Disruption of the KLHL37–N-Myc complex restores N-Myc degradation and arrests neuroblastoma growth in mouse models

Abstract

The N-Myc gene MYCN amplification accounts for the most common genetic aberration in neuroblastoma and strongly predicts the aggressive progression and poor clinical prognosis. However, clinically effective therapies that directly target N-Myc activity are limited. N-Myc is a transcription factor, and its stability is tightly controlled by ubiquitination-dependent proteasomal degradation. Here, we discovered that Kelch-like protein 37 (KLHL37) played a crucial role in enhancing the protein stability of N-Myc in neuroblastoma. KLHL37 directly interacted with N-Myc to disrupt N-Myc–FBXW7 interaction, thereby stabilizing N-Myc and enabling tumor progression. Suppressing KLHL37 effectively induced the degradation of N-Myc and had a profound inhibitory effect on the growth of MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma. Notably, we identified RTA-408 as an inhibitor of KLHL37 to disrupt the KLHL37–N-Myc complex, promoting the degradation of N-Myc and suppressing neuroblastoma in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, we elucidated the therapeutic potential of RTA-408 for neuroblastoma using patient-derived neuroblastoma cell and patient-derived xenograft tumor models. RTA408’s antitumor effects may not occur exclusively via KLHL37, and specific KLHL37 inhibitors are expected to be developed in the future. These findings not only uncover the biological function of KLHL37 in regulating N-Myc stability, but also indicate that KLHL37 inhibition is a promising therapeutic regimen for neuroblastoma, especially in patients with MYCN-amplified tumors.