Structure Defines Function: Clinically Relevant Mutations in ErbB Kinases.
Janina NiggenaberJulia HardickJonas LategahnDaniel RauhPublished in: Journal of medicinal chemistry (2019)
The ErbB receptor tyrosine kinase family members EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) and Her2 are among the prominent mutated oncogenic drivers of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Their importance in proliferation, apoptosis, and cell death ultimately renders them hot targets in cancer therapy. Small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors seem well suited to be tailor-made therapeutics for EGFR mutant NSCLC; however, drug resistance mutations limit their success. Against this background, the elucidation and visualization of the three-dimensional structure of cancer-related kinases provide valuable insights into their molecular functions. This field has undergone a revolution because X-ray crystal structure determinations aided structure-based drug design approaches and clarified the effect of activating and resistance-conferring mutations. Here, we present an overview of important mutations affecting EGFR and Her2 and highlight their influence on the kinase domain conformations and active site accessibility.
Keyphrases
- tyrosine kinase
- epidermal growth factor receptor
- advanced non small cell lung cancer
- small molecule
- cell death
- small cell lung cancer
- crystal structure
- cancer therapy
- signaling pathway
- cell cycle arrest
- drug delivery
- high resolution
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- computed tomography
- transcription factor
- dual energy
- brain metastases