The cell-permeable iron chelator M606 inhibits MYCN-driven neuroblastoma via an E2F3-mediated response

Despite Myc oncoproteins being major causal factors in human cancer, they remain "undruggable." The <i>MYCN</i> oncogene is one of the most powerful prognostic markers for the childhood cancer neuroblastoma and represents an important target for developing novel therapeutics. Here, we report the finding and characterization of M606, a selective small molecule inhibitor of MYCN, which was identified by screening a diverse chemical library. M606 reduced MYCN protein levels in neuroblastoma cell lines and upregulated hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF1A). Using siRNA-mediated knockdown of <i>MYCN</i>, <i>c-Myc</i>, or <i>HIF1A</i> in HepG2 and BE(2)-C cells followed by M606 treatment, we demonstrated that Myc downregulation and HIF1A upregulation were two independent effects of M606 treatment. M606 selectively targeted neuroblastoma cell lines expressing higher levels of MYCN protein and delayed neuroblastoma development in the <i>TH-MYCN</i> transgenic mouse model. Metabolomic analysis showed that M606 modulated glucose metabolism, consistent with a hypoxic response and iron deprivation. Biochemical characterization of M606 not only confirmed its iron-chelating properties but also revealed its ability to downregulate <i>MYCN</i> promoter activity, which could be rescued by the addition of iron. Luciferase assays identified the minimal <i>MYCN</i> promoter region required for the M606 response, which contained overlapping E2F transcription factor binding sites. Further evaluation defined a key role for E2F3 in the M606-mediated response. The finding of a potent cell-permeable iron chelator that can chelate iron to directly downregulate <i>MYCN</i> transcription via an E2F3-mediated response represents a potentially valuable therapeutic approach in the treatment of cancers overexpressing Myc oncoproteins.

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Publication Details

Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2025-06-02
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2420011122
Citations
4
Primary Topic
Neuroblastoma Research and Treatments
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
5.56

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article

The cell-permeable iron chelator M606 inhibits MYCN-driven neuroblastoma via an E2F3-mediated response

Leanna Cheung, Lioubov G. Korotchkina, David A. Scott, Andrei L. Osterman et al.
4 citations
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Neuroblastoma Research and Treatments
5.56
article

The cell-permeable iron chelator M606 inhibits MYCN-driven neuroblastoma via an E2F3-mediated response

Leanna Cheung, Lioubov G. Korotchkina, David A. Scott, Andrei L. Osterman, Murray D. Norris, Sergei S. Makarov, Catherine A. Burkhart, Francesca Ferrucci, Thomas J. Telfer, Rachel Codd, Anatoli S. Gleiberman, Stefania Purgato, Simone Di Giacomo, Natalia Fedtsova, Mikhail A. Nikiforov, Andrei V. Gudkov, Andrei A. Purmal, Michelle Haber, Glenn M. Marshall, Laura D. Gamble, Giorgio Milazzo, Marta Palombo, Giovanni Perini, Jayne Murray, Ruby Pandher, Chengyuan Xue
article en
4 citations

Abstract

Despite Myc oncoproteins being major causal factors in human cancer, they remain "undruggable." The <i>MYCN</i> oncogene is one of the most powerful prognostic markers for the childhood cancer neuroblastoma and represents an important target for developing novel therapeutics. Here, we report the finding and characterization of M606, a selective small molecule inhibitor of MYCN, which was identified by screening a diverse chemical library. M606 reduced MYCN protein levels in neuroblastoma cell lines and upregulated hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF1A). Using siRNA-mediated knockdown of <i>MYCN</i>, <i>c-Myc</i>, or <i>HIF1A</i> in HepG2 and BE(2)-C cells followed by M606 treatment, we demonstrated that Myc downregulation and HIF1A upregulation were two independent effects of M606 treatment. M606 selectively targeted neuroblastoma cell lines expressing higher levels of MYCN protein and delayed neuroblastoma development in the <i>TH-MYCN</i> transgenic mouse model. Metabolomic analysis showed that M606 modulated glucose metabolism, consistent with a hypoxic response and iron deprivation. Biochemical characterization of M606 not only confirmed its iron-chelating properties but also revealed its ability to downregulate <i>MYCN</i> promoter activity, which could be rescued by the addition of iron. Luciferase assays identified the minimal <i>MYCN</i> promoter region required for the M606 response, which contained overlapping E2F transcription factor binding sites. Further evaluation defined a key role for E2F3 in the M606-mediated response. The finding of a potent cell-permeable iron chelator that can chelate iron to directly downregulate <i>MYCN</i> transcription via an E2F3-mediated response represents a potentially valuable therapeutic approach in the treatment of cancers overexpressing Myc oncoproteins.

Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesVol. 122(23)
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (US), The University of Sydney (AU), Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (US), Discovery Institute (US), Cancer Institute (WIA) (IN), Cancer Institute of New South Wales (AU), UNSW Sydney (AU), Attagene (US), Children's Cancer Institute Australia (AU), Azienda USL di Bologna (IT), Sydney Children's Hospital (AU), New York Genome Center (US), Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IT), Buffalo BioLabs (US), University of Bologna (IT)
Cancer Institute NSW, University of New South Wales, Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Tour de Cure, National Institutes of Health, Medical Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Neuroblastoma Research and Treatments
5.56
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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