Potent inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus and herpes simplex virus type 1 by 9-(2-phosphonylmethoxyethyl)adenine in primary macrophages is determined by drug metabolism, nucleotide pools, and cytokines.

The efficacy of 9-(2-phosphonylmethoxyethyl)adenine (PMEA) against the replication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and its cellular metabolism were investigated in human primary macrophages from seronegative donors. PMEA potently inhibited the replication of both HIV and HSV-1 in macrophages, with similar EC50 values (0.025 and 0.032 microM, respectively), whereas the EC50 values of PMEA in lymphocytic C8166 cells and fibroblastoid Vero cells were 150-200-fold higher (3.5 and 7.9 microM, respectively). Granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor and macrophage colony-stimulating factor, two cytokine enhancers of the replication of HIV (and HSV-1), decreased the activity of PMEA against both viruses, yet EC50 values were still lower than in lymphocytes and fibroblasts. Thus, the selectivity index of PMEA in macrophages was > 2 orders of magnitude higher than that in lymphocytes and fibroblasts and still > 1 log higher under conditions of enhancement of virus replication in macrophages. The intracellular levels of 2'-deoxyadenosine-5'-triphosphate, the natural competitor of PMEA-diphosphate at the level of viral DNA polymerase (either RNA or DNA dependent), were 5-12-fold lower in macrophages than in other cells. Furthermore, intracellular concentrations of PMEA-diphosphate (the active metabolite of PMEA) were unusually much higher in macrophages (with or without cytokines) than in lymphocytes and fibroblasts. Consequently, the ratio of PMEA-diphosphate to 2'-deoxyadenosine-5'-triphosphate in monocytes/macrophages was approximately 2 orders of magnitude higher in macrophages than in the other cells and correlated closely with the pronounced antiviral potency of PMEA. The dual potent activity of PMEA against HIV and HSV-1 stresses the importance of clinical trials to assess the role of this drug in the therapy of HIV-related disease.