Crystal structure of human cyclin-dependent kinase 2 in complex with the adenine-derived inhibitor H717

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are regulatory proteins of the eukaryotic cell cycle. They act after association with different cyclins, the concentrations of which vary throughout the progression of the cell cycle. As central mediators of cell growth, CDKs are potential targets for inhibitory molecules that would allow disruption of the cell cycle in order to evoke an antiproliferative effect and may therefore be useful as cancer therapeutics. We synthesized several inhibitory 2,6,9-trisubstituted purine derivatives and solved the crystal structure of one of these compounds, H717, in complex with human CDK2 at 2.6 Angstrom resolution. The orientation of the C-2-p-diaminocyclohexyl portion of the inhibitor is strikingly different from those of similar moieties in other related inhibitor complexes. The N-9-cyclopentyl ring fully occupies a space in the enzyme which is otherwise empty, while the C-6-N-aminobenzyl substituent points out of the ATP-binding site. The structure provides a basis for the further development of more potent inhibitory drugs.