Activating p53 and Inhibiting Superenhancers to Cure Leukemia

Development of Oral, Potent, and Selective CK1α Degraders for AML Therapy

Molecular glue degraders (MGDs) are proximity-inducing agents that mediate the cooperative interaction between a target protein and an E3 ligase, introducing an additional layer of specificity beyond that afforded by traditional small molecules. Historically, molecular glues that stabilize protein-protein interactions were often discovered serendipitously. In this study, we leveraged the reprogramming potential of cereblon (CRBN)-based ligands and conducted a CRBN-dependent proliferation screen to identify CRBN-based MGDs capable of inducing the degradation of proteins essential for cell viability. Through our screening and subsequent medicinal chemistry optimization, we identified dCK1α-1 as a potent and selective CK1α-targeting molecular glue degrader. Furthermore, we synthesized an orally active derivative, dCK1α-2, with enhanced pharmacokinetic properties, which exhibited pronounced degradation activity and demonstrated efficacy in mouse models following oral gavage. These findings indicate that phenotypic drug discovery campaigns, in combination with chemically distinct CRBN ligand libraries, can accelerate the development of therapeutically relevant MGDs. Furthermore, the development of dCK1α-1 and dCK1α-2 provides new therapeutic options for cancers with functional p53 signaling and offers valuable chemical tools for future investigations into the role of CK1α.

Wogonin protects against bleomycin-induced mouse pulmonary fibrosis via the inhibition of CDK9/p53-mediated cell senescence

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a fatal interstitial lung disease associated with declining pulmonary function but currently with few effective drugs. Cellular senescence has been implicated in the pathogenesis of PF and could be a potential therapeutic target. Emerging evidence suggests wogonin, the bioactive compound isolated from Scutellaria baicalensis, owns the anti-senescence properties, however, the possible impact of wogonin on PF and the potential mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, a well-established mouse model of PF was utilized which mice were administrated with bleomycin (BLM). Strikingly, wogonin treatment significantly reduced fibrosis deposition in the lung induced by BLM. In vitro, wogonin also suppressed fibrotic markers of cultured epithelial cells stimulated by BLM or hydrogen peroxide. Mechanistic investigation revealed that wogonin attenuated the expressions of DNA damage marker γ-H2AX and senescence-related markers including phosphorylated p53, p21, retinoblastoma protein (pRB), and senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal). Moreover, wogonin, as a direct and selective inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9), exhibited anti-fibrotic capacity by inhibiting CDK9 and p53/p21 signalling. In conclusion, wogonin protects against BLM-induced PF in mice through the inhibition of cell senescence via the regulation of CDK9/p53 and DNA damage pathway. This is the first study to demonstrate the beneficial effect of wogonin on PF, and its implication as a novel candidate for PF therapy.

PROTACs: great opportunities for academia and industry (an update from 2020 to 2021)

PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras (PROTACs) technology is a new protein-degradation strategy that has emerged in recent years. It uses bifunctional small molecules to induce the ubiquitination and degradation of target proteins through the ubiquitin-proteasome system. PROTACs can not only be used as potential clinical treatments for diseases such as cancer, immune disorders, viral infections, and neurodegenerative diseases, but also provide unique chemical knockdown tools for biological research in a catalytic, reversible, and rapid manner. In 2019, our group published a review article "PROTACs: great opportunities for academia and industry" in the journal, summarizing the representative compounds of PROTACs reported before the end of 2019. In the past 2 years, the entire field of protein degradation has experienced rapid development, including not only a large increase in the number of research papers on protein-degradation technology but also a rapid increase in the number of small-molecule degraders that have entered the clinical and will enter the clinical stage. In addition to PROTAC and molecular glue technology, other new degradation technologies are also developing rapidly. In this article, we mainly summarize and review the representative PROTACs of related targets published in 2020-2021 to present to researchers the exciting developments in the field of protein degradation. The problems that need to be solved in this field will also be briefly introduced.

Discovery of selective CDK9 degraders with enhancing antiproliferative activity through PROTAC conversion

Cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) is an increasingly important potential cancer treatment target. Nowadays, developing selective CDK9 inhibitors has been extremely challenging as its ATP-binding sites are similar with other CDKs. Here, we report that the CDK9 inhibitor BAY-1143572 is converted into a series of proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) which leads to several compounds inducing the degradation of CDK9 in acute myeloid leukemia cells at a low nanomolar concentration. In addition, the most potent PROTAC molecule B03 could inhibit cell growth more effectively than warhead alone, with little inhibition of other kinases. This enhanced antiproliferative activity is mediated by a slight increase in kinase inhibitory activity and an increase in the level of apoptosis induction. Moreover, B03 could induce the degradation of CDK9 in vivo. Our work provides evidence that B03 represents a lead for further development and that CDK9 degradation is a potential valuable therapeutic strategy in acute myeloid leukemia.

Recent progress in development of cyclin-dependent kinase 7 inhibitors for cancer therapy

Introduction: Cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7) is a part of the CDK-activating kinase family (CAK) which has a key role in the cell cycle and transcriptional regulation. Several lines of evidence suggest that CDK7 is a promising therapeutic target for cancer. CDK7 selective inhibitors such as SY-5609 and CT7001 are in clinical development. Areas covered: We explore the biology of CDK7 and its role in cancer and follow this with an evaluation of the preclinical and clinical progress of CDK7 inhibitors, and their potential in the clinic. We searched PubMed and ClinicalTrials to identify relevant data from the database inception to 14 October 2020. Expert opinion: CDK7 inhibitors are next generation therapeutics for cancer. However, there are still challenges which include selectively, side effects, and drug resistance. Nevertheless, with ongoing clinical development of these inhibitors and greater analysis of their target, CDK7 inhibitors will become a promising approach for treatment of cancer in the near future.

Super-Enhancers in the Regulation of Gene Transcription: General Aspects and Antitumor Targets

Super-enhancers (genome elements that activate gene transcription) are DNA regions with an elevated concentration of transcriptional complexes. These multiprotein structures contain, among other components, the cyclin-dependent kinases 8 and 19. These and other transcriptional protein kinases are regarded as novel targets for pharmacological inhibition by antitumor drug candidates.