Hubert Hřebabecký

Acyclic nucleotide analogues: synthesis, antiviral activity and inhibitory effects on some cellular and virus-encoded enzymes in vitro.

Several N-(S)-(3-hydroxy-2-phosphonylmethoxypropyl) (HPMP) and N-(2-phosphonylmethoxyethyl) (PME) derivatives of purine bases (adenine, guanine, 2-aminoadenine, 3-deazaadenine) and cytosine inhibit the growth of various DNA viruses. PME-derivatives (PMEA, PMEG and PMEDAP) are also active against retroviruses. Both types of nucleotide analogues undergo phosphorylation by cellular nucleotide kinases to their mono- and diphosphates. The phosphorylation with crude extracts of L-1210 cells is potentiated by an ATP-regenerating system. HPMPA is phosphorylated faster than PMEA with or without the ATP-regenerating system. The HPMP and PME analogues inhibit several virus-encoded target enzymes and their cellular counterparts: (1) HSV-1 DNA polymerase is inhibited by the diphosphates of the PME series; the virus-encoded enzyme is more sensitive than HeLa DNA pol alpha and beta. PMEApp terminates the growing DNA chain; it specifically replaces dATP. HPMPApp also acts as an alternative substrate of dATP, but, in contrast with PMEApp, it permits limited chain growth. (2) Diphosphates of both series inhibit HSV-1 ribonucleotide reductase; the greatest inhibition of CDP reduction to dCDP is exhibited by HPMPApp and PMEApp. The enzyme isolated from a PMEA-resistant HSV-1 mutant proved less sensitive to PMEApp, hydroxyurea and HPMPApp. (3) Diphosphates of PME derivatives efficiently inhibit AMV(MAV) reverse transcriptase. (4) The purine HPMP and PME analogues and, even more so, their monophosphate derivatives inhibit purine nucleoside phosphorylase from L-1210 cells.

Nucleoside Inhibitors of Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus

ABSTRACT Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a leading cause of human neuroinfections in Europe and Northeast Asia. There are no antiviral therapies for treating TBEV infection. A series of nucleoside analogues was tested for the ability to inhibit the replication of TBEV in porcine kidney cells and human neuroblastoma cells. The interactions of three nucleoside analogues with viral polymerase were simulated using advanced computational methods. The nucleoside analogues 7-deaza-2′-C-methyladenosine (7-deaza-2′-CMA), 2′-C-methyladenosine (2′-CMA), and 2′-C-methylcytidine (2′-CMC) inhibited TBEV replication. These compounds showed dose-dependent inhibition of TBEV-induced cytopathic effects, TBEV replication (50% effective concentrations [EC50]of 5.1 ± 0.4 μM for 7-deaza-2′-CMA, 7.1 ± 1.2 μM for 2′-CMA, and 14.2 ± 1.9 μM for 2′-CMC) and viral antigen production. Notably, 2′-CMC was relatively cytotoxic to porcine kidney cells (50% cytotoxic concentration [CC50] of ∼50 μM). The anti-TBEV effect of 2′-CMA in cell culture diminished gradually after day 3 posttreatment. 7-Deaza-2′-CMA showed no detectable cellular toxicity (CC50 > 50 μM), and the antiviral effect in culture was stable for >6 days posttreatment. Computational molecular analyses revealed that compared to the other two compounds, 7-deaza-2′-CMA formed a large cluster near the active site of the TBEV polymerase. High antiviral activity and low cytotoxicity suggest that 7-deaza-2′-CMA is a promising candidate for further investigation as a potential therapeutic agent in treating TBEV infection.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel coxsackievirus B3 inhibitors

The synthesis and SAR study of a novel class of coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) inhibitors are reported. These compounds could be considered as the 6-chloropurines substituted at position 9 with variously substituted bicyclic scaffolds (bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane/ene-norbornane or norbornene). The synthesis and biological evaluation of 31 target compounds are described. Several of the analogues inhibited CVB3 in the low micromolar range (0.66-2muM). Minimal or no cytotoxicity was observed.

Highly Selective Phosphatidylinositol 4-Kinase IIIβ Inhibitors and Structural Insight into Their Mode of Action

Phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase IIIβ is a cellular lipid kinase pivotal to pathogenesis of various RNA viruses. These viruses hijack the enzyme in order to modify the structure of intracellular membranes and use them for the construction of functional replication machinery. Selective inhibitors of this enzyme are potential broad-spectrum antiviral agents, as inhibition of this enzyme results in the arrest of replication of PI4K IIIβ-dependent viruses. Herein, we report a detailed study of novel selective inhibitors of PI4K IIIβ, which exert antiviral activity against a panel of single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses. Our crystallographic data show that the inhibitors occupy the binding site for the adenine ring of the ATP molecule and therefore prevent the phosphorylation reaction.

SAR studies of 9-norbornylpurines as Coxsackievirus B3 inhibitors

Coxsackievirus and related enteroviruses are important human pathogens that cause various diseases with clinical manifestations ranging from trivial flu-like syndromes to dangerous or even fatal diseases such as myocarditis, meningitis and encephalitis. Here, we report on our continuous SAR study focused on 9-(bicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-yl)-9H-purines as anti-enteroviral inhibitors. The purine moiety was modified at positions 2, 6 and 8. Several analogues inhibited Coxsackievirus B3 as well as other enteroviruses at low-micromolar concentrations. The 6-chloropurine derivative was confirmed as the most active compound in this series.

Synthesis of 1-(3-azido-2,3-dideoxy-β-d-allofuranosyl)thymine, 1-(2,3-dideoxy-β-d-allofuranosyl)thymine, and 1-(2,3-dideoxy-β-d-erythro-hex-2-enofuranosyl)thymine

Abstract 1-(2-O-Acetyl-3,5,6-tri-O-benzoyl-β- d -glucofuranosyl)thymine (1) was converted into the 2,2′-anhydro derivative 4 by selective deacetylation, mesylation, and treatment with 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene. Cleavage of the 2,2′-anhydro ring in 4 with hydrogen bromide or hydrogen chloride led to the 2′-bromo (5) or 2′-chloro (6) derivative, respectively. Dehalogenation of 6 with tributylstannane and then debenzoylation gave 1-(2-deoxy-β- d -arabino-hexofuranosyl)thymine (8). Isopropylidenation of 8 followed by mesylation, azide displacement, and deprotection gave 1-(3-azido-2,3-dideoxy-β- d -ribo-hexofuranosyl)-thymine (12). Oxidation of 12 with Dowex 1 (IO4−) resin followed by reduction with Dowex 1 (BH4−) resin gave 1-(3-azido-2,3-dideoxy-β- d -erythro-pentofuranosyl)thymine (AZT). Catalytic hydrogenation of 5 afforded a mixture of 1-(5,6-di-O-benzoyl-2,3-dideoxy-β- d -erythro-hexofuranosyl)thymine (13) and 1-(3,5,6-tri-O-benzoyl-2-deoxy- β- d -arabino-hexofuranosyl)thymine (7). Reaction of 5 with a Cu/Zn couple gave 1-(5,6-di-O-benzoyl-2,3-dideoxy-β- d -erythro-hex-2-enofuranosyl)thymine (15). 1-(2,3-Dideoxy-β- d - erythro-hexofuranosyl)thymine (14) and 1-(2,3-dideoxy-β- d -erythro-hex-2-enofuranosyl)thymine (16) were obtained by debenzoylation.

The high-resolution crystal structure of phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase IIβ and the crystal structure of phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase IIα containing a nucleoside analogue provide a structural basis for isoform-specific inhibitor design.

Phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI4P) is the most abundant monophosphoinositide in eukaryotic cells. Humans have four phosphatidylinositol 4-kinases (PI4Ks) that synthesize PI4P, among which are PI4K IIβ and PI4K IIα. In this study, two crystal structures are presented: the structure of human PI4K IIβ and the structure of PI4K IIα containing a nucleoside analogue. The former, a complex with ATP, is the first high-resolution (1.9 Å) structure of a PI4K. These structures reveal new details such as high conformational heterogeneity of the lateral hydrophobic pocket of the C-lobe and together provide a structural basis for isoform-specific inhibitor design.

9-Norbornyl-6-chloropurine (NCP) induces cell death through GSH depletion-associated ER stress and mitochondrial dysfunction

UNLABELLED 9-Norbornyl-6-chloropurine (NCP) is a representative of a series of antienteroviral bicycle derivatives with selective cytotoxicity towards leukemia cell lines. In this work we explored the mechanism of the antileukemic activity of NCP in T-cell lymphoblast cells (CCRF-CEM). Specifically, we searched for a potential link between its ability to induce cell death on the one hand and to modulate intracellular glutathione (GSH) that is necessary to its metabolic transformation via glutathione-S-transferase on the other hand. We have observed that GSH levels decreased rapidly in NCP-treated cells. Despite a complete regeneration following 24h of incubation with NCP, this profound drop in cellular GSH content triggered ER stress, ROS production and lipid peroxidation leading to the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). These events induced concentration-dependent cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase and apoptosis. Both MMP loss and apoptosis were reversed by sulfhydryl-containing compounds (GSH, N-acetyl-l-cysteine). Furthermore, we have also shown that NCP-induced GSH decrease activated the Nrf2 pathway and its downstream targets NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase (NQO-1) and glutamate cysteine ligase modifier subunit (GCLm), thus explaining the fast restoration of GSH pool and ROS decrease. Importantly, we confirmed that the cell death-inducing properties of the compounds were co-dependent on their ability to diminish cellular GSH level by analyzing the relationships between the GSH-depleting potency and cytotoxicity in a series of other norbornylpurine analogs. Altogether, the results demonstrated that in CCRF-CEM cells NCP triggered apoptosis through GSH depletion-associated oxidative and ER stress and mitochondrial depolarization.

Norbornane-based nucleoside and nucleotide analogues locked in North conformation

We report on the synthesis of novel conformationally locked nucleoside and nucleotide derivatives, which are structurally closely related to clinically used antivirals such as didanosine and abacavir. As a suitable conformationally rigid substitute of the sugar/pseudosugar ring allowing a permanent stabilization of the nucleoside in North conformation we employed bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane (norbornane) substituted in the bridgehead position with a hydroxymethyl group and in the C-3 position with a nucleobase. Prepared nucleoside derivatives were also converted into appropriate phosphoramidate prodrugs (ProTides) in order to increase delivery of the compounds in the cells. All target compounds were evaluated in a broad antiviral and cytostatic assay panel.

One-pot build-up procedure for the synthesis of variously substituted purine derivatives

In this article, we report a one-pot build-up procedure leading to 6-chloro- or 2-amino-6-chloropurines bearing various alkyl or aryl substituents in position N-9. This reaction is simple, fast and effective with up to 96% yields depending on the starting amine. This reaction may be easily combined with further nucleophilic displacement of the C-6 chlorine atom using various reagents, making this procedure very attractive in the field of medicinal chemistry pertaining to compounds based on a purine scaffold.