Conformation-Selective Analogues of Dasatinib Reveal Insight into Kinase Inhibitor Binding and Selectivity

In the kinase field, there are many widely held tenets about conformation-selective inhibitors that have yet to be validated using controlled experiments. We have designed, synthesized, and characterized a series of kinase inhibitor analogues of dasatinib, an FDA-approved kinase inhibitor that binds the active conformation. This inhibitor series includes two Type II inhibitors that bind the DFG-out inactive conformation and two inhibitors that bind the alpha C-helix-out inactive conformation. Using this series of compounds, we analyze the impact that conformation-selective inhibitors have on target binding and kinome-wide selectivity.