New chloro,fluorobenzylindole derivatives as integrase strand-transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) and their mode of action

The life cycle of HIV-1 requires extensive assistance from the integrase (IN) enzyme which therefore constitutes an attractive therapeutic target for the development of anti-AIDS agents. We herein report the synthesis and biological evaluation of new HIV integrase strand-transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) which proved to be also potent anti-HIV agents. The binding mode of the most representative molecules were also studied by induced-fit docking (IFD). The obtained IFD results were consistent with the mechanism of action proposed for this class of IN inhibitors, that is metal chelating/binding agents.