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Published on: August 23, 2014
Arsenic trioxide preferentially binds to the ring finger protein PML: understanding target selection of the drug
Cao Kaiming1, Yaping Sheng, Shihui Zheng
1CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Chemistry, CAS High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China. liuyz@ustc.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Arsenic trioxide (ATO) is used in the clinic for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia by targeting the protein PML. However, many zinc-finger proteins could also be reactive to arsenic in cells. Here we found that ATO preferentially binds to the ring-finger domain of PML in a protein mixture with zinc-finger domains. These results provide the molecular basis of the target selection of ATO in cells.
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