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  2. Targeting BAP1 with small compound inhibitor for colon cancer treatment

Targeting BAP1 with small compound inhibitor for colon cancer treatment

  • Sci Rep. 2023 Feb 8;13(1):2264. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-29017-w.
Minhwa Kang 1 Seul Gi Park 1 Shin-Ai Lee 1 2 Soyi Kim 1 Daye Lee 1 Mukesh Eknath Shirbhate 3 So-Yeon Youn 3 Kwan Mook Kim 3 Sun-Shin Cha 3 Jongbum Kwon 4
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Life Science, Ewha Womans University, 52 Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03760, Korea.
  • 2 Laboratory of Genitourinary Cancer Pathogenesis, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Building 37, Room 1068, MD, 20892-4263, Bethesda, USA.
  • 3 Department of Chemistry and Nanoscience, Ewha Womans University, 52 Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03760, Korea.
  • 4 Department of Life Science, Ewha Womans University, 52 Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03760, Korea. jongkwon@ewha.ac.kr.
Abstract

BRCA1-associated protein-1 (BAP1) is a ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase domain-containing Deubiquitinase. The gene encoding BAP1 is mutated in various human cancers, including mesothelioma, uveal melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. BAP1 plays roles in many cancer-related cellular functions, including cell proliferation, cell death, and nuclear processes crucial for genome stability, such as DNA repair and replication. While these findings suggest that BAP1 functions as a tumor suppressor, recent data also suggest that BAP1 might play tumor-promoting roles in certain cancers, such as breast Cancer and hematopoietic malignancies. Here, we show that BAP1 is upregulated in colon Cancer cells and tissues and that BAP1 depletion reduces colon Cancer cell proliferation and tumor growth. BAP1 contributes to colon Cancer cell proliferation by accelerating DNA replication and suppressing replication stress and concomitant Apoptosis. A recently identified BAP1 inhibitor, TG2-179-1, which seems to covalently bind to the active site of BAP1, exhibits potent cytotoxic activity against colon Cancer cells, with half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of less than 10 μM, and inhibits colon tumor growth. TG2-179-1 exerts cytotoxic activity by targeting BAP1, leading to defective replication and increased Apoptosis. This work therefore shows that BAP1 acts oncogenically in colon Cancer and is a potential therapeutic target for this Cancer. Our work also suggests that TG2-179-1 can be developed as a potential therapeutic agent for colon Cancer.

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