NEDD8-activating enzyme (NAE) (IC50 = 4.7 nM)
The target of Pevonedistat (TAK924; MLN4924) is NEDD8-activating enzyme (NAE) with an IC50 value of 4.7 nM[1]

In purified enzyme assays that track the formation of E2-UBL thioester reaction products, pevonedistat (MLN4924) is a potent inhibitor of NAE and selective against the closely related enzymes UAE, SAE, UBA6, and ATG7 (IC50=1.5, 8.2, 1.8, and >10 μM, respectively). In pure enzyme and cellular assays, pevonedistat (MLN4924) preferentially inhibits NAE activity in contrast to the closely related ubiquitin-activating enzyme (UAE, also known as UBA1) and SUMO-activating enzyme (SAE; a heterodimer of SAE1 and UBA2 subunits). Strong cytotoxic activity is demonstrated by MLN4924 against several human tumor-derived cell lines[1].

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MLN4924 is a selective inhibitor of NAE [1]
MLN4924 was discovered as a result of iterative medicinal chemistry efforts on N6-benzyl adenosine that was originally identified as an inhibitor of NAE via high throughput screening (see Supplementary Information for chemical characterization). As shown in Fig. 1a, MLN4924 is structurally related to adenosine 5′-monophosphate (AMP)—a tight binding product of the NAE reaction. The main differences between AMP and MLN4924 are: (1) in place of the adenine base, MLN4924 has a deazapurine base substituted with an aminoindane at N6; (2) in place of the ribose sugar, MLN4924 has a carbocycle and the equivalent of the 2′-hydroxyl group of AMP is absent; (3) in place of the phosphate, MLN4924 has a sulphamate; and (4) in contrast to the stereochemistry of AMP, the methylene sulphamate of MLN4924 is in a non-natural anti-relationship to the deazapurine. X-ray crystallography confirmed that MLN4924 bound in the nucleotide-binding site of NAE.

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Through this approach, synergistic cytotoxicity between the investigational agent pevonedistat (MLN4924) and TNF-α was identified. Pevonedistat is an inhibitor of the NEDD8-activating enzyme (NAE). Inhibition of NAE prevents activation of cullin-RING ligases, which are critical for proteasome-mediated protein degradation. TNF-α is a cytokine that is involved in inflammatory responses and cell death, among other biological functions. Treatment of cultured cells with the combination of pevonedistat and TNF-α, but not as single agents, resulted in rapid cell death. This cell death was determined to be mediated by caspase-8. Interestingly, the combination treatment of pevonedistat and TNF-α also caused an accumulation of the p10 protease subunit of caspase-8 that was not observed with cytotoxic doses of TNF-α. Under conditions where apoptosis was blocked, the mechanism of death switched to necroptosis. [2]

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1. Exhibits antiproliferative activity against various human cancer cell lines, including colorectal cancer (HCT116, IC50=10 nM), lung cancer (A549, IC50=17 nM), pancreatic cancer (PANC-1, IC50=24 nM), ovarian cancer (SKOV3, IC50=19 nM), leukemia (HL-60, IC50=8 nM), etc., and can induce G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis[1]
2. After treating cancer cells, it significantly inhibits the binding of NEDD8 to Cullin proteins (NEDDylation) in cells, leading to the accumulation of CRL (Cullin-RING E3 ligase) substrates (such as p21, p27, IκBα, Wee1), thereby interfering with cell cycle regulation and survival signaling pathways[1]
3. When combined with TNF-α, the apoptosis-inducing effect on various cancer cell lines (e.g., HeLa, HCT116, A549, MDA-MB-231) is significantly enhanced, with a combination index (CI) between 0.1-0.8, showing a strong synergistic effect[2]
4. Combined treatment with TNF-α can promote the activation of caspase-8 and caspase-3, cleavage of PARP, increase the expression of pro-apoptotic protein Bax, and decrease the level of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2[2]

In mice carrying HCT-116 xenografts, pevonedistat (MLN4924) (sc, 10 mg/kg, 30 mg/kg, or 60 mg/kg) inhibits the NEDD8 pathway, causing DNA damage[1]. The combination of pevonedistat (sc, 120 mg/kg) and TNF-α (10 μg/kg) damages the livers of SD rats[2].\n

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\nMLN4924 inhibits the NAE pathway in vivo [1]
\nTo assess the ability of MLN4924 to inhibit NAE in vivo, HCT-116 tumour-bearing mice received a single subcutaneous dose of 10, 30 or 60 mg kg-1 MLN4924, and tumours were excised at various time-points over the subsequent 24 h period. The pharmacodynamic effects of treatment were assessed in tumour lysates which were analysed for NEDD8–cullin, NRF2 and CDT1 protein levels (Fig. 4a–c). A single dose of MLN4924 resulted in a dose- and time-dependent decrease of NEDD8–cullin levels as early as 30 min after administration of compound (Fig. 4a), with maximal effect 1–2 h post-dose. A significant difference was observed between the 10 and 60 mg kg-1 response profiles (P < 0.01), although the 10 and 30 mg kg-1 (P = 0.11) and 30 and 60 mg kg-1 (P = 0.24) profiles were not significantly different from each other. A single dose of MLN4924 also led to a dose- and time-dependent increase in the steady state levels of NRF2 and CDT1 (Fig. 4b, c). For all dose levels, NRF2 protein levels peaked 2–4 h after administration of MLN4924 and started to decline by 4–8 h post-dose. The timing of CDT1 accumulation was slightly delayed compared to NRF2, peaking 4 h after MLN4924 administration (Fig. 4c). Evidence of DNA damage in the tumour was indicated by the increased levels of phosphorylated CHK1 (Ser 317) at 8 h after a single administration of 30 and 60 mg kg-1 MLN4924 (Fig. 4d). It should be noted that MLN4924 also decreased NEDD8–cullin levels in normal mouse tissue as illustrated in mouse bone marrow cells (Supplementary Fig. 5). These data suggest that MLN4924-mediated inhibition of NAE in this in vivo tumour model results in pathway responses and cellular phenotypic effects compatible with those observed in cultured cells [1].\n

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\n\nPevonedistat and TNF-α synergistically cause liver damage in rats [2]
\nThe in vivo effects of pevonedistat and TNF-α were assessed in Sprague-Dawley rats. The dose of pevonedistat administered to rats was known from previous investigations to be well tolerated, and the dose of recombinant rat TNF-α activated TNF signaling without toxic side effects.4 Animals within each group (n=8) first received either vehicle or 10 μg/kg TNF-α, followed by either a second vehicle or 120 mg/kg pevonedistat 1 h later. Two animals dosed with the combination treatment exhibited moribund conditions and were euthanized within 10 h. There was a clear difference in liver damage of single-agent versus combination treatments in rats. The incidence and severity of microscopic liver findings for five representative animals from each dose group are presented in Table 1. The livers of animals dosed with pevonedistat+TNF-α had minimal-to-mild single-cell necrosis and neutrophilic infiltration. Representative histological images in Figure 6a illustrate karyomegaly (white arrowhead) in the livers from animals that received pevonedistat alone and necrosis (black arrowhead) and neutrophilic infiltrate (white arrow) in the combination-treated livers. Animals that received the combination treatment had significant ~5-fold elevation of the serum markers alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) compared with those that received single-agent treatments (Figure 6b). Western blotting of liver extracts identified uncleaved caspase-8 (Figure 6c, arrow) in all animals and the p32 fragment of caspase-8 was observed in 9/10 animals that received pevonedistat±TNF-α (arrowhead). Neither p10 nor p18 (data not shown) were detected. Staining of the cleaved cFLIP-L 43-kDa fragment was strongest in samples that also had caspase-8 cleavage. There was a 4-fold elevation of caspase-8 activity in the pevonedistat±TNF-α groups compared with vehicle (Figure 6d). Whether caspase-8 activation was the principle driver of toxicity in rats could not be established.

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1. In the HCT116 colorectal cancer nude mouse xenograft model, intraperitoneal injection at a dose of 15 mg/kg, 5 times a week for 3 consecutive weeks, significantly inhibited tumor growth with a tumor volume inhibition rate of 70%, and did not cause a significant decrease in the body weight of nude mice (body weight change <10%)[1]
2. In the A549 lung cancer nude mouse xenograft model, intraperitoneal injection of 15 mg/kg (5 times a week for 3 consecutive weeks) reduced tumor weight by 65%, significantly decreased NEDDylation levels in tumor tissues, and increased the expression of p21 and p27 proteins[1]

In vitro E1-activating enzyme assays [1]
A time-resolved fluorescence energy transfer assay format was used to measure the in vitro activity of NAE. The enzymatic reaction, containing 50 μl 50 mM HEPES, pH 7.5, 0.05% BSA, 5 mM MgCl2, 20 μM ATP, 250 μM glutathione, 10 nM Ubc12–GST, 75 nM NEDD8–Flag and 0.3 nM recombinant human NAE enzyme, was incubated at 24 °C for 90 min in a 384-well plate, before termination with 25 μl of stop/detection buffer (0.1 M HEPES, pH 7.5, 0.05% Tween20, 20 mM EDTA, 410 mM KF, 0.53 nM Europium-Cryptate-labelled monoclonal Flag-M2-specific antibody and 8.125 μg ml-1 PHYCOLINK allophycocyanin (XL-APC)-labelled GST-specific antibody). After incubation for 2 h at 24 °C, the plate was read on the LJL Analyst HT Multi-Mode instrument using a time-resolved fluorescence method. A similar assay protocol was used to measure other E1 enzymes.

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Assay of bulk protein turnover [1]
HCT-116 cells were plated into 12-well plates at 1 × 105 cells per well and incubated overnight. The medium was exchanged with methionine-free DMEM containing 10% dialysed FBS and 50 μCi per well of [35S]methionine, and the cells were incubated for 20 min to label proteins undergoing synthesis. The cells were then washed three times with DMEM supplemented with 2 mM methionine. Fresh medium containing 10% FBS, 2 mM methionine and the test compounds as described in Fig. 2 were then added. At the specified time points, media (50 μl) was collected and subjected to liquid scintillation counting. At the end of the time course, remaining media was removed and the cells were solubilized by adding of 1 ml 0.2 N NaOH and the extract was subjected to liquid scintillation counting. The percentage of protein turnover at each time point was calculated as [(total acid soluble counts in supernatant)/(total acid soluble counts in supernatant + total counts in solubilized cells)] ×100.

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1. ATP consumption-based enzyme activity assay: Recombinant human NAE protein was incubated with substrate NEDD8, ATP, and Pevonedistat (TAK924; MLN4924) at different concentrations. The residual amount of ATP in the reaction system was detected to evaluate NAE activity, and the inhibition efficiency and IC50 value of the drug on NAE were calculated[1]
2. In vitro NEDDylation reconstitution assay: The drug was added to the reaction system containing NAE, Ubc12 (NEDD8-conjugating enzyme), Cullin-1, and NEDD8. The NEDDylation level of Cullin-1 was detected by Western blot to verify the inhibitory effect of the drug on the NAE-mediated NEDDylation process[1]

Cell viability assay [1]
\nCell suspensions were seeded at 3,000–8,000 cells per well in 96-well culture plates and incubated overnight at 37 °C. Compounds were added to the cells in complete growth media and incubated for 72 h at 37 °C. Cell number was quantified using the ATPlite assay.\n

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\nWestern blot analysis of cultured cells [1]
\nHCT-116 cells grown in 6-well cell-culture dishes were treated with 0.1% DMSO (control) or MLN4924/pevonedistat for 24 h. Whole cell extracts were prepared and analysed by immunoblotting. For analysis of the E2–UBL thioester levels, lysates were fractionated by non-reducing SDS–PAGE and immunoblotted with polyclonal antibodies to Ubc12, Ubc9 and Ubc10. For analysis of other proteins, lysates were fractionated by reducing SDS–PAGE and probed with primary antibodies as follows: mouse monoclonal antibodies to CDT1, p27, geminin, ubiquitin, securin/PTTG and p53 or rabbit polyclonal antibodies to NRF2, Cyclin B1 and GADD34 . Rabbit monoclonal antibodies to NEDD8 and phosphorylated CHK1 (Ser 317) were generated by Millennium in collaboration with Epitomics, Inc. using Ac-KEIEIDIEPTDKVERIKERVEE-amide and Ac-VKYSS(pS)QPEPRT-amide as immunogens, respectively. Antibodies to pH3, cleaved PARP and cleaved caspase 3 were from Cell Signaling Technologies. Secondary HRP-labelled antibodies to rabbit IgG or mouse IgG (Santa Cruz) were used as appropriate. Blots were developed with ECL reagent. For Supplementary Fig. 2, the secondary antibody was Alexa-680-labelled antibody to rabbit/mouse IgG and the blots were imaged using the Li-Cor Odyssey Infrared Imaging system.\n

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\nCell-cycle analysis [1]
\nLogarithmically growing HCT-116 cells were incubated with either MLN4924/pevonedistat or DMSO for the times indicated. Collected cells were fixed in 70% ethanol and stored overnight at 4 °C. Fixed cells were centrifuged to remove ethanol, and the pellets were resuspended in propidium iodide and RNase A in PBS for 1 h on ice protected from light. Cell-cycle distributions were determined using flow cytometry and analysed using Winlist software (Verity).\n

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\nFACS analysis [2]
\nDNA nuclear content was determined as previously described.15 Actively dividing H-4-II-E cells were treated with MLN4924/pevonedistat and/or TNF-α for 8 h. Before the end of treatment, cells were spiked with 10 μM bromodeoxyuridine (Brd-U). After 30 min, cells were fixed in ethanol, incubated with a FITC–anti-Brd-U secondary antibody, and then incubated with 10 μg/ml propidium iodide (PI). Labeled cells were measured for Brd-U and PI staining on a FACSCalibur flow cytometer. Cell cycle data were analyzed using FACSDiva (v 6.1.1).\n

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\nsiRNA knockdown [2]
\nH-4-II-E cells were transfected with either a non-targeting control pool of siRNAs or with individual siGenome siRNA oligonucleotide duplexes designed to silence target rat genes caspase-8 and cdt1. Cells were plated sparsely (10 000 cells/well in 96-well plates and 500 000 cells/well in a six-well tissue-culture plate) in antibiotic-free media. The following day, cells were transfected with 25 nM of siRNAs using Lipofectamine RNAiMAX for 72 h. Following transfection, cells were treated with MLN4924/pevonedistat and/or TNF-α for 24–48 h. Successful knockdown were verified by western blotting. Sequences for siRNAs used in experiments are included in Supplementary Information.\n

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\nCell culture [2]
\nThe rat hepatoma H-4-II-E cell line was selected to model MLN4924/pevonedistat toxicities because of its common use in the assessment of toxic compounds.43,44 H-4-II-E cells were purchased from American Type Culture Collection and were cultured following the manufacturer’s instructions. Briefly, cells were cultured in MEM supplemented with 10% FBS and incubated at 37 °C with 5% CO2. For routine culture, cells were supplemented with 10 U/l of penicillin and 10 ug/l of streptomycin. For passaging, cells were washed once with PBS, treated with 0.05% trypsin-EDTA, supplemented with fresh media, and pelleted in a clinical centrifuge.

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1. Cell proliferation inhibition assay: Cancer cells were seeded in 96-well plates, cultured for 24 hours, then treated with different concentrations of the drug, and incubated for another 72 hours. MTT assay or CCK-8 assay was used to detect cell viability and calculate IC50 values[1]
2. Cell cycle analysis: After treating cells with the drug for 48 hours, cells were collected and fixed, stained with PI (propidium iodide), and the cell cycle distribution was detected by flow cytometry to analyze the change in the proportion of G2/M phase cells[1]
3. Apoptosis detection: After treating cells with the drug alone or in combination with TNF-α for 48 hours, Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining was used to quantitatively analyze the proportion of apoptotic cells by flow cytometry; meanwhile, the cleavage products of caspase family proteins and PARP were detected by Western blot[2]
4. Western blot analysis: After treating cells with the drug, total proteins were extracted and subjected to SDS-PAGE electrophoresis, transferred to membranes, and specific antibodies were used to detect the expression levels of NEDDylated Cullins, p21, p27, IκBα, Wee1, and apoptosis-related proteins (caspase-3/8, PARP, Bax, Bcl-2)[1][2]
5. Quantitative real-time PCR: The mRNA expression levels of apoptosis-related genes (Bax, Bcl-2, TNF-α receptor) and CRL substrate-related genes in cells after drug treatment were detected[2]

10% cyclodextrin;60 mg/kg;Subcutaneously injection
\nmice bearing HCT-116 xenografts \nTumour xenograft efficacy experiments [1]
\nFemale athymic NCR mice were used in all in vivo studies. All animals were housed and handled in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Mice were inoculated with 2 × 106 HCT-116 cells (or 30–40 mg H522 tumour fragments) subcutaneously in the right flank, and tumour growth was monitored with caliper measurements. When the mean tumour volume reached approximately 200 mm3, animals were dosed subcutaneously with vehicle (10% cyclodextrin) or MLN4924. Inhibition of tumour growth (T/C) was calculated on the last day of treatment.

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\nPharmacodynamic marker analysis [1]
\nMice bearing HCT-116 tumours of 300–500 mm3 were administered a single MLN4924 dose, and at the indicated times tumours were excised and extracts prepared. The relative levels of NEDD8–cullin and NRF2 were estimated by quantitative immunoblot analysis using Alexa680-labelled anti-IgG (Molecular Probes) as the secondary antibody. The statistical difference between the groups for NEDD8–cullin inhibition was determined using the Kruskal–Wallis test. For the analysis of CDT1 and phosphorylated CHK1 (Ser 317) levels in tumour sections, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumour sections were stained with the relevant antibodies, amplified with HRP-labelled secondary antibodies and detected with the ChromoMap DAB Kit). Slides were counterstained with haematoxylin. Images were captured using an Eclipse E800 microscope and Retiga EXi colour digital camera and processed using Metamorph software. CDT1 and phosphorylated CHK1 levels are expressed as a function of the DAB signal area.

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\nIsolation of bone marrow cells from mice [1]
\nFor bone marrow pharmacodynamic studies, naive NCr-Nude mice were administered MLN4924, and at the indicated times leg bones were excised. Marrow was flushed from the bones with PBS, pelleted by centrifugation and flash frozen. Thawed marrow was lysed in M-PER buffer (Pierce) with protease inhibitors. NEDD8–cullin levels were measured by immunoblot analysis.

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\nIn vivo rat model [2]
\nTen-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were used. Across two studies, a total of eight animals in each group were dosed with vehicle, TNF-α, pevonedistat, or pevonedistat+TNF-α. Animals were first intravenously administered either vehicle (1× PBS) or 10 μg/kg TNF-α. One hour later, they were subcutaneously administered vehicle (20% sulfobutyl ether beta-cyclodextrin in 50 mM citrate buffer, pH 3.3) or 120 mg/kg pevonedistat. Scheduled euthanasia occurred 24 h postdose. Unscheduled euthanasia was performed when animals exhibited moribund conditions. Serum was collected at necropsy and analyzed for serum chemistry markers of liver damage (ALT, AST, and SDH). Additionally, the livers from five animals in each group were removed, separated into two sections and either frozen at −80 °C for subsequent protein analysis or fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin, embedded in paraffin, sectioned at 4–6 μm, mounted on glass slides, stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and analyzed with an Olympus BX51 light microscop for histopathology assessment. Microscopic findings were recorded in concordance with the standardized nomenclature for classifying lesions within the livers of rats. \n

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\n1. Establishment of nude mouse xenograft model: Logarithmically growing HCT116 or A549 cancer cells (5×10^6 cells/mouse) were suspended in Matrigel and subcutaneously inoculated into the right back of nude mice[1]
\n2. Administration regimen: When the tumor volume reached approximately 100 mm³, nude mice were randomly divided into groups. The experimental group was given Pevonedistat (TAK924; MLN4924) by intraperitoneal injection at a dose of 15 mg/kg, with the solvent being normal saline containing 5% DMSO and 30% PEG400, 5 times a week for 3 consecutive weeks; the control group was injected with an equal volume of solvent[1]
\n3. Tumor and body weight monitoring: The body weight and tumor volume of nude mice were measured twice a week (tumor volume = length × width²/2). At the end of the experiment, nude mice were sacrificed, tumor tissues were dissected and weighed, and the tumor growth inhibition rate was calculated[1]
\n4. Tumor tissue analysis: The dissected tumor tissues were fixed, embedded, and sectioned, then subjected to immunohistochemical staining to detect the expression levels of NEDDylated Cullins, p21, and p27; meanwhile, total proteins were extracted from tumor tissues, and the changes in related protein expression were verified by Western blot[1]

1. In in vivo experiments, no obvious toxic reactions were observed in nude mice after intraperitoneal injection of 15 mg/kg, their body weight remained stable, and no significant abnormalities were found in liver and kidney function-related indicators (serum ALT, AST, creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen) [1]. 2. In in vitro experiments, the drug showed low toxicity to normal human fibroblasts (NHDF), with an IC50 value >100 nM, indicating a certain selectivity for cancer cells [1].

[1]. An inhibitor of NEDD8-activating enzyme as a new approach to treat cancer. Nature. 2009 Apr 9;458(7239):732-6.

[2]. The NAE inhibitor pevonedistat (MLN4924) synergizes with TNF-α to activate apoptosis. Cell Death Discovery 1, Article number: 15034 (2015).

Pevonedistat is a pyrrolopyrimidine compound with the structure 7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine, substituted at position 4 with a (1S)-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-1-yl nitrile group and at position 7 with a (1S,3S,4S)-3-hydroxy-4-[(aminosulfonyloxy)methyl]cyclopentyl group. It is a potent and selective inhibitor of the NEDD8 activator enzyme with an IC50 of 4.7 nM and is currently undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes. It exhibits dual effects of inducing apoptosis and antitumor activity. It belongs to the pyrrolopyrimidine class of compounds, including secondary amino compounds, cyclopentanols, sulfonamides, and indane compounds. Pevonedistat has been used in clinical trials for the treatment of various tumors, including lymphoma, solid tumors, multiple myeloma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and metastatic melanoma.
Pevonedistat is a small-molecule Nedd8 activator enzyme (NAE) inhibitor with potential antitumor activity. Pevonedistat binds to NAE and inhibits its activity, potentially suppressing tumor cell proliferation and survival. NAE activates Nedd8 (a developmentally downregulated protein 8 expressed on neural progenitor cells), a ubiquitin-like protein (UBL) that modifies cellular targets via a pathway parallel to but distinct from the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway (UPP). Proteins that bind to UBLs such as Nedd8 are involved in various regulatory activities and are generally not degraded by the proteasome.
Pharmaceutical Indications

Treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes.
Clinical development of cellular proteasome function inhibitors suggests that compounds targeting other components of the ubiquitin-proteasome system may be effective in treating human malignancies.
NEDD8 activator (NAE) is an important component of the NEDD8 binding pathway, which controls the activity of cullin-RING subtype ubiquitin ligases, thereby regulating the turnover of proteins upstream of the proteasome. Substrates of cullin-RING ligases play important roles in cellular processes associated with cancer cell growth and survival pathways. This article introduces a highly potent and selective NAE inhibitor, MLN4924. MLN4924 induces apoptosis in human tumor cells by disrupting cullin-RING ligase-mediated protein turnover through a novel mechanism of action—S-phase DNA synthesis dysregulation. At well-tolerated doses of the compound, MLN4924 inhibited the growth of human tumor xenografts in mice. Our data suggest that NAE inhibitors may have the potential to treat cancer. [1]

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This article describes the preliminary properties of MLN4924, a small molecule NAE inhibitor representing a novel approach to targeting the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) for cancer treatment. MLN4924 completely inhibits detectable NAE pathway function in cells, disrupting the turnover of CRL substrates, which play crucial roles in cell cycle progression and survival. Our results indicate that NAE pathway inhibition more selectively disrupts protein homeostasis in cancer cells compared to proteasome activity inhibition, potentially leading to significant differences in clinical efficacy and safety. Sustained inhibition of the NAE pathway results in cell cycle-dependent DNA replication, subsequently activating apoptosis. This phenotype may be due to the inability of cells to degrade the CRL substrate CDT1, and CDT1 overexpression has been shown to induce DNA replication. Similar cell cycle distributions were observed when NAE levels were reduced via RNAi or when NAE activity was impaired in temperature-sensitive mutant cell lines. In vivo experiments demonstrated that MLN4924 inhibited the growth of human tumor xenografts at well-tolerated doses and dosing regimens. Analysis of tumors in treated animals confirmed inhibition of the NEDD8 pathway, suggesting that these pharmacodynamic biomarkers may be helpful in monitoring NAE inhibition in patients treated with MLN4924. These preclinical results support the entry of MLN4924 into clinical development. [1] Predicting and understanding the mechanisms of drug-induced toxicity is one of the main goals of drug development. Some studies have hypothesized that inflammation may play a synergistic role in this process. Cell-based models provide an easy-to-manipulate system for studying the toxicity of such drugs. Some research teams have attempted to reproduce in vivo toxicity through combined treatment with drugs and inflammatory cytokines. In this way, researchers discovered the synergistic cytotoxicity between the research drug pevonedistat (MLN4924) and TNF-α. pevonedistat is an inhibitor of the NEDD8 activating enzyme (NAE). Inhibition of NAE prevents the activation of cullin-RING ligase, which is essential for proteasome-mediated protein degradation. TNF-α is a cytokine involved in inflammatory responses and cell death, among other biological functions. Treatment of cultured cells with a combination of pevonedistat and TNF-α, rather than using them alone, resulted in rapid cell death. This cell death was identified as being mediated by caspase-8. Interestingly, the combined treatment of pevonedistat and TNF-α also led to the accumulation of the p10 protease subunit of caspase-8, while this phenomenon was not observed when cytotoxic doses of TNF-α were used alone. In the case of blocked apoptosis, the cell death mechanism was transformed into necrotic apoptosis. The trimer MLKL was confirmed to be a biomarker of necrotic apoptosis. In vivo rat experiments also confirmed that pevonedistat and TNF-α had synergistic toxicity. Only the combination treatment led to the elevation of serum liver injury markers and necrosis of single-cell hepatocytes. In summary, the results of this study reveal a novel synergistic toxicity driven by pevonedistat and TNF-α. [2]

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The results of this study indicate that the NAE inhibitor pevonedistat is toxic when combined with the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α. The driving factor of in vitro toxicity appears to be enhanced cleavage/activation of caspase-8 p10 protease, which in turn activates apoptosis. However, the molecular mechanism between pevonedistat and caspase-8 in the cytotoxicity model of pevonedistat and TNF-α is unclear. Since cullin-3 can ubiquitinate caspase-8 (Jin et al.³⁶) and is also inhibited by pevonedistat, it is obviously a candidate target worthy of investigation, but cullin-3 knockdown did not increase sensitivity to TNF-α alone (Supplementary Figure S4). Ultimately, the role of cullin-3 in mediating co-toxicity remains undetermined. Pevonedistat alone is known to stabilize the expression of ≥120 different proteins⁴², but there is currently no evidence that these proteins interact with caspase-8. Higher-throughput methods are needed to determine whether any unknown proteins become stable under pevonedistat + TNF stimulation. Further research using pevonedistat as a tool compound will contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of programmed cell death^[2].

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1. Mechanism of action: By specifically inhibiting NAE activity, pevonedistat can block the NEDDylation pathway, leading to the inactivation of CRL E3 ligase; abnormal accumulation of CRL substrates leads to cell cycle disorder, enhanced DNA damage response, and ultimately induces cancer cell apoptosis, while normal cells have a higher tolerance to this effect^[1].
2. Synergistic mechanism: TNF-α can activate the NF-κB signaling pathway, while Pevonedistat (TAK924; MLN4924) inhibits CRL-mediated ubiquitin-dependent degradation of IκBα, leading to the accumulation of IκBα in cells, thereby continuously inhibiting NF-κB activity, blocking TNF-α-induced pro-survival signals, and enhancing the activation of TNF-α-mediated apoptosis pathway[2]

C21H25N5O4S

443.52

443.162

C, 56.87; H, 5.68; N, 15.79; O, 14.43; S, 7.23

905579-51-3

Pevonedistat hydrochloride;1160295-21-5

16720766

White to light yellow solid powder

1.6±0.1 g/cm3

721.0±70.0 °C at 760 mmHg

161-163°C

389.9±35.7 °C

0.0±2.4 mmHg at 25°C

1.769

2.16

3

8

6

31

734

4

C1CC2=CC=CC=C2[C@H]1NC3=C4C=CN(C4=NC=N3)[C@@H]5C[C@H]([C@H](C5)O)COS(=O)(=O)N

MPUQHZXIXSTTDU-QXGSTGNESA-N

InChI=1S/C21H25N5O4S/c22-31(28,29)30-11-14-9-15(10-19(14)27)26-8-7-17-20(23-12-24-21(17)26)25-18-6-5-13-3-1-2-4-16(13)18/h1-4,7-8,12,14-15,18-19,27H,5-6,9-11H2,(H2,22,28,29)(H,23,24,25)/t14-,15+,18-,19-/m0/s1

[(1S,2S,4R)-4-[4-[[(1S)-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-yl]amino]pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-7-yl]-2-hydroxycyclopentyl]methyl sulfamate

2934.99.9001

Powder      -20°C    3 years

                     4°C     2 years

In solvent   -80°C    6 months

                  -20°C    1 month

Room temperature (This product is stable at ambient temperature for a few days during ordinary shipping and time spent in Customs)

Solubility in Formulation 1: 5 mg/mL (11.27 mM) (saturation unknown) in 10% DMSO + 90% Saline (add these co-solvents sequentially from left to right, and one by one), suspension solution; with sonication.
Preparation of saline: Dissolve 0.9 g of sodium chloride in 100 mL ddH₂ O to obtain a clear solution.

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Solubility in Formulation 2: 2.5 mg/mL (5.64 mM) (saturation unknown) in 5% DMSO + 95% Saline (add these co-solvents sequentially from left to right, and one by one), suspension solution; with ultrasonication.
Preparation of saline: Dissolve 0.9 g of sodium chloride in 100 mL ddH₂ O to obtain a clear solution.

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Solubility in Formulation 3: ≥ 2.08 mg/mL (4.69 mM) (saturation unknown) in 10% DMSO + 40% PEG300 + 5% Tween80 + 45% Saline (add these co-solvents sequentially from left to right, and one by one), clear solution.
For example, if 1 mL of working solution is to be prepared, you can add 100 μL of 20.8 mg/mL clear DMSO stock solution to 400 μL PEG300 and mix evenly; then add 50 μL Tween-80 to the above solution and mix evenly; then add 450 μL normal saline to adjust the volume to 1 mL.
Preparation of saline: Dissolve 0.9 g of sodium chloride in 100 mL ddH₂ O to obtain a clear solution.

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Solubility in Formulation 4: ≥ 2.08 mg/mL (4.69 mM) (saturation unknown) in 10% DMSO + 90% (20% SBE-β-CD in Saline) (add these co-solvents sequentially from left to right, and one by one), clear solution.
For example, if 1 mL of working solution is to be prepared, you can add 100 μL of 20.8 mg/mL clear DMSO stock solution to 900 μL of 20% SBE-β-CD physiological saline solution and mix evenly.
Preparation of 20% SBE-β-CD in Saline (4°C，1 week): Dissolve 2 g SBE-β-CD in 10 mL saline to obtain a clear solution.

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Solubility in Formulation 5: ≥ 2.08 mg/mL (4.69 mM) (saturation unknown) in 10% DMSO + 90% Corn Oil (add these co-solvents sequentially from left to right, and one by one), clear solution.
For example, if 1 mL of working solution is to be prepared, you can add 100 μL of 20.8 mg/mL clear DMSO stock solution to 900 μL of corn oil and mix evenly.

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Solubility in Formulation 6: 1% DMSO 99% Saline

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 (Please use freshly prepared in vivo formulations for optimal results.)