EML4-ALK Fusions: Propelling Cancer but Creating Exploitable Chaperone Dependence

The crystal structure of a conserved tubulin-binding region of the EML1 protein reveals a highly atypical fold in one of its beta-propeller domains. Disruption of the EML1 core region domain in many of the oncogenic EML4-ALK fusion protein variants that drive non-small cell lung cancer explains their dependence on the HSP90 molecular chaperone, provides a basis to allow more precise patient stratification for therapy, and suggests a more general model for other oncogenic fusion proteins. (C) 2014 AACR.