Structure-activity relationship in the 3-iodo-4-phenoxypyridinone (IOPY) series: The nature of the C-3 substituent on anti-HIV activity.

As part of a systematic SAR study on the 3-iodo-4-phenoxypyridinone 3 (IOPY) type non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, the analogues 4a-4z bearing different C-3 substituents were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-HIV activity against wild-type HIV-1 and four of the principal HIV mutant strains (K103N, Y181C, Y188L, and I100L). The results show that the 3-vinyl analogue 4j is the only compound which displays anti-HIV activity comparable to IOPY 3, and in this respect represents a possible back-up to this lead molecule.

4-Benzyl and 4-benzoyl-3-dimethylaminopyridin-2(1H)-ones: in vitro evaluation of new C-3-amino-substituted and C-5,6-alkyl-substituted analogues against clinically important HIV mutant strains.

In a program to optimize the anti-HIV activity of the 4-benzyl and 4-benzoyl-3-dimethylaminopyridinones 9 and 10, lead compounds in a new class of highly potent non-nucleoside type inhibitors of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, modification of the alkyl substitutents at the C-5 and C-6 positions on the pyridinone ring and of the substitutents on the C-3 amino group has been studied. Of the 17 new 5/6-modified analogues prepared, compounds 31b and 32b substituted at C-5 by an extended nonpolar chain containing an ether function and a C-6 methyl group and compound 35 bearing a C-5 ethyl/C-6 hydroxymethyl substituent pattern were selected on the basis of their in vitro activity against wild-type HIV and the three principle mutant strains, K103N, Y181C, and Y188L. When tested further, it was shown that these molecules, and in particular compound 35, are globally more active than 9, 10, and efavirenz against an additional eight single [L100I, K101E, V106A, E138K, V179E, G190A/S, and F227C] and four double HIV mutant strains [L100I + K103N, K101E + K103N, K103N + Y181C, and F227L + V106A], which are clinically relevant. Concerning modulation of the N-3 substituent, 36 new analogues were prepared. Of these, the N-methyl-N-(2-methoxyethyl)-substituted compounds 40, 42, and 62, as well as the doubly modified compounds 77a and 77b, were selected from the initial screen and were subsequently shown to be active at sub-micromolar concentrations (IC(50)'s) against all the other mutant strains except K103N + Y181C and F227L + V106A. Two possible, but distinct, modes of binding of these analogues in RT were suggested from molecular modeling studies. The preferred mode of binding for compound 62, corresponding to the predicted "orientation 1", was revealed in the X-ray crystal structure of the compound 62-RT complex.

Synthesis, structure-activity relationship, and receptor pharmacology of a new series of quinoline derivatives acting as selective, noncompetitive mGlu1 antagonists.

We describe the discovery and the structure-activity relationship of a new series of quinoline derivatives acting as selective and highly potent noncompetitive mGlu1 antagonists. We first identified cis-10 as a fairly potent mGlu1 antagonist (IC(50) = 20 nM) in a cell-based signal transduction assay on the rat mGlu1 receptor expressed in CHO-K1 cells, and then we were able to design and synthesize highly potent compounds on both rat and human mGlu1 receptors as exemplified by compound cis-64a, which has an antagonist potency of 0.5 nM for the human mGlu1 receptor. We briefly present and discuss the in vitro metabolic stability of the compounds in human liver microsomes. We finally report the pharmacokinetic properties of our lead compound cis-64a.

4-benzyl- and 4-benzoyl-3-dimethylaminopyridin-2(1H)-ones, a new family of potent anti-HIV agents: optimization and in vitro evaluation against clinically important HIV mutant strains.

The 4-benzyl and 4-benzoyl-3-dimethylaminopyridinones 13 and 14 are representatives of a new class of highly potent non nucleoside type inhibitors of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. To conduct SAR studies on these two lead compounds, 102 new analogues were prepared. Thirty-three compounds displayed nanomolar range activity in vitro against wild-type HIV-1, and among these, 18 were active against the 103N, Y181C, and Y188L mutant strains with IC50 values inferior to 1 microM. Evaluation of this group of analogues against an additional eight single [100I, 101E, 106A, 138K, 179E, 190A, 190S, 227C] and four double HIV mutant strains [100I + 103N, 101E + 103N, 103N + 181C, and 227L + 106A], which are often present in HIV infected patients, permitted the selection of eight compounds, 17x, 18b, 18c, 18f, 18g, 27, 30, and 42, which are globally more active than the lead molecules 13/14, emivirine and the currently used NNRTI, nevirapine. Further comparison of the 3'-CN-substituted benzoylpyridinone compound 18c, and the corresponding 3'-acrylonitrile-substituted analogue 30, to efavirenz, the reference molecule in anti-HIV therapy today, revealed that the pyridinone analogues displayed a superior inhibition profile in the in vitro cellular assay system. These results form a solid basis for continued optimization of the pyridinone series.