Improved guanide compounds which bind the CXCR4 co-receptor and inhibit HIV-1 infection

The G-protein coupled receptor CXCR4 is a co-receptor for HIV-1 infection and is involved in signaling cell migration and proliferation. In a previous study of non-peptide, guanide-based CXCR4-binding compounds, spermine and spermidine phenylguanides inhibited HIV-1 entry at low micromolar concentrations. Subsequently, crystal structures of CXCR4 were used to dock a series of naphthylguanide derivatives of the polyamines spermidine and spermine. Synthesis and evaluation of the naphthylguanide compounds identified our best compound, spermine tris-1-naphthylguanide, which bound CXCR4 with an IC₅₀ of 40 nM and inhibited the infection of TZM-bl cells with X4, but not R5, strains of HIV-1 with an IC₅₀ of 50–100 nM.