Anti-apoptotic proteins, such as B-cell lymphoma (Bcl-2) protein, myeloid cell leukemia sequence 1 (Mcl-1) protein, are potential targets for cancer treatment. In the studies, a series of pyrrolidine derivatives were developed as potent Mcl-1 inhibitors. The preliminary biological studies suggested that most of target compounds exhibit good abilities for targeting Mcl-1 protein. Among them, compound 21 (Ki=0.53μM) exhibited equal inhibitory activities towards Mcl-1 protein compared to positive control gossypol (Ki=0.39μM). This compound also possessed good antiproliferative activities against MDA-MB-231 and PC-3 cancer cells.
Keywords: Anti-tumor; Apoptosis; Bcl-2; Mcl-1; Pyrrolidine.
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