MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key players in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumorigenesis. Therefore, small molecules targeting components of miRNA biogenesis may provide new therapeutic means for HCC treatment. By a high-throughput screening and structural simplification, we identified a small molecule, CIB-3b, which suppresses the growth and metastasis of HCC in vitro and in vivo by modulating expression profiles of miRNAome and proteome in HCC cells. Mechanistically, CIB-3b physically binds to transactivation response (TAR) RNA-binding protein 2 (TRBP) and disrupts the TRBP–Dicer interaction, thereby altering the activity of Dicer and mature miRNA production. Structure–activity relationship study via the synthesis of 45 CIB-3b derivatives showed that some compounds exhibited a similar inhibitory effect on miRNA biogenesis to CIB-3b. These results support TRBP as a potential therapeutic target in HCC and warrant further development of CIB-3b along with its analogues as a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of HCC.

中文翻译：

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通过调节 microRNA 生物发生发现一种新型小分子抑制剂破坏 TRBP-Dicer 相互作用对抗肝细胞癌

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) 是人类肝细胞癌 (HCC) 肿瘤发生的关键参与者。因此，靶向miRNA生物发生成分的小分子可能为HCC的治疗提供新的治疗手段。通过高通量筛选和结构简化，我们鉴定了一种小分子 CIB-3b，它在体外和体内抑制 HCC 的生长和转移通过调节 HCC 细胞中 miRNA 组和蛋白质组的表达谱。从机制上讲，CIB-3b 与反式激活反应 (TAR) RNA 结合蛋白 2 (TRBP) 物理结合并破坏 TRBP-Dicer 相互作用，从而改变 Dicer 的活性和成熟 miRNA 的产生。通过合成 45 种 CIB-3b 衍生物的构效关系研究表明，一些化合物对 miRNA 生物发生的抑制作用与 CIB-3b 相似。这些结果支持 TRBP 作为 HCC 的潜在治疗靶点，并需要进一步开发 CIB-3b 及其类似物作为治疗 HCC 的新治疗策略。