What's new on CDC25 phosphatase inhibitors

The CDC25 phosphatases are key regulators of cell cycle progression and play a central role in the checkpoint response to DNA damage. Their inhibition may therefore represent a promising therapeutic approach in oncology, and small molecule design strategies are currently leading to the identification of various classes of CDC25 inhibitors. Most structures developed so far are quinonoid-based compounds, but also phosphate surrogates or electrophilic entities. Considering the characteristics of the highly conserved active sites of the enzymes, many mechanisms of action have been proposed for these inhibitors. Quinonoid compounds may oxidize the catalytic site cysteine, but can also be considered as Michaël acceptors capable of reacting with the activated thiolate or other electrophilic entities. Phosphate surrogates are thought to interfere with the arginine residue, leading to reversible enzyme inhibition. But some inhibitors can combine in the same molecule several of these mechanisms, thus by fitting into the active site of the enzyme through one part of the molecule and bringing the reactive moiety in close proximity to the catalytic cysteine. This review summarizes novel classes of inhibitors that show specificity for the CDC25s over other phosphatases, cause cell proliferation inhibition and cell cycle arrest in vitro but also, for several of them, inhibition of xenografted tumoral cell growth in vivo. These promising results confirm the interest of the inhibition of CDC25 phosphatases as an anticancer therapeutic strategy.