Pyridine-substituted desoxyritonavir is a more potent inhibitor of cytochrome P450 3A4 than ritonavir.

ABSTRACT: Utilization of the cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) inhibitor ritonavir as a pharmacoenhancer for anti-HIV drugs revolutionized the treatment of HIV infection. However, owing to ritonavir-related complications, there is a need for development of new CYP3A4 inhibitors with improved pharmacochemical properties, which requires a full understanding of the CYP3A4 inactivation mechanisms and the unraveling of possible inhibitor binding modes. We investigated the mechanism of CYP3A4 interaction with three desoxyritonavir analogues, containing the heme-ligating imidazole, oxazole, or pyridine group instead of the thiazole moiety (compounds 1, 2, and 3, respectively). Our data show that compound 3 is superior to ritonavir in terms of binding affinity and inhibitory potency owing to greater flexibility

SUBMITTER: Sevrioukova IF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4534002 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature