Gleevec (Imatinib)

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Topic

Resource Type

Level

High School — General High School — AP/IB College

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Description

This model shows the structure of the cancer drug Gleevec, which is used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a cancer of white blood cells. In CML, white blood cells divide uncontrollably due to an overactive tyrosine kinase protein called BCR-ABL. Gleevec, also known as imatinib, is a small-molecule drug that has a similar structure to that of ATP. This drug competes with ATP for binding to a site on BCR-ABL; BCR-ABL needs ATP to bind to signal the division of more white blood cells.

The 3D model can be viewed and rotated in the online 3D Viewer. The accompanying downloads provide other ways to display and interact with the model. The “3D Preview” contains an image of the model that can be viewed and rotated within Adobe Acrobat. The “3D Movie Loop” is a short looping animation that shows the model being rotated. The “3D Printing Data” STL file allows the model to be printed on a 3D printer.

Note that the STL file can be viewed with the free MakerWare software from MakerBot, but MakerWare will print only to a MakerBot printer. Please use the software provided with your 3D printer to print the STL file.

Key Terms

active site, ATP, BCR-ABL, cancer, competitive antagonist, drug development, health care, medicine, tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)

Terms of Use

The resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. No rights are granted to use HHMI’s or BioInteractive’s names or logos independent from this Resource or in any derivative works.