Identification of a new inhibitor of KRAS-PDEδ interaction targeting KRAS mutant nonsmall cell lung cancer

Oncogenic KRAS is considered a promising target for anti-cancer therapy. However, direct pharmacological strategies targeting KRAS-driven cancers remained unavailable. The prenyl-binding protein PDEδ, a transporter of KRAS, has been identified as a potential target for pharmacological inhibitor by selectively binding to its prenyl-binding pocket, impairing oncogenic KRAS signaling pathway. Here, we discovered a novel PDEδ inhibitor (E)-N′-((3-(tert-butyl)-2-hydroxy-6,7,8,9-tetrahydrodibenzo[b,dfuran-1-yl)methylene)-2,4-dihydroxybenzohydrazide(NHTD) by using a high-throughput docking-based virtual screening approach. In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that NHTD suppressed proliferation, induced apoptosis and inhibited oncogenic K-RAS signaling pathways by disrupting KRAS-PDEδ interaction in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring KRAS mutations. NHTD redistributed the localization of KRAS to endomembranes by targeting the prenyl-binding pocket of PDEδ and exhibited the suppression of abnormal KRAS function. Importantly, NHTD prevented tumor growth in xenograft and KRAS mutant mouse model, which presents an effective strategy targeting KRAS-driven cancer.