IMM-02

IMM-02 is a small molecule agonist of the mammalian Diaphanous-related (mDia) formins, specifically mDia1 and mDia2. It functions as an intramolecular modulator that disrupts the autoinhibitory interaction between the Diaphanous inhibitory domain (DID) and the Diaphanous autoregulatory domain (DAD), thereby inducing constitutive formin activity. In preclinical models of glioblastoma (GBM), IMM-02 has been shown to impair the formation and function of tumor microtubes, which are actin- and microtubule-enriched structures essential for GBM cell invasion and resistance. Interestingly, prolonged exposure to IMM-02 leads to a progressive reduction in mDia1 and mDia2 protein expression, suggesting that sustained agonism may trigger compensatory degradation mechanisms that effectively inhibit formin function more thoroughly than direct antagonism. IMM-02 is primarily utilized as a research tool to investigate the role of cytoskeletal dynamics in cancer progression.

Other names

mDia agonist IMM-02Intramolecular Modulator 02