PMID: 26592798 , Related PDB ids: 5DQ8, 5DQE

Authors:

Pobbati AV, Han X, Hung AW, Weiguang S, Huda N, Chen GY, Kang C, Chia CS, Luo X, Hong W, Poulsen A

Title:

Targeting the Central Pocket in Human Transcription Factor TEAD as a Potential Cancer Therapeutic Strategy.

Journal:

Structure. 2015 Nov 3;23(11):2076-86. doi: 10.1016/j.str.2015.09.009. Epub 2015, Oct 22.

Abstract:

The human TEAD family of transcription factors (TEAD1-4) is required for YAP-mediated transcription in the Hippo pathway. Hyperactivation of TEAD's co-activator YAP contributes to tissue overgrowth and human cancers, suggesting that pharmacological interference of TEAD-YAP activity may be an effective strategy for anticancer therapy. Here we report the discovery of a central pocket in the YAP-binding domain (YBD) of TEAD that is targetable by small-molecule inhibitors. Our X-ray crystallography studies reveal that flufenamic acid, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), binds to the central pocket of TEAD2 YBD. Our biochemical and functional analyses further demonstrate that binding of NSAIDs to TEAD inhibits TEAD-YAP-dependent transcription, cell migration, and proliferation, indicating that the central pocket is important for TEAD function. Therefore, our studies discover a novel way of targeting TEAD transcription factors and set the stage for therapeutic development of specific TEAD-YAP inhibitors against human cancers.