A high affinity pan-PI3K binding module supports selective targeted protein degradation of PI3Kα

Abstract

Class I phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) control cellular growth, but are also essential in insulin signaling and glucose homeostasis. Pan-PI3K inhibitors thus generate substantial adverse effects, a reality that has plagued drug development against this target class. We present here evidence that a high affinity binding module with the capacity to target all class I PI3K isoforms can facilitate selective degradation of the most frequently mutated class I isoform, PI3Kα, when incorporated into a cereblon-targeted (CRBN) degrader. A systematic proteomics study guided the fine tuning of molecular features to optimize degrader selectivity and potency. Our work resulted in the creation of WJ112-14, a PI3Kα-specific nanomolar degrader that should serve as an important research tool for studying PI3K biology. Given the toxicities observed in the clinic with unselective PI3Kα inhibitors, the results here offer a new approach toward selectively targeting this frequently mutated oncogenic driver.