Inhibitors Targeting the LFA-1/ICAM-1 Cell-Adhesion Interaction: Design and Mechanism of Action

Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers

E-ISSN: 1873-4286|14|22|2128-2139

ISSN: 1381-6128

Source: Current Pharmaceutical Design, Vol.14, Iss.22, 2008-08, pp. : 2128-2139

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Abstract

Leukocyte-function associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) is an L&bgr;2 chain integrin expressed on the surface of endothelial cells that modulates the behavior of leukocytes by mediating their adhesion to other cells through its interaction to cell-surface ligands. The most important ligand of LFA-1 is ICAM-1 which is expressed on the surface of endothelial cells. The interaction between LFA-1 and ICAM-1 is involved in inflammatory responses and is therefore implicated in inflammatory pathologies and autoimmune diseases; and, in addition, it is involved in many cancer processes. In light of this, there is great interest in developing small molecule, orally available, inhibitors of the LFA-1/ICAM-1 interaction. A structurally diverse collection of small molecule inhibitors has been characterized and developed either to bind the IDAS site of the L I-domain or to the MIDAS of the &bgr;2 I-like domain. In this review, a summary of the structure and regulation of LFA-1 will be given, followed by a description of the different classes of inhibitors that have been described to date.