Anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins are vital for cancer cells to escape apoptosis, which make them attractive targets for cancer therapy. Recently, a lead compound 1 was found to modestly inhibit the binding of BH3 peptide to Bcl-2 protein with a Ki value of 5.2 µM. Based on this, a series of substituted tyrosine derivatives were developed and tested for their binding affinities to Bcl-2 protein. Results indicated that these compounds exhibited potent binding affinities to Bcl-2 and Mcl-1 protein but not to Bcl-XL protein. Promisingly, compound 6i inhibited the binding of BH3 peptide to Bcl-2 and Mcl-1 protein with a Ki value of 450 and 190 nM respectively, and showed obvious anti-proliferative activities against tested cancer cells.
Keywords: Anti-tumor; Apoptosis; Bcl-2; Mcl-1; Tyrosine.
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