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| Title | Cryo-EM-guided subtractive optimization of a novel VCP/p97 inhibitor. |
|---|---|
| Journal, issue, pages | IUCrJ, Vol. 13, Issue Pt 4, Page 364-372, Year 2026 |
| Publish date | Jul 1, 2026 |
Authors | Jason Crawford / Ravi Munuganti / Charles Leung / Kriti Singh / Ellen Gates / Xing Zhu / Marcel Bally / Nancy Dos Santos / Maryam Sharifiaghdam / Zeynab Nosrati / Peter Axerio-Cilies / Alison M Berezuk / Spencer Cholak / Alan Merk / Dale R Cameron / Sriram Subramaniam / ![]() |
| PubMed Abstract | We report the cryo-EM structure-guided discovery of GND-135, a novel small-molecule inhibitor of the VCP/p97 AAA ATPase that demonstrates efficient inhibition of VCP/p97 in biochemical, cellular, and ...We report the cryo-EM structure-guided discovery of GND-135, a novel small-molecule inhibitor of the VCP/p97 AAA ATPase that demonstrates efficient inhibition of VCP/p97 in biochemical, cellular, and pharmacokinetic assays and in a tumor efficacy mouse model of acute myeloid leukemia. Our approach overcomes the liability in the clinical-stage compound CB-5083 where Phase I studies showed off-target activity of CB-5083 for the enzyme PDE6. From the cryo-EM structural analysis of CB-5083 bound to PDE6 and VCP/p97, we identified critical ligand/protein interactions in both proteins and rationally designed a small molecule that retains key interactions necessary for VCP/p97 inhibition while eliminating PDE6 off-target activity. We refer to this approach as `subtractive optimization' because we are leveraging our ability to determine both on-target and off-target cryo-EM structures to guide the medicinal chemistry campaign to enable more targeted compound design. While this strategy is not possible in all cases, the use of cryo-EM to tune on-site binding while eliminating off-target binding could be a generally applicable strategy for informing molecular design and accelerating small-molecule drug discovery. |
External links | IUCrJ / PubMed:42329166 / PubMed Central |
| Methods | EM (single particle) |
| Resolution | 2.46 - 2.72 Å |
| Structure data | EMDB-70500, PDB-9ohm: EMDB-70501, PDB-9ohn: |
| Chemicals | ![]() ChemComp-PCG: ![]() ChemComp-ZN: ![]() ChemComp-MG: ![]() ChemComp-JDP: ![]() ChemComp-ADP: ![]() PDB-1cbf: |
| Source |
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Keywords | SIGNALING PROTEIN / GAF domain / phosphohydrolase / G protein-coupled receptor signaling / CB-5083 / HYDROLASE/HYDROLASE INHIBITOR / p97 / VCP / TERA / Inhibitor / GND-135 / HYDROLASE / HYDROLASE-HYDROLASE INHIBITOR complex |
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homo sapiens (human)
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