Discovery of Novel Small-Molecule Inhibitors Disrupting the MTDH-SND1 Protein–Protein Interaction

MTDH-SND1 protein–protein interaction (PPI) plays
an important
role in the initiation and development of tumors, and it is a target
for the treatment of breast cancer. In this study, we identified and
synthesized a series of novel small-molecule inhibitors of MTDH-SND1
PPI. The representative compound C19 showed potent activity
against MTDH-SND1 PPI with an IC50 of 487 ± 99 nM
and tight binding to the SND1-purified protein with a Kd value of 279 ± 17 nM. Compound C19 significantly degraded SND1 and downregulated downstream at the
protein level. Further biological evaluations suggested that compound C19 exhibited potent activity against the proliferation of
breast cancer MCF-7 cells with an IC50 value of 626 ±
27 nM, significantly inhibited invasion and migration, and induced
cell apoptosis. In addition, compound C19 exhibited promising
tumor growth inhibition in the xenograft model. Our study provides
a potential candidate targeting MTDH-SND1 PPI for the treatment of
breast cancer.