Synthetic Lethality in Pancreatic Cancer: Discovery of a New RAD51-BRCA2 Small Molecule Disruptor That Inhibits Homologous Recombination and Synergizes with Olaparib
作者:Greta Bagnolini、Domenico Milano、Marcella Manerba、Fabrizio Schipani、Jose Antonio Ortega、Dario Gioia、Federico Falchi、Andrea Balboni、Fulvia Farabegoli、Francesca De Franco、Janet Robertson、Roberto Pellicciari、Isabella Pallavicini、Sebastiano Peri、Saverio Minucci、Stefania Girotto、Giuseppina Di Stefano、Marinella Roberti、Andrea Cavalli
DOI:10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b01526
日期:2020.3.12
Synthetic lethality is an innovative framework for discovering novel anticancer drug candidates. One example is the use of PARP inhibitors (PARPi) in oncology patients with BRCA mutations. Here, we exploit a new paradigm based on the possibility of triggering synthetic lethality using only small organic molecules (dubbed "fully small-molecule-induced synthetic lethality"). We exploited this paradigm to target pancreatic cancer, one of the major unmet needs in oncology. We discovered a dihydroquinolone pyrazoline-based molecule (35d) that disrupts the RAD51-BRCA2 protein-protein interaction, thus mimicking the effect of BRCA2 mutation. 35d inhibits the homologous recombination in a human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line. In addition, it synergizes with olaparib (a PARPi) to trigger synthetic lethality. This strategy aims to widen the use of PARPi in BRCA-competent and olaparib-resistant cancers, making fully small-molecule-induced synthetic lethality an innovative approach toward unmet oncological needs.