2'-Spirocyclopropyl-carbocyclic Nucleoside as a Novel Scaffold for Potent Anti-HCV Agents

Abstract

The discovery of 2'-spirocyclopropyl-ribocytidine (J. Med. Chem. 2010, 53, 8150-8160) as a potent inhibitor of RNA synthesis by NS5B (<TEX>$IC_{50}=7.3{\mu}M$</TEX>), the RNA polymerase encoded by hepatitis C Virus (HCV), has led to the synthesis and biological evaluation of several carbocyclic versions of 2'-spiropropyl-nucleosides. The cyclopentenol intermediate 7 was successfully constructed via ring-closing metathesis (RCM) from divinyl 6. Spirocyclopropanation of enone 8 was effected by using (2-chloroethyl)-dimethylsulfonium iodide and potassium tert-butoxide to form the desired intermediate 9. The synthesized nucleoside analogues 21-24 were assayed for their ability to inhibit HCV RNA replication in a subgenomic replicon Huh7 cell line. Among them, the cytosine nucleoside analogue 22 exhibited significant anti-HCV activity (<TEX>$EC_{50}= 8.2{\mu}M$</TEX>).