A Highly Potent TACC3 Inhibitor as a Novel Anticancer Drug Candidate

Abstract

TACC3, a transforming acidic coiled-coil (TACC) family member, is frequently upregulated in a broad spectrum of cancers, including breast cancer. It plays critical roles in protecting microtubule stability and centrosome integrity that is often dysregulated in cancers; therefore, making TACC3 a highly attractive therapeutic target. Here, we identified a new TACC3-targeting chemotype, BO-264, through the screening of in-house compound collection. Direct interaction between BO-264 and TACC3 was validated by using several biochemical methods, including drug affinity responsive target stability, cellular thermal shift assay, and isothermal titration calorimetry. BO-264 demonstrated superior antiproliferative activity to the two currently reported TACC3 inhibitors, especially in aggressive breast cancer subtypes, basal and HER2+, via spindle assembly checkpoint–dependent mitotic arrest, DNA damage, and apoptosis, while the cytotoxicity against normal breast cells was negligible. Furthermore, BO-264 significantly decreased centrosomal TACC3 during both mitosis and interphase. BO-264 displayed potent antiproliferative activity (∼90% have less than 1 μmol/L GI₅₀ value) in the NCI-60 cell line panel compromising of nine different cancer types. Noteworthy, BO-264 significantly inhibited the growth of cells harboring FGFR3–TACC3 fusion, an oncogenic driver in diverse malignancies. Importantly, its oral administration significantly impaired tumor growth in immunocompromised and immunocompetent breast and colon cancer mouse models, and increased survival without any major toxicity. Finally, TACC3 expression has been identified as strong independent prognostic factor in breast cancer and strongly prognostic in several different cancers. Overall, we identified a novel and highly potent TACC3 inhibitor as a novel potential anticancer agent, inducing spindle abnormalities and mitotic cell death.