Discovery of a proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) as a potent regulator of FOXP3.
Bioorg Med Chem Lett
; 112: 129945, 2024 Nov 01.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39222889
ABSTRACT
Regulatory T (Treg) cells play a central role in immune homeostasis. Forkhead box P3 (Foxp3), a hallmark molecule in Treg cells, is a vital transcription factor for their development and function. Studies have shown that degradation of the Foxp3 could provide therapeutic benefits in achieving effective anti-tumor immunity. In this study, we designed three PROTAC molecules, P60-L1-VHL, P60-L2-VHL, and P60-L3-VHL, based on a 15-mer peptide inhibitor of Foxp3 (P60), and explored their potential in regulating Foxp3 expression and function. Our data show that, among these molecules, P60-L3-VHL can inhibit the expression and nuclear localization of Foxp3 in HEK 293 T and HeLa cells, respectively. Meanwhile, use of proteasome inhibitor in P60-L3-VHL treated cells revealed an increased Foxp3 expression, indicating that P60-L3-VHL mediates the inhibition of Foxp3 through its degradation in the proteasome pathway. We further substantiate that P60-L3-VHL reduces the differentiation and Foxp3 expression in the in-vitro activated Treg cells. Overall, our findings suggest that P60-L3-VHL inhibits the differentiation of Treg cells by degrading the Foxp3, which may have potential implications in cancer immunotherapy.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Forkhead Transcription Factors
/
Proteolysis
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Bioorg Med Chem Lett
Journal subject:
BIOQUIMICA
/
QUIMICA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Country of publication:
United kingdom