Novel Electrophilic Warhead Targeting a Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Driver in Live Cells Revealed by Inverse Drug Discovery

The inverse drug discovery strategy is a potent means of exploring the cellular targets of latent electrophiles not typically used in medicinal chemistry. Cyclopropenone, a powerful electrophile, is generally used in bio-orthogonal reactions mediated by triarylphosphine or in photo-triggered cycloaddition reactions. Here, we have studied, for the first time, the proteome reactivity of cyclopropenones in live cells and discovered that the cyclopropenone warhead can specifically and efficiently modify a triplenegative breast cancer driver, glutathione S-transferase pi-1 (GSTP1), by covalently binding at the catalytic active site. Further structure optimization and signaling pathway validation have led to the discovery of potent inhibitors of GSTP1.

Automated summary

The inverse drug discovery strategy utilizing cyclopropenone as a potent electrophile has led to the specific and efficient modification of the triple-negative breast cancer driver GSTP1 in live cells, resulting in the discovery of potential inhibitors through further optimization and pathway validation.