MEK1/2 Inhibitors: Molecular Activity and Resistance Mechanisms.

ABSTRACT: Aberrant activation of the three-layered protein kinase cascade, Raf/MEK/ERK, is often detected in human cancer, which is mainly attributed to the oncogenic alterations of RAF, or its upstream activators RAS or cell surface receptor tyrosine kinases. Deregulated activity of the Raf/MEK/ERK pathway drives uncontrolled tumor cell proliferation and survival, thus providing a rational therapeutic target for the treatment of many cancers. While Raf, MEK1/2, and ERK1/2 are equally important targets for the design of therapeutic small molecular weight inhibitors, the effort to develop MEK1/2-specific inhibitors has been greatly successful. Particularly, MEK1/2 have been relatively advantageous for the design of highly selective adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-noncompetitive inhibitors. Indeed, a ple

SUBMITTER: Wu PK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4663016 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature