Abstact

Structurally novel inhibitors of the lysine methyltransferase G9a have attracted considerable interest as potential drug candidates for cancer and genetic diseases. Here, a detailed account of potency optimization from early leads 8 and 9 to compound 16g is presented. Our search for an alternative scaffold for the 4-oxo-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-indole moiety of compounds 8 and 9 via parallel synthesis led to the identification of the 4-pyridin-4-ylamino phenyl substructure in compound 16g. This substructure was found to bind to the enzyme in a horizontally flipped manner compared with compound 8 in X-ray crystallographic analysis. Compound 16g is a highly potent G9a inhibitor (IC50 = 0.0020 μM) and structurally distinct from other G9a inhibitors reported in the literature. Importantly, compound 16g exhibited dose-dependent induction of γ-globin mRNA in HUDEP-2, leading to elevated γ-globin protein levels and F cell numbers in CD34+ bone marrow (BM)‒derived hematopoietic cells. Kinetic studies using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis suggested that compound 16g interacts with G9a via a unique binding mode, as indicated by the markedly higher dissociation constant (KD) compared to those of compounds 8 and 9. Interestingly, X-ray crystallographic studies revealed that the binding motif of compound 16g was quite different from our previous series, including RK-701, and somewhat resembles that of endogenous substrates. Insights obtained in this lead optimization exercise on the association/dissociation constants as well as the binding motifs are expected to help in designing future G9a inhibitors for the treatment of sickle cell disease.