1
|
Giannakopoulou E, Pardali V, Edwards TC, Woodson M, Tajwar R, Tavis JE, Zoidis G. Identification and assessment of the 1,6-dihydroxy-pyridin-2-one moiety as privileged scaffold for HBV ribonuclease H inhibition. Antiviral Res 2024; 223:105833. [PMID: 38325606 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2024.105833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 01/20/2024] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
The Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) ribonuclease H (RNase H) although promising remains an unexploited therapeutic target. HBV RNase H inhibition causes premature termination of viral minus-polarity DNA strands, prevents the synthesis of the viral positive-polarity DNA strand, and causes accumulation of RNA:DNA heteroduplexes within viral capsids. As part of our ongoing research to develop more potent anti-HBV RNase H inhibitors, we designed, synthesized and analyzed a library of 18 novel compounds (17 N-hydroyxpyridinedione (HPD) imine derivatives and 1 barbituric acid analogue) as potential leads for HBV treatment development. In cell assays, fourteen HPDs showed significant anti-HBV activity with EC50s from 1.1 to 2.5 μM and selectivity indices (SI) of up to 58. Three of them exhibited more than 3-fold improvement in the SI over the best previous HPD imine (SI = 13). To gain insight to the interaction between the tested compounds and the active site of HBV RNase H, docking experiments were undertaken. In almost all binding poses, the novel HPDs coordinated both active site Mg2+ ions via their oxygen trident. Furthermore, the novel HPDs displayed high cell permeability and solubility as well as good drug-like properties. These results reveal that HPD imines can be significantly active and selective HBV inhibitors, and that the HPD scaffold merits further development towards anti-HBV agents.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erofili Giannakopoulou
- School of Health Sciences, Department of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis Zografou, 15771, Athens, Greece
| | - Vasiliki Pardali
- School of Health Sciences, Department of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis Zografou, 15771, Athens, Greece
| | - Tiffany C Edwards
- Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, 63104, United States
| | - Molly Woodson
- Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, 63104, United States
| | - Razia Tajwar
- Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, 63104, United States
| | - John E Tavis
- Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, 63104, United States
| | - Grigoris Zoidis
- School of Health Sciences, Department of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis Zografou, 15771, Athens, Greece.
| |
Collapse
|