1. Academic Validation
  2. Novel PORCN inhibitor WHN-88 targets Wnt/β-catenin pathway and prevents the growth of Wnt-driven cancers

Novel PORCN inhibitor WHN-88 targets Wnt/β-catenin pathway and prevents the growth of Wnt-driven cancers

  • Eur J Pharmacol. 2023 Feb 27;175628. doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2023.175628.
Qihong Yang 1 Tong Qin 2 Tao An 3 Hongna Wu 2 Gang Xu 4 Jin Xiang 5 Kangfan Lei 2 Shaohua Zhang 4 Jie Xia 2 Guifeng Su 6 Dan Wang 4 Minggao Xue 4 Lingmei Kong 6 Wenxuan Zhang 7 Song Wu 8 Yan Li 9
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
  • 2 State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100050, China.
  • 3 State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan, 250353, Shandong, China.
  • 4 Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry for Natural Resource, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmacy, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China.
  • 5 State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants/School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550025, China.
  • 6 State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China; Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry for Natural Resource, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmacy, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China.
  • 7 State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100050, China. Electronic address: wxzhang@imm.ac.cn.
  • 8 State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100050, China. Electronic address: ws@imm.ac.cn.
  • 9 State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China; Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry for Natural Resource, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmacy, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China. Electronic address: yan.li@ynu.edu.cn.
Abstract

Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is a classical and crucial oncogenic pathway in many carcinomas, and Porcupine (PORCN) is an O-acyltransferase, which is indispensable and highly specific for catalyzing palmitoylation of Wnt ligands and facilitating their secretion and biofunction. Targeting PORCN provides a promising approach to specifically cure Wnt-driven cancers from the root. In this study, we designed series of pyridonyl acetamide compounds, and discovered a novel PORCN inhibitor WHN-88 with a unique di-iodinated pyridone structural fragment, which is significantly different from the reported inhibitors. We demonstrated that WHN-88 effectively abolished palmitoylation of Wnt ligands and prevented their secretion and the subsequent Wnt/β-catenin signaling transduction. Further experiments showed that, at well-tolerated doses, WHN-88 remarkably suppressed the spontaneous occurrence and growth of MMTV-Wnt1 murine breast tumors. Consistently, WHN-88 also notably restrained the progress of xenografted Wnt-driven human tumors, including PA-1 teratocarcinoma with high autocrine Wnt signaling and Aspc-1 pancreatic carcinoma with Wnt-sensitizing RNF43 mutation. Additionally, we disclosed that WHN-88 inhibited Cancer cell stemness obviously. Together, we verified WHN-88 is a novel PORCN inhibitor with potent efficacy against the Wnt-driven cancers. Our findings enriched the structural types of PORCN inhibitors, and facilitated the development and application of PORCN inhibiting therapy in clinic.

Keywords

PORCN inhibitor; Palmitoylation; WHN-88; Wnt-driven cancers.

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