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Chemical Inhibition Through Conformational Stabilization of Rho GTPase Effectors

  • Chapter
Protein-Protein Interactions as New Drug Targets

Part of the book series: Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology ((HEP,volume 186))

Abstract

The Rho family of small GTP-binding proteins can activate a large number of downstream effectors and participate in a wide variety of biological processes, including cell motility, membrane trafficking, cell polarity, gene transcription, and mitosis. Specific small-molecule inhibitors of individual effector proteins downstream of Rho GTPases would be powerful tools to elucidate the contributions of particular effectors to these processes. In this chapter we describe the identification of a chemical inhibitor of a Rho effector and scaffolding protein neural-Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP), and the discovery of its novel mechanism of action, stabilization of N-WASP’s native autoinhibited conformation. Inasmuch as several other Rho GTPase effectors are regulated by autoinhibition, we discuss how this regulatory mechanism could be exploited by small molecules to develop highly specific inhibitors of other Rho GTPase effectors. We illustrate this concept with the Rac/Cdc42 effector p21-activated kinase (Pak1) and the Rho effector mammalian diaphanous-related formin (mDia1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Basic Science, Fox Chase Cancer Center, 333 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, 19111, USA

    S. W. Deacon & J. R. Peterson

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  1. S. W. Deacon
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  1. Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie, Robert-Rössle-Str. 10, 13125, Berlin, Germany

    Enno Klussmann

  2. The Vollum Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Medical Research Bldg, Rm 322D 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR, 97239-3098, USA

    John Scott Ph.D.

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Deacon, S.W., Peterson, J.R. (2008). Chemical Inhibition Through Conformational Stabilization of Rho GTPase Effectors. In: Klussmann, E., Scott, J. (eds) Protein-Protein Interactions as New Drug Targets. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol 186. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-72843-6_18

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