2. Academic Validation
  3. Allosteric inhibition of the protein-protein interaction between the leukemia-associated proteins Runx1 and CBFbeta

Allosteric inhibition of the protein-protein interaction between the leukemia-associated proteins Runx1 and CBFbeta

  • Chem Biol. 2007 Oct;14(10):1186-97. doi: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2007.09.006.
Michael J Gorczynski 1,  Jolanta Grembecka,  Yunpeng Zhou,  Yali Kong,  Liya Roudaia,  Michael G Douvas,  Miki Newman,  Izabela Bielnicka,  Gwen Baber,  Takeshi Corpora,  Jianxia Shi,  Mohini Sridharan,  Ryan Lilien,  Bruce R Donald,  Nancy A Speck,  Milton L Brown,  John H Bushweller
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA.
PMID: 17961830 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2007.09.006
Abstract

The two subunits of core binding factor (Runx1 and CBFbeta) play critical roles in hematopoiesis and are frequent targets of chromosomal translocations found in leukemia. The binding of the CBFbeta-smooth muscle Myosin heavy chain (SMMHC) fusion protein to Runx1 is essential for leukemogenesis, making this a viable target for treatment. We have developed inhibitors with low micromolar affinity which effectively block binding of Runx1 to CBFbeta. NMR-based docking shows that these compounds bind to CBFbeta at a site displaced from the binding interface for Runx1, that is, these compounds function as allosteric inhibitors of this protein-protein interaction, a potentially generalizable approach. Treatment of the human leukemia cell line ME-1 with these compounds shows decreased proliferation, indicating these are good candidates for further development.

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