Research & Development, Pharmaceuticals, Bayer AG, 42096 Wuppertal, Germany.
Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1L7, Canada.
J Med Chem. 2023 Mar 9;66(5):3431-3447. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c01933. Epub 2023 Feb 20.
USP21 belongs to the ubiquitin-specific protease (USP) subfamily of deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs). Due to its relevance in tumor development and growth, USP21 has been reported as a promising novel therapeutic target for cancer treatment. Herein, we present the discovery of the first highly potent and selective USP21 inhibitor. Following high-throughput screening and subsequent structure-based optimization, we identified BAY-805 to be a non-covalent inhibitor with low nanomolar affinity for USP21 and high selectivity over other DUB targets as well as kinases, proteases, and other common off-targets. Furthermore, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and cellular thermal shift assays (CETSA) demonstrated high-affinity target engagement of BAY-805, resulting in strong NF-κB activation in a cell-based reporter assay. To the best of our knowledge, BAY-805 is the first potent and selective USP21 inhibitor and represents a valuable high-quality in vitro chemical probe to further explore the complex biology of USP21.
USP21 属于泛素特异性蛋白酶(USP)去泛素化酶(DUB)亚家族。由于其在肿瘤发生和生长中的相关性,USP21 已被报道为癌症治疗的一种有前途的新型治疗靶点。在此,我们介绍了第一个高效且选择性的 USP21 抑制剂的发现。经过高通量筛选和随后的基于结构的优化,我们确定 BAY-805 是一种非共价抑制剂,对 USP21 的亲和力低至纳摩尔级,对其他 DUB 靶点以及激酶、蛋白酶和其他常见的非靶点具有高选择性。此外,表面等离子体共振(SPR)和细胞热转移分析(CETSA)证明了 BAY-805 与靶标的高亲和力结合,导致基于细胞的报告基因测定中 NF-κB 的强烈激活。据我们所知,BAY-805 是第一个高效且选择性的 USP21 抑制剂,是进一步探索 USP21 复杂生物学的有价值的高质量体外化学探针。