Victoria Izumi

Covalent inhibition continues to gain momentum as a strategy for selective protein modulation in both therapeutic and chemical biology contexts. Covalent reactive groups (CRGs) typically engage nucleophilic residues such as cysteine, resulting in targeted protein inactivation. However, common electrophiles such as acrylamides often suffer from nonselective reactivity, leading to off-target effects and toxicity. To overcome these limitations, we developed a modular sulfur(IV) reagent platform for the mild, late-stage installation of sulfonyl- and sulfonimidoyl-bicyclobutane motifs with complete cysteine selectivity. This methodology enables access to diverse sulfur(VI) CRGs with tunable strain-release reactivity. Incorporation into US Food and Drug Administration–approved covalent inhibitors demonstrated effective bioisosteric replacement of acrylamides and the potential of strain-release CRGs for selective protein targeting. Preclinical studies in mice have validated this approach, highlighting its promise for next-generation covalent drug design.

Detailed Supplementary Methods

Supplementary Table S4. The complete list of identified phosphopeptides after (pY) enrichment and TMT-based quantitative phosphoproteomics analysis in KRASG12C mutant lung cancer cell lines (n=8) with mean-centered log abundance values.

Supplementary Table S3. The complete list of identified phosphopeptides after global (pS/T/Y) phosphopeptides enrichment in ARS-1620 treated cells with fold change quantisation and p-value calculation.

Purpose:Covalent inhibitors of KRASG12C specifically target tumors driven by this form of mutant KRAS, yet early studies show that bypass signaling drives adaptive resistance. Although several combination strategies have been shown to improve efficacy of KRASG12C inhibitors (KRASi), underlying mechanisms and predictive strategies for patient enrichment are less clear.Experimental Design:We performed mass spectrometry–based phosphoproteomics analysis in KRASG12C cell lines after short-term treatment with ARS-1620. To understand signaling diversity and cell type–specific markers, we compared proteome and phosphoproteomes of KRASG12C cells. Gene expression patterns of KRASG12C cell lines and lung tumor tissues were examined.Results:Our analysis suggests cell type–specific perturbation to ERBB2/3 signaling compensates for repressed ERK and AKT signaling following ARS-1620 treatment in epithelial cell type, and this subtype was also more responsive to coinhibition of SHP2 and SOS1. Conversely, both high basal and feedback activation of FGFR or AXL signaling were identified in mesenchymal cells. Inhibition of FGFR signaling suppressed feedback activation of ERK and mTOR, while AXL inhibition suppressed PI3K pathway. In both cell lines and human lung cancer tissues with KRASG12C, we observed high basal ERBB2/3 associated with epithelial gene signatures, while higher basal FGFR1 and AXL were observed in cells/tumors with mesenchymal gene signatures.Conclusions:Our phosphoproteomic study identified cell type–adaptive responses to KRASi. Markers and targets associated with ERBB2/3 signaling in epithelial subtype and with FGFR1/AXL signaling in mesenchymal subtype should be considered in patient enrichment schemes with KRASi.

Legends to Supplementary Figures and Tables

Supplementary Table S3. The complete list of identified phosphopeptides after global (pS/T/Y) phosphopeptides enrichment in ARS-1620 treated cells with fold change quantisation and p-value calculation.

Supplementary Table S2. The complete list of identified phosphopeptides after (pY) enrichment in ARS-1620 treated cells with fold change quantisation and p-value calculation.

Supplementary Table S1. Relative quantification of peptides representing total KRAS, WT KRAS, free KRAS G12C protein and drug bound KRAS G12C Protein Levels.

Supplementary Table S5. The complete list of identified proteins after TMT-based quantitative proteomic analysis in KRASG12C mutant lung cancer cell lines (n=8) with mean-centered log abundance values.