Understanding the structure-activity relationship of betulinic acid derivatives as anti-HIV-1 agents by using 3D-QSAR and docking

Novel anti-HIV-1 agents derived from betulinic acid have been greatly concerned. 3D-QSAR and molecular docking studies were applied to rationalize the structural requirements responsible for the anti-HIV activity of these compounds. The CoMFA and CoMSIA models resulted from 28 molecules gave r _cv² values of 0.599 and 0.630, r ² values of 0.994 and 0.958, respectively. To estimate the predictive ability of the 3D-QSAR model, an external validation was employed. Based on the contour maps generated from both CoMFA and CoMSIA, we have identified some key features in the betulinic acid derivatives that are responsible for the anti-HIV activity. Molecular docking was used to explore the binding mode between these derivatives and HIV gp120. We have therefore designed a series of novel betulinic acid derivatives by utilizing the SAR results revealed in the present study, which were predicted with excellent potencies in the developed models. The results provide a valuable method to design new betulinic acid derivatives as anti-HIV-1 agents.