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Baltgalvis KA, Lamb KN, Symons KT, Wu CC, Hoffman MA, Snead AN, Song X, Glaza T, Kikuchi S, Green JC, Rogness DC, Lam B, Rodriguez-Aguirre ME, Woody DR, Eissler CL, Rodiles S, Negron SM, Bernard SM, Tran E, Pollock J, Tabatabaei A, Contreras V, Williams HN, Pastuszka MK, Sigler JJ, Pettazzoni P, Rudolph MG, Classen M, Brugger D, Claiborne C, Plancher JM, Cuartas I, Seoane J, Burgess LE, Abraham RT, Weinstein DS, Simon GM, Patricelli MP, Kinsella TM. Chemoproteomic discovery of a covalent allosteric inhibitor of WRN helicase. Nature 2024; 629:435-442. [PMID: 38658751 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07318-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
WRN helicase is a promising target for treatment of cancers with microsatellite instability (MSI) due to its essential role in resolving deleterious non-canonical DNA structures that accumulate in cells with faulty mismatch repair mechanisms1-5. Currently there are no approved drugs directly targeting human DNA or RNA helicases, in part owing to the challenging nature of developing potent and selective compounds to this class of proteins. Here we describe the chemoproteomics-enabled discovery of a clinical-stage, covalent allosteric inhibitor of WRN, VVD-133214. This compound selectively engages a cysteine (C727) located in a region of the helicase domain subject to interdomain movement during DNA unwinding. VVD-133214 binds WRN protein cooperatively with nucleotide and stabilizes compact conformations lacking the dynamic flexibility necessary for proper helicase function, resulting in widespread double-stranded DNA breaks, nuclear swelling and cell death in MSI-high (MSI-H), but not in microsatellite-stable, cells. The compound was well tolerated in mice and led to robust tumour regression in multiple MSI-H colorectal cancer cell lines and patient-derived xenograft models. Our work shows an allosteric approach for inhibition of WRN function that circumvents competition from an endogenous ATP cofactor in cancer cells, and designates VVD-133214 as a promising drug candidate for patients with MSI-H cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Betty Lam
- Vividion Therapeutics, San Diego, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Piergiorgio Pettazzoni
- Pharma Research and Early Development pRED F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Markus G Rudolph
- Pharma Research and Early Development pRED F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Moritz Classen
- Pharma Research and Early Development pRED F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Doris Brugger
- Pharma Research and Early Development pRED F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Christopher Claiborne
- Pharma Research and Early Development pRED F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jean-Marc Plancher
- Pharma Research and Early Development pRED F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Isabel Cuartas
- Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, CIBERONC, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Joan Seoane
- Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, CIBERONC, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Robert T Abraham
- Vividion Therapeutics, San Diego, CA, USA
- Odyssey Therapeutics, San Diego, CA, USA
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Hagan R, Rex E, Woody D, Milewski M, Glaza T, Maher MP, Liu Y. Development of phenotypic assays for identifying novel blockers of L-type calcium channels in neurons. Sci Rep 2021; 11:456. [PMID: 33432098 PMCID: PMC7801380 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80692-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
L-type calcium channels (LTCCs) are highly expressed in the heart and brain and are critical for cardiac and neuronal functions. LTCC-blocking drugs have a long and successful record in the clinic for treating cardiovascular disorders. In contrast, establishment of their efficacy for indications of the central nervous system remains challenging given the tendency of existing LTCC drugs being functionally and mechanistically more selective for peripheral tissues. LTCCs in vivo are large macromolecular complexes consisting of a pore-forming subunit and other modulatory proteins, some of which may be neuro-specific and potentially harbor mechanisms for neuronal selectivity. To exploit the possibility of identifying mechanistically novel and/or neuro-selective blockers, we developed two phenotypic assays—a calcium flux-based primary screening assay and a patch clamp secondary assay, using rat primary cortical cultures. We screened a library comprised of 1278 known bioactive agents and successfully identified a majority of the potent LTCC-blocking drugs in the library. Significantly, we identified a previously unrecognized LTCC blocker with a novel mechanism, which was corroborated by patch clamp and binding studies. As such, these phenotypic assays are robust and represent an important step towards identifying mechanistically novel and neuro-selective LTCC blockers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Hagan
- Neuroscience Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, L.L.C, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA
| | - Elizabeth Rex
- Discovery Sciences, Janssen Research & Development, L.L.C, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA
| | - David Woody
- Discovery Sciences, Janssen Research & Development, L.L.C, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA
| | - Monika Milewski
- Discovery Sciences, Janssen Research & Development, L.L.C, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA
| | - Thomas Glaza
- Discovery Sciences, Janssen Research & Development, L.L.C, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA
| | - Michael P Maher
- Neuroscience Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, L.L.C, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA
| | - Yi Liu
- Neuroscience Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, L.L.C, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA.
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