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Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) replication relies on the multifunctional nsP2 protein, making it an attractive target for antiviral drug discovery. Here, we report the resolution of oxaspiropiperidine 1, a first-in-class inhibitor of the CHIKV nsP2 RNA helicase (nsP2hel), into its constitutive enantiomers and characterization of their antiviral activity. The enantiomer (R)-1 exhibited potent inhibition of viral replication, nsP2hel ATPase activity, and dsRNA unwinding, while the (S)-1 enantiomer was >100-fold less active. The (R)-1 enantiomer also demonstrated a high selectivity for CHIKV over other RNA viruses and for nsP2hel over other RNA helicases. Direct binding of (R)-1 to the nsP2hel protein was confirmed by 19F NMR. Biophysical and structural studies revealed conformational polymorphism in the spirocyclic scaffold of (R)-1, suggesting a potential role of thermal mobility of the ligand in allosteric inhibition of nsP2hel. Collectively, these findings designate (R)-1 (RA-NSP2-1) as a high-quality chemical probe and (S)-1 (RA-NSP2-1N) as a negative control for probing the biology of alphavirus RNA helicases.
Bose et al. (Fri,) studied this question.