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Updated: Jun 19, 2025

Adhesion Frequency Assay for In Situ Kinetics Analysis of Cross-Junctional Molecular Interactions at the Cell-Cell Interface
Published on: November 2, 2011
Dynamics Playing a Key Role in the Covalent Binding of Inhibitors to Focal Adhesion Kinase
Yiling Liu1, Jundong Tan2, Shiliang Hu1
1State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, International Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization and Innovative Drug Discovery of Chinese Ministry of Education, Guangzhou City Key Laboratory of Precision Chemical Drug Development, School of Pharmacy, Jinan University, #855 Xingye Avenue, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Abstract:
Covalent kinase inhibitors (CKIs) have recently garnered considerable attention, yet the rational design of CKIs continues to pose a great challenge. In the discovery of CKIs targeting focal adhesion kinase (FAK), it has been observed that the chemical structure of the linkers plays a key role in achieving covalent targeting of FAK. However, the mechanism behind the observation remains elusive. In this work, we employ a comprehensive suite of advanced computational methods to investigate the mechanism of CKIs covalently targeting FAK. We reveal that the linker of an inhibitor influences the contacts between the warhead and residue(s) and the residence time in active conformation, thereby dictating the inhibitor's capability to bind covalently to FAK. This study reflects the complexity of CKI design and underscores the importance of considering the dynamic interactions and residence times for the successful development of covalent drugs.
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