Binding of a potent small-molecule inhibitor of six-helix bundle formation requires interactions with both heptad-repeats of the RSV fusion protein.

Six-helix bundle (6HB) formation is an essential step for many viruses that rely on a class I fusion protein to enter a target cell and initiate replication. Because the binding modes of small molecule inhibitors of 6HB formation are largely unknown, precisely how they disrupt 6HB formation remains unclear, and structure-based design of improved inhibitors is thus seriously hampered. Here we present the high resolution crystal structure of TMC353121, a potent inhibitor of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), bound at a hydrophobic pocket of the 6HB formed by amino acid residues from both HR1 and HR2 heptad-repeats.

1,5-Benzodiazepine inhibitors of HCV NS5B polymerase.

Optimization through parallel synthesis of a novel series of hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5B polymerase inhibitors led to the identification of (R)-11-(4-benzyloxy-2-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxy-3,3-dimethyl-10-(6-methylpyridine-2-carbonyl)-2,3,4,5,10,11-hexahydro-dibenzo[b,e][1,4]diazepin-1-one 11zc and (R)-11-(4-benzyloxy-2-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxy-3,3-dimethyl-10-(2,5-dimethyloxazol-4-carbonyl)-2,3,4,5,10,11-hexahydro-dibenzo[b,e][1,4]diazepin-1-one 11zk as potent (replicon EC(50)=400nM and 270nM, respectively) and selective (CC(50)>20muM) inhibitors of HCV replication. These data warrant further lead-optimization efforts.

Genotype dependent QSAR for HIV-1 protease inhibition.

The development of drug-resistant viruses limits the therapeutic success of anti-HIV therapies. Some of these genetic HIV-variants display complex mutational patterns in their pol gene that codes for protease and reverse transcriptase, the most investigated molecular targets for antiretroviral therapy. In this paper, we present a computational structure-based approach to predict the resistance of a HIV-1 protease strain to amprenavir by calculating the interaction energy of the drug with HIV-1 protease.

Structural study of the type II 3-dehydroquinate dehydratase from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae.

The structure of the type II dehydroquinate dehydratase (DHQase) from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, the third enzyme of the shikimate pathway, has been determined. Crystals diffracting to 1.7 A were obtained in space and on earth using the counter-diffusion technique.