Drug Development.

Background: DYRK1A overexpression, common in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's (AD), contributes to neurofibrillary tangles via Tau protein hyperphosphorylation and amyloid plaque formation, key AD hallmarks. Therefore, DYRK1A has been regarded as a novel target for neurodegenerative diseases. However, developing DYRK1A selective inhibitors has been a difficult challenge due to the highly conserved ATP-binding site of protein kinases, particularly among the CMGC family.

Modulation of RNA splicing enhances response to BCL2 inhibition in leukemia.

Therapy resistance is a major challenge in the treatment of cancer. Here, we performed CRISPR-Cas9 screens across a broad range of therapies used in acute myeloid leukemia to identify genomic determinants of drug response. Our screens uncover a selective dependency on RNA splicing factors whose loss preferentially enhances response to the BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax.

The CLK inhibitor SM08502 induces anti-tumor activity and reduces Wnt pathway gene expression in gastrointestinal cancer models.

The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is aberrantly activated in colorectal (CRC) and many other cancers, and novel strategies for effectively targeting it may be needed due to its complexity. In this report, SM08502, a novel small molecule in clinical development for the treatment of solid tumors, was shown to reduce Wnt pathway signaling and gene expression through potent inhibition of CDC-like kinase (CLK) activity. SM08502 inhibited serine and arginine rich splicing factor (SRSF) phosphorylation and disrupted spliceosome activity, which was associated with inhibition of Wnt pathway-related gene and protein expression.