Protein tyrosine phosphatase inactivation by electrophilic tyrosine modification

Covalent protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) inhibitors principally target the catalytic cysteine, which is highly conserved and presents challenges for achieving selectivity across the PTP family. Here, we identified a tyrosine-reactive covalent inhibitor for SHP2 (DML189) with secondary molecular glue activity via a ligand induced protein tethering (LIPT) mechanism. We detected ligand binding at Y279, which is in proximity to the catalytic cysteine on SHP2 and has known functional and pathogenic properties. Covalent SHP2 modification by DML189 induced reversible disulfide tethering and monomer loss that was not observed to the same extent on PTP1B, LYP, or SHP1. Crosslinking mass spectrometry detected unique tethering events involving regulatory cysteines after DML189 modification on SHP2. Together, we discovered a tyrosine reactive inhibitor that targets functional sites on SHP2 and exhibits molecular glue activity through LIPT.