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Here, we describe a fluorescence anisotropy-based assay that specifically probes for ligands targeting the recently discovered maytansine\u00a0site of tubulin. Using this assay, we have determined the dissociation constants of known maytansine site ligands, including the pharmacologically active degradation product of the clinical antibody-drug conjugate trastuzumab emtansine. In addition, we discovered that the two natural products spongistatin-1 and disorazole Z with established cellular potency bind to the maytansine\u00a0site on \u03b2-tubulin. The high-resolution crystal structures of spongistatin-1 and disorazole Z in complex with tubulin allowed the definition of an additional sub-site adjacent to the pocket shared by all maytansine-site ligands, which could be exploitable as a distinct, separate target site for small molecules. Our study provides a basis for the discovery and development of next-generation MTAs for the treatment of cancer.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-018-04535-8","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2018,5,22]],"date-time":"2018-05-22T16:00:23Z","timestamp":1527004823000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":59,"title":["A fluorescence anisotropy assay to discover and characterize ligands targeting the maytansine\u00a0site of tubulin"],"prefix":"10.1038","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Gr\u00e9gory","family":"Menchon","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andrea E.","family":"Prota","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniel","family":"Lucena-Agell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pascal","family":"Bucher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rolf","family":"Jansen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Herbert","family":"Irschik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rolf","family":"M\u00fcller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ian","family":"Paterson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2743-3319","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"J. 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