Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40267190›Full record

ArticleScience advances2025

Pharmacologic degradation of WDR5 suppresses oncogenic activities of SS18::SSX and provides a therapeutic of synovial sarcoma.

Yao Yu, Xufen Yu, Bo Pan, Ho Man Chan, H Ümit Kaniskan, Jian Jin, Ling Cai, Gang Greg Wang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. BAF complex-independent gene activation by SS18::SSX.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Yao YuDepartment of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2849-1342
Xufen YuDepartments of Pharmacological Sciences and Oncological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7794-7890
Bo PanDepartment of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2626-1589
Ho Man ChanResearch and Early Development, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca, Waltham, MA 02451, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1117-1230
H Ümit KaniskanDepartments of Pharmacological Sciences and Oncological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5327-832X
Jian JinDepartments of Pharmacological Sciences and Oncological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2387-3862
Ling CaiDepartment of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1240-3045
Gang Greg WangDepartment of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7210-9940

Funding

Discovery of First-in-class WDR5 PROTACs as a Novel Therapeutic Strategy for MLL-rearranged LeukemiasR01CA268384 · NCI · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · PI Jian Jin, G Greg Wang · 2022 to 2026
$3.9M
The role for phase separation in oncogenesis and aberrant chromatin looping formationR01CA271603 · NCI · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI Douglas H. Phanstiel, G Greg Wang · 2022 to 2026
$2.9M
NCI NIH HHS R01 CA268384NCI NIH HHS R01 CA271603
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cancer-causing aberrations recurrently target the chromatic-regulatory factors, leading to epigenetic dysregulation. Almost all patients with synovial sarcoma (SS) carry a characteristic gene fusion, SS18::SSX, which produces a disease-specific oncoprotein that is incorporated into the switch/sucrose non-fermentable (SWI/SNF) chromatin-remodeling complexes and profoundly alters their functionalities. Targeting epigenetic dependency in cancers holds promise for improving current treatment. Leveraging on cancer cell dependency dataset, pharmacological tools, and genomic profiling, we find WDR5, a factor critical for depositing histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) methylation, to be an unexplored vulnerability in SS. Mechanistically, WDR5 and SS18::SSX interact and colocalize at oncogenes where WDR5 promotes H3K4 methylation and the chromatin association of SS18::SSX-containing chromatin-remodeling complexes. WDR5 degradation by proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC) not only suppresses the SS18::SSX-related oncogenic programs but additionally causes the ribosomal protein deregulations leading to p53 activation. WDR5-targeted PROTAC suppresses SS growth in vitro and in vivo, providing a promising strategy for the SS treatment.

Indexed as

Histone-Lysine N-MethyltransferaseIntracellular Signaling Peptides and ProteinsOncogene Proteins, FusionProteolysisSarcoma, SynovialAnimalsCell Line, TumorCell ProliferationGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHistonesHumansMethylationMiceXenograft Model Antitumor AssaysHistone-Lysine N-MethyltransferaseHistonesIntracellular Signaling Peptides and ProteinsOncogene Proteins, FusionSS18-SSX1 fusion proteinWDR5 protein, human

Identifiers

PMID40267190
PMCPMC12017321

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.