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  • 2-(2-Thienyl)-5,6-dihydroxy-4-carboxypyrimidines as inhibitors of the hepatitis C virus NS5B polymerase: discovery, SAR, modeling, and mutagenesis.

2-(2-Thienyl)-5,6-dihydroxy-4-carboxypyrimidines as inhibitors of the hepatitis C virus NS5B polymerase: discovery, SAR, modeling, and mutagenesis.

Journal of medicinal chemistry (2006-03-03)
Uwe Koch, Barbara Attenni, Savina Malancona, Stefania Colarusso, Immacolata Conte, Marcello Di Filippo, Steven Harper, Barbara Pacini, Claudia Giomini, Steven Thomas, Ilario Incitti, Licia Tomei, Raffaele De Francesco, Sergio Altamura, Victor G Matassa, Frank Narjes
PMID16509585
ABSTRACT

Infections caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) are a significant world health problem for which novel therapies are in urgent demand. The polymerase of HCV is responsible for the replication of viral RNA. We recently disclosed dihydroxypyrimidine carboxylates 2 as novel, reversible inhibitors of the HCV NS5B polymerase. This series was further developed into 5,6-dihydroxy-2-(2-thienyl)pyrimidine-4-carboxylic acids such as 34 (EC50 9.3 microM), which now show activity in the cell-based HCV replication assay. The structure-activity relationship of these inhibitors is discussed in the context of their physicochemical properties and of the polymerase crystal structure. We also report the results of mutagenesis experiments which support the proposed binding model, which involves pyrophosphate-like chelation of the active site Mg ions.