Relationship between structure of benzimidazole derivatives and inhibitory activity on vaccinia virus multiplication

Abstract

Available evidence indicates that nucleic acid present in vaccinia virus is deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), whereas that present in influenza virus is ribonucleic acid (RNA). This difference invites comparative biochemical studies of the multiplication of these agents in the presence of chemical compounds which may specifically affect nucleic acid biosynthesis. Study of the multiplication of vaccinia and influenza viruses under the same experimental conditions has become possible as the result of the recent characterization of the multiplication of vaccinia virus in the chorioallantoic membrane in vitro. Kinetics of influenza virus multiplication in this system has been described earlier. The inhibitory effect of selected benzimidazole derivatives on the multiplication of vaccinia virus was studied. The structure of compounds had a marked effect on their activity. Furthermore, with certain derivatives the relationships between structure and inhibitory activity differed markedly from those established previously with the same compounds and influenza B virus. Substitution of ribose at N-1 in chlorinated benzimidazoles failed to enhance the inhibitory activity on the multiplication of vaccinia virus, although it was shown previously that such an alteration in structure greatly increased the inhibitory effect on influenza virus multiplication. The implications of this finding are discussed in relation to the type of nucleic acid present in each of the two viruses.