Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Science and Technology Innovation Center, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
Research Center of Chinese Herbal Resources Science and Engineering, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicinal Resource from Lingnan, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
Cancer Sci. 2021 Aug;112(8):3218-3232. doi: 10.1111/cas.15005. Epub 2021 Jun 28.
Skp2 is overexpressed in multiple cancers and plays a critical role in tumor development through ubiquitin/proteasome-dependent degradation of its substrate proteins. Drugs targeting Skp2 have exhibited promising anticancer activity. Here, we identified a plant-derived Skp2 inhibitor, betulinic acid (BA), via high-throughput structure-based virtual screening of a phytochemical library. BA significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) through targeting Skp2-SCF E3 ligase both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, BA binding to Skp2, especially forming H-bonds with residue Lys145, decreases its stability by disrupting Skp1-Skp2 interactions, thereby inhibiting the Skp2-SCF E3 ligase and promoting the accumulation of its substrates; that is, E-cadherin and p27. In both subcutaneous and orthotopic xenografts, BA significantly inhibited the proliferation and metastasis of NSCLC through targeting Skp2-SCF E3 ligase and upregulating p27 and E-cadherin protein levels. Taken together, BA can be considered a valuable therapeutic candidate to inhibit metastasis of NSCLC.
Skp2 在多种癌症中过表达,通过泛素/蛋白酶体依赖性降解其底物蛋白在肿瘤发展中发挥关键作用。靶向 Skp2 的药物表现出有前景的抗癌活性。在这里,我们通过对植物化学文库进行高通量基于结构的虚拟筛选,鉴定出一种植物来源的 Skp2 抑制剂,即白桦脂酸(BA)。BA 通过靶向 Skp2-SCF E3 连接酶,在体外和体内均显著抑制非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)的增殖和迁移。在机制上,BA 与 Skp2 结合,特别是与残基 Lys145 形成氢键,通过破坏 Skp1-Skp2 相互作用降低其稳定性,从而抑制 Skp2-SCF E3 连接酶并促进其底物的积累,即 E-钙黏蛋白和 p27。在皮下和原位异种移植模型中,BA 通过靶向 Skp2-SCF E3 连接酶并上调 p27 和 E-钙黏蛋白蛋白水平,显著抑制 NSCLC 的增殖和转移。总之,BA 可以被认为是一种有价值的治疗候选物,可抑制 NSCLC 的转移。