An isopropylalaninyl monoamidate phenyl monoester prodrug of tenofovir (GS 7340) was prepared, and its in vitro antiviral activity, metabolism, and pharmacokinetics in dogs were determined. The 50% effective concentration (EC 50 ) of GS 7340 against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in MT-2 cells was 0.005 M compared to an EC 50 of 5 M for the parent drug, tenofovir. The (L)-alaninyl analog (GS 7340) was >1,000-fold more active than the (D)-alaninyl analog. GS 7340 has a half-life of 90 min in human plasma at 37°C and a half-life of 28.3 min in an MT-2 cell extract at 37°C. The antiviral activity (>10؋ the EC 50 ) and the metabolic stability in MT-2 cell extracts (>35؋) and plasma (>2.5؋) were also sensitive to the stereochemistry at the phosphorus. After a single oral dose of GS 7340 (10 mg-eq/kg tenofovir) to male beagle dogs, the plasma bioavailability of tenofovir compared to an intravenous dose of tenofovir was 17%. The total intracellular concentration of all tenofovir species in isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells at 24 h was 63 g-eq/ml compared to 0.2 g-eq/ml in plasma. A radiolabeled distribution study with dogs resulted in an increased distribution of tenofovir to tissues of lymphatic origin compared to the commercially available prodrug tenofovir DF (Viread).Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus is effective in reducing plasma viral loads below current assay detection limits and is responsible for significant reductions in AIDS-related mortality in the United States (13). Combinations of protease and reverse transcriptase inhibitors are extremely potent at blocking de novo infection; however, they have no effect on latently infected cells. The half-lives of these latent cellular reservoirs were originally estimated to be Ͼ3 years, leading to the conclusion that it may not be possible to eradicate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from an infected individual by using current HAART (2). It has subsequently been shown that even in patients who have undetectable plasma viremia (Ͻ50 copies/ ml), low-level replication is ongoing (11,15,36), resulting in repopulation of latent reservoirs and thus accounting for the long apparent half-lives observed (12,22,23,35). The failure of HAART to completely shut down virus replication in vivo is a function of both the intrinsic potency of the drug regimen and its distribution to the cellular sites of virus replication. The lymphatic tissues and the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are the primary sites of virus replication and potential virus latency (9,19). A drug targeting strategy that selectively enhances active drug concentrations in these tissues without excessive systemic exposure is conceptually attractive and would potentially lead to a more effective HAART with fewer potential side effects.Tenofovir, {9-[(R)-2(phosphonomethoxy)propyl]adenine} (PMPA) (Fig.

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9-[(R)-2-[[(S)-[[(S)-1-(Isopropoxycarbonyl)ethyl]amino] phenoxyphosphinyl]-methoxy]propyl]adenine (GS-7340) is an isopropylalaninyl phenyl ester prodrug of the nucleotide HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitor tenofovir (TFV; 9-[(2-phosphonomethoxy)propyl]adenine) exhibiting potent anti-HIV activity and enhanced ability to deliver parent TFV into peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and other lymphatic tissues in vivo. The present study focuses on the intracellular metabolism of GS-7340 and its activation by a variety of cellular hydrolytic enzymes. Incubation of human PBMCs in the presence of GS-7340 indicates that the prodrug is hydrolyzed slightly faster to an intermediate TFV-alanine conjugate (TFV-Ala) in quiescent PBMCs compared with activated cells (0.21 versus 0.16 pmol/min/10 6 cells). In contrast, the conversion of TFV-Ala to TFV and subsequent phosphorylation to TFV-diphosphate occur more rapidly in activated PBMCs. The activity of GS-7340 hydrolase producing TFV-Ala in PBMCs is primarily localized in lysosomes and is sensitive to inhibitors of serine hydrolases. Cathepsin A, a lysosomal serine protease has recently been identified as the primary enzyme activating GS-7340 in human PBMCs. Results from the present study indicate that in addition to cathepsin A, a variety of serine and cysteine proteases cleave GS-7340 and other phosphonoamidate prodrugs of TFV. The substrate preferences displayed by these enzymes toward TFV amidate prodrugs are nearly identical to their preferences displayed against oligopeptide substrates, indicating that GS-7340 and other phosphonoamidate derivatives of TFV should be considered peptidomimetic prodrugs of TFV. (De Clercq, 2003). TFV contains catabolically stable phosphonate moiety; therefore, unlike with nucleoside analogs, its intracellular activation requires only two phosphorylation steps to yield its active form, TFV diphosphate (TFVpp). The phosphorylation of TFV is catalyzed by AMP kinase and nucleoside diphosphate kinase (Robbins et al., 1995). TFVpp is a potent competitive inhibitor of HIV reverse transcriptase, acting as an obligatory DNA chain terminator (Suo and Johnson, 1998). However, the presence of two negative charges on the TFV molecule limits its cellular permeability and precludes oral administration. To overcome these limitations, various TFV prodrugs containing lipophilic groups masking the charged phosphonate moiety have been designed. Among these, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF; Viread) has been approved for the treatment of HIV infection. Because of its favorable resistance profile and long-term tolerability, TDF therapy is broadly used in treatment of both naive and previously drug-treated HIV-infected patients (for review, see Antoniou et al, 2003;Grim and Romanelli, 2003). Tenofovir (TFV) is an acyclic nucleotide analog active against a variety of retroviruses including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virusGS-7340 (Fig. 1) is a prototype molecule representing a novel class of TFV mono-phosphonoamidate prodru...

PMPA, an acyclic nucleoside phosphonate analog, is a potent inhibitor of HIV. In the cells, PMPA is efficiently phosphorylated by intracellular kinases to produce PMPApp, the pharmacologically active metabolite. Despite its demonstrated antiviral potency, PMPA has limited cell permeability presumably resulting from the presence of two negative charges on the phosphonyl group. To enhance intracellular concentrations of PMPA, we developed a prodrug, selectively metabolized inside cells. GS-7340 (9-[(R)-2-[[[[(S)-1-(isopropoxycarbonyl)ethyl] amino] phenoxy-phosphinyl]-methoxy] propyl] adenine) is a prodrug which is orally bioavailable in dogs as the intact prodrug and has demonstrated anti-HIV activity in cell culture of over 1000-fold greater than that of PMPA. The metabolism of PMPA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), red blood cells (RBC) and plasma was examined following exposure of whole blood to PMPA or GS-7340 at concentrations similar to ones observed systemically following oral administration in dogs. Following 1 hour incubation with whole blood, GS-7340 was stable in plasma, produced high levels of PMPA and its phosphorylated metabolites in PBMC but not in RBC. No intact prodrug was present in PBMC. The only other species present in PBMC was monoalaninyl PMPA. The levels of PMPA and the phosphorylated metabolites were over 20 times greater than those after incubation with PMPA. The dog and human blood data were similar. The intracellular levels of PMPA and PMPApp were roughly proportional to GS-7340 over a 10-fold concentration range indicating a lack of saturability of uptake and phosphorylation. Since PMPApp is the species responsible for antiviral activity of PMPA, the high intracellular levels of PMPApp should be an important indicator of greater clinical efficacy of GS-7340.

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