Small-molecule screening yields a compound that inhibits the cancer-associated transcription factor Hes1 via the PHB2 chaperone

• Published in: The Journal of biological chemistry Vol. 293; no. 21; pp. 8285 - 8294
• Main Authors: Perron, Amelie, Nishikawa, Yoshihiro, Iwata, Jun, Shimojo, Hiromi, Takaya, Junichiro, Kobayashi, Kumiko, Imayoshi, Itaru, Mbenza, Naasson M., Takenoya, Mihoko, Kageyama, Ryoichiro, Kodama, Yuzo, Uesugi, Motonari
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 25.05.2018; American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Subjects: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents - chemistry; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology; Apoptosis - drug effects; basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor; Cell Cycle; Cell Differentiation; Cell Proliferation; chaperone; chemical biology; Editors' Picks; Female; High-Throughput Screening Assays; Humans; Mice; Mice, Nude; Notch pathway; pancreatic cancer; Pancreatic Neoplasms - drug therapy; Pancreatic Neoplasms - metabolism; Pancreatic Neoplasms - pathology; Prohibitin 2; Prohibitins; Repressor Proteins - antagonists & inhibitors; Repressor Proteins - genetics; Repressor Proteins - metabolism; small molecule; Small Molecule Libraries - pharmacology; Transcription Factor HES-1 - antagonists & inhibitors; Transcription Factor HES-1 - genetics; Transcription Factor HES-1 - metabolism; Transcription, Genetic; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays; small molecule; Notch pathway; pancreatic cancer; chemical biology; basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor; cell proliferation; chaperone; Prohibitin 2
• ISSN: 0021-9258; 1083-351X
• DOI: 10.1074/jbc.RA118.002316

The transcription factor Hes family basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor 1 (Hes1) is a downstream effector of Notch signaling and plays a crucial role in orchestrating developmental processes during the embryonic stage. However, its aberrant signaling in adulthood is linked to the pathogenesis of cancer. In the present study, we report the discovery of small organic molecules (JI051 and JI130) that impair the ability of Hes1 to repress transcription. Hes1 interacts with the transcriptional corepressor transducing-like enhancer of split 1 (TLE1) via an interaction domain comprising two tryptophan residues, prompting us to search a chemical library of 1,800 small molecules enriched for indole-like π-electron–rich pharmacophores for a compound that blocks Hes1-mediated transcriptional repression. This screening identified a lead compound whose extensive chemical modification to improve potency yielded JI051, which inhibited HEK293 cell proliferation with an EC50 of 0.3 μm. Unexpectedly, using immunomagnetic isolation and nanoscale LC-MS/MS, we found that JI051 does not bind TLE1 but instead interacts with prohibitin 2 (PHB2), a cancer-associated protein chaperone. We also found that JI051 stabilizes PHB2's interaction with Hes1 outside the nucleus, inducing G2/M cell-cycle arrest. Of note, JI051 dose-dependently reduced cell growth of the human pancreatic cancer cell line MIA PaCa-2, and JI130 treatment significantly reduced tumor volume in a murine pancreatic tumor xenograft model. These results suggest a previously unrecognized role for PHB2 in the regulation of Hes1 and may inform potential strategies for managing pancreatic cancer.