Development of Immunoproteasome-Specific Inhibitors as Novel Anti-Cancer Drugs.

Introduction: The proteasome is a large (~2.5 MDa), ATP-dependent, intracellular protease responsible for degrading ubiquitinated proteins as part of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. The immunoproteasome is a unique proteasomal variant with distinct catalytic subunits termed low molecular mass proteins that functions predominately in cells derived from hematopoietic precursors, and differs from the constitutive proteasome found in most other cells. Bortezomib (VELCADE®; Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) is a first-in-class proteasome inhibitor, which is approved for treatment of multiple myeloma patients who have received at least one prior therapy. While the overall safety profile of bortezomib is manageable and predictable, some toxicities, such as peripheral neuropathy, associated with bortezomib treatment can be dose-limiting. These toxicities may be due to the inhibition of all isoforms of the proteasome. Development of immunoproteasome-specific inhibitors (IPSIs) would allow for targeted therapy against cancers arising from hematologic origins, thereby sparing normal tissues, such as gastrointestinal and neurological tissues.

Methods: We have identified several novel IPSIs, most notably IPSI-001, with selective activity against the immunoproteasome, which we therefore sought to characterize.

Results: Expression of proteins associated with the immunoproteasome (low molecular mass protein-2; 11S Reg-α) was found primarily in cell lines of hematopoietic origin, while solid tumor cell lines exhibited expression of constitutive proteasome proteins (β5; 19S S6′). IPSI-001 exposure induced preferential inhibition of the chymotrypsin-like activity, the rate-limiting step of proteolysis, in hematologic cell lines over solid tumors. This inhibition was associated with an increase in ubiquitinated substrates, activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase, and accumulation of Bax. IPSI-001 treatment led to preferential induction of apoptosis as evidenced by DNA fragmentation assays and cleavage of β-actin by caspase-3 into an apoptotic marker, fractin. Furthermore, IPSI-001 had potent chymotrypsin-like inhibitory activity in patient samples of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia. A dose-dependent decrease in proliferation was observed in additional patient samples of acute myeloid leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma treated with IPSI-001. Also, IPSI-001 exposure induced apoptosis in multiple myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia patient samples. In an effort to increase the efficacy of IPSIs, a series of boronic acid analogs were made of several IPSIs. Conversion into the boronate analogs increased the potency by up to 1000-fold against the chymotrypsin-like activity of the immunoproteasome in vitro and in cellulo. Dose-dependent inhibition of proliferation was observed in ANBL-6, KAS-6/1, and Ramos cell lines, which was associated with induction of apoptosis.

Conclusions: Studies are ongoing to characterize the specificity and molecular effects associated with IPSI-boronic acid derivatives exposure in immunoproteasome- and constitutive proteasome-containing cell types.