Small-Molecule FICD Inhibitors Suppress Endogenous and Pathologic FICD-Mediated Protein AMPylation

The AMP transferase, FICD, is an emerging drug target fine-tuning stress signaling in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). FICD is a bifunctional enzyme, catalyzing both AMP addition (AMPylation) and removal (deAMPylation) from the ER-resident chaperone BiP/GRP78. Despite increasing evidence linking excessive BiP/GRP78 AMPylation to human diseases, small molecules that inhibit pathogenic FICD variants are lacking. Using an in vitro high-throughput screen, we identify two small-molecule FICD inhibitors, C22 and C73. Both molecules significantly inhibit FICD-mediated BiP/GRP78 AMPylation in intact cells while only weakly inhibiting BiP/GRP78 deAMPylation. C22 and C73 also inhibit pathogenic FICD variants and improve proinsulin processing in β cells. Our study identifies and validates FICD inhibitors, highlighting a novel therapeutic avenue against pathologic protein AMPylation.