We continue our series in the Biologics campaign – here we cover Ataxia Telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR) protein kinase.

At Chemspace ATR proteins, RNAs, highly selective antibodies, and kits are available for purchasing!

Serine/threonine-protein kinase ATR is a key kinase that is active in S-phase, senses stressed replication forks, and makes a multifaceted response to DNA replication stress, e.g. stress induced by ultraviolet radiation, DNA polymerase inhibitors, deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) depletion, etc. This response helps ensure the completion of DNA replication and holds the integrity of the genome.

You can find more information about the essential role of this kinase here.

The usage of selective ATR inhibitors is a promising new approach in cancer therapy. ATR inhibition is expected to induce synthetic lethality in cancers with already impaired DNA damage repair mechanisms. But the high degree of homology of the kinases increases the risk of the inhibition of additional kinases, which may increase toxicity or neutralize the healing effects of inhibitors. So, the discovery of highly selective ATR inhibitors is challenging.

More information about drug candidates which are now in clinical trials is here.