Novel naphthalenedisulfonic acid anti-HIV-1 agents. Synthesis and activity against reverse transcriptase, virus replication and syncytia formation.

Several naphthalenedisulfonic acid derivatives have been synthesized and evaluated in four anti-HIV-1 screens. Antiviral activity was evaluated in the assays that measure inhibition of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT), HIV-1 induced giant cell (syncytia) formation, and HIV-1 induced cytopathogenicity in both a laboratory and clinical strain of HIV-1. 4-acetylamino-5-hydroxy-2,7- naphthalenedisulfonic and a bis naphthalenedisulfonic acid derivative emerged as the most active compounds exhibiting activity in all assays at concentrations non-toxic to the host cells. The bis 3-amino-1,5-naphthalenedisulfonic acid derivative was the most active compound, but less active than the bis 4-amino-5-hydroxynaphthalenedisulfonic acid analog in the assays that measure RT and syncytia inhibition. However, in the assay that measured inhibition of cytopathogenicity in a clinical HIV-1 isolate, 4-acetylamino-5-hydroxy-2,7-naphthalenedisulfonic acid was the most potent analog, demonstrating an in vitro therapeutic index greater than 54. This study shows that for certain naphthalenedisulfonic acid moieties a bis derivative is not a requirement for significant anti-HIV-1 activity. These agents represent a new class of lead non-nucleoside anti-HIV-1 compounds worthy of further development for potential anti-AIDS therapy.