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Small Molecule Inhibition of ERK Dimerization Prevents Tumorigenesis by RAS-ERK Pathway Oncogenes
Herrero, A., Pinto, A., Colón-Bolea, P., Casar, B., Jones, M., Agudo-Ibáñez, L., Vidal, R., Tenbaum, S.P., Nuciforo, P., Valdizán, E.M., Horvath, Z., Orfi, L., Pineda-Lucena, A., Bony, E., Keri, G., Rivas, G., Pazos, A., Gozalbes, R., Palmer, H.G., Hurlstone, A., Crespo, P.
Herrero, A., Pinto, A., Colón-Bolea, P., Casar, B., Jones, M., Agudo-Ibáñez, L., Vidal, R., Tenbaum, S.P., Nuciforo, P., Valdizán, E.M., Horvath, Z., Orfi, L., Pineda-Lucena, A., Bony, E., Keri, G., Rivas, G., Pazos, A., Gozalbes, R., Palmer, H.G., Hurlstone, A., Crespo, P. (2015) Small Molecule Inhibition of ERK Dimerization Prevents Tumorigenesis by RAS-ERK Pathway Oncogenes. Cancer Cell. 28:170-82.
Nearly 50% of human malignancies exhibit unregulated RAS-ERK signaling; inhibiting it is a valid strategy for antineoplastic intervention. Upon activation, ERK dimerize, which is essential for ERK extranuclear, but not for nuclear, signaling. Here, we describe a small molecule inhibitor for ERK dimerization that, without affecting ERK phosphorylation, forestalls tumorigenesis driven by RAS-ERK pathway oncogenes. This compound is unaffected by resistance mechanisms that hamper classical RAS-ERK pathway inhibitors. Thus, ERK dimerization inhibitors provide the proof of principle for two understudied concepts in cancer therapy: (1) the blockade of sub-localization-specific sub-signals, rather than total signals, as a means of impeding oncogenic RAS-ERK signaling and (2) targeting regulatory protein-protein interactions, rather than catalytic activities, as an approach for producing effective antitumor agents.
