Novel YAP1/TAZ pathway inhibitors identified through phenotypic screening with potent anti-tumor activity via blockade of GGTase-I / Rho-GTPase signaling

SUMMARY This study describes the identification and target deconvolution of novel small molecule inhibitors of oncogenic YAP1/TAZ activity with potent anti-tumor activity in vivo. A high-throughput screen (HTS) of 3.8 million compounds was conducted using a cellular YAP1/TAZ reporter assay. Target deconvolution studies identified the geranylgeranyltransferase-I (GGTase-I) complex, as the direct target of YAP1/TAZ pathway inhibitors. The novel small molecule inhibitors block the activation of Rho-GTPases, leading to subsequent inactivation of YAP1/TAZ and inhibition of cancer cell proliferation in vitro. Multi-parameter optimization resulted in BAY-593, an in vivo probe with favorable PK properties, which demonstrated anti-tumor activity and blockade of YAP1/TAZ signaling in vivo . SIGNIFICANCE YAP1/TAZ have been shown to be aberrantly activated oncogenes in several human solid tumors, resulting in enhanced cell proliferation, metastasis and provision of a pro-tumorigenic microenvironment, making YAP1/TAZ targets for novel cancer therapies. Yet, the development of effective inhibitors of these potent oncogenes has been challenging. In this work, we break new ground in this direction through the identification of novel inhibitors of YAP1/TAZ activity. Graphical abstract HIGHLIGHTS Novel YAP1/TAZ pathway inhibitors identified by phenotypic high-throughput screen Target deconvolution identifies GGTase-I as the direct target of the novel YAP1/TAZ pathway inhibitors GGTase-I inhibitors block Rho-GTPase signaling and downstream YAP1/TAZ GGTase-I inhibitor BAY-593 demonstrates potent anti-tumor activity in vivo