Abstract
Mcl-1, an antiapoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family of proteins, is a validated and attractive target for cancer therapy. Overexpression of Mcl-1 in many cancers results in disease progression and resistance to current chemotherapeutics. Utilizing high-throughput screening, compound 1 was identified as a selective Mcl-1 inhibitor and its binding to the BH3 binding groove of Mcl-1 was confirmed by several different, but complementary, biochemical and biophysical assays. Guided by structure-based drug design and supported by NMR experiments, comprehensive SAR studies were undertaken and a potent and selective inhibitor, compound 21, was designed which binds to Mcl-1 with a Ki of 180 nM. Biological characterization of 21 showed that it disrupts the interaction of endogenous Mcl-1 and biotinylated Noxa-BH3 peptide, causes cell death through a Bak/Bax-dependent mechanism, and selectively sensitizes Eμ-myc lymphomas overexpressing Mcl-1, but not Eμ-myc lymphoma cells overexpressing Bcl-2. Treatment of human leukemic cell lines with compound 21 resulted in cell death through activation of caspase-3 and induction of apoptosis.