title: Identification of a novel inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase.
abstract: The compound U0126 (1,4-diamino-2,3-dicyano-1, 4-bis[2-aminophenylthio]butadiene) was identified as an inhibitor of AP-1 transactivation in a cell-based reporter assay. U0126 was also shown to inhibit endogenous promoters containing AP-1 response elements but did not affect genes lacking an AP-1 response element in their promoters. These effects of U0126 result from direct inhibition of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase family members, MEK-1 and MEK-2. Inhibition is selective for MEK-1 and -2, as U0126 shows little, if any, effect on the kinase activities of protein kinase C, Abl, Raf, MEKK, ERK, JNK, MKK-3, MKK-4/SEK, MKK-6, Cdk2, or Cdk4. Comparative kinetic analysis of U0126 and the MEK inhibitor PD098059 (Dudley, D. T., Pang, L., Decker, S. J., Bridges, A. J., and Saltiel, A. R. (1995) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci U. S. A. 92, 7686-7689) demonstrates that U0126 and PD098059 are noncompetitive inhibitors with respect to both MEK substrates, ATP and ERK. We further demonstrate that the two compounds bind to deltaN3-S218E/S222D MEK in a mutually exclusive fashion, suggesting that they may share a common or overlapping binding site(s). Quantitative evaluation of the steady state kinetics of MEK inhibition by these compounds reveals that U0126 has approximately 100-fold higher affinity for deltaN3-S218E/S222D MEK than does PD098059. We further tested the effects of these compounds on the activity of wild type MEK isolated after activation from stimulated cells. Surprisingly, we observe a significant diminution in affinity of both compounds for wild type MEK as compared with the deltaN3-S218E/S222D mutant enzyme. These results suggest that the affinity of both compounds is mediated by subtle conformational differences between the two activated MEK forms. The MEK affinity of U0126, its selectivity for MEK over other kinases, and its cellular efficacy suggest that this compound will serve as a powerful tool for in vitro and cellular investigations of mitogen-activated protein kinase-mediated signal transduction.
authors.affiliation: Inflammatory Diseases Research, The DuPont Merck Research Laboratories, Wilmington, Delaware 19880-0400, USA.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Favata
authors.forename: K Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Horiuchi
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Manos
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Daulerio
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Stradley
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Feeser
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Van Dyk
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Pitts
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Earl
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hobbs
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Copeland
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Magolda
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Scherle
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Trzaskos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002070:Butadienes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019556:COS Cells; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000494:pharmacology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D007700:Kinetics; D048369:MAP Kinase Kinase 1; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases; D009570:Nitriles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D019908:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-raf / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate / Q000494:pharmacology; D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002070:Butadienes; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D005419:Flavonoids; D009570:Nitriles; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun; D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1; C113580:U 0126; D004247:DNA; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D019908:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-raf; D048369:MAP Kinase Kinase 1; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate; C093973:2-(2-amino-3-methoxyphenyl)-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one