Solution structure of substrate-based ligands when bound to hepatitis C virus NS3 protease domain

NMR spectroscopy can help accelerate antiviral drug discovery programs

Small molecule drugs have an important role to play in combating viral infections, and biophysics support has been central for contributing to the discovery and design of direct acting antivirals. Perhaps one of the most successful biophysical tools for this purpose is NMR spectroscopy when utilized strategically and pragmatically within team workflows and timelines. This report describes some clear examples of how NMR applications contributed to the design of antivirals when combined with medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, X-ray crystallography and computational chemistry. Overall, these multidisciplinary approaches allowed teams to reveal and expose compound physical properties from which design ideas were spawned and tested to achieve the desired successes. Examples are discussed for the discovery of antivirals that target HCV, HIV and SARS-CoV-2.

Structure-thermodynamics-relationships of hepatitis C viral NS3 protease inhibitors

Thermodynamic parameters were determined for structurally-related inhibitors of HCV NS3 protease to assess how binding entropies and enthalpies vary with incremental changes at the P2 and P3 inhibitor subsites. Changing the heterocyclic substituent at P2 from a pyridyl to a 7-methoxy-2-phenyl-4-quinolyl group leads to a 710-fold increase in affinity. Annelating a benzene ring onto a pyridine ring leads to quinoline-derived inhibitors having higher affinities, but the individual enthalpy and entropy contributions are markedly different for each ligand pair. Introducing a phenyl group at C2 of the heterocyclic ring at P2 uniformly leads to higher affinity analogs with more favorable binding entropies, while adding a methoxy group at C7 of the quinoline ring at P2 provides derivatives with more favorable binding enthalpies. Significant enthalpy/entropy compensation is observed for structural changes made to inhibitors lacking a 2-phenyl substituent, whereas favorable changes in both binding enthalpies and entropies accompany structural modifications when a 2-phenyl group is present. Overall, binding energetics of inhibitors having a 2-phenyl-4-quinolyl group at P2 are dominated by entropic effects, whereas binding of the corresponding norphenyl analogs are primarily enthalpy driven. Notably, the reversal from an entropy driven association to an enthalpy driven one for this set of inhibitors also correlates with alternate binding modes. When the steric bulk of the side chain at P3 is increased from a hydrogen atom to a tert-butyl group, there is a 770-fold improvement in affinity. The 30-fold increase resulting from the first methyl group is solely the consequence of a more favorable change in entropy, whereas subsequent additions of methyl groups leads to modest increases in affinity that arise primarily from incremental improvements in binding enthalpies accompanied with smaller favorable entropic contributions.

2015 Philip S. Portoghese Medicinal Chemistry Lectureship. Curing Hepatitis C Virus Infection with Direct-Acting Antiviral Agents: The Arc of a Medicinal Chemistry Triumph

The development of direct-acting antiviral agents that can cure a chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection after 8-12 weeks of daily, well-tolerated therapy has revolutionized the treatment of this insidious disease. In this article, three of Bristol-Myers Squibb's HCV programs are summarized, each of which produced a clinical candidate: the NS3 protease inhibitor asunaprevir (64), marketed as Sunvepra, the NS5A replication complex inhibitor daclatasvir (117), marketed as Daklinza, and the allosteric NS5B polymerase inhibitor beclabuvir (142), which is in late stage clinical studies. A clinical study with 64 and 117 established for the first time that a chronic HCV infection could be cured by treatment with direct-acting antiviral agents alone in the absence of interferon. The development of small molecule HCV therapeutics, designed by medicinal chemists, has been hailed as "the arc of a medical triumph" but may equally well be described as "the arc of a medicinal chemistry triumph".

Conformation-based restrictions and scaffold replacements in the design of hepatitis C virus polymerase inhibitors: discovery of deleobuvir (BI 207127)

Conformational restrictions of flexible torsion angles were used to guide the identification of new chemotypes of HCV NS5B inhibitors. Sites for rigidification were based on an acquired conformational understanding of compound binding requirements and the roles of substituents in the free and bound states. Chemical bioisosteres of amide bonds were explored to improve cell-based potency. Examples are shown, including the design concept that led to the discovery of the phase III clinical candidate deleobuvir (BI 207127). The structure-based strategies employed have general utility in drug design.

Ligand bioactive conformation plays a critical role in the design of drugs that target the hepatitis C virus NS3 protease

A ligand-focused strategy employed NMR, X-ray, modeling, and medicinal chemistry to expose the critical role that bioactive conformation played in the design of a variety of drugs that target the HCV protease. The bioactive conformation (bound states) were determined for key inhibitors identified along our drug discovery pathway from the hit to clinical compounds. All adopt similar bioactive conformations for the common core derived from the hit peptide DDIVPC. A carefully designed SAR analysis, based on the advanced inhibitor 1 in which the P1 to P3 side chains and the N-terminal Boc were sequentially truncated, revealed a correlation between affinity and the relative predominance of the bioactive conformation in the free state. Interestingly, synergistic conformation effects on potency were also noted. Comparisons with clinical and recently marketed drugs from the pharmaceutical industry showed that all have the same core and similar bioactive conformations. This suggested that the variety of appendages discovered for these compounds also properly satisfy the bioactive conformation requirements and allowed for a large variety of HCV protease drug candidates to be designed.

Advancing fragment binders to lead-like compounds using ligand and protein-based NMR spectroscopy

The application of NMR in fragment-based lead discovery (FBLD) has quickly developed from a sensitive method for the identification of low-affinity binders to an important tool in the hit-to-lead process. NMR can play a constructive role in the process from identifying those fragments with the best potential toward a biochemically active compound to developing them into molecules with high affinity and selectivity to a given target protein. NMR hit-to-lead involves revising the lead identification process at the beginning of a fragment-based drug discovery project, the primary screen, and also looking toward protein-detected NMR methods in advancing compounds from fragment hit into and through fragment hit-to-lead. With the development of higher sensitivity cold NMR probes, ligand-based NMR methods can be successfully applied to a majority of projects found in a pharmaceutical pipeline. Having matured from the original concepts such as SAR by NMR (Shuker, S. B., Hajduk, P. J., Meadows, R. P., Fesik, S. W. (1996) Discovering high-affinity ligands for proteins: SAR by NMR. Science274 (5292), 1531-1534.), projects that base their lead matter on fragment hits are close to or already in the clinic (Woodhead, A. J., Angove, H., Carr, M. G., Chessari, G., Congreve, M., Coyle, J. E., Cosme, J., Graham, B., Day, P. J., Downham, R., Fazal, L., Feltell, R., et al. (2010) discovery of (2,4-dihydroxy-5-isopropylphenyl)-[5-(4-methylpiperazin-1-ylmethyl)-1,3-dihydroisoindol-2-yl]methanone (AT13387), a novel inhibitor of the molecular chaperone Hsp90 by fragment based drug design. J. Med. Chem.53, 5956-5969, Chessari, G., and Woodhead, A. J. (2009). From fragment to clinical candidate: A historical perspective. Drug Discov. Today14 (13-14), 668-675.). Generating new ideas toward new binding modes and mechanisms of action as well as new intellectual property will be the standard by which the success of FBLD will need to be measured. A strategy outlining the various steps involved in NMR hit-to-lead is provided. By means of a specific example, the workflow is described to guide the reader through the experimental setup.

Structural and pharmacological effects of ring-closing metathesis in peptides

Applications of ring-closing alkene metathesis (RCM) in acyclic α- and β-peptides and closely related systems are reviewed, with a special emphasis on the structural and pharmacological effects of cyclization by RCM.

Peptidomimetic therapeutic agents targeting the protease enzyme of the human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C virus

During the past two decades, great strides have been made in the design of peptidomimetic drugs for the treatment of viral infections, despite the stigma of poor drug-like properties, low oral absorption, and high clearance associated with such compounds. This Account summarizes the progress made toward overcoming such liabilities and highlights the drug discovery efforts that have focused specifically on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitors. The arsenal against the incurable disease AIDS, which is caused by HIV infection, includes peptidomimetic compounds that target the virally encoded aspartic protease enzyme. This enzyme is essential to the production of mature HIV particles and plays a key role in maintaining infectivity. However, because of the rapid genomic evolution of viruses, an inevitable consequence in the treatment of all viral infections is the emergence of resistance to the drugs. Therefore, the incomplete suppression of HIV in treatment-experienced AIDS patients will continue to drive the search for more effective therapeutic agents that exhibit efficacy against the mutants raised by the earlier generation of protease inhibitors. Currently, a number of substrate-based peptidomimetic agents that target the virally encoded HCV NS3/4A protease are in clinical development. Mechanistically, these inhibitors can be generally divided into activated carbonyls that are transition-state mimics or compounds that tap into the feedback mode of enzyme-product inhibition. In the HCV field, there is justified optimism that a number of these compounds will soon reach commercialization as therapeutic agents for the treatment of HCV infections. Structural research has guided the successful design of both HIV and HCV protease inhibitors. X-ray crystallography, NMR, and computational studies have provided valuable insight in to the free-state preorganization of peptidomimetic ligands and their enzyme-bound conformation. Researchers have designed a variety of novel bioisosteric replacements of amino acids and short peptides that contain all of the required pharmacophore moieties and play a key role in inducing conformational changes to the overall molecule. The knowledge gained from these studies will undoubtedly guide the future design of therapeutic agents and further contribute to the success of this field.

Synthesis of novel potent hepatitis C virus NS3 protease inhibitors: Discovery of 4-hydroxy-cyclopent-2-ene-1,2-dicarboxylic acid as a N-acyl-l-hydroxyproline bioisostere

Potent tetrapeptidic inhibitors of the HCV NS3 protease have been developed incorporating 4-hydroxy-cyclopent-2-ene-1,2-dicarboxylic acid as a new N-acyl-l-hydroxyproline mimic. The hydroxycyclopentene template was synthesized in eight steps from commercially available (syn)-tetrahydrophthalic anhydride. Three different amino acids were explored in the P1-position and in the P2-position the hydroxyl group of the cyclopentene template was substituted with 7-methoxy-2-phenyl-quinolin-4-ol. The P3/P4-positions were then optimized from a set of six amino acid derivatives. All inhibitors were evaluated in an in vitro assay using the full-length NS3 protease. Several potent inhibitors were identified, the most promising exhibiting a K(i) value of 1.1nM.

The therapeutic potential of NS3 protease inhibitors in HCV infection

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a serious cause of chronic liver disease worldwide and afflicts > 170 million people. The HCV-encoded NS3 protease is essential for viral replication and has long been recognised as a prime target for antiviral drugs. However, the peculiar active site structure of this enzyme, a shallow dent on the surface of the protein, has rendered the development of small-molecule inhibitors a highly challenging task. Nevertheless, perseverance and creativity has led to significant progress in this field over the last few years resulting in three compounds that are reported to enter the clinic. The impressive reduction of HCV RNA plasma levels observed with two of these inhibitors (ciluprevir and VX-950) in clinical trials has undoubtedly illustrated the potential of this viral enzyme-targeted drug discovery approach.

Investigation of glycine α-ketoamide HCV NS3 protease inhibitors: Effect of carboxylic acid isosteres

The design and synthesis of tetrapeptide-based alpha-ketoamides containing prime side acid isosteres HCV NS3 protease inhibitors are described. Tetrazole, sulfonic acid, and N-sulfonylcarboxamids were demonstrated to be efficient carboxylic acid replacements. Further optimization yielded a series of potent HCV NS3 protease inhibitors with IC(50) of 0.020-0.060 microM.

Emerging therapies for hepatitis C virus infection

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has infected millions of people worldwide and has emerged as a global health crisis. The currently available therapy is interferon (IFN) either alone or in combination with ribavirin. However, the disappointing efficacy of IFN has led to the considerable need for improved treatments and a number of new therapies are under evaluation in clinical trials. These include pegylated IFNs, which have altered physiochemical characteristics allowing once-weekly dosing. Combination of pegylated IFN with ribavirin should further improve sustained response rates. However, not all patients are successfully treated with IFNs, particularly those infected with genotype 1 of the virus, and it is likely that potent, specific drugs will be required. The majority of new approaches currently trying to combat this viral disease are aimed at inhibition of viral targets. Most effort has been directed towards inhibition of the NS3 serine protease, and potent inhibitors have now been described. However, a clinical candidate is yet to emerge against this difficult target. Considerable work by leading researchers has provided crystal structures of the key replicative enzymes, NS3 protease, NS3 helicase, NS5B polymerase and full-length NS3 protease-helicase, and there is much hope that such structural information will bear fruit. More recently, inhibition of host targets, particularly inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), has become of interest and there are on-going clinical trials with such inhibitors. Research aimed at novel treatments for HCV disease is gathering pace and very recent developments in cell-based assay systems can only hasten the discovery of improved therapies.

Potent Inhibitors of the Hepatitis C Virus NS3 Protease: Design and Synthesis of Macrocyclic Substrate-Based β-Strand Mimics

The virally encoded NS3 protease is essential to the life cycle of the hepatitis C virus (HCV), an important human pathogen causing chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The design and synthesis of 15-membered ring beta-strand mimics which are capable of inhibiting the interactions between the HCV NS3 protease enzyme and its polyprotein substrate will be described. The binding interactions between a macrocyclic ligand and the enzyme were explored by NMR and molecular dynamics, and a model of the ligand/enzyme complex was developed.

Sensitivity of NS3 serine proteases from hepatitis C virus genotypes 2 and 3 to the inhibitor BILN 2061

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) displays a high degree of genetic variability. Six genotypes and more than 50 subtypes have been identified to date. In this report, kinetic profiles were determined for NS3 proteases of genotypes 1a, 1b, 2ac, 2b, and 3a, revealing no major differences in activity. In vitro sensitivity studies with BILN 2061 showed a decrease in affinity for proteases of genotypes 2 and 3 (K(i), 80 to 90 nM) compared to genotype 1 enzymes (K(i), 1.5 nM). To understand the reduced sensitivity of genotypes 2 and 3 to BILN 2061, active-site residues in the proximity of the inhibitor binding site were replaced in the genotype-1b enzyme with the corresponding genotype-2b or -3a residues. The replacement of five residues at positions 78, 79, 80, 122, and 132 accounted for most of the reduced sensitivity of genotype 2b, while replacement of residue 168 alone could account for the reduced sensitivity of genotype 3a. BILN 2061 remains a potent inhibitor of these non-genotype-1 NS3-NS4A proteins, with K(i) values below 100 nM. This in vitro potency, in conjunction with the good pharmacokinetic data reported for humans, suggests that there is potential for BILN 2061 as an antiviral agent for individuals infected with non-genotype-1 HCV.

Structure-based design of inhibitors of NS3 serine protease of hepatitis C virus

We have designed small focused combinatorial library of hexapeptide inhibitors of NS3 serine protease of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) by structure-based molecular design complemented by combinatorial optimisation of the individual residues. Rational residue substitutions were guided by the structure and properties of the binding pockets of the enzyme's active site. The inhibitors were derived from peptides known to inhibit the NS3 serine protease by using unusual amino acids and alpha-ketocysteine or difluoroaminobutyric acid, which are known to bind to the S1 pocket of the catalytic site. Inhibition constants (Ki) of the designed library of inhibitors were predicted from a QSAR model that correlated experimental Ki of known peptidic inhibitors of NS3 with the enthalpies of enzyme-inhibitor interaction computed via molecular mechanics and the solvent effect contribution to the binding affinity derived from the continuum model of solvation. The library of the optimised inhibitors contains promising drug candidates-water-soluble anionic hexapeptides with predicted Ki* in the picomolar range.

Novel Azapeptide Inhibitors of Hepatitis C Virus Serine Protease

Azapeptides are known inhibitors of several serine and cysteine proteases. In seeking different classes of inhibitors for the HCV serine protease, a series of novel azapeptide-based inhibitors were investigated which incorporated noncleavable P1/P1' aza-amino acyl residues. Extensive SAR studies around the P1/P1' aza-amino acyl fragment resulted in the identification of potent and selective inhibitors. Using NMR studies, we have shown that this series of inhibitors bind in a noncovalent competitive fashion to the NS3 protease active site. The bound conformation of one of these new azapeptide-based inhibitors was determined using the transfer NOE technique. Incorporation of these new aza-amino acyl functionalities in the P1 position provided a handle to probe for new interactions in the S' region of the enzyme.

Dissection study on the severe acute respiratory syndrome 3C-like protease reveals the critical role of the extra domain in dimerization of the enzyme: defining the extra domain as a new target for design of highly specific protease inhibitors

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) 3C-like protease consists of two distinct folds, namely the N-terminal chymotrypsin fold containing the domains I and II hosting the complete catalytic machinery and the C-terminal extra helical domain III unique for the coronavirus 3CL proteases. Previously the functional role of this extra domain has been completely unknown, and it was believed that the coronavirus 3CL proteases share the same enzymatic mechanism with picornavirus 3C proteases, which contain the chymotrypsin fold but have no extra domain. To understand the functional role of the extra domain and to characterize the enzyme-substrate interactions by use of the dynamic light scattering, circular dichroism, and NMR spectroscopy, we 1) dissected the full-length SARS 3CL protease into two distinct folds and subsequently investigated their structural and dimerization properties and 2) studied the structural and binding interactions of three substrate peptides with the entire enzyme and its two dissected folds. The results lead to several findings; 1) although two dissected parts folded into the native-like structures, the chymotrypsin fold only had weak activity as compared with the entire enzyme, and 2) although the chymotrypsin fold remained a monomer within a wide range of protein concentrations, the extra domain existed as a stable dimer even at a very low concentration. This observation strongly indicates that the extra domain contributes to the dimerization of the SARS 3CL protease, thus, switching the enzyme from the inactive form (monomer) to the active form (dimer). This discovery not only separates the coronavirus 3CL protease from the picornavirus 3C protease in terms of the enzymatic mechanism but also defines the dimerization interface on the extra helical domain as a new target for design of the specific protease inhibitors. Furthermore, the determination of the preferred solution conformation of the substrate peptide S1 together with the NMR differential line-broadening and transferred nuclear Overhauser enhancement study allows us to pinpoint the bound structure of the S1 peptide.

Structure−Activity Study on a Novel Series of Macrocyclic Inhibitors of the Hepatitis C Virus NS3 Protease Leading to the Discovery of BILN 2061

From the discovery of competitive hexapeptide inhibitors, potent and selective HCV NS3 protease macrocyclic inhibitors have been identified. Structure-activity relationship studies were performed focusing on optimizing the N-terminal carbamate and the aromatic substituent on the (4R)-hydroxyproline moiety. Inhibitors meeting the potency criteria in the cell-based assay and with improved oral bioavailability in rats were identified. BILN 2061 was selected as the best compound, the first NS3 protease inhibitor reported with antiviral activity in man.

The design of a potent inhibitor of the hepatitis C virus NS3 protease:BILN 2061?From the NMR tube to the clinic

The virally encoded serine protease NS3/NS4A is essential to the life cycle of the hepatitis C virus (HCV), an important human pathogen causing chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Until very recently, the design of inhibitors for the HCV NS3 protease was limited to large peptidomimetic compounds with poor pharmacokinetic properties, making drug discovery an extremely challenging endeavor. In our quest for the discovery of a small-molecule lead that could block replication of the hepatitis C virus by binding to the HCV NS3 protease, the critical protein-polypeptide interactions between the virally encoded NS3 serine protease and its polyprotein substrate were investigated. Lead optimization of a substrate-based hexapeptide, guided by structural data, led to the understanding of the molecular dynamics and electronic effects that modulate the affinity of peptidomimetic ligands for the active site of this enzyme. Macrocyclic beta-strand scaffolds were designed that allowed the discovery of potent, highly selective, and orally bioavailable compounds. These molecules were the first HCV NS3 protease inhibitors reported that inhibit replication of HCV subgenomic RNA in a cell-based replicon assay at low nanomolar concentrations. Optimization of their biopharmaceutical properties led to the discovery of the clinical candidate BILN 2061. Oral administration of BILN 2061 to patients infected with the hepatitis C genotype 1 virus resulted in an impressive reduction of viral RNA levels, establishing proof-of-concept for HCV NS3 protease inhibitors as therapeutic agents in humans.

An NS3 protease inhibitor with antiviral effects in humans infected with hepatitis C virus

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a serious cause of chronic liver disease worldwide with more than 170 million infected individuals at risk of developing significant morbidity and mortality. Current interferon-based therapies are suboptimal especially in patients infected with HCV genotype 1, and they are poorly tolerated, highlighting the unmet medical need for new therapeutics. The HCV-encoded NS3 protease is essential for viral replication and has long been considered an attractive target for therapeutic intervention in HCV-infected patients. Here we identify a class of specific and potent NS3 protease inhibitors and report the evaluation of BILN 2061, a small molecule inhibitor biologically available through oral ingestion and the first of its class in human trials. Administration of BILN 2061 to patients infected with HCV genotype 1 for 2 days resulted in an impressive reduction of HCV RNA plasma levels, and established proof-of-concept in humans for an HCV NS3 protease inhibitor. Our results further illustrate the potential of the viral-enzyme-targeted drug discovery approach for the development of new HCV therapeutics.

An NS3 serine protease inhibitor abrogates replication of subgenomic hepatitis C virus RNA

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3 protease is essential for polyprotein maturation and viral propagation, and it has been proposed as a suitable target for antiviral drug discovery. An N-terminal hexapeptide cleavage product of a dodecapeptide substrate identified as a weak competitive inhibitor of the NS3 protease activity was optimized to a potent and highly specific inhibitor of the enzyme. The effect of this potent NS3 protease inhibitor was evaluated on replication of subgenomic HCV RNA and compared with interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha), which is currently used in the treatment of HCV-infected patients. Treatment of replicon-containing cells with the NS3 protease inhibitor or IFN-alpha showed a dose-dependent decrease in subgenomic HCV RNA that reached undetectable levels following a 14-day treatment. Kinetic studies in the presence of either NS3 protease inhibitor or IFN-alpha also revealed similar profiles in HCV RNA decay with half-lives of 11 and 14 h, respectively. The finding that an antiviral specifically targeting the NS3 protease activity inhibits HCV RNA replication further validates the NS3 enzyme as a prime target for drug discovery and supports the development of NS3 protease inhibitors as a novel therapeutic approach for HCV infection.

Glycine alpha-ketoamides as HCV NS3 protease inhibitors

Using a tetrapeptide-based alpha-ketoamide template, various amines and amino acids were incorporated to explore the prime side of the HCV NS3 protease catalytic site. Glycine carboxylic acid was found to be the most effective prime group. Further optimization yielded an inhibitor with IC(50) of 0.060 microM.

In vitro selection and characterization of hepatitis C virus serine protease variants resistant to an active-site peptide inhibitor

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) serine protease is necessary for viral replication and represents a valid target for developing new therapies for HCV infection. Potent and selective inhibitors of this enzyme have been identified and shown to inhibit HCV replication in tissue culture. The optimization of these inhibitors for clinical development would greatly benefit from in vitro systems for the identification and the study of resistant variants. We report the use HCV subgenomic replicons to isolate and characterize mutants resistant to a protease inhibitor. Taking advantage of the replicons' ability to transduce resistance to neomycin, we selected replicons with decreased sensitivity to the inhibitor by culturing the host cells in the presence of the inhibitor and neomycin. The selected replicons replicated to the same extent as those in parental cells. Sequence analysis followed by transfection of replicons containing isolated mutations revealed that resistance was mediated by amino acid substitutions in the protease. These results were confirmed by in vitro experiments with mutant enzymes and by modeling the inhibitor in the three-dimensional structure of the protease.

Highly potent non-peptidic inhibitors of the HCV NS3/NS4A serine protease

Screening of a diverse set of bisbenzimidazoles for inhibition of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) serine protease NS3/NS4A led to the identification of a potent Zn(2+)-dependent inhibitor (1). Optimization of this screening hit afforded a 10-fold more potent inhibitor (46) under Zn(2+) conditions (K(i)=27nM). This compound (46) binds also to NS3/NS4A in a Zn(2+) independent fashion (K(i)=1microM). The SAR of this class of compounds under Zn(2+) conditions is highly divergent compared to the SAR in the absence of Zn(2+), suggesting two distinct binding modes.

The effect of prime-site occupancy on the hepatitis C virus NS3 protease structure

We recently reported a new class of inhibitors of the chymotrypsin-like serine protease NS3 of the hepatitis C virus. These inhibitors exploit the binding potential of the S' site of the protease, which is not generally used by the natural substrates. The effect of prime-site occupancy was analyzed by circular dichroism spectroscopy and limited proteolysis-mass spectrometry. Generally, nonprime inhibitors cause a structural change in NS3. Binding in the S' site produces additional conformational changes with different binding modes, even in the case of the NS3/4A cofactor complex. Notably, inhibitor binding either in the S or S' site also has profound effects on the stabilization of the protease. In addition, the stabilization propagates to regions not in direct contact with the inhibitor. In particular, the N-terminal region, which according to structural studies is endowed with low structural stability and is not stabilized by nonprime inhibitors, was now fully protected from proteolytic degradation. From the perspective of drug design, P-P' inhibitors take advantage of binding pockets, which are not exploited by the natural HCV substrates; hence, they are an entry point for a novel class of NS3/4A inhibitors. Here we show that binding of each inhibitor is associated with a specific structural rearrangement. The development of a range of inhibitors belonging to different classes and an understanding of their interactions with the protease are required to address the issue of the most likely outcome of viral protease inhibitor therapy, that is, viral resistance.

Inhibition of hepatitis C virus NS3 protease by peptides derived from complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of the monoclonal antibody 8D4: tolerance of a CDR peptide to conformational changes of a target

We have synthesized and characterized peptides derived from complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of 8D4, a mouse monoclonal antibody against NS3 protease domain of hepatitis C virus. 8D4 inhibits enzymatic activity without its cofactor, NS4A peptide. One of the synthetic peptides derived from CDRs, CDR1 of the heavy-chain (CDR-H1) peptide strongly inhibited NS3 protease activity competitively in the absence of NS4A and non-competitively in the presence of NS4A. Moreover, cyclic CDR-H1 peptides bridged by disulfide inhibited NS3 protease more potently. The chain length of the CDR-H1 peptide is critical for strong inhibition, even when the peptide is circularized. This finding suggests the importance of peptide conformation. In contrast to a cognate antibody molecule, CDR-derived peptides may provide good ligands for target molecules by having a tolerance to conformational changes of the targets caused by cofactor binding or mutation.

Hepatitis C virus NS3 protease requires its NS4A cofactor peptide for optimal binding of a boronic acid inhibitor as shown by NMR

NMR spectroscopy was used to characterize the hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3 protease in a complex with the 24 residue peptide cofactor from NS4A and a boronic acid inhibitor, Ac-Asp-Glu-Val-Val-Pro-boroAlg-OH. Secondary-structure information, NOE constraints between protease and cofactor, and hydrogen-deuterium exchange rates revealed that the cofactor was an integral strand in the N-terminal beta-sheet of the complex as observed in X-ray crystal structures. Based upon chemical-shift perturbations, inhibitor-protein NOEs, and the protonation state of the catalytic histidine, the boronic acid inhibitor was bound in the substrate binding site as a transition state mimic. In the absence of cofactor, the inhibitor had a lower affinity for the protease. Although the inhibitor binds in the same location, differences were observed at the catalytic site of the protease.

Solid-phase synthesis of peptidomimetic inhibitors for the hepatitis C virus NS3 protease

The NS3 serine protease enzyme of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is essential for viral replication. Short peptides mimicking the N-terminal substrate cleavage products of the NS3 protease are known to act as weak inhibitors of the enzyme and have been used as templates for the design of peptidomimetic inhibitors. Automated solid-phase synthesis of a small library of compounds based on such a peptidomimetic scaffold has led to the identification of potent and highly selective inhibitors of the NS3 protease enzyme.

Inhibition of hepatitis C virus NS3 protease activity by product-based peptides is dependent on helicase domain

Structure activity relationships (SARs) of product-based inhibitors of hepatitis C virus NS3 protease were evaluated using an in vitro assay system comprising the native bifunctional full-length NS3 (protease-helicase/NTPase). The results were compared to previously reported data derived from the corresponding NS3 protease domain assay. Shortening the length of the protease inhibitors from hexapeptides to tripeptides revealed that the decrease in potency was much less when determined in the assay system with the full-length NS3 protein. Disagreements in SARs at different positions (P5 P2) were also discovered. Taken together, the results suggest that the impact of the helicase domain upon protease inhibitor binding is substantial.

A personal account of the role of peptide research in drug discovery: the case of hepatitis C

Although peptides themselves are not usually the end products of a drug discovery effort, peptide research often plays a key role in many aspects of this process. This will be illustrated by reviewing the experience of peptide research carried out at IRBM in the course of our study of hepatitis C virus (HCV). The target of our work is the NS3/4A protease, which is essential for maturation of the viral polyprotein. After a thorough examination of its substrate specificity we fine-tuned several substrate-derived peptides for enzymology studies, high-throughput screening and as fluorescent probes for secondary binding assays. In the course of these studies we made the key observation: that the protease is inhibited by its own cleavage products. Single analog and combinatorial optimization then derived potent peptide inhibitors. The crucial role of the NS4A cofactor was also addressed. NS4A is a small transmembrane protein, whose central domain is the minimal region sufficient for enzyme activation. Structural studies were performed with a peptide corresponding to the minimal activation domain, with a series of product inhibitors and with both. We found that NS3/4A is an induced fit enzyme, requiring both the cofactor and the substrate to acquire its bioactive conformation; this explained some puzzling results of 'serine-trap' type inhibitors. A more complete study on NS3 activation, however, requires the availability of the full-length NS4A protein. This was prepared by native chemical ligation, after sequence engineering to enhance its solubility; structural studies are in progress. Current work is focused on the P' region of the substrate, which, at variance with the P region, is not used for ground state binding to the enzyme and might give rise to inhibitors showing novel interactions with the enzyme.

NMR line-broadening and transferred NOESY as a medicinal chemistry tool for studying inhibitors of the hepatitis C virus NS3 protease domain

This work describes the use of NMR as a medicinal chemistry tool for better understanding the binding characteristics of inhibitors of the HCV NS3 protease. The protease-bound structure of a tetrapeptide-like inhibitor that has an acid C-terminus, a norvaline at P1 and a naphthylmethoxy proline at P2 is described. Conformational comparisons are made with a similar compound having a 1-amino-cyclopropylcarboxylic acid at P1 and with a hexapeptide inhibitor. Differences between the free and bound states are identified. 19F NMR also helped in determining that a single complex is observed when an inhibitor is added to the protease at a 1:1 ratio.

Highly potent and selective peptide-based inhibitors of the hepatitis C virus serine protease: towards smaller inhibitors

Structure-activity studies on a hexapeptide N-terminal cleavage product of a dodecamer substrate led to the identification of very potent and highly specific inhibitors of the HCV NS3 protease/NS4A cofactor peptide complex. The largest increase in potency was accomplished by the introduction of a (4R)-naphthalen-1-yl-4-methoxy substituent to the P2 proline. N-Terminal truncation resulted in tetrapeptides containing a C-terminal carboxylic acid, which exhibited low micromolar activity against the HCV serine protease.

Probing the active site of the hepatitis C virus serine protease by fluorescence resonance energy transfer

A serine protease domain contained within the viral NS3 protein is a key player in the maturational processing of the hepatitis C virus polyprotein and a prime target for the development of antiviral drugs. In the present work, we describe a dansylated hexapeptide inhibitor of this enzyme. Active site occupancy by this compound could be monitored following fluorescence resonance energy transfer between the dansyl fluorophore and protein tryptophan residues and could be used to 1) unambiguously assess active site binding of NS3 protease inhibitors, 2) directly determine equilibrium and pre-steady-state parameters of enzyme-inhibitor complex formation, and 3) dissect, using site-directed mutagenesis, the contribution of single residues of NS3 to inhibitor binding in direct binding assays. The assay was also used to characterize the inhibition of the NS3 protease by its cleavage products. We show that enzyme-product inhibitor complex formation depends on the presence of an NS4A cofactor peptide. Equilibrium and pre-steady-state data support an ordered mechanism of ternary (enzyme-inhibitor-cofactor) complex formation, requiring cofactor complexation prior to inhibitor binding.

New drugs for hepatitis C virus (HCV)

Lack of efficacy and significant side effects have severely limited the use of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) as the standard therapy for non-A non-B hepatitis (NANBH) caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) and alternative, improved therapies are urgently sought. Attempts have been made to improve the potency and tolerability of IFN-alpha by adjusting dosing regimens, methods of delivery and length of treatment. Furthermore, a number of different agents have been used in combination wit IFN-alpha and, from these studies, therapeutic options have been galvanized by the synergistic effects of IFN-alpha and ribavirin. Nevertheless, the majority of patients with HCV still do not sustain lasting therapeutic benefit from this combination and continuing research is required to identify new therapeutic candidates that will have more potent antiviral activity and less severe side effects. This review focuses on the progress that has been made in this area and the prospects for new effective therapies in the near future.