Curcumin Analogs with Altered Potencies against HIV-1 Integrase as Probes for Biochemical Mechanisms of Drug Action

• Published in: Journal of medicinal chemistry 1997-09, Vol.40 (19), p.3057-3063
• Main Authors: Mazumder, Abhijit, Neamati, Nouri, Sunder, Sanjay, Schulz, Jutta, Pertz, Heinz, Eich, Eckart, Pommier, Yves
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 4-Hydroxycoumarins - pharmacology; Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents; Antiviral agents; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; Catechols - chemical synthesis; Catechols - chemistry; Catechols - pharmacology; Cinnamates - pharmacology; Curcumin - analogs & derivatives; Curcumin - chemical synthesis; Curcumin - chemistry; Curcumin - pharmacology; Depsides; DNA, Viral - chemistry; DNA, Viral - metabolism; HIV Integrase - metabolism; HIV Integrase Inhibitors - chemical synthesis; HIV Integrase Inhibitors - chemistry; HIV Integrase Inhibitors - pharmacology; HIV-1 - enzymology; human immunodeficiency virus 1; Humans; Kinetics; Medical sciences; Molecular Structure; Oligodeoxyribonucleotides - chemistry; Oligodeoxyribonucleotides - metabolism; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Rosmarinic Acid; Substrate Specificity
• ISSN: 0022-2623; 1520-4804
• DOI: 10.1021/jm970190x

We have previously reported the inhibitory activity of curcumin against human immunodeficiency virus type one (HIV-1) integrase. In the present study, we have synthesized and tested analogs of curcumin to explore the structure−activity relationships and mechanism of action of this family of compounds in more detail. We found that two curcumin analogs, dicaffeoylmethane (6) and rosmarinic acid (9), inhibited both activities of integrase with IC50 values below 10 μM. We have previously demonstrated that lysine 136 may play a role in viral DNA binding. We demonstrated equivalent potencies of two curcumin analogs against both this integrase mutant and wild-type integrase, suggesting that the curcumin-binding site and the substrate-binding site may not overlap. Combining one curcumin analog with the recently described integrase inhibitor NSC 158393 resulted in integrase inhibition which was synergistic, reflective of drug-binding sites which may not overlap. We have also determined that these analogs can inhibit binding of the enzyme to the viral DNA but that this inhibition is independent of divalent metal ion. Furthermore, kinetic studies of these analogs suggest that they bind to the enzyme at a slow rate. These studies can provide mechanistic and structural information which may guide the future design of integrase inhibitors.