Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40529081›Full record

ArticleACS medicinal chemistry letters2025

Allosteric Covalent Inhibitors of the STAT3 Transcription Factor from Virtual Screening.

Tibor Viktor Szalai, Vincenzo di Lorenzo, Nikolett Péczka, Levente M Mihalovits, László Petri, Qirat F Ashraf, Elvin D de Araujo, Viktor Honti, Dávid Bajusz, György M Keserű

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in ACS medicinal chemistry letters, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Genome-scale perturbation signatures from primary human CD4bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  2. STAT3 signaling inhibitors for cancer treatment.Trends in pharmacological sciences · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Tibor Viktor SzalaiMedicinal Chemistry Research Group, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok krt. 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0000-4088-3117
Vincenzo di LorenzoMedicinal Chemistry Research Group, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok krt. 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3140-3561
Nikolett PéczkaMedicinal Chemistry Research Group, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok krt. 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary.
Levente M MihalovitsMedicinal Chemistry Research Group, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok krt. 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1022-3294
László PetriMedicinal Chemistry Research Group, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok krt. 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary.
Qirat F AshrafDepartment of Chemical & Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada.
Elvin D de AraujoCentre for Medicinal Chemistry, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada.
Viktor HontiHUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Institute of Genetics, Drosophila Blood Cell Differentiation Group, 62. Temesvári krt., 6726 Szeged, Hungary.
Dávid BajuszMedicinal Chemistry Research Group, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok krt. 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4277-9481
György M KeserűMedicinal Chemistry Research Group, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok krt. 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1039-7809

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The STAT family of transcription factors are important signaling hubs, with several of them, particularly STAT3, being emerging oncotargets already investigated in clinical trials. The modular structure of STAT3 nominates several of its protein domains as possible drug targets, but their exploitation with potential small-molecule inhibitors has been unevenly distributed so far, with past efforts highly favoring the conserved SH2 domain. Here, we have targeted a sparsely studied binding site at the junction of the coiled-coil and DNA-binding domains and discovered several new lead-like covalent inhibitors by virtual screening. The most favorable hit compound has been explored via structure-guided hit expansion and optimized into a low micromolar inhibitor. This compound can serve as a chemical biology tool against this site in future exploratory studies or form the basis of a more advanced stage of lead optimization.

Indexed as

allosteric sitecoiled-coil domaincovalent inhibitortranscription factorVirtual screening

Identifiers

PMID40529081
PMCPMC12169489

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.