Sulfinyl Aziridines as Stereoselective Covalent Destabilizing Degraders of the Oncogenic Transcription Factor MYC

Abstract

Abstract Although MYC is a significant oncogenic transcription factor driver of cancer, directly targeting MYC has remained challenging due to its intrinsic disorder and poorly defined structure, deeming it “undruggable.” Whether transient pockets formed within unstructured regions of proteins can be selectively targeted with small molecules remains an outstanding challenge. Here, we developed a stereochemically paired spirocyclic oxindole aziridine covalent library and screened this library for degradation of MYC. We identified a hit covalent ligand, KL2‐236, bearing a unique sulfinyl aziridine warhead, that engaged MYC as a pure MYC/MAX protein complex, and in cancer cells to destabilize MYC, inhibit MYC transcriptional activity and degrade MYC in a proteasome‐dependent manner through targeting intrinsically disordered C203 and D205 residues. Notably, this reactivity was most pronounced for specific stereoisomers of KL2‐236 with a diastereomer, KL4‐019, that was largely inactive. Mutagenesis of both C203 and D205 completely attenuated KL2‐236‐mediated MYC degradation. We also optimized our KL2‐236 hit compound to generate a more potent, selective, and durable MYC degrader, KL4‐219A. Our results reveal a novel ligandable site within MYC and indicate that certain intrinsically disordered regions within transcription factors, such as MYC, can be interrogated by isomerically unique chiral small molecules, leading to destabilization and degradation.