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New isonucleosides [methyl 5-(1-pyrimidinyl)furanosides] are prepared by nucleophilic opening of the oxetane ring of methyl 3,5-anhydro-2-O-(2-fluorobenzyl)-D-xylofuranoside with silylated pyrimidine bases in the presence of trimethylsilyl triflate. Structures, configurations and conformations were determined by NMR techniques and several X-ray diffraction analyses, seven of the isonucleosides were tested for cytotoxicity and activity against HIV, HSV and several other viruses.
Over the past fifty years, a great number of viral and host targets have been explored for the discovery of antiviral agents against human viral infections. Most antivirals have been designed to target viral proteins such as viral polymerases, viral proteases, and viral structural proteins. Alternative drug targets are human proteins (e.g. receptors, co-receptors, kinases) that are indispensable for the viral life cycle. This chapter aims to provide a comprehensive overview of 20 viral proteins and 12 host factors targeted by approved and novel antiviral agents. Advantages and disadvantages of viral versus host targets are highlighted, shedding light on the discovery of effective antiviral drugs against human infectious diseases worldwide.
A group of arabinouridines (TMSEAU, EAU, IEAU-TA) and 2'-deoxyuridines (TMSEDU, EDU, IEDU) having a variety of substituents at the uracil C-5 position (trimethylsilylethynyl, TMSE; ethynyl, E; or iodoethynyl, IE), and the sugar C-2' position (2'-arabino OH in arabinouridine, AU; or 2'-deoxyribo H in 2'-deoxyuridine, DU) were prepared to acquire antiviral structure-activity relationships. A broad-spectrum viral panel screen showed that these 5-alkynylarabino/deoxy-uridines exhibit moderate anti-HSV-1 activity, with no difference in potency between arabinouridines and 2'-deoxyuridines. The 2'-deoxyuridines TMSEDU, EDU, and IEDU, unlike the arabinouridines, exhibited potent antiviral activity against cytomegalovirus, but they were also highly cytostatic. The abilities of the 5-alkynylarabino/deoxy-uridines to inhibit nontransfected (wild-type or thymidine kinase-deficient, tk-) and viral gene transfected (HSV-1, HSV-2, or VZV thymidine kinase-positive, tk+) FM3A and OST (osteosarcoma) cells were determined. This group of 5-alkynylarabino/deoxy-uridines showed an enhanced ability to inhibit cells transfected with a viral thymidine kinase gene (HSV-1tk+, HSV-2tk+, VZVtk+) relative to wild-type or thymidine kinase-deficient (tk-) cells.
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Rudolf Virchow University Hospital, Free University of Berlin, D-100 Berlin 65, Germany * Rega Institute for Medical Research, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium