AOH1996 is a small molecule PCNA inhibitor that enhances the interaction between PCNA and RPB1, the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II, and dissociates PCNA from actively transcribed chromatin regions while inducing DNA double-strand breaks in a transcription-dependent manner. AOH1996 is identified as a selective chemotherapeutic agent.

Product application

AOH1996 is an experimental anticancer drug used as a small molecule inhibitor of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). It is named in honor of Anna Olivia Healey's initials and birth year, who died of neuroblastoma in 2006. In DNA repair, PCNA plays a vital role, however, targeting it becomes a difficult task considering its presence in normal cells. Based on this fact, AOH1996 was created to generally solve this problem as it can target the post-translationally modified isoform of PCNA, also known as caPCNA, which is mainly present in cancer cells. It may kill cancer cells without causing damage to healthy cells by selectively targeting caPCNA. In previous studies, a potential CAPCNA inhibitor called AOH1160 was found, but it lacks its appropriate metabolic characteristics.