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Molecular Design and Synthesis Center

Discovery of Potent Myeloid Cell Leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) Inhibitors That Demonstrate in Vivo Activity in Mouse Xenograft Models of Human Cancer;

AUTHORS

Lee Taekyu , Christov Plamen , Shaw Subrata , Tarr James , Zhao Bin , Veerasamy Nagarathanam , Jeon KyuOk , Mills Jonathan , Arnold Alison , Forgaty Stuart , Cook Rebecca , Kim Kwangho , Arteaga Carlos , Olejniczak Edward , Fesik Stephen , . J. Med. Chem.. 2019 4 25; 62(8). 3971-3988

ABSTRACT

Overexpression of myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) in cancers correlates with high tumor grade and poor survival. Additionally, Mcl-1 drives intrinsic and acquired resistance to many cancer therapeutics, including B cell lymphoma 2 family inhibitors, proteasome inhibitors, and antitubulins. Therefore, Mcl-1 inhibition could serve as a strategy to target cancers that require Mcl-1 to evade apoptosis. Herein, we describe the use of structure-based design to discover a novel compound (42) that robustly and specifically inhibits Mcl-1 in cell culture and animal xenograft models. Compound 42 binds to Mcl-1 with picomolar affinity and inhibited growth of Mcl-1-dependent tumor cell lines in the nanomolar range. Compound 42 also inhibited the growth of hematological and triple negative breast cancer xenografts at well-tolerated doses. These findings highlight the use of structure-based design to identify small molecule Mcl-1 inhibitors and support the use of 42 as a potential treatment strategy to block Mcl-1 activity and induce apoptosis in Mcl-1-dependent cancers.

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