Discovery of a First-In-Class Covalent Allosteric Inhibitor of SUMO E1 Activating Enzyme.

SUMOylation is a post-translational modification with important roles in normal physiology and whose dysregulation is associated with human diseases. In this issue of Cell Chemical Biology, Li et al. (2019) describe a covalent, allosteric inhibitor of the SUMO E1 enzyme and demonstrate its anti-tumor activity in preclinical models of colorectal cancer.