nsc-614846 and abacavir

Herein we describe the synthesis of lipophilic triphosphate prodrugs of abacavir, carbovir, and their 1',2'-cis-substituted carbocyclic analogues. The 1',2'-cis-carbocyclic nucleosides were prepared by starting from enantiomerically pure (1R,2S)-2-((benzyloxy)methyl)cyclopent-3-en-1-ol by a microwave-assisted Mitsunobu-type reaction with 2-amino-6-chloropurine. All four nucleoside analogues were prepared from their 2-amino-6-chloropurine precursors. The nucleosides were converted into their corresponding nucleoside triphosphate prodrugs (TriPPPro approach) by application of the H-phosphonate route. The TriPPPro compounds were hydrolyzed in different media, in which the formation of nucleoside triphosphates was proven. While the TriPPPro compounds of abacavir and carbovir showed increased antiviral activity over their parent nucleoside, the TriPPPro compounds of the 1',2'-cis-substituted analogues as well as their parent nucleosides proved to be inactive against HIV.

Topics: Anti-HIV Agents; Dideoxynucleosides; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; HIV-1; HIV-2; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Molecular Structure; Prodrugs; Structure-Activity Relationship

HIV patients exposed to abacavir have an increased risk of myocardial infarction, with contradictory results in the literature. The aim of our study was to determine whether abacavir has a direct effect on platelet activation and aggregation using platelets from healthy donors and from HIV-infected patients under therapy with an undetectable viral load.. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or whole blood from healthy donors was treated with abacavir (5 or 10 μg/mL) or its active metabolite carbovir diphosphate. Experiments were also performed using blood of HIV-infected patients (n = 10) with an undetectable viral load. Platelet aggregation was performed on PRP by turbidimetry and under high shear conditions at 4000 s. Abacavir and carbovir diphosphate significantly increased the aggregation of platelets from healthy donors induced by collagen at 2 μg/mL (P = 0.002), but not at 0.5 μg/mL. No effect of abacavir or carbovir diphosphate was observed on platelet aggregation induced by other physiological agonists or by high shear stress, or on thrombin generation. Pretreatment of blood from HIV-infected patients with abacavir produced similar results.. Our results suggest that abacavir does not significantly influence platelet activation in vitro when incubated with platelets from healthy donors or from HIV-infected patients. It is, however, not excluded that a synergistic effect with other drugs could promote platelet activation and thereby play a role in the pathogenesis of myocardial infarction.

Topics: Adult; Anti-HIV Agents; Blood Platelets; Dideoxynucleosides; Humans; Middle Aged; Platelet Activation; Platelet Aggregation; Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; Thrombin

The enantiomers of 2-azabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-en-3-one (γ-lactam) are key chiral synthons in the synthesis of antiviral drugs such as carbovir and abacavir. (+)-γ-Lactamase can be used as a catalyst in the enzymatic preparation of optically pure (-)-γ-lactam. Here, a (+)-γ-lactamase discovered from Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA 6 by sequence-structure guided genome mining was cloned, purified and characterized. The enzyme possesses a significant catalytic activity towards γ-lactam. The active site of the (+)-γ-lactamase was studied by homologous modeling and molecular docking, and the accuracy of the prediction was confirmed by site-specific mutagenesis. The (+)-γ-lactamase reveals the great practical potential as an enzymatic method for the efficient production of carbocyclic nucleosides of pharmaceutical interest.

Topics: Amidohydrolases; Biocatalysis; Dideoxynucleosides; Models, Molecular; Molecular Conformation; Stereoisomerism

Acetoxy Meldrum's acid can serve as a versatile acyl anion equivalent in the Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation. The reaction of this nucleophile with various meso and racemic electrophiles afforded alkylated products in high yields and enantiopurities. These enantioenriched products are versatile intermediates that can be further functionalized using nitrogen- and oxygen-centered nucleophiles, affording versatile scaffolds for the synthesis of nucleoside analogues. These scaffolds were used to complete formal syntheses of the anti-HIV drugs carbovir, abacavir, and the antibiotic aristeromycin.

Topics: Adenosine; Alkylation; Allyl Compounds; Anions; Anti-HIV Agents; Catalysis; Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques; Dideoxynucleosides; Dioxanes; Molecular Structure; Palladium; Stereoisomerism

A facile method for the synthesis of a carbocyclic analog of 2',3'-didehydro-2',3'-dideoxy-2-amino-6-chloropurine is presented, starting from the versatile lactam, 2-azabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-en-3-one. The corresponding anti-HIV nucleoside analogs, carbovir and its derivative abacavir, are prepared directly from the 6-chloro intermediate in one-step reactions.

Topics: Dideoxynucleosides; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Mass Spectrometry; Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors

We report the first application of pronucleotide (ProTide) technology to the antiviral agent abacavir (Ziagen), used for the treatment of HIV infection. The phenylmethoxyalaninyl phosphoramidate of abacavir was prepared in good yield in one step. Also prepared was the corresponding phosphoramidate of the guanine nucleoside analogue "carbovir". The antiviral profile of each of the parent nucleosides was compared to that of the phosphoramidate ProTides. A significant (28- to 60-fold) increase in anti-HIV potency was noted for the ProTide of abacavir but not for that of carbovir. These findings were in agreement with the markedly higher (ca. 37-fold) levels of carbovir triphosphate that are formed in CEM cells upon response to the abacavir ProTide compared with the parent abacavir compound. In contrast the anti-HBV potency of both abacavir and carbovir were improved (10- and 20-fold, respectively) by ProTide formation. As in CEM cells, the abacavir ProTide provided significantly enhanced carbovir triphosphate levels in HepG2 2.2.15 cells over that of the parent nucleoside. On the basis of these data, a series of phosphoramidate analogues with structural variation in the ester and amino acid regions were prepared and their antiviral profiles described. In addition, the pharmacokinetic disposition of the abacavir phenylethoxyalaninyl phosphoramidate was evaluated in Cynomolgus monkeys.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animals; Anti-HIV Agents; Biological Availability; Cell Line; Cell Line, Tumor; Dideoxynucleosides; HIV-1; HIV-2; Humans; Macaca fascicularis; Mice; Organophosphorus Compounds; Structure-Activity Relationship; T-Lymphocytes

Abacavir, (-)-(1S,4R)-4-[2-amino-6-(cyclopropylamino)-9H-purin-9-yl]-2-cyclopentene-1-methanol, is a novel purine carbocyclic nucleoside analogue that has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of HIV (as Ziagen trade mark [abacavir sulfate]). Chemically, abacavir and (-)-carbovir (CBV) differ only at the 6-position of the purine ring; abacavir contains a cyclopropylamino moiety in place of the 6-lactam functionality of CBV. Intracellularly both are ultimately metabolized to CBV triphosphate. We compared the membrane permeation characteristics of these two compounds at 20 degrees C in human erythrocytes and in human T-lymphoblastoid CD4+ CEM cells, using a "papaverine-stop" assay. In erythrocytes, abacavir influx was rapid, nonsaturable (rate constant=200 pmol/s/mM/microl cell water), and unaffected by inhibitors of nucleoside or nucleobase transport. CBV influx was slow, saturable, strongly inhibited by adenine or hypoxanthine, and occurred via both the nucleobase carrier (Vmax=0.67 pmol/s/microl cell water; Km=50 microM) and the nucleoside carrier (Vmax=0.47 pmol/s/microl cell water; Km=440 microM). Similar qualitative results were obtained with CD4+ CEM cells, although CBV influx rates were somewhat higher and abacavir influx rates lower, compared to the corresponding rates in erythrocytes. Equilibrium studies further revealed that both compounds are concentrated intracellularly, but nonmetabolically, in both cell types, apparently due to cytosolic protein binding (absent in erythrocyte ghosts). We conclude that, in both cell types, while CBV influx is slow and carrier-dependent, abacavir influx occurs rapidly by nonfacilitated diffusion. The membrane permeation characteristics of abacavir are consistent with its superior oral bioavailability and its impressive ability to penetrate the central nervous system.

Topics: Anti-HIV Agents; Biological Transport; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; Cell Membrane Permeability; Dideoxynucleosides; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Erythrocytes; Humans; In Vitro Techniques; Kinetics

The cyclosaligenyl (cycloSal) derivatives of the monophosphates of three acyclic or carbocyclic guanosine analogues, for example, acyclovir (ACV), carbovir (CBV) and abacavir (ABC), were investigated for their activity against retrovirus (HIV, Moloney sarcoma virus) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) activity in cell culture. The extent of the antiviral potency of the prodrugs depended on the nature of the nucleoside, the substituent on the cycloSal moiety and the virus investigated. Most notably, and unlike the parent compound ACV, cycloSal-ACV monophosphate (MP) prodrugs retained pronounced activity against ACV-resistant (thymidine kinase-deficient) HSV-1 and also gained anti-HIV activity. While the cycloSal-CBVMP prodrugs did not show enhanced activity compared with the parent compound CBV, the cycloSal-ABCMP prodrugs afforded markedly increased potency against both HSV and HIV. Our data indicate that the cycloSal prodrug approach can be useful to deliver directly the MP derivatives of nucleoside analogues into the intact, virus-infected cells, thus improving and extending the antiviral potency and spectrum of the drugs against retro- and herpesvirus strains.

Topics: Acyclovir; Anti-HIV Agents; Antiviral Agents; Cell Line; Dideoxynucleosides; Drug Design; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; HIV; Humans; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Molecular Structure; Moloney murine sarcoma virus; Prodrugs; Simplexvirus; Virus Replication

A general and efficient synthesis of carbocyclic and hexenopyranosyl nucleosides has been developed. The strategy combines three key transformations: an asymmetric aldol addition to establish the relative and absolute configuration of the pseudosugar, a ring-closing metathesis to construct the pseudosugar ring, and a Trost-type palladium(0)-mediated substitution to assemble the pseudosugar and the aromatic base. Carbovir, abacavir, and their 2'-methyl derivatives as well as hexenopyranosyl nucleoside analogues have been prepared by this sequence.

Topics: Antiviral Agents; Dideoxynucleosides; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Nucleosides; Spectrophotometry, Infrared

1592U89, (-)-(1S,4R)-4-[2-amino-6-(cyclopropylamino)-9H-purin-9-yl]-2-cyclo pentene-1-methanol, is a carbocyclic nucleoside with a unique biological profile giving potent, selective anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) activity. 1592U89 was selected after evaluation of a wide variety of analogs containing a cyclopentene substitution for the 2'-deoxyriboside of natural deoxynucleosides, optimizing in vitro anti-HIV potency, oral bioavailability, and central nervous system (CNS) penetration. 1592U89 was equivalent in potency to 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) in human peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) cultures against clinical isolates of HIV type 1 (HIV-1) from antiretroviral drug-naive patients (average 50% inhibitory concentration [IC50], 0.26 microM for 1592U89 and 0.23 microM for AZT). 1592U89 showed minimal cross-resistance (approximately twofold) with AZT and other approved HIV reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors. 1592U89 was synergistic in combination with AZT, the nonnucleoside RT inhibitor nevirapine, and the protease inhibitor 141W94 in MT4 cells against HIV-1 (IIIB). 1592U89 was anabolized intracellularly to its 5'-monophosphate in CD4+ CEM cells and in PBLs, but the di- and triphosphates of 1592U89 were not detected. The only triphosphate found in cells incubated with 1592U89 was that of the guanine analog (-)-carbovir (CBV). However, the in vivo pharmacokinetic, distribution, and toxicological profiles of 1592U89 were distinct from and improved over those of CBV, probably because CBV itself was not appreciably formed from 1592U89 in cells or animals (<2%). The 5'-triphosphate of CBV was a potent, selective inhibitor of HIV-1 RT, with Ki values for DNA polymerases (alpha, beta, gamma, and epsilon which were 90-, 2,900-, 1,200-, and 1,900-fold greater, respectively, than for RT (Ki, 21 nM). 1592U89 was relatively nontoxic to human bone marrow progenitors erythroid burst-forming unit and granulocyte-macrophage CFU (IC50s, 110 microM) and human leukemic and liver tumor cell lines. 1592U89 had excellent oral bioavailability (105% in the rat) and penetrated the CNS (rat brain and monkey cerebrospinal fluid) as well as AZT. Having demonstrated an excellent preclinical profile, 1592U89 has progressed to clinical evaluation in HIV-infected patients.

Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Adenosine Deaminase; Administration, Oral; Animals; Anti-HIV Agents; Antiviral Agents; Area Under Curve; Biotransformation; Cells, Cultured; Dideoxynucleosides; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Female; Half-Life; HIV-1; Humans; Injections, Intravenous; Macaca fascicularis; Male; Rats; Structure-Activity Relationship

The anabolism of 1592U89, (-)-(1S,4R)-4-[2-amino-6-(cyclopropylamino)-9H-purin-9-yl]-2-cyclo pentene-1-methanol, a selective inhibitor of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), was characterized in human T-lymphoblastoid CD4+ CEM cells. 1592U89 was ultimately anabolized to the triphosphate (TP) of the guanine analog (-)-carbovir (CBV), a potent inhibitor of HIV reverse transcriptase. However, less than 2% of intracellular 1592U89 was converted to CBV, an amount insufficient to account for the CBV-TP levels observed. 1592U89 was anabolized to its 5'-monophosphate (MP) by the recently characterized enzyme adenosine phosphotransferase, but neither its diphosphate (DP) nor its TP was detected. The MP, DP, and TP of CBV were found in cells incubated with either 1592U89 or CBV, with CBV-TP being the major phosphorylated species. We confirmed that CBV is phosphorylated by 5'-nucleotidase and that mycophenolic acid increased the formation of CBV-TP from CBV 75-fold. However, mycophenolic acid did not stimulate 1592U89 anabolism to CBV-TP. The adenosine deaminase inhibitor erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine (EHNA) did not inhibit CBV-TP formation from CBV or 1592U89, whereas the adenylate deaminase inhibitor 2'-deoxycoformycin selectively inhibited 1592U89 anabolism to CBV-TP and reversed the antiviral activity of 1592U89. 1592U89-MP was not a substrate for adenylate deaminase but was a substrate for a distinct cytosolic deaminase that was inhibited by 2'-deoxycoformycin-5'-MP. Thus, 1592U89 is phosphorylated by adenosine phosphotransferase to 1592U89-MP, which is converted by a novel cytosolic enzyme to CBV-MP. CBV-MP is then further phosphorylated to CBV-TP by cellular kinases. This unique activation pathway enables 1592U89 to overcome the pharmacokinetic and toxicological deficiencies of CBV while maintaining potent and selective anti-HIV activity.

Topics: Animals; Anti-HIV Agents; Antiviral Agents; CD4 Antigens; Cells, Cultured; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Deamination; Dideoxynucleosides; Humans; Liver; Phosphorylation; Rats; Structure-Activity Relationship