region composed of residues 106–109 in HIV‐1 CA hexamer. Compound d19 displayed excellent antiretroviral potency against HIV‐1 and HIV‐2 strains with EC50 values of 0.59 and 2.69 µM, respectively. Additionally, we show via surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectrometry that d19 preferentially interacts with the hexameric form of CA, with a significantly improved hexamer/monomer specificity ratio (ratio = 59) than PF‐74 (ratio = 21). Moreover, we show via SPR that d19 competes with CPSF‐6 for binding to CA hexamers with IC50 value of 33.4 nM. Like PF‐74, d19 inhibits the replication of HIV‐1 NL4.3 pseudo typed virus in both early and late stages. In addition, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations provide binding mode information of d19 to HIV‐1 CA and rationale for improved affinity and potency over PF‐74. Overall, the lead compound d19 displays a distinct chemotype form PF‐74, improved CA affinity, and anti‐HIV potency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a key structural protein, HIV capsid (CA) protein plays multiple roles in the HIV life cycle, and is considered a promising target for anti-HIV treatment. Based on the structural information of CA modulator PF-74 bound to HIV-1 CA hexamer, 18 novel phenylalanine derivatives were synthesized via the Ugi four-component reaction. In vitro anti-HIV activity assays showed that most compounds exhibited low-micromolar-inhibitory potency against HIV. Among them, compound I-19 exhibited the best anti-HIV-1 activity (EC50 = 2.53 ± 0.84 μM, CC50 = 107.61 ± 27.43 μM). In addition, I-14 displayed excellent HIV-2 inhibitory activity (EC50 = 2.30 ± 0.11 μM, CC50 > 189.32 μM) with relatively low cytotoxicity, being more potent than that of the approved drug nevirapine (EC50 > 15.02 μM, CC50 > 15.2 μM). Additionally, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) binding assays demonstrated direct binding to the HIV CA protein. Moreover, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations provided additional information on the binding mode of I-19 to HIV-1 CA. In summary, we further explored the structure—activity relationships (SARs) and selectivity of anti-HIV-1/HIV-2 of PF-74 derivatives, which is conducive to discovering efficient anti-HIV drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]