Structure-activity relationships of a small-molecule inhibitor of the PDZ domain of PICK1.

Recently, we described the first small-molecule inhibitor, (E)-ethyl 2-cyano-3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)acryloylcarbamate (1), of the PDZ domain of protein interacting with Cα-kinase 1 (PICK1), a potential drug target against brain ischemia, pain and cocaine addiction. Herein, we explore structure–activity relationships of 1 by introducing subtle modifications of the acryloylcarbamate scaffold and variations of the substituents on this scaffold. The configuration around the double bond of 1 and analogues was settled by a combination of X-ray crystallography, NMR and density functional theory calculations. Thereby, docking studies were used to correlate biological affinities with structural considerations for ligand–protein interactions. The most potent analogue obtained in this study showed an improvement in affinity compared to 1 and is currently a lead in further studies of PICK1 inhibition.