Overactivation of neddylation has been found in a number of common human tumor-related diseases. In recent years, targeting the neddylation pathway has become an appealing anti-cancer strategy, and it is critical to find neddylation inhibitors with novel structures and higher efficacy. Here, we present the discovery of novel inhibitors of the NEDD8-activating enzyme (NAE) and their antitumor activity . All synthesized 1,4-disubstituted piperidine compounds were evaluated for antiproliferative activity against MGC-803, MCF-7, A549, and KYSE-30 cells. Among five representative compounds, III-26 bearing a quinazoline motif was identified as the lead one due to the fact that it significantly hindered the neddylation of Cullin1. Cellular mechanisms elucidated that III-26 inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of UBC12-overexpressed MGC-803 cell lines, as well as induced apoptosis and arrested the cell cycle at G2/M phase. Importantly, III-26 reduced NAE activity, thus selectively preventing neddylation of Cullin3 and Cullin1 over other Cullin members. At a dose of 4 μM, III-26 virtually entirely blocked UBC12-NEDD8 conjugation in MGC-803 cells. Our molecular modeling and kinetic investigation suggested that this compound may function as a non-covalent inhibitor of NAE.

中文翻译：

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发现 2,4-二取代喹唑啉衍生物作为肿瘤治疗的新型 neddylation 抑制剂

在许多常见的人类肿瘤相关疾病中发现了neddylation的过度激活。近年来，针对neddylation途径已成为一种颇具吸引力的抗癌策略，寻找结构新颖、疗效更高的neddylation抑制剂至关重要。在这里，我们介绍了 NEDD8 激活酶 (NAE) 新型抑制剂的发现及其抗肿瘤活性。评估所有合成的 1,4-二取代哌啶化合物对 MGC-803、MCF-7、A549 和 KYSE-30 细胞的抗增殖活性。在五个代表性化合物中，带有喹唑啉基序的 III-26 被确定为主要化合物，因为它显着阻碍了 Cullin1 的 neddylation。细胞机制阐明，III-26 抑制 UBC12 过表达的 MGC-803 细胞系的增殖、迁移和侵袭，并诱导细胞凋亡并将细胞周期阻滞在 G2/M 期。重要的是，III-26 降低了 NAE 活性，从而选择性地防止 Cullin3 和 Cullin1 相对于其他 Cullin 成员的 neddylation。在 4 μM 剂量下，III-26 实际上完全阻断 MGC-803 细胞中的 UBC12-NEDD8 缀合。我们的分子模型和动力学研究表明该化合物可能充当 NAE 的非共价抑制剂。