Competition between intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and a small-molecule antagonist for a common binding site on the alphal subunit of lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1.

The lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) binding of a unique class of small-molecule antagonists as represented by compound 3 was analyzed in comparison to that of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and A-286982, which respectively define direct and allosteric competitive binding sites within LFA-1's inserted (I) domain. All three molecules antagonized LFA-1 binding to ICAM-1-Immunoglobulin G fusion (ICAM-1-Ig) in a competition ELISA, but only compound 3 and sICAM-1 inhibited the binding of a fluorescein-labeled analog of compound 3 to LFA-1. Compound 3 and sICAM-1 displayed classical direct competitive binding behavior with ICAM-1.