Issue 9, 2015

An inhibitor of ubiquitin conjugation and aggresome formation

Abstract

Proteasome inhibitors have revolutionized the treatment of multiple myeloma, and validated the therapeutic potential of the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS). It is believed that in part, proteasome inhibitors elicit their therapeutic effect by inhibiting the degradation of misfolded proteins, which is proteotoxic and causes cell death. In spite of these successes, proteasome inhibitors are not effective against solid tumors, thus necessitating the need to explore alternative approaches. Furthermore, proteasome inhibitors lead to the formation of aggresomes that clear misfolded proteins via the autophagy–lysosome degradation pathway. Importantly, aggresome formation depends on the presence of polyubiquitin tags on misfolded proteins. We therefore hypothesized that inhibitors of ubiquitin conjugation should inhibit both degradation of misfolded proteins, and ubiquitin dependent aggresome formation, thus outlining the path forward toward more effective anticancer therapeutics. To explore the therapeutic potential of targeting the UPS to treat solid cancers, we have developed an inhibitor of ubiquitin conjugation (ABP A3) that targets ubiquitin and Nedd8 E1 enzymes, enzymes that are required to maintain the activity of the entire ubiquitin system. We have shown that ABP A3 inhibits conjugation of ubiquitin to intracellular proteins and prevents the formation of cytoprotective aggresomes in A549 lung cancer cells. Furthermore, ABP A3 induces activation of the unfolded protein response and apoptosis. Thus, similar to proteasome inhibitors MG132, bortezomib, and carfilzomib, ABP A3 can serve as a novel probe to explore the therapeutic potential of the UPS in solid and hematological malignancies.

Graphical abstract: An inhibitor of ubiquitin conjugation and aggresome formation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
15 Apr 2015
Accepted
22 Jun 2015
First published
22 Jun 2015
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2015,6, 5235-5245

An inhibitor of ubiquitin conjugation and aggresome formation

H. An and A. V. Statsyuk, Chem. Sci., 2015, 6, 5235 DOI: 10.1039/C5SC01351H

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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