ABSTRACT
The immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) thalidomide, lenalidomide, and pomalidomide are approved drugs for the treatment of multiple myeloma. IMiDs induce cereblon (CRBN) E3 ubiquitin ligase-mediated ubiquitination and degradation of Ikaros transcription factors Ikaros (IKZF1) and Aiolos (IKZF3), which are essential for multiple myeloma. However, because of a single amino acid substitution of valine to isoleucine in mouse CRBN at position 391, mice are not susceptible to IMiD-induced degradation of neosubstrates. Here, we report that expression of human CRBN or the CrbnI391V mutant enables IMiD-induced degradation of IKZF1 and IKZF3 in murine MOPC.315.BM.Luc.eGFP and 5T33MM multiple myeloma cells. Accordingly, lenalidomide and pomalidomide decreased cell viability in a dose-dependent fashion in murine multiple myeloma cells expressing CrbnI391V in vitro. The sensitivity of murine cells expressing CrbnI391V to IMiDs highly correlated with their dependence on IKZF1. After transplantation, MOPC.315.BM.Luc.eGFP cells expressing murine CrbnI391V induced multiple myeloma in mice, and treatment with lenalidomide and pomalidomide significantly delayed tumor growth. This straightforward model provides a proof-of-concept for studying the effects of IMiDs in multiple myeloma in mice, which allows for in vivo testing of IMiDs and other CRBN E3 ligase modulators.
Subject(s)
Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing/genetics , Immunologic Factors/pharmacology , Lenalidomide/pharmacology , Multiple Myeloma/drug therapy , Thalidomide/analogs & derivatives , Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/genetics , Animals , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Survival/drug effects , Female , HEK293 Cells , Humans , Immunologic Factors/therapeutic use , Lenalidomide/therapeutic use , Mice , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Multiple Myeloma/genetics , Point Mutation , Proteolysis/drug effects , Thalidomide/pharmacology , Thalidomide/therapeutic useABSTRACT
BRCA1/BRCA2-containing complex 3 (BRCC3) is a Lysine 63-specific deubiquitinating enzyme (DUB) involved in inflammasome activity, interferon signaling, and DNA damage repair. Recurrent mutations in BRCC3 have been reported in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) but not in de novo AML. In one of our recent studies, we found BRCC3 mutations selectively in 9/191 (4.7%) cases with t(8;21)(q22;q22.1) AML but not in 160 cases of inv(16)(p13.1q22) AML. Clinically, AML patients with BRCC3 mutations had an excellent outcome with an event-free survival of 100%. Inactivation of BRCC3 by CRISPR/Cas9 resulted in improved proliferation in t(8;21)(q22;q22.1) positive AML cell lines and together with expression of AML1-ETO induced unlimited self-renewal in mouse hematopoietic progenitor cells in vitro. Mutations in BRCC3 abrogated its deubiquitinating activity on IFNAR1 resulting in an impaired interferon response and led to diminished inflammasome activity. In addition, BRCC3 inactivation increased release of several cytokines including G-CSF which enhanced proliferation of AML cell lines with t(8;21)(q22;q22.1). Cell lines and primary mouse cells with inactivation of BRCC3 had a higher sensitivity to doxorubicin due to an impaired DNA damage response providing a possible explanation for the favorable outcome of BRCC3 mutated AML patients.
Subject(s)
Deubiquitinating Enzymes/genetics , Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/genetics , Mutation/genetics , Animals , CRISPR-Cas Systems/genetics , Cell Line , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Cell Proliferation/genetics , Cytokines/genetics , DNA Damage/drug effects , DNA Damage/genetics , Doxorubicin/pharmacology , Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor/genetics , HEK293 Cells , Humans , Inflammasomes/genetics , Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/drug therapy , MiceABSTRACT
Small-molecule heterobifunctional degraders can effectively control protein levels and are useful research tools. We assembled proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) from a cereblon (CRBN) and a von-Hippel-Lindau (VHL) ligase ligand and demonstrated a PROTAC-induced heterodimerization of the two E3 ligases leading to unidirectional and efficient degradation of CRBN.
Subject(s)
Ligands , Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/metabolism , Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Survival/drug effects , Dimerization , Humans , Peptide Hydrolases/chemistry , Peptide Hydrolases/metabolism , Proteolysis , Small Molecule Libraries/chemistry , Thalidomide/analogs & derivatives , Thalidomide/chemistry , Thalidomide/pharmacology , Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/chemistry , Von Hippel-Lindau Tumor Suppressor Protein/chemistry , Von Hippel-Lindau Tumor Suppressor Protein/metabolismABSTRACT
The immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) thalidomide, lenalidomide, and pomalidomide, all approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma, induce targeted ubiquitination and degradation of Ikaros (IKZF1) and Aiolos (IKZF3) via the cereblon (CRBN) E3 ubiquitin ligase. IMiD-based proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) can efficiently recruit CRBN to a protein of interest, leading to its ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. By linking two pomalidomide molecules, we designed homobifunctional, so-called homo-PROTACs and investigated their ability to induce self-directed ubiquitination and degradation. The homodimerized compound 15a was characterized as a highly potent and efficient CRBN degrader with only minimal effects on IKZF1 and IKZF3. The cellular selectivity of 15a for CRBN degradation was confirmed at the proteome level by quantitative mass spectrometry. Inactivation by compound 15a did not affect proliferation of different cell lines, prevented pomalidomide-induced degradation of IKZF1 and IKZF3, and antagonized the effects of pomalidomide on multiple myeloma cells. Homobifunctional CRBN degraders will be useful tools for future biomedical investigations of CRBN-related signaling and may help to further elucidate the molecular mechanism of thalidomide analogues.
