Chemical Probes for Understudied Kinases: Challenges and Opportunities

Over 20 years after the approval of the first-in-class protein kinase inhibitor imatinib, the biological function of a significant fraction of the human kinome remains poorly understood while most research continues to be focused on few well-validated targets. Given the strong genetic evidence for i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of medicinal chemistry 2022-01, Vol.65 (2), p.1132-1170
Main Authors: Serafim, Ricardo A. M, Elkins, Jonathan M, Zuercher, William J, Laufer, Stefan A, Gehringer, Matthias
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Humans
Molecular Probes - metabolism
Protein Kinase Inhibitors - chemistry
Protein Kinase Inhibitors - pharmacology
Protein Kinases - metabolism
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Summary:Over 20 years after the approval of the first-in-class protein kinase inhibitor imatinib, the biological function of a significant fraction of the human kinome remains poorly understood while most research continues to be focused on few well-validated targets. Given the strong genetic evidence for involvement of many kinases in health and disease, the understudied fraction of the kinome holds a large and unexplored potential for future therapies. Specific chemical probes are indispensable tools to interrogate biology enabling proper preclinical validation of novel kinase targets. In this Perspective, we highlight recent case studies illustrating the development of high-quality chemical probes for less-studied kinases and their application in target validation. We spotlight emerging techniques and approaches employed in the generation of chemical probes for protein kinases and beyond and discuss the associated challenges and opportunities.
ISSN:0022-2623
1520-4804
DOI:10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00980