Protein Phosphatase 5-Recruiting Chimeras for Accelerating Apoptosis-Signal-Regulated Kinase 1 Dephosphorylation with Antiproliferative Activity

Abstract

A normal phosphorylation state is essential for the function of proteins. Biased regulation frequently results in morbidity, especially for the hyperphosphorylation of oncoproteins. The hyperphosphorylation of ASK1 at Thr838 leads to a persistently high activity state, which accelerates the course of gastric cancer. Under normal conditions, PP5 specifically dephosphorylates p-ASK1T838 in cells, thereby weakening ASK1 to a low-basal activity state. However, in tumor types, PP5 shows low activity with a self-inhibition mechanism, making p-ASK1T838 remain at a high level. Thus, we aim to design phosphatase recruitment chimeras (PHORCs) through a proximity-mediated effect for specifically accelerating the dephosphorylation of p-ASK1T838. Herein, we describe DDO3711 as the first PP5-recruiting PHORC, which is formed by connecting a small molecular ASK1 inhibitor to a PP5 activator through a chemical linker, to effectively decrease the level of p-ASK1T838 in vitro and in vivo. DDO3711 shows preferable antiproliferative activity (IC50 = 0.5 μM) against MKN45 cells through a direct binding and proximity-mediated mechanism, while the ASK1 inhibitor and the PP5 activator, used alone or in combination, exhibit no effect on MKN45 cells. Using DDO3711, PHORCs are identified as effective tools to accelerate the dephosphorylation of POIs and provide important evidence to achieve precise phosphorylation regulation, which will promote confidence in the further regulation of abnormally phosphorylated oncoproteins.