Affiliation: | 1. Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, 82 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ United Kingdom Present address: Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, 85 Park Road, Grafton, Auckland, 1023 New Zealand These authors contributed equally to this work.;2. Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, 82 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ United Kingdom These authors contributed equally to this work.;3. Pfizer Worldwide Research and Development, Pfizer Inc., Eastern Point Road, Groton, Connecticut, 06340 USA;4. Pfizer Worldwide Research and Development, Pfizer Inc., 1 Portland Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2139 USA;5. BioDuro, No.233 North FuTe Rd., WaiGaoQiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai, 200131 P.R. China;6. Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, 82 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ United Kingdom |
Abstract: | Deubiquitinases (DUBs) are a family of >100 proteases that hydrolyze isopeptide bonds linking ubiquitin to protein substrates, often leading to reduced substrate degradation through the ubiquitin proteasome system. Deregulation of DUB activity has been implicated in many diseases, including cancer, neurodegeneration and auto-inflammation, and several have been recognized as attractive targets for therapeutic intervention. Ubiquitin-derived covalent activity-based probes (ABPs) provide a powerful tool for DUB activity profiling, but their large recognition element impedes cellular permeability and presents an unmet need for small molecule ABPs which can account for regulation of DUB activity in intact cells or organisms. Here, through comprehensive chemoproteomic warhead profiling, we identify cyanopyrrolidine (CNPy) probe IMP-2373 ( 12 ) as a small molecule pan-DUB ABP to monitor DUB activity in physiologically relevant live cells. Through proteomics and targeted assays, we demonstrate that IMP-2373 quantitatively engages more than 35 DUBs across a range of non-toxic concentrations in diverse cell lines. We further demonstrate its application to quantification of changes in intracellular DUB activity during pharmacological inhibition and during MYC deregulation in a model of B cell lymphoma. IMP-2373 thus offers a complementary tool to ubiquitin ABPs to monitor dynamic DUB activity in the context of disease-relevant phenotypes. |