ALK inhibitor

In this context, we endeavored to develop ALK degraders utilizing FDA-approved ALK inhibitors-crizotinib, ceritinib, brigatinib, and alectinib-as ALK binders, along with 4-methoxyphenylfumarate as a covalent handle to bind to RNF126 E3 ligase. However, the enhanced anti-proliferative activity of dALK-3 was found to be independent of RNF126, a presumed potential E3 ligase, suggesting the need for investigation of other components within the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Our findings further support the potential application of the fumarate moiety as a binder for E3 ligases in targeted protein degradation.

We demonstrated that emetine exhibited effectiveness in inhibiting the growth of ALKi-resistant cells, and further interpreted its impact on the resistant signatures through drug-induced RNA-sequencing data. Our transcriptome-guided systematic approach paves the way for efficient drug discovery to overcome acquired resistance to cancer therapy.

In this study, we used an in vitro model of ceritinib-resistant NSCLC and employed genome-wide DNA methylation analysis in combination with single-cell (sc) RNA-seq to identify cytidine deaminase (CDA), a pyrimidine salvage pathway enzyme, as a candidate drug target. Treatment with epigenome-related nucleosides such as 5-formyl-2'-deoxycytidine selectively ablated CDA-overexpressing resistant cells via accumulation of DNA damage. Collectively, our data suggest that targeting CDA metabolism using epigenome-related nucleosides represents a potential new therapeutic strategy for overcoming ALK inhibitor resistance in NSCLC.