August 12, 2024 | Tongchen He, Lanbo Xiao, Yuanyuan Qiao, Olaf Klingbeil, Eleanor Young, Xiaoli S. Wu, Rahul Mannan, Somnath Mahapatra, Esther Redin, Hanbyul Cho, Yi Bao, Malathi Kandarpa, Jean Ching-Yi Tien, Xiaoju Wang, Sanjana Eyunni, Yang Zheng, NamHoon Kim, Heng Zheng, Siyu Hou, Fengyun Su, Stephanie J. Miner, Rohit Mehra, Xuhong Cao, Chandrasekhar Abbini, Susanta Samajdar, Murali Ramachandra, Saravana M. Dhanasekaran, Abhijit Parolia, Charles M. Rudin, Christopher R. Vakoc, and Arul M. Chinnaiyan
This study identifies a critical dependency of POU2F3-driven small cell lung cancer (SCLC-P) and POU2AF1-dependent multiple myeloma (MM) on the mSWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex. The mSWI/SNF complex, particularly its ATPase subunit, is essential for the function of these transcription factors, which drive oncogenic signaling. Targeting the mSWI/SNF complex with a proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) degrader, AU-24118, effectively evicts POU2F3 and its coactivators from chromatin, leading to reduced downstream signaling and tumor growth inhibition in preclinical models of SCLC-P and MM. The degrader shows potent antitumor efficacy without significant toxicity, suggesting that targeting the mSWI/SNF complex represents a promising therapeutic strategy for these cancers. The study also highlights the potential of mSWI/SNF ATPase degraders in other POU2F/POU2AF-driven malignancies, emphasizing the importance of targeting transcription factor coactivators in cancer therapy.This study identifies a critical dependency of POU2F3-driven small cell lung cancer (SCLC-P) and POU2AF1-dependent multiple myeloma (MM) on the mSWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex. The mSWI/SNF complex, particularly its ATPase subunit, is essential for the function of these transcription factors, which drive oncogenic signaling. Targeting the mSWI/SNF complex with a proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) degrader, AU-24118, effectively evicts POU2F3 and its coactivators from chromatin, leading to reduced downstream signaling and tumor growth inhibition in preclinical models of SCLC-P and MM. The degrader shows potent antitumor efficacy without significant toxicity, suggesting that targeting the mSWI/SNF complex represents a promising therapeutic strategy for these cancers. The study also highlights the potential of mSWI/SNF ATPase degraders in other POU2F/POU2AF-driven malignancies, emphasizing the importance of targeting transcription factor coactivators in cancer therapy.