BET degrader inhibits tumor progression and stem-like cell growth via Wnt/β-catenin signaling repression in glioma cells

Based on their histological appearance, gliomas are a very common primary tumor type of the brain and are classified into grades, Grade I to Grade IV, of the World Health Organization. Treatment failure is due to the cancer stem cells (CSC) phenotype maintenance and self-renewal. BET degraders such as ZBC260 represents a novel class of BET inhibitors that act by inducing BET proteins degradation. This study explores the mode of action and effects of ZBC260 in vivo and in vitro against glioma. By inhibiting cell proliferation and inducting cell cycle arrest, the fact that glioma cell lines show sensitivity to ZBC260. Notably, ZBC260 targeted glioma without side effects in vivo. In addition, the stem cell-like properties of glioma cells were inhibited upon ZBC260 treatment. When the mechanism was examined, our findings indicated that Wnt/β-catenin pathway repression is required for ZBC260-induced stem cell-like properties and tumor growth suppression. In conclusion, the growth of tumors and stem cell-like properties were inhibited by ZBC260 via Wnt/β-catenin repression, which suggests ZBC260 as a potential therapeutic agent for glioma.