Enzyme Responsive Rigid-Rod Aromatics Target "Undruggable" Phosphatases to Kill Cancer Cells in a Mimetic Bone Microenvironment

Meihui Yi, Fengbin Wang, Weiyi Tan, Jer Tsong Hsieh, Edward H. Egelman, Bing Xu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

Bone metastasis remains a challenge in cancer treatment. Here we show enzymatic responsive rigid-rod aromatics acting as the substrates of "undruggable"phosphatases to kill cancer cells in a mimetic bone microenvironment. By phosphorylation and conjugating nitrobenzoxadiazole (NBD) to hydroxybiphenylcarboxylate (BP), we obtained pBP-NBD (1P) as a substrate of both acid and alkaline phosphatases. 1P effectively kills both metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer cells (mCRPCs) and osteoblast mimic cells in their coculture. 1P enters Saos2 almost instantly to target the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of the cells. Co-culturing with Saos2 cells boosts the cellular uptake of 1P by mCRPCs. Cryo-EM reveals the nanotube structures of both 1P (2.4 Å resolution, pH 5.6) and 1 (2.2 Å resolution, pH 7.4). The helical packing of both nanotubes is identical, held together by strong pi-stacking interactions. Besides reporting the atomistic structure of nanotubes formed by the assembly of rigid-rod aromatics, this work expands the pool of molecules for designing EISA substrates that selectively target TME.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)13055-13059
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
Volume144
Issue number29
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 27 2022

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • General Chemistry
  • Biochemistry
  • Colloid and Surface Chemistry

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