Discovery and structure-activity relationship studies of N-substituted indole derivatives as novel Mcl-1 inhibitors.

Myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) is an important antiapoptotic protein functioning through protein-protein interactions. We discovered LSL-A6 (2-((2-carbamoyl-1-(3-(4-methoxyphenoxy)propyl)-1H-indol-6-yl)oxy)acetic acid) with a novel N-substituted indole scaffold to interfere Mcl-1 binding as a novel Mcl-1 inhibitor. Molecular modeling indicated that this compound binds with Mcl-1 by interaction with P2 and R263 hot-spots. Structure modification focused on several moieties including indole core, hydrophobic tail and acidic chain were conducted and structure-activity relationship was analyzed. The most potent compound 24d which exhibited K value of 110nM for interfering Mcl-1 binding was obtained after hit-to-lead modification.