Emerging and resurging mosquito-borne
flaviviruses are an important
public health challenge. The increased prevalence of dengue virus
(DENV) infection has had a significant socioeconomic impact on epidemic
countries. The recent outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) has created an
international public health emergency because ZIKV infection has been
linked to congenital defects and Guillain–Barré syndrome.
To develop potentially prophylactic antiviral drugs for combating
these acute infectious diseases, we have targeted the host calcium/calmodulin-dependent
kinase II (CaMKII) for inhibition. By using CaMKII structure-guided
inhibitor design, we generated four families of benzenesulfonamide
(BSA) derivatives for SAR analysis. Among these substances, N-(4-cycloheptyl-4-oxobutyl)-4-methoxy-N-phenylbenzenesulfonamide (9) showed superior
properties as a lead CaMKII inhibitor and antiviral agent. BSA 9 inhibited CaMKII activity with an IC50 value
of 0.79 μM and displayed EC50 values of 1.52 μM
and 1.91 μM against DENV and ZIKV infections of human neuronal
BE(2)C cells, respectively. Notably, 9 significantly
reduced the viremia level and increased animal survival time in mouse-challenge
models.
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