Time Resolved-Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (TR-FRET) Assay: The measurement of competition of compounds of Formula (I) with F-Bak for a Bcl-2 family protein (Bcl-xL) binding site using a Time Resolved Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (TR-FRET) binding assay: Test compounds were serially diluted in DMSO starting at 50 M (2x starting concentration; 10% DMSO) and 10 μL transferred into a 384-well plate. Then 10 μL of a protein/probe/antibody mix is added to each well at final concentrations listed in Table 1. Protein: GST-Bcl-xL; 1(nM) Probe: F-Bak (GQVGRQLAIIGDK (6-FAM)INR-amide) SEQ ID NO: 1; 100(nM) Antibody: Tb-anti-GST; 1(nM). The samples are then mixed on a shaker for 1 minute then incubated for an additional 2 hours at room temperature. For each assay plate, a probe/antibody and protein/antibody/probe mixture were included as a negative and a positive control, respectively. Fluorescence was measured on the ENVISION plate reader (Perkin Elmer) using a 340/35 nm excitation filter and 520/525 (F-Bak) and 495/510 nm (Tb-labeled anti-his antibody) emission filters. Dissociation constants (Ki) were determined using Wang's equation (Wang, Z.X. An 20 exact mathematical expression for describing competitive binding of two different ligands to protein molecule. FEBS Lett. 1995 360:111-114). The TR-FRET assay can be performed in the presence of varying concentrations of human serum (HS) or fetal bovine serum (FBS).
FL5.12 Cellular Assay: The efficacy of the compounds of Formula (I) can also be determined in cell-based killing assays using a variety of cell lines and mouse tumor models. For example, their activity on cell viability can be assessed on a panel of cultured tumorigenic and non-tumorigenic cell lines, as well as primary mouse or human cell populations. In one exemplary set of conditions, mouse FL5.12 cells transfected with Bcl-XL were cultured under standard conditions in RPMI with 2 mM glutamine, 1% 100 mM sodium pyruvate, 2% 1 M HEPES, 4 uL/L of beta;-mercaptoethanol, 1% penicillin-streptomycin, 10% FBS, and 10% WEHI-3B conditioned media (for IL-3). For assaying the compound activity, the cells were exchanged into an IL-3-depleted deprivation media, which was identical to the growth media except for the absence of FBS and WEHI-3B conditional media, for 2 days. Then the cells were exchanged to 3% FBS assay media (RPMI with 2 mM glutamine, 1% 100 mM sodium pyruvate, 2% 1 M HEPES, 4 uL/L of beta;-mercaptoethanol, 1% penicillin-streptomycin, 10% FBS, and 10% WEHI-3B conditioned media (for IL-3).