The identification of novel antiretroviral agents is required to provide alternative treatment options for HIV-1-infected patients. The screening of a phenotypic cell-based viral replication assay led to the identification of a novel class of 4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrazol-6-one (pyrrolopyrazolone) HIV-1 inhibitors, exemplified by two compounds: BI-1 and BI-2. These compounds inhibited early postentry stages of viral replication at a step(s) following reverse transcription but prior to 2 long terminal repeat (2-LTR) circle formation, suggesting that they may block nuclear targeting of the preintegration complex. Selection of viruses resistant to BI-2 revealed that substitutions at residues A105 and T107 within the capsid (CA) amino-terminal domain (CANTD) conferred high-level resistance to both compounds, implicating CA as the antiviral target. Direct binding of BI-1 and/or BI-2 to CANTD was demonstrated using isothermal titration calorimetry and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) chemical shift titration analyses. A high-resolution crystal structure of the BI-1:CANTD complex revealed that the inhibitor bound within a recently identified inhibitor binding pocket (CANTD site 2) between CA helices 4, 5, and 7, on the surface of the CANTD, that also corresponds to the binding site for the host factor CPSF-6. The functional consequences of BI-1 and BI-2 binding differ from previously characterized inhibitors that bind the same site since the BI compounds did not inhibit reverse transcription but stabilized preassembled CA complexes. Hence, this new class of antiviral compounds binds CA and may inhibit viral replication by stabilizing the viral capsid.

Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK)-RAS signalling through the downstream mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade regulates cell proliferation and survival. The SHOC2-MRAS-PP1C holophosphatase complex functions as a key regulator of RTK-RAS signalling by removing an inhibitory phosphorylation event on the RAF family of proteins to potentiate MAPK signalling¹. SHOC2 forms a ternary complex with MRAS and PP1C, and human germline gain-of-function mutations in this complex result in congenital RASopathy syndromes^2-5. However, the structure and assembly of this complex are poorly understood. Here we use cryo-electron microscopy to resolve the structure of the SHOC2-MRAS-PP1C complex. We define the biophysical principles of holoenzyme interactions, elucidate the assembly order of the complex, and systematically interrogate the functional consequence of nearly all of the possible missense variants of SHOC2 through deep mutational scanning. We show that SHOC2 binds PP1C and MRAS through the concave surface of the leucine-rich repeat region and further engages PP1C through the N-terminal disordered region that contains a cryptic RVXF motif. Complex formation is initially mediated by interactions between SHOC2 and PP1C and is stabilized by the binding of GTP-loaded MRAS. These observations explain how mutant versions of SHOC2 in RASopathies and cancer stabilize the interactions of complex members to enhance holophosphatase activity. Together, this integrative structure-function model comprehensively defines key binding interactions within the SHOC2-MRAS-PP1C holophosphatase complex and will inform therapeutic development .