Selective Degradation of GSPT1 by Cereblon Modulators Identified via a Focused Combinatorial Library.
Chelsea E PowellGuangyan DuJianwei CheZhixiang HeKatherine Aleisha DonovanHong YueEric S WangRadosław P NowakTinghu ZhangEric S FischerNathanael S GrayPublished in: ACS chemical biology (2020)
Cereblon (CRBN) is an E3 ligase adapter protein that can be reprogrammed by imide-class compounds such as thalidomide, lenalidomide, and pomalidomide to induce the degradation of neo-substrate proteins. In order to identify additional small molecule CRBN modulators, we implemented a focused combinatorial library approach where we fused an imide-based CRBN-binding pharmacophore to a heterocyclic scaffold, which could be further elaborated. We screened the library for CRBN-dependent antiproliferative activity in the multiple myeloma cell line MM1.S and identified five hit compounds. Quantitative chemical proteomics of hit compounds revealed that they induced selective degradation of GSPT1, a translation termination factor that is currently being explored as a therapeutic target for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. Molecular docking studies with CRBN and GSPT1 followed by analogue synthesis identified a possible hydrogen bond interaction with the central pyrimidine ring as a molecular determinant of hit compounds' selectivity. This study demonstrates that a focused combinatorial library design, phenotypic screening, and chemical proteomics can provide a suitable workflow to efficiently identify novel CRBN modulators.
Keyphrases
- small molecule
- molecular docking
- multiple myeloma
- protein protein
- acute myeloid leukemia
- mass spectrometry
- ionic liquid
- molecular dynamics simulations
- binding protein
- molecular dynamics
- high resolution
- label free
- electronic health record
- newly diagnosed
- acute lymphoblastic leukemia
- amino acid
- single molecule
- tissue engineering
- structural basis