MLN4924

MLN4924 is a potent and selective inhibitor of NEDD8-activating enzyme (NAE) with IC50 value of 4nM [1].

MLN4924 binds NAE within the nucleotide-binding site competing with AMP. It is a potent inhibitor of NAE and is selective relative to the closely related enzymes UAE, SAE, UBA6 and ATG7 with IC50 values of 1.5, 8.2, 1.8 and 10μM, respectively. MLN4924 shows no effect to other ATP-using enzymes. In HCT-116 cells, MLN4924 treatment results in a decrease of Ubc12–NEDD8 thioester and NEDD8–cullin conjugates, thus resulting in an inhibition of protein degradation mediated by CRL-ubiquitinylation. CDT1 is one of these proteins. The accumulation of CDT1 can cause cell-cycle defects. In mice bearing HCT-116 xenografts, administrations of MLN4924 at 30mg/kg and 60mg/kg significantly inhibit the tumor growth and these doses are well tolerated. The anti-tumour activity of MLN4924 is also found both in mice bearing H522 lung tumour xenografts and in mice bearing Calu-6 lung carcinoma xenografts [1].

References:
[1] Soucy TA, Smith PG, Milhollen MA, Berger AJ, Gavin JM, Adhikari S, Brownell JE, Burke KE, Cardin DP, Critchley S, Cullis CA, Doucette A, Garnsey JJ, Gaulin JL, Gershman RE, Lublinsky AR, McDonald A, Mizutani H, Narayanan U, Olhava EJ, Peluso S, Rezaei M, Sintchak MD, Talreja T, Thomas MP, Traore T, Vyskocil S, Weatherhead GS, Yu J, Zhang J, Dick LR, Claiborne CF, Rolfe M, Bolen JB, Langston SP. An inhibitor of NEDD8-activating enzyme as a new approach to treat cancer. Nature. 2009 Apr 9;458(7239):732-6.

MLN4924 suppresses the BRCA1 complex and synergizes with PARP inhibition in NSCLC cells.[Pubmed:28034751]

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2017 Jan 29;483(1):223-229.

Like ubiquitination, several studies have demonstrated that neddylation is implicated to be involved in the double strand break repair. BRCA1 is one of the key repair factors in the homologous recombination repair and may play a downstream role of the neddylation. BRCA1 is also a frequently mutated gene in cancers, which serve as the targets for PARP inhibitors. Here we further investigated the correlation between neddylation and BRCA1 complex using neddylation inhibitor MLN4924. MLN4924 efficiently inhibited the recruitment of components of BRCA1 complex to DNA damage sites. Thus MLN4924 may collaborate with PARP inhibitor to suppress tumor. Our results showed that combination MLN4924 and PARP inhibitor Olaparib impaired the DNA repair process in NSCLC cells. Furthermore, MLN4924 and Olaparib significantly inhibited the cancer cell growth. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis from lung cancer patients showed that high expression of NEDD8, BRCA1 and PARPs correlate with worse overall survival. Thus the combination of MLN4924 and PARP inhibitor may serve as a new strategy for NSCLC treatment.

Targeting the protein ubiquitination machinery in melanoma by the NEDD8-activating enzyme inhibitor pevonedistat (MLN4924).[Pubmed:27783255]

Invest New Drugs. 2017 Feb;35(1):11-25.

Background The neddylation pathway conjugates NEDD8 to cullin-RING ligases and controls the proteasomal degradation of specific proteins involved in essential cell processes. Pevonedistat (MLN4924) is a selective small molecule targeting the NEDD8-activating enzyme (NAE) and inhibits an early step in neddylation, resulting in DNA re-replication, cell cycle arrest and death. We investigated the anti-tumor potential of pevonedistat in preclinical models of melanoma. Methods Melanoma cell lines and patient-derived tumor xenografts (PDTX) treated with pevonedistat were assessed for viability/apoptosis and tumor growth, respectively, to identify sensitive/resistant models. Gene expression microarray and gene set enrichment analyses were performed in cell lines to determine the expression profiles and pathways of sensitivity/resistance. Pharmacodynamic changes in treated-PDTX were also characterized. Results Pevonedistat effectively inhibited cell viability (IC50 < 0.3 muM) and induced apoptosis in a subset of melanoma cell lines. Sensitive and resistant cell lines exhibited distinct gene expression profiles; sensitive models were enriched for genes involved in DNA repair, replication and cell cycle regulation, while immune response and cell adhesion pathways were upregulated in resistant models. Pevonedistat also reduced tumor growth in melanoma cell line xenografts and PDTX with variable responses. An accumulation of pevonedistat-NEDD8 adduct and CDT1 was observed in sensitive tumors consistent with its mechanism of action. Conclusions This study provided preclinical evidence that NAE inhibition by pevonedistat has anti-tumor activity in melanoma and supports the clinical benefits observed in recent Phase 1 trials of this drug in melanoma patients. Further investigations are warranted to develop rational combinations and determine predictive biomarkers of pevonedistat.

MLN4924 and 2DG combined treatment enhances the efficiency of radiotherapy in breast cancer cells.[Pubmed:28291374]

Int J Radiat Biol. 2017 Jun;93(6):590-599.

PURPOSE: Two-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) causes cytotoxicity in the cancer cells by disrupting the thiol metabolism, and MLN4924 inactivates the SCF E3 ligase and so causes the accumulation of its substrates which trigger apoptosis and hence might enhance the efficiency of radiotherapy and overcame on the radioresistance of the cancer cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: SKBR3 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells were treated with 500 muM 2DG and/or MLN4924 (30, 100, 200 and 300 nM), and in combination in the presence and absence of 1, 1.5 and 2 Gy gamma irradiation. The effects of the treatments - 2DG, MLN4924, irradiation alone and combined - on MCF-7 and SKBR3 cell lines were evaluated by MTT assay, TUNEL assay, cell death detection, Q-PCR for caspase-3 and Bcl-2 expression analysis, and finally clonogenic survival assay. RESULTS: The treatments enhanced the further radio cytotoxicity via inducing the apoptosis cell signaling gene, caspase-3. The 2DG and MLN4924 treatments could act as a radiosensitizer, especially on the SKBR3 cells, and further sensitized the cells with a sensitivity enhancement ratio (SER) of 1.41 and 1.27 in SKBR3 and MCF-7 cells, respectively. CONCLUSION: The combined chemo-radiotherapy might improve the breast cancer treatment outcome.

The use of the NEDD8 inhibitor MLN4924 (Pevonedistat) in a cyclotherapy approach to protect wild-type p53 cells from MLN4924 induced toxicity.[Pubmed:27901050]

Sci Rep. 2016 Nov 30;6:37775.

Targetting the ubiquitin pathway is an attractive strategy for cancer therapy. The inhibitor of the ubiquitin-like molecule NEDD8 pathway, MLN4924 (Pevonedistat) is in Phase II clinical trials. Protection of healthy cells from the induced toxicity of the treatment while preserving anticancer efficacy is a highly anticipated outcome in chemotherapy. Cyclotherapy was proposed as a promising approach to achieve this goal. We found that cytostatic activation of p53 protects cells against MLN4924-induced toxicity and importantly the effects are reversible. In contrast, cells with mutant or no p53 remain sensitive to NEDD8 inhibition. Using zebrafish embryos, we show that MLN4924-induced apoptosis is reduced upon pre-treatment with actinomycin D in vivo. Our studies show that the cellular effects of NEDD8 inhibition can be manipulated based on the p53 status and that NEDD8 inhibitors can be used in a p53-based cyclotherapy protocol to specifically target cancer cells devoid of wild type p53 function, while healthy cells will be protected from the induced toxicity.