Discovery of Potent and Selective Covalent Inhibitors of JNK

The mitogen-activated kinases JNK1/2/3 are key enzymes in signaling modules that transduce and integrate extracellular stimuli into coordinated cellular response. Here, we report the discovery of irreversible inhibitors of JNK1/2/3. We describe two JNK3 cocrystal structures at 2.60 and 2.97 angstrom resolution that show the compounds form covalent bonds with a conserved cysteine residue. JNK-IN-8 is a selective JNK inhibitor that inhibits phosphorylation of c-Jun, a direct substrate of JNK, in cells exposed to submicromolar drug in a manner that depends on covalent modification of the conserved cysteine residue. Extensive biochemical, cellular, and pathway-based profiling establish the selectivity of JNK-IN-8 for JNK and suggests that the compound will be broadly useful as a pharmacological probe of JNK-dependent signal transduction. Potential lead compounds have also been identified for kinases, including IRAK1, PIK3C3, PIP4K2C, and PIP5K3.