Halogenated benzimidazole carboxamides target integrin alpha4beta1 on T-cell and B-cell lymphomas.

Integrin alpha(4)beta(1) is an attractive but poorly understood target for selective diagnosis and treatment of T-cell and B-cell lymphomas. This report focuses on the rapid microwave preparation, structure-activity relationships, and biological evaluation of medicinally pertinent benzimidazole heterocycles as integrin alpha(4)beta(1) antagonists. We documented tumor uptake of derivatives labeled with (125)I in xenograft murine models of B-cell lymphoma. Molecular homology models of integrin alpha(4)beta(1) predicted that docked halobenzimidazole carboxamides have the halogen atom in a suitable orientation for halogen-hydrogen bonding. The high-affinity halogenated ligands identified offer attractive tools for medicinal and biological use, including fluoro and iodo derivatives with potential radiodiagnostic ((18)F) or radiotherapeutic ((131)I) applications, or chloro and bromo analogues that could provide structural insights into integrin-ligand interactions through photoaffinity, cross-linking/mass spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallographic studies.