Eeyarestatin I inhibits the p97 ATPase to induce tumor cell apoptosis

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Elimination of misfolded proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by ER-associated degradation (ERAD) involves substrate retrotranslocation from the ER lumen into the cytosol for degradation by the proteasome. For many substrates, retrotranslocation requires the action of ubiquitinating enzymes, which polyubiquitinate substrates emerging from the ER lumen, and of the p97-Ufd1-Npl4 ATPase complex, which dislocates polyubiquitinated substrates into the cytosol. Polypeptides extracted by p97 are eventually transferred to the proteasome for destruction. Eeyarestatin I (EerI) was previously identified as a potent inhibitor of retrotranslocation, but the mechanism of its action is unclear. Our work demonstrates that EerI associates with the p97 ATPase to block p97-associated deubiquitination (PAD), which is essential for the degradation of misfolded ER proteins. We further identify ataxin-3 (atx3), a p97-associated deubiquitinating enzyme previously implicated in ERAD, as one of the targets affected by EerI. In the absence of PAD, substrates carrying unprocessed polyubiquitin chains reach the proteasome, but remain bound by the proteasome without being degraded. Our analyses establish a role for a novel deubiquitinating process in proteasome dependent protein turnover. Given that the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) has recently emerged as a major target for drug development in cancer therapy, we study whether EerI has anti-cancer activity. Indeed, we found that Eeyarestatin I (EerI) has anti-tumor and biologic activities similar to bortezomib, a proteasome inhibitor used in clinic to treat several types of tumors. Like bortezomib, EerI-induced cytotoxicity requires the upregulation of the BH3 only pro-apoptotic protein NOXA. We further demonstrate that both EerI and bortezomib activate NOXA via an unanticipated mechanism that requires cooperation between two processes: First, these agents elicit an integrated stress response program at the ER to activate the CREB/ATF transcription factors ATF3 and ATF4. We show that ATF3 and ATF4 form a complex capable of binding to the NOXA promoter to facilitate its transcription. Second, EerI and bortezomib also decrease the level of ubiquitinated histone H2A to relieve its inhibition on NOXA transcription. Our results identify a class of anti-cancer agents that integrate ER stress response with an epigenetic mechanism to induce cell death. Lately, we have performed the SAR analysis on EerI and used the knowledge to synthesize a small library of compounds comprising of a collection of EerI-related hydrozones. Analyses of these compounds have lead to the discovery of a class of novel compounds that are structurally distinct from EerI. However, these new compounds have similar biological activities as EerI. Compared to EerI, the newly discovered chemicals are much simpler in structure, which makes them suitable for animal studies because they can be obtained in large quantity.