Recombinant HIV-1 Integrase Research Articles

Characterization of HIV-1 integrase interaction with human Ku70 protein and initial implications for drug targeting

Human Ku70/Ku80 protein is known to influence HIV-1 replication. One of the possible reasons may be the protection of integrase from proteasomal degradation by Ku70 subunit. We demonstrated that recombinant HIV-1 integrase and Ku70 form a stable complex, while no interaction of Ku70 with integrase from prototype foamy virus was observed. By analyzing protein subdomains we determined two binding sites in the structure of both Ku70 and integrase: the 51–160 a.a. region of integrase interacts with residues 251–438 of Ku70, whereas Ku70 N-terminal domain (1–250 a.a.) contacts an α6-helix in the 200–220 a.a. integrase region. Single substitutions within integrase (E212A or L213A) block the interaction with Ku70 thus indicating that the binding site formed by the 200–220 a.a. integrase region is crucial for complex formation. E212A/L213A substitutions decreased the integrase capacity to bind Ku70 in HEK293T cells. A conjugate of 2′-ОMe-GGUUUUUGUGU oligonucleotide with eosin is shown by molecular modeling to shield integrase residues E212/L213 and is effective in blocking complex formation of Ku70 with integrase what makes the complex between α6-helix and Ku70(1–250) a possible target for drug development.

6-(1-Benzyl-1H-pyrrol-2-yl)-2,4-dioxo-5-hexenoic Acids as Dual Inhibitors of Recombinant HIV-1 Integrase and Ribonuclease H, Synthesized by a Parallel Synthesis Approach

The increasing efficiency of HAART has helped to transform HIV/AIDS into a chronic disease. Still, resistance and drug-drug interactions warrant the development of new anti-HIV agents. We previously discovered hit 6, active against HIV-1 replication and targeting RNase H in vitro. Because of its diketo-acid moiety, we speculated that this chemotype could serve to develop dual inhibitors of both RNase H and integrase. Here, we describe a new series of 1-benzyl-pyrrolyl diketohexenoic derivatives, 7a-y and 8a-y, synthesized following a parallel solution-phase approach. Those 50 analogues have been tested on recombinant enzymes (RNase H and integrase) and in cell-based assays. Approximately half (22) exibited inhibition of HIV replication. Compounds 7b, 7u, and 8g were the most active against the RNase H activity of reverse-transcriptase, with IC50 values of 3, 3, and 2.5 μM, respectively. Compound 8g was also the most potent integrase inhibitor with an IC50 value of 26 nM.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Novel Hybrid Dicaffeoyltartaric/Diketo Acid and Tetrazole-Substitutedl-Chicoric Acid Analogue Inhibitors of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Integrase

Fourteen analogues of the anti-HIV-1 integrase (IN) inhibitor L-chicoric acid (L-CA) were prepared. Their IC(50) values for 3'-end processing and strand transfer against recombinant HIV-1 IN were determined in vitro, and their cell toxicities and EC(50) against HIV-1 were measured in cells (ex vivo). Compounds 1-6 are catechol/β-diketoacid hybrids, the majority of which exhibit submicromolar potency against 3'-end processing and strand transfer, though only with modest antiviral activities. Compounds 7-10 are L-CA/p-fluorobenzylpyrroloyl hybrids, several of which were more potent against strand transfer than 3'-end processing, a phenomenon previously attributed to the β-diketo acid pharmacophore. Compounds 11-14 are tetrazole bioisosteres of L-CA and its analogues, whose in vitro potencies were comparable to L-CA but with enhanced antiviral potency. The trihydroxyphenyl analogue 14 was 30-fold more potent than L-CA at relatively nontoxic concentrations. These data indicate that L-CA analogues are attractive candidates for development into clinically relevant inhibitors of HIV-1 IN.

Antiviral agents 2. Synthesis of trimeric naphthoquinone analogues of conocurvone and their antiviral evaluation against HIV

The synthesis of a new series of conocurvone analogues is presented that explores the importance of the pyran rings of conocurvone, their degree of unsaturation as well as the role of alkoxy functionalities as pyran ring replacements, for the inhibition of the HIV-1 integrase (IN) enzyme. Difficulties in synthesising a trimeric naphthoquinone where the central quinone bears a peri-dihydropyran ring was attributed to distortion of the electrophilic dihaloquinone successfully utilised in the past. Increased electron density could also be a factor in reducing reactivity. The desired central dihydropyran bearing trimeric naphthoquinone was successfully synthesised by using a more reactive bromo-tosyloxyquinone intermediate. A maleimide derivative, where the central quinone between the pendant hydroxyquinones was replaced, was successfully synthesised and although it exhibited comparable enzyme inhibitory activity it had negligible HIV inhibitory cellular activity. Compounds were assessed for activity in both in vitro assays using purified recombinant HIV-1 IN and demonstrated superior or comparable activity to conocurvone derivatives previously reported.

Synthesis and Anti‐HIV‐1 Integrase Activitiy of Cyano Pyrimidinones

A series of 2-phenethyl/benzylthio-6-oxo-4-phenyl-1,6-dihydropyrimidine-5-carbonitrile were synthesized and tested against recombinant HIV-1 integrase in an enzyme assay. 2-(Phenethylthio)-4-(4-chlorophenyl)-6-oxo-1,6-dihydropyrimidine-5-carbonitrile 4m and 2-(phenethylthio)-4-(3-chlorophenyl)-6-oxo-1,6-dihydropyrimidine-5-carbonitrile 4o showed significant inhibition against integrase in the assay (strand transfer: IC(50) values of 16 and 17 microM, respectively).

High-throughput real-time assay based on molecular beacons for HIV-1 integrase 3'-processing reaction

To develop a high-throughput real-time assay based on molecular beacons to monitor the integrase 3'-processing reaction in vitro and apply it to inhibitor screening. The recombinant human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 integrase (IN) is incubated with a 38 mer oligonucleotide substrate, a sequence identical to the U5 end of HIV-1 long terminal repeats (LTR). Based on the fluorescence properties of molecular beacons, the substrate is designed to form a stem-loop structure labeled with a fluorophore at the 5' end and a quencher at the 3' end. IN cleaves the terminal 3'-dinucleotide containing the quencher, resulting in an increase in fluorescence which can be monitored on a spectrofluorometer. To optimize this assay, tests were performed to investigate the effects of substrates, enzyme and the metal ion concentrations on the IN activity and optimal parameters were obtained. Moreover, 2 IN inhibitors were employed to test the performance of this assay in antiviral compound screening. The fluorescent intensity of the reaction mixture varies linearly with time and is proportional to the velocity of the 3'-processing reaction. Tests were performed and the results showed that the optimal rate was obtained for a reaction mixture containing 50 mg/L recombinant HIV-1 IN, 400 nmol/L substrate, and 10 mmol/L Mn(2+). The IN 3'-processing reaction under the optimal conditions showed a more than 18-fold increase in the fluorescence intensity compared to the enzyme-free control. The IC50 values of the IN inhibitors obtained in our assay were similar to the values obtained from a radiolabeled substrate assay. Our results demonstrated that this is a fast, reliable, and sensitive method to monitor HIV IN 3'-processing reaction and that it can be used for inhibitor screening.

Development of integrase inhibitors for treatment of AIDS: An overview

HIV-1 integrase (IN) is an essential enzyme for retroviral replication. It is involved in the integration of HIV DNA into host chromosomal DNA. The unique properties of IN makes it an ideal target for drug design. First, there appears to have no functional equivalent in human cells and the reactions catalyzed by IN are unique. Second, IN is absolutely required for viral replication and mutations in a number of key residues block the viral replication. Third, IN has been validated as a legitimate target and the results from the molecules like S-1360, JKT-303 which are under phase II/III clinical trials suggest synergistic effect with reverse transcriptase (RT) and protease (PR) inhibitors. During the past 10 years a plethora of inhibitors have been identified and some were shown to be selective against IN and block viral replication. The classes under which inhibitors of integrase can be classified are catechol-containing hydroxylated aromatics, diketoacid-containing aromatics, quninolines and others (non-catechol containing). In the present article we review all the recent small molecules reported to inhibit recombinant HIV-1 IN under these heads. It seems likely that the efficient use of HIV IN as target for rational design can give potent anti-HIV agents, which can be used alone or in combination regimens with other classes of anti-HIV drugs.

Nef expressed from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 extrachromosomal DNA downregulates CD4 on primary CD4+ T lymphocytes: implications for integrase inhibitors

Recently developed integrase inhibitors targeting the HIV-1 integrase (IN) protein block integration of HIV DNA in the target cell, preventing subsequent virus replication. In the absence of integration, viral DNA is shunted towards the formation of extrachromosomal DNA (E-DNA). Although HIV-1 E-DNA does not support productive replication, it is transcriptionally active and produces viral proteins. However, the significance of E-DNA in virus replication and pathogenesis is poorly understood. In this study, the functional activity of the HIV-1 Nef protein expressed in the absence of viral integration was analysed. Using both a recombinant HIV-1 IN defective virus and a diketo acid IN inhibitor, evidence was provided showing that Nef expressed from E-DNA downregulates CD4 surface expression on primary CD4(+) T lymphocytes. These results suggest that proteins expressed in the absence of integration may have potential clinical consequences, an issue that should be further explored with the introduction of IN inhibitors.

6-Aryl-2,4-dioxo-5-hexenoic acids, novel integrase inhibitors active against HIV-1 multiplication in cell-based assays

A series of 6-aryl-2,4-dioxo-5-hexenoic acids, were synthesized and tested against HIV-1 in cell-based assays and against recombinant HIV-1 integrase (rIN) in enzyme assays. Compound 8a showed potent antiretroviral activity (EC 50=1.5 μM) and significant inhibition against rIN (strand transfer: IC 50=7.9 μM; 3′-processing: IC 50=7.0 μM). A preliminary molecular modeling study was carried out to compare the spatial conformation of 8a with those of L-731,988 ( 4) and 5CITEP ( 7) in the IN core.

2,6-Bis(3,4,5-trihydroxybenzylydene) derivatives of cyclohexanone: novel potent HIV-1 integrase inhibitors that prevent HIV-1 multiplication in cell-based assays

A number of 2,6-bisbenzylidenecyclohexane-1-one derivatives have been synthesized and tested as HIV-1 integrase (IN) inhibitors with the aim of obtaining compounds capable to elicit antiviral activity at non-cytotoxic concentrations in cell-based assays. 3,5-Bis(3,4,5-trihydroxybenzylidene)-4-oxocyclohexaneacetic acid (20d) resulted one of the most potent and selective derivatives in acutely infected MT-4 cells (EC50 and CC50 values of 2 and 40 μM, respectively). In enzyme assays with recombinant HIV-1 integrase (rIN), this compound proved able to inhibit both 3′-processing and disintegration with IC50 values of 0.2 and 0.5 μM, respectively. In order to develop a model capable to predict the anti HIV-IN activity and useful to design novel derivatives, we performed a comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) like 3-D-QSAR. In our model the ligands were described quantitatively in the GRID program, and the model was optimized by selecting only the most informative variables in the GOLPE program. We found the predictive ability of the model to increase significantly when the number of variables was reduced from 20,925 to 1327. A Q2 of 0.73 was obtained with the final model, confirming the predictive ability of the model. By studying the PLS coefficients in informative 3-D contour plots, ideas for the synthesis of new compounds could be generated.

Small-molecule HIV-1 integrase inhibitors: the 2001-2002 update.

Integration of viral DNA into host cell chromosomal DNA to form a provirus is an essential step in the viral life cycle. This process is mediated by integrase (IN), a 32 KDa viral enzyme. The unique properties of IN makes it an ideal target for drug design. First, there are no cellular homologues to IN and the reactions catalyzed by IN are unique. Second, IN is absolutely required for viral replication and mutations in a number of key residues dramatically block viral replication. Third, IN has been validated as a legitimate target and the results from S-1360 (1) the only available IN inhibitor under clinical trials suggest synergistic effect with reverse transcriptase (RT) and protease (PR) inhibitors. During the past 10 years a plethora of inhibitors have been identified and some were shown to be selective against IN and block viral replication. The two most predominant classes of inhibitors have been the catechol containing hydroxylated aromatics and more recently the diketoacid containing aromatics. Herein, we review all small molecule compounds reported to inhibit recombinant HIV-1 IN with IC(50) values < 20 M during the past two years. It is important to bear in mind that the true mechanism of action and antiviral activities of many of the compounds are currently not established. However, based on the growing body of literature certain classes of compounds can be easily excluded as bona fide IN inhibitors.

Inhibition of the activity of recombinant HIV-1 integrase by derivatives of higher terpenoids.

Inhibition of the activity of recombinant HIV-1 integrase by derivatives of higher terpenoids.

Efficient concerted integration by recombinant human immunodeficiency virus type 1 integrase without cellular or viral cofactors.

Replication of retroviruses requires integration of the linear viral DNA genome into the host chromosomes. Integration requires the viral integrase (IN), located in high-molecular-weight nucleoprotein complexes termed preintegration complexes (PIC). The PIC inserts the two viral DNA termini in a concerted manner into chromosomes in vivo as well as exogenous target DNA in vitro. We reconstituted nucleoprotein complexes capable of efficient concerted (full-site) integration using recombinant wild-type human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1) IN with linear retrovirus-like donor DNA (480 bp). In addition, no cellular or viral protein cofactors are necessary for purified bacterial recombinant HIV-1 IN to mediate efficient full-site integration of two donor termini into supercoiled target DNA. At about 30 nM IN (20 min at 37 degrees C), approximately 15 and 8% of the input donor is incorporated into target DNA, producing half-site (insertion of one viral DNA end per target) and full-site integration products, respectively. Sequencing the donor-target junctions of full-site recombinants confirms that 5-bp host site duplications have occurred with a fidelity of about 70%, similar to the fidelity when using IN derived from nonionic detergent lysates of HIV-1 virions. A key factor allowing recombinant wild-type HIV-1 IN to mediate full-site integration appears to be the avoidance of high IN concentrations in its purification (about 125 microg/ml) and in the integration assay (<50 nM). The results show that recombinant HIV-1 IN may not be significantly defective for full-site integration. The findings further suggest that a high concentration or possibly aggregation of IN is detrimental to the assembly of correct nucleoprotein complexes for full-site integration.

Integramides A and B, two novel non-ribosomal linear peptides containing nine C(alpha)-methyl amino acids produced by fungal fermentations that are inhibitors of HIV-1 integrase.

[structure: see text]. Integramides A and B are two novel 16-mer linear peptides rich in C(alpha)-methyl amino acids that were isolated from fungal extracts of Dendrodochium sp. by employing a bioassay-guided isolation procedure using recombinant HIV-1 integrase. The structure and stereochemistry were elucidated by a combination of 2D NMR and ESI- and FAB-MS including MS/MS studies and by Marfey's method. Integramides A and B inhibited the coupled reaction of HIV-1 integrase with IC50 values of 17 and 10 microM, respectively.

Mutations in the HIV type 1 integrase of patients receiving long-term dideoxynucleoside therapy do not confer resistance to zidovudine.

Metabolites of AZT can inhibit HIV-1 integrase in vitro (Mazumder A, et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1994;91:5771-5775). To determine if long-term dideoxynucleoside therapy can lead to the emergence of HIV-1 AZT-resistant variants containing mutations in the integrase, we have sequenced the proviral DNA encoding the HIV-1 integrase of nine HIV-1-infected patients at different time points during treatment. Four of the nine patients developed mutations during the course of treatment. Although most mutations occurred at nonconserved amino acids, one patient developed a mutation at codon (R166T), a residue that is conserved among all integrases from known HIV-1 isolates. This mutation was introduced in the recombinant HIV-1 integrase protein to determine if it could confer resistance to AZT in vitro. We show that the R166T integrase mutant is still proficient at carrying 3'-processing and 3' end-joining but that the enzyme is not resistant to AZT-TP. Our results suggest that it is unlikely that integrase inhibition contributes to the antiviral activity of AZT.

Salicylhydrazine-containing inhibitors of HIV-1 integrase: implication for a selective chelation in the integrase active site.

In previous studies we identified N,N'-bis(salicylhydrazine) (1) as a lead compound against purified recombinant HIV-1 integrase. We have now expanded upon these earlier observations and tested 45 novel hydrazides. Among the compounds tested, 11 derivatives exhibited 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of less than 3 microM. A common feature for activity among these inhibitors is the hydroxyl group of the salicyl moiety. Although the active inhibitors must contain this hydroxyl group, other structural modifications can also influence potency. Removal of this hydroxyl group or replacement with an amino, bromo, fluoro, carboxylic acid, or ethyl ether totally abolished potency against integrase. Several asymmetric structures exhibited similar potency to the symmetric lead inhibitor 1. The superimposition of the lowest-energy conformations upon one another revealed three sites whose properties appear important for ligand binding. Site A is composed of the 2-hydroxyphenyl, the alpha-keto, and the hydrazine moieties in a planar conformation. We propose that this site could interact with HIV-1 integrase by chelation of the metal in the integrase active site as inhibition of HIV-1 integrase catalytic activity and DNA binding were strictly Mn2+-dependent. The hydrophobic sites B and C are probably responsible for complementarity of molecular shape between ligand and receptor. Our data indicate that only those compounds which possessed sites A, B, and C in a linear orientation were potent inhibitors of HIV-1 integrase. Although all the active inhibitors possessed considerable cytotoxicity and no apparent antiviral activity in CEM cells, the study presents useful information regarding ligand interaction with HIV-1 integrase protein.

Cobalamin Inhibition of HIV-1 Integrase and Integration of HIV-1 DNA into Cellular DNA

Our prior studies showed that certain cobalamins inhibit productive HIV-1 infection of primary cultures of blood lymphocytes and monocytes. We demonstrate here that this antiviral activity may be mediated by an inhibition of HIV-1 integrase, an enzyme required for productive infection. Purified recombinant HIV-1 integrase activity was inhibitedin vitroby hydroxocobalamin (OH-Cbl), methylcobalamin (Me-Cbl), adenosylcobalamin (Ado-Cbl), and dicyanocobinamide (CN2-Cbi) with IC50values of approximately 17, 17, 17, and 4 μM, respectively. The agents inhibited HIV-1 infection of cultured monocytes (IC50values for OH-Cbl, Me-Cbl, Ado-Cbl, and CN2-Cbi of 6, 7, 4, and 1 μM, respectively) and of cultured lymphocytes (IC50values of 60, 50, 60, and 11 μM, respectively). Experiments using cultured monocytes or lymphocytes demonstrated that OH-Cbl inhibited integration of HIV-1 DNA into cellular DNA. Thus, cobalamins and cobinamides represent novel inhibitors of HIV-1 integrase. These or related agents may be useful as anti-viral treatments that target HIV-1 integrase.

In vitro biochemical activities associated with recombinant HIV-1 integrase.

In vitro biochemical activities associated with recombinant HIV-1 integrase.