Structural insights into the design of small molecule inhibitors that selectively antagonize Mcl-1.

The screening of a small focused library of rhodanine derivatives as inhibitors of Bcl-2 proteins led to the discovery of two structurally related compounds with different binding profiles against the Bcl-XL and the Mcl-1 proteins. Subsequent NMR studies with mutant proteins and in silico docking studies provide a possible rationale for the observed specificity.