High-throughput screening system to identify small molecules that induce internalization and degradation of HER2.

Overexpression of growth factor receptors in cancers, e.g., human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) in ovarian and breast cancers, is associated with aggressiveness. A possible strategy to treat cancers that overexpress those receptors is blockade of receptor signaling by inducing receptor internalization and degradation. In this study, we developed a cell-based high-throughput screening (HTS) system to identify small molecules that induce HER2 internalization by employing our recently developed acidic-pH-activatable probe in combination with protein labeling technology. Our HTS system enabled facile and reliable quantification of HER2 internalization with a Z' factor of 0.66 and a signal-to-noise ratio of 44.6. As proof of concept, we used the system to screen a ∼155,000 small-molecule library and identified three hits that induced HER2 internalization and degradation via at least two distinct mechanisms. This HTS platform should be adaptable to other disease-related receptors in addition to HER2.