Identification of broad-based HIV-1 protease inhibitors from combinatorial libraries

Biochem J. 2010 Aug 1;429(3):527-32. doi: 10.1042/BJ20091645.

Abstract

Clinically approved inhibitors of the HIV-1 protease function via a competitive mechanism. A particular vulnerability of competitive inhibitors is their sensitivity to increases in substrate concentration, as may occur during virion assembly, budding and processing into a mature infectious viral particle. Advances in chemical synthesis have led to the development of new high-diversity chemical libraries using rapid in-solution syntheses. These libraries have been shown previously to be effective at disrupting protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interfaces. We have screened 44000 compounds from such a library to identify inhibitors of the HIV-1 protease. One compound was identified that inhibits wild-type protease, as well as a drug-resistant protease with six mutations. Moreover, analysis of this compound suggests an allosteric non-competitive mechanism of inhibition and may represent a starting point for an additional strategy for anti-retroviral therapy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques*
  • HIV Protease / drug effects
  • HIV Protease Inhibitors / chemistry*
  • HIV Protease Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Kinetics
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Models, Molecular
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

Substances

  • HIV Protease Inhibitors
  • HIV Protease
  • p16 protease, Human immunodeficiency virus 1