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IV. <strong>Drug</strong> <strong>Design</strong> Progression<br />

Page 161<br />

We focused initially on filling the purine binding region of the active site. That done, we planned to fill<br />

the sugar binding region and, finally, the phosphate binding site. We expected that each successive step,<br />

moving the compound closer toward fully occupying the active site, would enhance the affinity of the<br />

drug candidate for the enzyme.<br />

A. The Purine Site<br />

From our crystallographic examinations, we knew that three amino acids in the purine binding pocket of<br />

PNP formed hydrogen bonds with purines and their mimics. Such linkages are among the strongest<br />

reversible chemical bonds that exist. In proposing inhibitor candidates, we concentrated on compounds<br />

that would at least form hydrogen bonds with the same three amino acids. Figure 4e shows a close-up of<br />

the purine site.<br />

We favored exchanging a carbon atom for the nitrogen atom that normally occupies position nine, since<br />

there was no interaction of this nitrogen with the active site and earlier studies showed such a change<br />

promotes binding to PNP. Guanine modified in this way is called 9-deazaguanine. The first structures<br />

selected for synthesis were 9-deazaguanines substituted <strong>by</strong> an arylmethyl group at the 9 position. These<br />

compounds were prepared <strong>by</strong> adaption of a literature procedure [25]. We further expected that attaching<br />

an amino group to the carbon atom in position eight on 9-deazaguanine would enhance affinity, since 8aminoguanine<br />

was the first significant inhibitor of PNP.<br />

Both 8-aminoguanine analogs and 9-deazaguanine analogs are good inhibitors of PNP. However,<br />

introduction of an 8-amino group into the 9-deazaguanine derivatives resulted in decreased potency. To<br />

understand this poor binding, we undertook crystallographic analysis of PNP complexes with four<br />

compounds having the 9-thienyl substituent attached to guanine (G), 8-aminoguanine (8AG), 9deazaguanine<br />

(DG), and 8-amino-9-deazaguanine (8ADG). The results of this analysis are summarized<br />

in Figure 5. These data show one mode of binding for compounds that accept a hydrogen bond from Asn<br />

243 at N7 (G and 8AG) and another for compounds that donate hydrogen to Asn 243 from N7 (DG and<br />

8ADG). The 8AG analogs make use of the Thr 242 side chain to form an additional hydrogen bond,<br />

which improves binding affinity. In the 9-deazaguanine series, where N7 has an attached hydrogen<br />

atom, Asn 243 undergoes a shift that is clearly seen in difference Fourier maps. This shift is caused <strong>by</strong><br />

the formation of the N7-H…OD(243) hydrogen bond. A concomitant shift <strong>by</strong> Thr 242 prevents it from<br />

hydrogen bonding to the 8-amino group of 8ADG. Furthermore, the shift moves the methyl group of Thr<br />

242 towards the 8-amino<br />

http://legacy.netlibrary.com/nlreader/nlReader.dll?bookid=12640&filename=Page_161.html [4/5/2004 5:02:11 PM]

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