No abstract

In an effort to find an orally bioavailable antiviral for the treatment of rhino/enteroviral infections, a series of vinylacetylene benzimidazoles (11a-o, 12, and 18a) was made. Initial studies of this class of antivirals showed that fluorine substitution on the left-hand phenyl ring in combination with the vinylacetylene moiety gave the requisite mix of physical properties to achieve good in vitro antiviral activity as well as respectable oral bioavailability in rhesus monkeys. To ascertain the generality of this finding and to broaden the scope of the structure-activity relationship (SAR), the present study concentrated on fluoro substitution of this class of molecules. The initial antiviral activity for each analogue was measured using human rhinovirus 14 (HRV-14). This served as an indicator of general antiviral activity for SAR purposes. Subsequently, the spectrum of antirhino/enteroviral activity of the more interesting analogues was evaluated through testing against a panel of seven additional rhino/enteroviruses. Broad-spectrum activity was present and consistent for all analogues tested, and it tracked closely with the antiviral activity observed against HRV-14. A simple screening protocol for oral bioavailability was established whereby compounds were administered orally to mice and plasma levels were measured. This procedure facilitated the evaluation of numerous analogues in a rapid manner. The Cmax was used as a measure of oral bioavailability to allow relative ranking of compounds. In general, fluorine substitution directly on the left-hand aromatic ring does give good oral blood levels. However, fluorine incorporation at other positions in the molecule was not as effective at maintaining either the activity or the oral plasma levels. The constructive combination of activity and oral plasma levels was maximized in three derivatives: 11a,e,g.

Entry of influenza virus into the host cell is dependent on the fusion of the viral envelope with the endosomal membrane and is mediated by a low-pH-induced change of the viral hemagglutinin (HA) to a conformation that is fusogenic. A compound related to podocarpic acid (180299) was identified that inhibits multicycle replication of influenza A/Kawasaki/86 (H1N1) virus in culture. Treatment of Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells with 180299 at 1 h before infection resulted in the inhibition of viral protein synthesis. Addition of 20 microgram of 180299/ml at 1 h p.i. had no effect, indicating that 180299 affects an early step of the influenza viral replication cycle. Genetic analysis of reassortants between sensitive and resistant viruses demonstrated that hemagglutinin (HA) conferred the 180299-resistant (180299(r)) phenotype. Twelve independent isolates of influenza A/Kawasaki/86 were selected for resistance to 180299, and sequence analysis revealed that each of these viruses contained amino acid substitutions in the HA. These mutations are dispersed throughout the HA primary amino acid sequence and cluster in one of two regions: the interface between HA1 and HA2 and in a region near the fusion domain of HA2. When compared with the parent virus, the pH-of-inactivation of the resistant mutants was increased by 0.3 to 0.6 pH unit, suggesting that the mutant HAs undergo the conformational change at an elevated pH. Fusion of human erythrocytes to MDCK cells infected with parent influenza A/Kawasaki/86 was inhibited by 180299 (0.1-10 microgram/ml) in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas fusion of erythrocytes to MDCK cells infected with 180299(r) mutants was not affected. These results suggest that 180299 interacts with the neutral pH conformation of influenza A HA and prevents the low-pH-induced change of HA to its fusogenic conformation.

(1,3)-pi-D-Glucan synthase of Candida albicans was rendered soluble by treatment of membrane preparations with the polyoxyethylene ether detergent W-1. Extraction with 0.025% W-1 at 4°C for 24 h effectively solubilized and activated the enzyme. Under these conditions, >85% of the protein in membrane preparations was released, and about 64% of the glucan synthase activity could be recovered in the soluble form. Soluble enzyme activity was stable for more than 12 days at 4°C. Also, glucan synthase activity in the extracted membrane preparations could be activated to achieve more than twice the enzyme activity in the original, unextracted membrane preparations. The soluble glucan synthase had characteristics similar to those of the membrane-bound enzyme. Soluble glucan synthase had an apparent Km of 2.0 mM, and particulate glucan synthase had an apparent Km of 2.5 mM. Kinetics of cilofungin inhibition for both enzyme preparations were noncompetitive, with an apparent Ki of 2.5 ,uM; both preparations could be inhibited by cilofungin but not by its peptide nucleus or side chain, either alone or in combination. The reaction products from both forms of the enzyme were sensitive to (1,3)-p-D-glucanase degradation but not to a-amylase, a-glucosidase, or proteinase K degradation and thus were shown to be 0(1-*3) glucan.

The effects of inactivation of the genes encoding penicillin-binding protein 1a (PBP1a), PBP1b, and PBP2a inStreptococcus pneumoniae were examined. Insertional mutants did not exhibit detectable changes in growth rate or morphology, although a pbp1a pbp1b double-disruption mutant grew more slowly than its parent did. Attempts to generate a pbp1a pbp2a double-disruption mutant failed. The pbp2amutants, but not the other mutants, were more sensitive to moenomycin, a transglycosylase inhibitor. These observations suggest that individually the pbp1a, pbp1b, andpbp2a genes are dispensable but that eitherpbp1a or pbp2a is required for growth in vitro. These results also suggest that PBP2a is a functional transglycosylase in S. pneumoniae.