Identification of coumarin derivatives as a novel class of allosteric MEK1 inhibitors

A homogenous TR-FRET-based in vitro coupling assay for the MAP3Ks–MEK1–ERK2 kinase cascade was established and was used to screen for inhibitors of the ERK/MAPK pathway. A series of coumarin derivatives were identified from the screen. These compounds potently inhibit the activation of the unactivated human MEK1 by upstream MAP3Ks (including BRAF and COT), but do not inhibit the activity of the activated MEK1. In addition, the potency of these compounds in inhibiting MEK1 activation is not affected by varying the ATP concentration, suggesting that these inhibitors are not competitive with ATP. As expected, the coumarin compounds potently inhibit LPS-induced TNFα production and ERK phosphorylation in THP-1 cells, with the most potent compound having an IC50 of 90 nM. Molecular modeling studies suggest that these coumarins bind to an allosteric site in the inactive conformation of MEK1. This site has been shown to be utilized by the biarylamine series of MEK inhibitors such as PD318088. Very interestingly, the identified coumarin derivatives are almost identical to a series of inhibitors recently reported that block LPS-induced TNFα production. Our findings have therefore raised the possibility that other naturally occurring or synthetic coumarins with anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities might exert their biological function through the inhibition of MEK1.