Cited by 128Ubiquitin and proteasome pathwaysCancer-related Molecular PathwaysProtein Degradation and Inhibitors

Selective USP7 inhibition elicits cancer cell killing through a p53-dependent mechanism.

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Schauer, Nathan J., Liu, Xiaoxi, Magin, Robert S., Doherty, Laura M., Chan, Wai Cheung, Ficarro, Scott B., Hu, Wanyi, Roberts, Rebekka M. +19 more·2020·Scientific Reports

Abstract

Ubiquitin specific peptidase 7 (USP7) is a deubiquitinating enzyme (DUB) that removes ubiquitin tags from specific protein substrates in order to alter their degradation rate and sub-cellular localization. USP7 has been proposed as a therapeutic target in several cancers because it has many reported substrates with a role in cancer progression, including FOXO4, MDM2, N-Myc, and PTEN. The multi-substrate nature of USP7, combined with the modest potency and selectivity of early generation USP7 inhibitors, has presented a challenge in defining predictors of response to USP7 and potential patient populations that would benefit most from USP7-targeted drugs. Here, we describe the structure-guided development of XL177A, which irreversibly inhibits USP7 with sub-nM potency and selectivity across the human proteome. Evaluation of the cellular effects of XL177A reveals that selective USP7 inhibition suppresses cancer cell growth predominantly through a p53-dependent mechanism: XL177A specifically upregulates p53 transcriptional targets transcriptome-wide, hotspot mutations in TP53 but not any other genes predict response to XL177A across a panel of ~500 cancer cell lines, and TP53 knockout rescues XL177A-mediated growth suppression of TP53 wild-type (WT) cells. Together, these findings suggest TP53 mutational status as a biomarker for response to USP7 inhibition. We find that Ewing sarcoma and malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT), two pediatric cancers that are sensitive to other p53-dependent cytotoxic drugs, also display increased sensitivity to XL177A.

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  • USP7 inhibitors predominantly kill cancer cells by inducing p53-dependent apoptosis.

    “USP7 inhibitors predominantly kill cancer cells by inducing p53-dependent apoptosis (Schauer et al., 2020).”

    From USP7 Is a Master Regulator of Genome Stability (2020) · cites this paper as Schauer et al., 2020

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  1. [66]Rohland, N. & Reich, D. Cost-effective, high-throughput DNA sequencing. Genome Res. 939–946, 10.1101/gr.128124.111.22 (2011). PMC3337438 22267522 · DOI

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Authors
Schauer, N. J., Liu, X., Magin, R. S., Doherty, L. M., Chan, W. C., Ficarro, S. B., Hu, W., Roberts, R. M., Iacob, R. E., Stolte, B., Giacomelli, A. O., Perera, S., McKay, K., Boswell, S. A., Weisberg, E. L., Ray, A., Chauhan, D., Dhe-Paganon, S., Anderson, K. C., Griffin, J. D., Li, J., Hahn, W. C., Sorger, P. K., Engen, J. R., Stegmaier, K., Marto, J. A., & Buhrlage, S. J.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (US)
  • Northeastern University (US)
  • Broad Institute (US)
  • University of Vermont (US)
Corresponding author
Buhrlage, Sara J.
Venue
Scientific Reports
Published
2020-03-24
Volume
10
Issue
1
Pages
5324-5324
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3013382443
Cited by
125
References
77
Citations by year
2026: 18 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 5
FWCI
5.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Open access LMU (Ludwid Maxmilian's Universitat Munchen) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health
  • St. Baldrick's Foundation
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Ubiquitin and proteasome pathways
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer-related Molecular Pathways
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protein Degradation and Inhibitors
Keywords
USP7, p53, TP53 mutation, predictive biomarkers, structure-based drug design, tumor cell growth inhibition, Ewing sarcoma, malignant rhabdoid tumor, childhood cancer, MDM2, FOXO4, PTEN, MYCN
MeSH terms
Ubiquitin-Specific Peptidase 7, Antineoplastic Agents, Humans, Protease Inhibitors, Tumor Suppressor Protein p53, Apoptosis, Cell Line, Tumor, Cell Proliferation, Ubiquitination, MCF-7 Cells

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