Advancing the development of TRIP13 inhibitors: A high-throughput screening approach

TRIP13, a promising target for cancer therapy, has been identified as a key regulator of the mitotic checkpoint. Overexpression of TRIP13 is associated with poor clinical outcomes in various cancers. Inhibition of TRIP13 has the potential to address therapeutic challenges in cancer, particularly in therapy-resistant and Rb-deficient cancers. Despite the potential therapeutic benefits of TRIP13 inhibition, the development of TRIP13 inhibitors has been hindered by the lack of a robust high-throughput screening (HTS) assay. We developed a luminescence-based biochemical assay for TRIP13 activity to address this challenge using the ADP-Glo detection system. This assay offers high sensitivity, low background signal, and ease of automation, making it ideal for HTS applications. A pilot screen of kinase-focused inhibitors library and a large-scale screen of 4000 additional compounds demonstrated the assay's robust performance with a z'-factor exceeding 0.85 and a signal-to-background (S/B) ratio near 6. From the 50 initial hits, rigorous validation identified anlotinib as the most potent TRIP13 inhibitor with an IC₅₀ of 5 μM. A cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA) confirmed the direct binding of anlotinib to TRIP13, validating the potential of our biochemical assay for identifying novel TRIP13 inhibitors. Our study provides a valuable tool for discovering novel TRIP13 inhibitors and advances our understanding of the therapeutic potential of targeting TRIP13 in cancer.