PROJECT #16474 RESEARCH FOR CANCER
FOLDING PERFORMANCE PROFILE

PROJECT SUMMARY

In cancer treatment it is common to target multiple different putative proteins, because multiple proteins can malfunction in tumors to drive cancer. 

One such protein, particularly known to be important in endocrine gland tumors (the places where hormones are secreted), is Menin-1 (Menin). Menin is a protein found in the nucleus protein and plays a key role in regulating cell-signaling and gene expression (which genes turn on and off). While the explicit details of Menin's behavior are not known, targeting it's inhibition with small-molecules (ligands) has demonstrated promising potential in blocking tumor growth. However, like with many disease, mutations within Menin can *also* counteract this ligand-binding behavior. Therefore, it is not just important to study how Menin works, or how to target it with small molecules, but also how mutations impact Menin-Ligand interactions.  

This set of projects seeks to answer the latter two questions - how do small molecules inhibit Menin and how do mutations within Menin alter small-molecule affinity. In projects 16472 & 16473, we simulate Menin by itself and Menin bound to a known small molecule inhibitor that is shown to treat tumors in patients! Thanks to the powerhouse efforts at cataloguing cancer mutations at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, we also know of 3 mutations that impact the ability of Menin to bind this inhibitor. Projects 16474–16483 simulate either a) each of these Menin mutants or b) Menin mutants bound to this inhibitor.

Bonus: Some of these structures are being simulated with the help of the AlphaFold database!

PROJECT INFO

Manager(s): Sukrit Singh

Institution: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer-Center

Project URL: http://sukritsingh.github.io/

PROJECT WORK UNIT SUMMARY

Atoms: 187,472

Core: OPENMM_22

Status: Public