Identification of an allosteric and Smad3-selective inhibitor of p38αMAPK using a substrate-based approach

p38α mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) plays important roles in multiple cellular functions by phosphorylating a wide variety of substrates, and therefore, p38α MAPK has been considered as an important drug target. In this study, we designed peptide-based inhibitors for p38α MAPK, which can only inhibit the Smad3 phosphorylation specifically, by targeting the KIM binding site of p38α MAPK. Peptide 6 showed a significant inhibitory potency for the Smad3 phosphorylation by p38α MAPK. Peptide 6 showed no ATP dependency, and did not inhibit the phosphorylation of other substrates by p38α MAPK. The discovery of peptide 6 by targeting the KIM binding site likely provide an opportunity for the discovery of a novel class of allosteric and substrate-specific p38α MAPK inhibitors.