Identification of novel thiocarboxanilide derivatives that suppress a variety of drug-resistant mutant human immunodeficiency virus type 1 strains at a potency similar to that for wild-type virus.

A large variety of carboxanilide and thiocarboxanilide derivatives in which the original oxathiin or aliphatic moieties present in the prototype compounds UC84 and UC38 were replaced by an (un) substituted furanyl, thienyl, phenyl, or pyrrole entity have been evaluated for activity against wild-type human immunodeficiency virus type 1 strain IIIB [HIV-1 (IIIB)] and a series of mutant virus strains derived thereof. The mutant viruses contained either the Leu-100-->Ile, Lys-103-->Asn, Val-106-->Ala, Glu-138-->Lys, Tyr-181-->Cys, or Tyr-188-->Leu mutation in their reverse transcriptase. Several 3-(2-methylfuranyl)- and 3-(2-methylthienyl)-thiocarboxanilide ester, (thio)ether, and oxime ether derivatives showed exquisitely potent antiviral activity against wild-type HIV-1 (50% effective concentration, 0.009 to 0.021 microM). The pentenylethers of the 2-methylfuranyl and 2-methylthienyl derivatives (i.e., 313, N-[4-chloro-3-(3-methyl-2-butenyloxy)phenyl]- 2-methyl-3-furancarbothioamide or UC-781, and 314, N-[4-chloro-3-(3-methyl-2-butenyloxy)phenyl] -2-methyl-3-thiophenecarbothioamide or UC-82) proved virtually equally inhibitory for wild-type and the Ile-100, Ala-106, and Lys-138 mutant virus strains (50% effective concentration, 0.015 to 0.021 microM). Their inhibitory effect against the Asn-103 and Cys-181 reverse transcriptase mutant virus strains was decreased only four- to sevenfold compared with wildtype virus. UC-781 and UC-82 should be considered potential candidate drugs for the treatment of HIV-1-infected individuals.