Discovery of Potent Small-Molecule USP8 Inhibitors for the Treatment of Breast Cancer through Regulating ERα Expression

J Med Chem. 2022 Jul 14;65(13):8914-8932. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c00013. Epub 2022 Jul 5.

Abstract

Ubiquitin-specific protease 8 (USP8), belonging to the deubiquitinase family, has been implicated to be closely related to the occurrence of many malignant tumors, but only a few USP8-targeting inhibitors have been reported to date. In this study, we present virtual screening to discover novel hit candidates that inhibit the catalytic activity of USP8. Exploration of the structure-activity relationship led to the identification of compound DC-U4106, which binds to USP8 with a KD value of 4.7 μM and is selective over USP2 and USP7. Western blotting and immunoprecipitation showed that DC-U4106 could target the ubiquitin pathway and facilitate the degradation of ERα. In a xenograft tumor model, DC-U4106 also significantly inhibited tumor growth with minimal toxicity. Overall, our findings suggest that DC-U4106 is a promising drug candidate and targeting the USP8-ERα complex could be a new approach to treat ER-positive or drug-resistant breast cancer.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Breast Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Breast Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Endopeptidases / metabolism
  • Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport
  • Estrogen Receptor alpha*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Ubiquitin / metabolism
  • Ubiquitin Thiolesterase
  • Ubiquitin-Specific Peptidase 7 / metabolism

Substances

  • Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport
  • Estrogen Receptor alpha
  • Ubiquitin
  • Endopeptidases
  • USP7 protein, human
  • USP8 protein, human
  • Ubiquitin Thiolesterase
  • Ubiquitin-Specific Peptidase 7