Examining structural analogs of elvitegravir as potential inhibitors of HIV-1 integrase

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a major health problem in many parts of the world. The human immunodeficiency virus-1 integrase (HIV-1 IN) enzyme has been targeted in HIV patients for therapy. Several integrase inhibitors have been reported, but only elvitegravir (EVG), a new-generation drug, is clinically approved for HIV treatment. In the present work, we investigated two structural analogs of EVG as potential inhibitors of the target molecule, HIV-1 IN. The ligand binding site on HIV-1 IN was identified using Q-SiteFinder, and the HIV-1 IN protein was docked with ligand (EVG and/or analogs) using AutoDock 4. The results suggest that Lys173, Thr125, and His171 are involved in enzyme-substrate binding through hydrogen bonds. Single mutations carried out at Lys173, viz. Lys173Leu (polar > nonpolar) and Lys173Gln (polar > polar), in chain B using PyMOL showed the mutants to have lower binding energy when docked with analog 2, suggesting it to be more stable than analog 1. In conclusion, the mutant HIV-1 IN can bind EVG and its analogs. The physicochemical and pharmacokinetic parameters also show analog 2 to be a promising molecule that can be developed as an alternative to EVG to help overcome the problem of drug resistance by HIV to this inhibitor. Analog 2 may be used as an HIV-1 IN inhibitor with similar potential to that of EVG. Further validation through wet-lab studies, however, is required for future applications.