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Cruite J, Nowak R, Donovan KA, Ficarro SB, Huang H, Liu H, Liu Y, Marto JA, Metivier RJ, Fischer ES, Jones LH. Covalent Stapling of the Cereblon Sensor Loop Histidine Using Sulfur-Heterocycle Exchange. ACS Med Chem Lett 2023; 14:1576-1581. [PMID: 37974938 PMCID: PMC10641907 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.3c00371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Site-specific modification of amino acid residues in protein binding pockets using sulfonyl exchange chemistry expands the druggable proteome by enabling the development of covalent modulators that target residues beyond cysteine. Sulfonyl fluoride and triazole electrophiles were incorporated previously into the cereblon (CRBN) molecular glue degrader EM12, to covalently engage His353 within the CRBN sensor loop, but these probes had poor human plasma stability. Attenuation of intrinsic reactivity through the development of sulfonyl pyrazoles, imidazoles, and nucleobases enhanced plasma stability, and several compounds retained efficient labeling of His353. For example, sulfonyl imidazole EM12-SO2Im covalently blocked the CRBN binding site and possessed excellent metabolic stability in human plasma, liver microsomes, and hepatocytes. These results highlight the potential suitability of sulfonyl imidazole and related sulfur(VI)-diazole exchange (SuDEx) warheads for covalent drug development and further exemplify the therapeutic promise of site-specific histidine targeting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin
T. Cruite
- Center
for Protein Degradation, Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department
of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Radosław
P. Nowak
- Center
for Protein Degradation, Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department
of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Katherine A. Donovan
- Department
of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department
of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Scott B. Ficarro
- Department
of Cancer Biology, Department of Oncologic Pathology, Blais Proteomics
Center, and Center for Emergent Drug Targets, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department
of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s
Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Huang Huang
- Center
for Protein Degradation, Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department
of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Hu Liu
- Center
for Protein Degradation, Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department
of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Yingpeng Liu
- Center
for Protein Degradation, Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department
of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Jarrod A. Marto
- Department
of Cancer Biology, Department of Oncologic Pathology, Blais Proteomics
Center, and Center for Emergent Drug Targets, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department
of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s
Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Rebecca J. Metivier
- Center
for Protein Degradation, Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Eric S. Fischer
- Center
for Protein Degradation, Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department
of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department
of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Lyn H. Jones
- Center
for Protein Degradation, Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department
of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
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