Abstract
Eg5 is a mitotic kinesin that plays a crucial role in the formation of bipolar mitotic spindles, by hydrolyzing ATP to push apart anti-parallel microtubules. Dimethylenastron is potent specific small molecule inhibitor of Eg5. The mechanism by which dimethylenastron inhibits Eg5 function remains unclear. By comparing with enastron, here we report that dimethylenastron prevents the growth of pancreatic and lung cancer cells more effectively, by halting mitotic progression and triggering apoptosis. We analyze their interactions with ADP-bound Eg5 crystal structure, and find that dimethylenastron binds Eg5 motor domain with higher affinity. In addition, dimethylenastron allosterically blocks the conformational change of the "sandwich"-like ADP-binding pocket more effectively. We subsequently use biochemical approach to reveal that dimethylenastron slows ADP release more significantly than enastron. These data thus provide biological, structural and mechanistic insights into the potent inhibitory activity of dimethylenastron.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 465-470 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications |
Volume | 447 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 9 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- ADP release
- ATPase activity
- Apoptosis
- Eg5 inhibitor
- Mitotic arrest
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology