Novel Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors currently in development

vel Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors currently in development Review (672) Total Article Views Authors: D'Cruz OJ, Uckun FM Published Date March 2013 Volume 2013:6 Pages 161 - 176 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OTT.S33732 Received: 19 December 2012 Accepted: 04 February 2013 Published: 06 March 2013 Osmond J D'Cruz,1 Fatih M Uckun1,2 1Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; 2Department of Pediatrics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA Abstract: Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) is intimately involved in multiple signal-transduction pathways regulating survival, activation, proliferation, and differentiation of B-lineage lymphoid cells. Btk is overexpressed and constitutively active in several B-lineage lymphoid malignancies. Btk has emerged as a new antiapoptotic molecular target for treatment of B-lineage leukemias and lymphomas. Preclinical and early clinical results indicate that Btk inhibitors may be useful in the treatment of leukemias and lymphomas.