The invention concerns new derivatives of certain alkoxy -4(1H)-pyridones, processes for preparing them, and pharmaceutical compositions containing them. The compounds of the invention are useful in the prevention and/or treatment of heart and blood vessel diseases such as thromboses, arteriosclerosis and hypertension, and of inflammatory processes, allergies, cancers, and certain degenerative damage of the central nervous system.
The present invention is directed to methods which employ inhibition of the post-translational hypusine formation in the intracelluar protein eIF-5A, for the purpose of suppressing infections by viruses that parasitize eIF-5A so as to promote their own replication. Intentional inhibition of the post-translational formation of hypusine in infected host cells with compounds generically termed `hypusine inhibitors` not only selectively suppresses the production of viral proteins and of infectious viral particles, but also causes, particularly after hypusine inhibitor withdrawal, apoptosis in such virally-infected cells. Each of these methods, respectively, involves administering, to eukaryotic cells, tissues, or individuals, an agent which blocks the post-translational intracellular formation of hypusine, in an amount sufficient to: suppress biosynthesis of bioactive eIF-5A, suppress translational interaction of eIF-5A with viral elements of nucleic acid and/or protein structure, inhibit biosynthesis of viral proteins of Rev-dependent lentiviruses or of viruses dependent on interaction of eIF-5A with viral elements of nucleic acid and/or protein structure, inhibit replication of Rev-dependent lentiviruses or of viruses dependent on interaction of eIF-5A with viral elements of nucleic acid and/or protein structure, and induce apoptosis of virally-infected cells. This agent can be a compound of Formulae I or II and derivatives thereof as follows: ##STR1## R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3, and R.sub.4 each individually represent a hydrogen, an alkyl, alkenyl, or alkoxy group containing 1 to about 8 carbon atoms, an aryl, aralkyl, or cycloalkyl group containing about 5 to 12 carbon atoms, or a carboalkoxy or carbamyl group containing up to 8 carbon atoms, or a peptide or peptidomimetic moiety containing 10 to about 30 carbon atoms.
The instant invention is a compound of formula in which A is a bis-indolylmaleinimide or indolopyrrolocarbazole useful in the treatment and/or prevention of cancer, viral diseases, thrombosis, heart rhythm disturbances, atherosclerosis, bronchopulmonary diseases, degenerative diseases of the central nervous system, inflammatory diseases, diseases of the immune system, psoriasis, and immune suppression. A pharmaceutical composition and methods of preparing the compounds are also included.
