Discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1) kinase as target for structure-based drug discovery

Discoidin domain receptor (DDR) 1 and 2 are transmembrane receptors that belong to the family of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK). Upon collagen binding, DDRs transduce cellular signaling involved in various cell functions, including cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, migration, and matrix homeostasis. Altered DDR function resulting from either mutations or overexpression has been implicated in several types of disease, including atherosclerosis, inflammation, cancer, and tissue fibrosis. Several established inhibitors, such as imatinib, dasatinib, and nilotinib, originally developed as Abelson murine leukemia (Abl) kinase inhibitors, have been found to inhibit DDR kinase activity. As we review here, recent discoveries of novel inhibitors and their co-crystal structure with the DDR1 kinase domain have made structure-based drug discovery for DDR1 amenable.