A direct interaction between NQO1 and a chemotherapeutic dimeric naphthoquinone.
Pidugu, L.S., Mbimba, J.C., Ahmad, M., Pozharski, E., Sausville, E.A., Emadi, A., Toth, E.A.(2016) BMC Struct Biol 16: 1-1
- PubMed: 26822308 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12900-016-0052-x
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
5EA2, 5EAI - PubMed Abstract: 
Multimeric naphthoquinones are redox-active compounds that exhibit antineoplastic, antiprotozoal, and antiviral activities. Due to their multimodal effect on perturbation of cellular oxidative state, these compounds hold great potential as therapeutic agents against highly proliferative neoplastic cells. In our previous work, we developed a series of novel dimeric naphthoquinones and showed that they were selectively cytotoxic to human acute myeloid leukemia (AML), breast and prostate cancer cell lines. We subsequently identified the oxidoreductase NAD(P)H dehydrogenase, quinone 1 (NQO1) as the major target of dimeric naphthoquinones and proposed a mechanism of action that entailed induction of a futile redox cycling.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA. esausville@umm.edu.