Structural Biology-Inspired Discovery of Novel KRAS-PDEδ Inhibitors.

Structural biology is a powerful tool for investigating the stereospecific interactions between a protein and its ligand. Herein, an unprecedented chiral binding pattern was observed for inhibitors of KRAS-PDEδ interactions. Virtual screening and X-ray crystallography studies revealed that two enantiomers of a racemic inhibitor could bind at different sites. Fragment-based drug design was used to identify highly potent PDEδ inhibitors that can be used as promising lead compounds for target validation and antitumor drug development.