Novel Covalent Probe Selectively Targeting Glutathione Peroxidase 4 In Vivo: Potential Applications in Pancreatic Cancer Therapy

Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) emerges as a promising target for the treatment of therapy-resistant cancer through ferroptosis. Thus, there is a broad interest in the development of GPX4 inhibitors. However, a majority of reported GPX4 inhibitors utilize chloroacetamide as a reactive electrophilic warhead, and the selectivity and pharmacokinetic properties still need to be improved. Herein, we developed a compound library based on a novel electrophilic warhead, the sulfonyl ynamide, and executed phenotypic screening against pancreatic cancer cell lines. Notably, one compound A16 exhibiting potent cell toxicity was identified. Further chemical proteomics investigations have demonstrated that A16 specifically targets GPX4 under both in situ and in vivo conditions, inducing ferroptosis. Importantly, A16 exhibited superior selectivity and potency compared to reported GPX4 inhibitors, ML210 and ML162. This provides the structural diversity of tool probes for unraveling the fundamental biology of GPX4 and exploring the therapeutic potential of pancreatic cancer via ferroptosis induction.