Chk1 inhibitors overcome imatinib resistance in chronic myeloid leukemia cells.

•Chk1 inhibitors treatment induces apoptosis in imatinib-resistance CML cells.•Chk1 inhibitors treatment induces apoptosis in CML patient samples with T315I mutation.•Chk1 inhibitors had strong antitumor effects on imatinib-resistant form KBM5T315I cells in vivo.•Chk1 inhibitors were able to degrade the Bcr-Abl protein through the ubiquitin proteasome pathway that relied on E3 ligase CHIP.