Direct Targeting of β-Catenin by a Small Molecule Stimulates Proteasomal Degradation and Suppresses Oncogenic Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling

  • Cell Rep. 2016 Jun 28;16(1):28-36. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.05.071.
So-Young Hwang  1 ,  Xianming Deng  2 ,  Sanguine Byun  1 ,  Chan Lee  1 ,  Seung-Joo Lee  3 ,  Hyunsuk Suh  3 ,  Jianming Zhang  1 ,  Qiaofeng Kang  2 ,  Ting Zhang  2 ,  Kenneth D Westover  4 ,  Anna Mandinova  5 ,  Sam W Lee  6
Affiliations
  • 1. Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
  • 2. State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China.
  • 3. Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
  • 4. Department of Biochemistry and Radiation Oncology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
  • 5. Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA; Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 6. Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA; Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 27320923 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.05.071
Abstract

The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway plays a major role in tissue homeostasis, and its dysregulation can lead to various human diseases. Aberrant activation of β-catenin is oncogenic and is a critical driver in the development and progression of human cancers. Despite the significant potential of targeting the oncogenic β-catenin pathway for Cancer therapy, the development of specific inhibitors remains insufficient. Using a T cell factor (TCF)-dependent luciferase-reporter system, we screened for small-molecule compounds that act against Wnt/β-catenin signaling and identified MSAB (methyl 3-{[(4-methylphenyl)sulfonyl]amino}benzoate) as a selective inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin signaling. MSAB shows potent anti-tumor effects selectively on Wnt-dependent Cancer cells in vitro and in mouse Cancer models. MSAB binds to β-catenin, promoting its degradation, and specifically downregulates Wnt/β-catenin target genes. Our findings might represent an effective therapeutic strategy for cancers addicted to the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

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