Discovery of First-in-Class Dual PARP and EZH2 Inhibitors for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer with Wild-Type BRCA

J Med Chem. 2021 Sep 9;64(17):12630-12650. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00567. Epub 2021 Aug 29.

Abstract

PARP inhibitors have highly significant effects on BRCA mutant cells, allowing targeted therapy of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, some TBNC patients lack BRCA mutations. Recent studies have shown that EZH2 inhibitors can increase the sensitivity of wild-type BRCA cells to PARP inhibitors. We designed a series of dual PARP and EZH2 inhibitors, and the most promising compound, 5a, showed good inhibitory activity against PARP-1 and EZH2 and good inhibitory effects on MDA-MB-231 (IC50 = 2.63 μM) and MDA-MB-468 (IC50 = 0.41 μM) cells with wild-type BRCA. Compared with that of olaparib, the growth inhibitory activities against these two cell types increased by approximately 15- and 80-fold, respectively, which was even more effective than the combination of olaparib and tazemetostat/GSK126. 5a can induce autophagy death of tumor cells and cause less damage to normal cells. Therefore, 5a, as a first-in-class dual PARP and EZH2 inhibitor, is a potential anticancer drug candidate for the treatment of TNBC.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemical synthesis
  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Catalytic Domain
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Drug Design*
  • Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 Protein / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 Protein / chemistry
  • Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 Protein / metabolism
  • Female
  • Genes, BRCA1 / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Molecular Structure
  • Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors / chemistry
  • Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Protein Binding
  • Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy*

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors
  • EZH2 protein, human
  • Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 Protein