AcGlcAs: A Novel P53-Targeting Arsenical with Potent Cellular Uptake and Cancer Cell Selectivity

作者：Ying Liang, Quanlin An, Huaxin Song, Yigang Tang, Shujun Xiao, Jiale Wu, Ni Yan, Biao Yu, Xin Cao, Min Lü · 发表于：Journal of Medicinal Chemistry · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00104 · 被引用次数：12 · 研究领域：Retinoids in leukemia and cellular processes、Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques、Acute Myeloid Leukemia Research

Arsenic trioxide (ATO) targets PML/RARα and leads to miraculous success in treating acute promyelocytic leukemia. Notably, ATO also targets p53, the most frequently mutated protein in cancers, through a similar binding mechanism. However, p53-targeting ATO trials are challenging due to the poor cellular uptake and cancer selectivity of ATO. Here, we analyzed the structure-activity relationship of arsenicals and rationally developed a novel arsenical (designated AcGlcAs) by conjugating arsenic to sulfur atoms and tetraacetyl-β-d-thioglucose. AcGlcAs exhibited remarkable cellular uptake through a thiol-mediated pathway (maximally 127-fold higher than ATO), thereby potently targeting PML/RARα and mutant p53. Among the 55 tested cell lines, AcGlcAs preferentially killed cancer lines rather than normal lines. In preclinical studies, AcGlcAs significantly extended the survival of mice bearing a xenograft tumor with p53 mutation while showing high plasma stability and oral bioavailability. Thus, AcGlcAs is a potential clinical candidate for precisely treating numerous p53-mutated cancers.