Abstract
The availability of adequate treatments for poxvirus infections would be valuable not only for human use but also for veterinary use. In the search for novel antiviral agents, a 1'-methyl-substituted 4'-thiothymidine nucleoside, designated KAY-2-41, emerged as an efficient inhibitor of poxviruses. In vitro, KAY-2-41 was active in the micromolar range against orthopoxviruses (OPVs) and against the parapoxvirus orf. The compound preserved its antiviral potency against OPVs resistant to the reference molecule cidofovir. KAY-2-41 had no noticeable toxicity on confluent monolayers, but a cytostatic effect was seen on growing cells. Genotyping of vaccinia virus (VACV), cowpox virus, and camelpox virus selected for resistance to KAY-2-41 revealed a nucleotide deletion(s) close to the ATP binding site or a nucleotide substitution close to the substrate binding site in the viral thymidine kinase (TK; J2R) gene. These mutations resulted in low levels of resistance to KAY-2-41 ranging from 2.7- to 6.0-fold and cross-resistance to 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (5-BrdU) but not to cidofovir. The antiviral effect of KAY-2-41 relied, at least in part, on activation (phosphorylation) by the viral TK, as shown through enzymatic assays. The compound protected animals from disease and mortality after a lethal challenge with VACV, reduced viral loads in the serum, and abolished virus replication in tissues. In conclusion, KAY-2-41 is a promising nucleoside analogue for the treatment of poxvirus-induced diseases. Our findings warrant the evaluation of additional 1'-carbon-substituted 4'-thiothymidine derivatives as broad-spectrum antiviral agents, since this molecule also showed antiviral potency against herpes simplex virus 1 in earlier studies.