Discovery of IHMT-MST1-39 as a novel MST1 kinase inhibitor and AMPK activator for the treatment of diabetes mellitus PMID: 37015918

ADC Targets in Oncology

2026-04-10

Discovery of IHMT-MST1-39 as a novel MST1 kinase inhibitor and AMPK activator for the treatment of diabetes mellitus

Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2023 Apr 5;8(1):143. doi: 10.1038/s41392-023-01352-4.

Junjie Wang ^# ¹ ² , Ziping Qi ^# ¹ ³ , Yun Wu ^# ¹ ³ , Aoli Wang ^# ¹ ³ , Qingwang Liu ¹ ³ , Fengming Zou ¹ ³ , Beilei Wang ¹ ³ , Shuang Qi ¹ ³ , Jiangyan Cao ¹ ² , Chen Hu ¹ ³ , Chenliang Shi ¹ ² , Qianmao Liang ¹ ² , Li Wang ¹ ³ , Jing Liu ⁴ ⁵ , Wenchao Wang ⁶ ⁷ , Qingsong Liu ⁸ ⁹ ¹⁰ ¹¹

Affiliations

1. Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Medical Physics and Technology, Institute of Health and Medical Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui, 230031, P. R. China.
2. University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P. R. China.
3. Hefei Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui, 230031, P. R. China.
4. Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Medical Physics and Technology, Institute of Health and Medical Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui, 230031, P. R. China. [email protected].
5. Hefei Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui, 230031, P. R. China. [email protected].
6. Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Medical Physics and Technology, Institute of Health and Medical Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui, 230031, P. R. China. [email protected].
7. Hefei Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui, 230031, P. R. China. [email protected].
8. Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Medical Physics and Technology, Institute of Health and Medical Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui, 230031, P. R. China. [email protected].
9. University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P. R. China. [email protected].
10. Hefei Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui, 230031, P. R. China. [email protected].
11. Precision Medicine Research Laboratory of Anhui Province, Hefei, Anhui, 230088, P. R. China. [email protected].
# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Insulin-producing pancreatic β cell death is the fundamental cause of type 1 diabetes (T1D) and a contributing factor to type 2 diabetes (T2D). Moreover, metabolic disorder is another hallmark of T2D. Mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1 (MST1) contributes to the progression of diabetes mellitus through Apoptosis induction and acceleration of pancreatic β cell dysfunction. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an energy sensing kinase and its activation has been suggested as a treatment option for metabolic diseases. Thus, pharmacological inhibition of MST1 and activation of AMPK simultaneously represents a promising approach for diabetes therapy. Here, we discovered a novel selective MST1 kinase inhibitor IHMT-MST1-39, which exhibits anti-apoptosis efficacy and improves the survival of pancreatic β cells under diabetogenic conditions, as well as primary pancreatic islets in an ex vivo disease model. Mechanistically, IHMT-MST1-39 activated AMPK signaling pathway in hepatocytes in vitro, combination of IHMT-MST1-39 and metformin synergistically prevented hyperglycemia and significantly ameliorated glucose tolerance and Insulin resistance in diabetic mice. Taken together, IHMT-MST1-39 is a promising anti-diabetic candidate as a single agent or in combination therapy for both T1D and T2D.