Soft drug inhibitors for the epigenetic targets lysine-specific demethylase 1 and histone deacetylases.

Epigenetic modulators such as lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) and histone deacetylases (HDACs) are drug targets for cancer, neuropsychiatric disease, or inflammation, but inhibitors of these enzymes exhibit considerable side effects. For a potential local treatment with reduced systemic toxicity, we present here soft drug candidates as new LSD1 and HDAC inhibitors. A soft drug is a compound that is degraded in vivo to less active metabolites after having achieved its therapeutic function. This has been successfully applied for corticosteroids in the clinic, but soft drugs targeting epigenetic enzymes are scarce, with the HDAC inhibitor remetinostat being the only example. We have developed new methyl ester-containing inhibitors targeting LSD1 or HDACs and compared the biological activities of these to their respective carboxylic acid cleavage products. In vitro activity assays, cellular experiments, and a stability assay identified potent HDAC and LSD1 soft drug candidates that are superior to their corresponding carboxylic acids in cellular models.

Nitroreductase-Mediated Release of Inhibitors of Lysine-Specific Demethylase 1 (LSD1) from Prodrugs in Transfected Acute Myeloid Leukaemia Cells.

Lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) has evolved as a promising therapeutic target for cancer treatment, especially in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). To approach the challenge of site-specific LSD1 inhibition, we developed an enzyme-prodrug system with the bacterial nitroreductase NfsB (NTR) that was expressed in the virally transfected AML cell line THP1-NTR+ . The cellular activity of the NTR was proven with a new luminescent NTR probe. We synthesised a diverse set of nitroaromatic prodrugs that by design do not affect LSD1 and are reduced by the NTR to release an active LSD1 inhibitor. The emerging side products were differentially analysed using negative controls, thereby revealing cytotoxic effects. The 2-nitroimidazolyl prodrug of a potent LSD1 inhibitor emerged as one of the best prodrug candidates with a pronounced selectivity window between wild-type and transfected THP1 cells. Our prodrugs are selectively activated and release the LSD1 inhibitor locally, proving their suitability for future targeting approaches.

Beyond the BET Family: Targeting CBP/p300 with 4-Acyl Pyrroles.

Bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) inhibitors are widely used both as chemical tools to study the biological role of their targets in living organisms and as candidates for drug development against several cancer variants and human disorders. However, non-BET bromodomains such as those in p300 and CBP are less studied. XDM-CBP is a highly potent and selective inhibitor for the bromodomains of CBP and p300 derived from a pan-selective BET BRD-binding fragment. Along with X-ray crystal-structure analysis and thermodynamic profiling, XDM-CBP was used in screenings of several cancer cell lines in vitro to study its inhibitory potential on cancer cell proliferation. XDM-CBP is demonstrated to be a potent and selective CBP/p300 inhibitor that acts on specific cancer cell lines, in particular malignant melanoma, breast cancer, and leukemia.

4-Acyl Pyrroles as Dual BET-BRD7/9 Bromodomain Inhibitors Address BETi Insensitive Human Cancer Cell Lines.

Various malignant human diseases show disturbed signaling pathways due to increased activity of proteins within the epigenetic machinery. Recently, various novel inhibitors for epigenetic regulation have been introduced which promise a great therapeutic benefit. Inhibitors for the bromo- and extra-terminal domain (BET) family were of particular interest after inhibitors had shown a strong antiproliferative effect. More recently, the focus has increasingly shifted to bromodomains (BDs) outside the BET family. Based on previously developed inhibitors, we have optimized a small series of 4-acyl pyrroles, which we further analyzed by ITC, X-ray crystallography, selectivity studies, the NCI60 cell-panel, and GI50 determinations for several cancer cell lines. The inhibitors address both, BET and BRD7/9 BDs, with very high affinity and show a strong antiproliferative effect on various cancer cell lines that could not be observed for BD family selective inhibitors. Furthermore, a synergistic effect on breast cancer (MCF-7) and melanoma (SK-MEL-5) was proven.

Structure-activity studies on N-Substituted tranylcypromine derivatives lead to selective inhibitors of lysine specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) and potent inducers of leukemic cell differentiation.

FAD-dependent lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) is overexpressed or deregulated in many cancers such as AML and prostate cancer and hence is a promising anticancer target with first inhibitors in clinical trials. Clinical candidates are N-substituted derivatives of the dual LSD1-/monoamine oxidase-inhibitor tranylcypromine (2-PCPA) with a basic amine function in the N-substituent. These derivatives are selective over monoamine oxidases. So far, only very limited information on structure-activity studies about this important class of LSD1 inhibitors is published in peer reviewed journals. Here, we show that N-substituted 2-PCPA derivatives without a basic function or even a polar group are still potent inhibitors of LSD1 in vitro and effectively inhibit colony formation of leukemic cells in culture. Yet, these lipophilic inhibitors also block the structurally related monoamine oxidases (MAO-A and MAO-B), which may be of interest for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders, but this property is undesired for applications in cancer treatment. The introduction of a polar, non-basic function led to optimized structures that retain potent LSD1 inhibitors but exhibit selectivity over MAOs and are highly potent in the suppression of colony formation of cultured leukemic cells. Cellular target engagement is shown via a Cellular Thermal Shift Assay (CETSA) for LSD1.

Cellular analysis of the action of epigenetic drugs and probes.

Small molecule drugs and probes are important tools in drug discovery, pharmacology, and cell biology. This is of course also true for epigenetic inhibitors. Important examples for the use of established epigenetic inhibitors are the study of the mechanistic role of a certain target in a cellular setting or the modulation of a certain phenotype in an approach that aims toward therapeutic application. Alternatively, cellular testing may aim at the validation of a new epigenetic inhibitor in drug discovery approaches. Cellular and eventually animal models provide powerful tools for these different approaches but certain caveats have to be recognized and taken into account. This involves both the selectivity of the pharmacological tool as well as the specificity and the robustness of the cellular system. In this article, we present an overview of different methods that are used to profile and screen for epigenetic agents and comment on their limitations. We describe not only diverse successful case studies of screening approaches using different assay formats, but also some problematic cases, critically discussing selected applications of these systems.

4-Biphenylalanine- and 3-Phenyltyrosine-Derived Hydroxamic Acids as Inhibitors of the JumonjiC-Domain-Containing Histone Demethylase KDM4A.

Overexpression of the histone lysine demethylase KDM4A, which regulates H3K9 and H3K36 methylation states, has been related to the pathology of several human cancers. We found that a previously reported hydroxamate-based histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor (SW55) was also able to weakly inhibit this demethylase with an IC50 value of 25.4 µm. Herein we report the synthesis and biochemical evaluations, with two orthogonal in vitro assays, of a series of derivatives of this lead structure. With extensive chemical modifications on the lead structure, also by exploiting the versatility of the radical arylation with aryldiazonium salts, we were able to increase the potency of the derivatives against KDM4A to the low-micromolar range and, more importantly, to obtain demethylase selectivity with respect to HDACs. Cell-permeable derivatives clearly showed a demethylase-inhibition-dependent antiproliferative effect against HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cells.