Zapnometinib

**Semantic type:** Pharmacologic Substance

**Definition:** An orally bioavailable, small molecule inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MAP2K; MAPK/ERK kinase; MEK), with potential anti-viral and anti-inflammatory activities. Upon oral administration, zapnometinib selectively binds to and inhibits the activity of MEK. This may prevent the export of the viral genome protein complexes from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, thereby inhibiting the formation of new viral particles and the replication of various RNA viruses, including influenza virus, hantavirus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). In addition, the inhibition of the activity of MEK may also decrease gene expression and inhibit the production of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin (IL)-1-beta, IL-8, C-X-C motif chemokine 10 (interferon gamma-induced protein 10; IP-10), C-C motif chemokine 2 (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; MCP-1) and C-C motif chemokine 3 (macrophage inflammatory protein 1-alpha; MIP-1a), thereby reducing inflammation. MEK, a dual-specificity threonine/tyrosine kinase family, plays a key role in the activation of the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK signaling pathway. Many RNA viruses rely on this pathway inside human cells to replicate.

**Synonyms:** - ATR 002 - ATR-002 - ATR002 - PD 0184264 - PD-0184264 - PD0184264 - ZAPNOMETINIB