Abstract

Dysregulated eEF2K expression is implicated in the pathogenesis of many human cancers, including triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), making it a plausible therapeutic target. However, specific eEF2K inhibitors with potent anti-cancer activity have not been available so far. Targeted protein degradation has emerged as a new strategy for drug discovery. In this study, a novel small molecule chemical is designed and synthesized, named as compound C1, which shows potent activity in degrading eEF2K. C1 selectively binds to F8, L10, R144, C146, E229, and Y236 of the eEF2K protein and promotes its proteasomal degradation by increasing the interaction between eEF2K and the ubiquitin E3 ligase 𝜷TRCP in the form of molecular glue. C1 significantly inhibits the proliferation and metastasis of TNBC cells both in vitro and in vivo and in TNBC patient-derived organoids, and these antitumor effects are attributed to the degradation of eEF2K by C1. Additionally, combination treatment of C1 with paclitaxel, a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug, exhibits synergistic anti-tumor effects against TNBC. This study not only generates a powerful research tool to investigate the therapeutic potential of targeting eEF2K, but also provides a promising lead compound for developing novel drugs for the treatment of TNBC and other cancers.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-2023

Notes/Citation Information

Š 2023 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202305035

Funding Information

The study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 82373064, 81972480, and 22177086), Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (No. 2022JJ80106), Hunan Provincial Innovation Foundation for Postgraduate (No. CX20230314), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Central South University (No. 2023ZZTS0241), and Major Basic Research Project of the Natural Science Foundation of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutes (No. 22KJA350004).

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