Structure-activity relationship study of small-molecule inhibitor of Atg12-Atg3 protein-protein interaction

Autophagy is a catabolic process that was described to play a critical role in advanced stages of Cancer, wherein it maintains tumor cell homeostasis and growth by supplying nutrients. Autophagy is also described to support alternative cellular trafficking pathways, providing a non-canonical autophagy-dependent inflammatory cytokine secretion mechanism. Therefore, Autophagy inhibitors have high potential in the treatment of Cancer and acute inflammation. In our study, we identified compound 1 as an inhibitor of the ATG12-ATG3 protein-protein interaction. We focused on the systematic modification of the original hit 1, a Casein Kinase 2 (CK2) inhibitor, to find potent disruptors of ATG12-ATG3 protein-protein interaction. A systematic modification of the hit structure led us to a wide plethora of compounds that maintain its ATG12-ATG3 inhibitory activity, which could act as a viable starting point to design new compounds with diverse therapeutic applications.