Disulfiram and 6-Thioguanine synergistically inhibit the enzymatic activities of USP2 and USP21
Abstract
Disulfiram is a promising repurposed drug that, combining with radiation and chemotherapy, exhibits effective anticancer activities in several preclinical models. The cellular metabolites of disulfiram have been established, however, the intracellular targets of disulfiram remain largely unexplored. We have previously reported that disulfiram suppresses the coronaviral papain-like proteases through attacking their zinc-finger domains, suggesting an inhibitory function potentially on other proteases with similar catalytic structures. Ubiquitin-specific proteases (USPs) share a highly-conserved zinc-finger subdomain that structurally similar to the papain-like proteases and are attractive anticancer targets as upregulated USPs levels are found in a variety of tumors. Here, we report that disulfiram functions as a competitive inhibitor for both USP2 and USP21, two tumor-related deubiquitinases. In addition, we also observed a synergistic inhibition of USP2 and USP21 by disulfiram and 6-Thioguanine (6TG), a clinical drug for acute myeloid leukemia. Kinetic analyses revealed that both drugs exhibited a slow-binding mechanism, moderate inhibitory parameters, and a synergistically inhibitory effect on USP2 and USP21, suggesting the potential combinatory use of these two drugs for USPs-related tumors. Taken together, our study provides biochemical evidence for repurposing disulfiram and 6TG as a combinatory treatment in clinical applications.
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DIS acts as a competitive inhibitor of USP2 and USP21, two critical tumor-associated deubiquitinases.
“Leveraging the metal-chelating properties of DIS, it acts as a competitive inhibitor of USP2 and USP21, two critical tumor-associated deubiquitinases.91”
From Off-label and repurposed use of disulfiram beyond alcohol dependence: A systematic review of clinical and preclinical evidence (2026) · cites this paper as [91]
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- Authors
- Lin, H.-C., Kuan, Y., Chu, H.-F., Cheng, S.-C., Pan, H.-C., Chen, W.-Y., Sun, C.-Y., & Lin, T.-H.
- Affiliations
- National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (TW)
- Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (TW)
- Corresponding author
- Sun, Chiao-Yin
- Lin, Ta-Hsien
- Venue
- International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-04
- Volume
- 176
- Pages
- 490-497
- ISSN
- 0141-8130 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3132569332
- Cited by
- 24
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5
- FWCI
- 1.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Biological Macromolecules (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Ubiquitin and proteasome pathways
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protein Degradation and Inhibitors
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Protease and Inhibitor Mechanisms
- Keywords
- disulfiram, 6-thioguanine, USP2, USP21, ubiquitin-specific protease, deubiquitinase inhibition, drug repurposing, synergistic drug combination, competitive inhibition, slow-binding inhibition, zinc finger, anticancer drug targets
- MeSH terms
- Disulfiram, Drug Synergism, Enzyme Inhibitors, Humans, Thioguanine, Ubiquitin Thiolesterase
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