Small Molecule CDK Inhibitors for the Therapeutic Management of Cancer

• Published in: Current topics in medicinal chemistry Vol. 20; no. 17; p. 1535
• Main Authors: Goel, Bharat, Tripathi, Nancy, Bhardwaj, Nivedita, Jain, Shreyans K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United Arab Emirates 01.01.2020
• Subjects: Antineoplastic Agents - chemistry; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology; Cyclin-Dependent Kinases - antagonists & inhibitors; Cyclin-Dependent Kinases - metabolism; Humans; Molecular Structure; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neoplasms - metabolism; Protein Kinase Inhibitors - chemistry; Protein Kinase Inhibitors - pharmacology; Small Molecule Libraries - chemistry; Small Molecule Libraries - pharmacology; Cyclin-dependent kinase; Clinical trial; CDK inhibitors; Natural products; Cell cycle; Cancer
• ISSN: 1873-4294
• DOI: 10.2174/1568026620666200516152756

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are a group of multifunctional enzymes consisting of catalytic and regulatory subunits. The regulatory subunit, cyclin, remains dissociated under normal circumstances, and complexation of cyclin with the catalytic subunit of CDK leads to its activation for phosphorylation of protein substrates. The primary role of CDKs is in the regulation of the cell cycle. Retinoblastoma protein (Rb) is one of the widely investigated tumor suppressor protein substrates of CDK, which prevents cells from entering into cell-cycle under normal conditions. Phosphorylation of Rb by CDKs causes its inactivation and ultimately allows cells to enter a new cell cycle. Many cancers are associated with hyperactivation of CDKs as a result of mutation of the CDK genes or CDK inhibitor genes. Therefore, CDK modulators are of great interest to explore as novel therapeutic agents against cancer and led to the discovery of several CDK inhibitors to clinics. This review focuses on the current progress and development of anti-cancer CDK inhibitors from preclinical to clinical and synthetic to natural small molecules.