LAUSR

Viral infectivity factor (Vif) is protective against APOBEC3G (A3G)-mediated viral cDNA hypermutations, and development of molecules that inhibit Vif mediated A3G degradation is a novel strategy for blocking HIV-1 replication. Through optimizations of the central ring of N-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-((4-nitrophenyl)thio)benzamide (RN-18), we found a potent compound 12c with EC50 value of 1.54 μM, enhancing the antiviral activity more than 150-fold compared with RN-18 in nonpermissive H9 cells. 12c protected A3G from degradation by inhibiting Vif function. Besides, 12c suppressed different HIV-1 clinical strains (HIV-1KM018, HIV-1TC-1 and HIV-1WAN) and drug-resistant strains (NRTI, NNRTI, PI, and FI) with relatively high activities. Amidation of 12c with glycine gave a prodrug 13a, improving the water solubility about 2600-fold compared with 12c. Moreover, 13a inhibited the virus replication efficiently with an EC50 value of 0.228 μM. These results suggested that the prodrug 13a is a promising candidate agent for the treatment of AIDS.