THZ1

THZ1 is a selective CDK7 inhibitor that preferentially diminishes transcription in cancer cells. THZ1 has the unprecedented ability to target a remote cysteine residue located outside of the canonical kinase domain, providing an unanticipated means of achieving selectivity for CDK7. Cancer cell-line profiling indicates that a subset of cancer cell lines, including human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL), have exceptional sensitivity to THZ1. Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are involved in temporal control of the cell cycle and transcription and play central roles in cancer development and metastasis.