Potent and specific MTH1 inhibitors targeting gastric cancer

Human mutT homolog 1(MTH1), the oxidized dNTP pool sanitizer enzyme, has been reported to be highly expressed in various malignant tumors. However, the oncogenic role of MTH1 in gastric cancer remains to be determined. In the current study, we found that MTH1 was overexpressed in human gastric cancer tissues and cells. Using an in vitro MTH1 inhibitor screening system, the compounds available in our laboratory were screened and the small molecules containing 5-cyano-6-phenylpyrimidine structure were firstly found to show potently and specifically inhibitory effect on MTH1, especially compound MI-743 with IC₅₀ = 91.44 ± 1.45 nM. Both molecular docking and target engagement experiments proved that MI-743 can directly bind to MTH1. Moreover, MI-743 could not only inhibit cell proliferation in up to 16 cancer cell lines, especially gastric cancer cells HGC-27 and MGC-803, but also significantly induce MTH1-related 8-oxo-dG accumulation and DNA damage. Furthermore, the growth of xenograft tumours derived by injection of MGC-803 cells in nude mice was also significantly inhibited by MI-743 treatment. Importantly, MTH1 knockdown by siRNA in those two gastric cancer cells exhibited the similar findings. Our findings indicate that MTH1 is highly expressed in human gastric cancer tissues and cell lines. Small molecule MI-743 with 5-cyano-6-phenylpyrimidine structure may serve as a novel lead compound targeting the overexpressed MTH1 for gastric cancer treatment.