Protein / target
Tyrosine-protein kinase ABL1
Protein at a glance
Biological role
Non-membrane spanning protein tyrosine kinase activity
Primary system
Nervous system
Strongest disease association
chronic myelogenous leukemia, BCR-ABL1 positive
Therapeutic maturity
Clinically validated target
Druggability
Small molecule
Clinical development
15 approved · 12 in clinical development
Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.
Protein profile
Canonical identity and biological annotation from UniProt.
Function
Non-receptor tyrosine-protein kinase that plays a role in many key processes linked to cell growth and survival such as cytoskeleton remodeling in response to extracellular stimuli, cell motility and adhesion, receptor endocytosis, autophagy, DNA damage response and apoptosis. Coordinates actin remodeling through tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins controlling cytoskeleton dynamics like WASF3 (involved in branch formation); ANXA1 (involved in membrane anchoring); DBN1, DBNL, CTTN, RAPH1 and ENAH (involved in signaling); or MAPT and PXN (microtubule-binding proteins). Phosphorylation of WASF3 is critical for the stimulation of lamellipodia formation and cell migration. Involved in the regulation of cell adhesion and motility through phosphorylation of key regulators of these processes such as BCAR1, CRK, CRKL, DOK1, EFS or NEDD9 (PubMed:22810897). Phosphorylates multiple receptor tyrosine kinases and more particularly promotes endocytosis of EGFR, facilitates the formation of neuromuscular synapses through MUSK, inhibits PDGFRB-mediated chemotaxis and modulates the endocytosis of activated B-cell receptor complexes. Other substrates which are involved in endocytosis regulation are the caveolin (CAV1) and RIN1. Moreover, ABL1 regulates the CBL family of ubiquitin ligases that drive receptor down-regulation and actin remodeling. Phosphorylation of CBL leads to increased EGFR stability. Involved in late-stage autophagy by regulating positively the trafficking and function of lysosomal components. ABL1 targets to mitochondria in response to oxidative stress and thereby mediates mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death. In response to oxidative stress, phosphorylates serine/threonine kinase PRKD2 at 'Tyr-717' (PubMed:28428613). ABL1 is also translocated in the nucleus where it has DNA-binding activity and is involved in DNA-damage response and apoptosis. Many substrates are known mediators of DNA repair: DDB1, DDB2, ERCC3, ERCC6, RAD9A, RAD51, RAD52 or WRN. Activates the proapoptotic pathway when the DNA damage is too severe to be repaired. Phosphorylates TP73, a primary regulator for this type of damage-induced apoptosis. Phosphorylates the caspase CASP9 on 'Tyr-153' and regulates its processing in the apoptotic response to DNA damage. Phosphorylates PSMA7 that leads to an inhibition of proteasomal activity and cell cycle transition blocks. ABL1 also acts as a regulator of multiple pathological signaling cascades during infection. Several known tyrosine-phosphorylated microbial proteins have been identified as ABL1 substrates. This is the case of A36R of Vaccinia virus, Tir (translocated intimin receptor) of pathogenic E.coli and possibly Citrobacter, CagA (cytotoxin-associated gene A) of H.pylori, or AnkA (ankyrin repeat-containing protein A) of A.phagocytophilum. Pathogens can highjack ABL1 kinase signaling to reorganize the host actin cytoskeleton for multiple purposes, like facilitating intracellular movement and host cell exit. Finally, functions as its own regulator through autocatalytic activity as well as through phosphorylation of its inhibitor, ABI1. Regulates T-cell differentiation in a TBX21-dependent manner (By similarity). Positively regulates chemokine-mediated T-cell migration, polarization, and homing to lymph nodes and immune-challenged tissues, potentially via activation of NEDD9/HEF1 and RAP1 (By similarity). Phosphorylates TBX21 on tyrosine residues leading to an enhancement of its transcriptional activator activity (By similarity)
Subcellular location
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (119)Hide
Domains & features
Gene Ontology
- Cactin cytoskeleton
- Ccytoplasm
- Ccytosol
- Cdendrite
- Cglutamatergic synapse
- Cgrowth cone
- Cmitochondrion
- Cneuronal cell body
- Cnuclear body
- Cnuclear membrane
- Cnucleolus
- Cnucleoplasm
Biological roles
What this protein does, drawn together from its UniProt function, Gene Ontology terms and Reactome pathways.
View supporting evidenceHide supporting evidence
Kinase signalling
- ·Non-receptor tyrosine-protein kinase that plays a role in many key processes linked to c…
- ·kinase activity
- ·mitogen-activated protein kinase binding
- ·non-membrane spanning protein tyrosine kinase activity
Transcriptional regulation
- ·Non-receptor tyrosine-protein kinase that plays a role in many key processes linked to c…
- ·transcription coactivator activity
- ·positive regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II
- ·regulation of DNA-templated transcription
Synaptic signalling
- ·Non-receptor tyrosine-protein kinase that plays a role in many key processes linked to c…
- ·glutamatergic synapse
- ·postsynapse
- ·postsynaptic density
Immune signalling
- ·Non-receptor tyrosine-protein kinase that plays a role in many key processes linked to c…
- ·positive regulation of establishment of T cell polarity
- ·positive regulation of substrate adhesion-dependent cell spreading
- ·positive regulation of T cell migration
Cell adhesion
- ·Non-receptor tyrosine-protein kinase that plays a role in many key processes linked to c…
- ·cell adhesion
- ·positive regulation of extracellular matrix organization
- ·regulation of cell adhesion
Apoptosis & cell death
- ·Non-receptor tyrosine-protein kinase that plays a role in many key processes linked to c…
- ·podocyte apoptotic process
- ·positive regulation of apoptotic process
- ·positive regulation of neuron apoptotic process
View underlying pathways (13)Hide underlying pathways
Concepts derived from UniProt GO Reactome — each badge above shows which sources supported that role.
Interaction neighbourhood
Proteins with the strongest functional or physical association. Node size and line weight reflect STRING confidence; hover or select a partner to inspect one association.
Functional and physical associations from STRING v12.0. Only associations with this protein are drawn — partner-to-partner links are not part of this evidence.
Drugs targeting this protein
Whether each drug engages this protein directly or through a complex, and how many other targets are recorded for it. Direct binders with few recorded targets are listed first.
Tyrosine-protein kinase ABL inhibitor
Appears in clinical studies involving chronic myelogenous leukemia, BCR-ABL1 positive, myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative disease, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans
Tyrosine-protein kinase ABL inhibitor
Appears in clinical studies involving colorectal cancer, metastatic colorectal cancer, colorectal neoplasm, neoplasm
Tyrosine-protein kinase ABL inhibitor
Appears in clinical studies involving breast cancer, neoplasm, chronic myelogenous leukemia, BCR-ABL1 positive, chronic myelogenous leukemia, BCR-ABL1 positive
Bcr/Abl fusion protein inhibitor
Appears in clinical studies involving acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, BCR-ABL1 positive, chronic myelogenous leukemia, BCR-ABL1 positive, chronic myelogenous leukemia, BCR-ABL1 positive
ChEMBL mechanism, action type and target identity. Open Targets clinical status and indications.
Translational evidence
Why this target matters therapeutically — disease associations, drugs in development, tractability and safety, from Open Targets.
Strongest genetic associations
Human genetic evidence — the most direct causal link between this target and a disease.
Highest-confidence therapeutic associations
Diseases where a drug acting on this target has already reached clinical development.
Highest overall evidence
Remaining associations by Open Targets' aggregated evidence score.
Show all associationsHide all associations
Open Targets ranks 1,462 associations for this target and we store the top 10 by aggregated score. The long tail is largely literature co-mention and RNA-expression evidence, not evidence that this target drives those diseases.
Known drugs · 27 total
childhood leukemia · acute lymphoblastic leukemia · chronic myelogenous leukemia, BCR-ABL1 positive
acute myeloid leukemia · neoplasm
lymphoid leukemia · myeloid leukemia · neoplasm
acute myeloid leukemia by FAB classification · acute myeloid leukemia · myelodysplastic syndrome
follicular lymphoma · marginal zone lymphoma · neoplasm
ovarian cancer · primary peritoneal carcinoma · fallopian tube cancer
chronic myelogenous leukemia, BCR-ABL1 positive · acute lymphoblastic leukemia · leukemia
chronic myelogenous leukemia, BCR-ABL1 positive · chronic myelogenous leukemia, BCR-ABL1 positive · neoplasm
chronic myelogenous leukemia, BCR-ABL1 positive · neoplasm · chronic myelogenous leukemia, BCR-ABL1 positive
neoplasm
Tractability
Safety liabilities
Clinical trials
Trials of drugs that target this protein — reached indirectly through those drugs, so a trial listed here studies the drug, not the protein.
Show remaining trials (24)Hide
ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.
Forefront confidence
Our own weighting of the evidence behind each disease association. Human genetics and clinical evidence count for most; literature co-mention counts for little, because two entities sharing an abstract is not evidence that one drives the other.
The evidence agreement range shows how closely the independent evidence families agree — it is not a statistical confidence interval, and nothing here is fitted to outcome data. Derived from Open Targets evidence types under Forefront weighting; the underlying per-type scores are shown above so the calculation can be checked.
What's happening now
Recent activity around this target, drawn from one canonical event stream. Every item is reached through 4 drugs that target this protein, so each event is news about that drug rather than about the protein directly.
- Label change
Label change: IMATINIB MESYLATE (NDA021588)
- Regulatory approval
Approval: BOSUTINIB (ANDA209624)
- Label change
Label change: IMATINIB MESYLATE (NDA021588)
- Regulatory approval
Approval: BOSUTINIB (ANDA209543)
- New publicationEfficacy of pembrolizumab in microsatellite-stable, tumor mutational burden-high metastatic colorectal cancer: genomic signatures and clinical outcomes.
- Label change
Label change: IMATINIB (ANDA204644)
- New publicationLenvatinib Plus Pembrolizumab Versus Standard of Care for Previously Treated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: Final Analysis of the Randomized, Open-Label, Phase III LEAP-017 Study.
- New publicationThe Differential Effect of Senolytics on SASP Cytokine Secretion and Regulation of EMT by CAFs.
- Supplemental approval
Supplemental approval: IMATINIB MESYLATE (NDA021588)
- New publicationKIT mutations and expression: current knowledge and new insights for overcoming IM resistance in GIST.
- Label change
Label change: IMATINIB (ANDA204644)
- Label change
Label change: IMATINIB (ANDA204644)
Objective event titles are shown unmodified; the event kind and significance line are derived from structured fields. Forefront AttentionEvent stream aggregating Europe PMC Regulatory filings ClinicalTrials.gov.