Discovery of novel FUT8 inhibitors with promising affinity and in vivo efficacy for colorectal cancer therapy

As a member of glycosyltransferases, fucosyltransferase 8 (FUT8) is essential to core fucosylation and has been considered as a potential therapeutic target for malignant tumors, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Based on the identification of key binding residues and probable conformation of FUT8, an integrated strategy that combines virtual screening and chemical optimization was carried out and compound 15 was identified as a potent FUT8 inhibitor with novel chemical structure and in vitro antitumor activity. Moreover, chemical pulldown experiments and binding assays confirmed that compound 15 selectively bound to FUT8. In vivo, compound 15 showed promising anti-CRC effects in SW480 xenografts. These data support that compound 15 is a potential FUT8 inhibitor for CRC treatment and deserve further optimization studies.