Mutation-mediated influences on binding of anaplastic lymphoma kinase to crizotinib decoded by multiple replica

Jianzhong Chen1, Wei Wang2, Haibo Sun2

  • 1School of Science, Shandong Jiaotong University, Jinan, 250357, China. chenjianzhong1970@163.com.

Insights

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) mutations impact drug resistance. Specific mutations like L1198F can enhance inhibitor binding, while C1156Y causes resistance, offering targets for new drug designs.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  • Pharmacology
  • Computational Biology

Background:

  • Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is a target for cancer and neurological disease therapies.
  • Drug resistance is a major challenge in ALK-targeted treatments.
  • Understanding mutation effects on inhibitor binding is crucial for overcoming resistance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how specific mutations (L1198F, L1198F/C1156Y, C1156Y) affect the binding of the ALK inhibitor crizotinib.
  • To explore strategies for alleviating drug resistance in mutated ALK.

Main Methods:

  • Multiple replica Gaussian accelerated molecular dynamics (MR-GaMD) simulations.
  • Molecular mechanics generalized Born surface area (MM-GBSA) calculations.
  • Free energy landscape analysis and residue-based free energy decomposition.

Main Results:

  • Mutations L1198F and L1198F/C1156Y enhanced crizotinib binding to ALK.
  • Mutation C1156Y induced significant drug resistance to crizotinib.
  • Stable crizotinib orientation and position relative to ALK are key to overcoming resistance.

Conclusions:

  • Tuning ALK mutations, like L1198F, can be a strategy to relieve drug resistance.
  • Residues L1122, V1130, L1196, L1198, M1199, and L1256 are potential targets for anti-drug resistance design.

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