Design, synthesis, molecular docking studies and anti-HBV activity of phenylpropanoid derivatives

• Phenylpropanoid derivatives demonstrated potent anti-HBV activity.
• Phenylpropanoid derivatives had interaction with protein 3OX8.
• The anti-HBV effect of the phenylpropanoid derivatives may exert its anti-HBV activity by inhibiting HBcAg.

In this work, a series of phenylpropanoid derivatives were synthesized, and their anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) activity was evaluated. Most of the synthesized derivatives showed effective anti-HBV activity. And compound 4d-3 showed the most effective anti-HBV activity, performing strong potent inhibitory not only on the secretion of HBsAg (IC50 = 58.28 μM, SI = 23.26) and HBeAg (IC50 = 97.21 μM, SI = 13.95), but also on the HBV DNA replication (IC50 = 42.28 μM, SI = 32.06). The structure-activity relationships (SARs) of the derivatives had been discussed, which were useful for developing phenylpropanoid derivatives as novel anti-HBV agents. Moreover, the docking study of all synthesized compounds inside the HLA-A protein (PDB ID: 3OX8) active site was carried out to explore the molecular interactions and a molecular target for activity and a modified assay method measuring the interaction between our derivatives and HBcAg was investigated, indicating that the HBV core protein might be their potential target for anti-HBV. This study identified a new class of potent non-nucleoside anti-HBV agents.

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