Dose-dependent activation of gene expression is achieved using CRISPR and small molecules that recruit endogenous chromatin machinery.

Gene expression can be activated or suppressed using CRISPR--Cas9 systems. However, tools that enable dose-dependent activation of gene expression without the use of exogenous transcription regulatory proteins are lacking. Here we describe chemical epigenetic modifiers (CEMs) designed to activate the expression of target genes by recruiting components of the endogenous chromatin-activating machinery, eliminating the need for exogenous transcriptional activators.

Pathway-Based High-Throughput Chemical Screen Identifies Compounds That Decouple Heterochromatin Transformations.

Heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) facilitates the formation of repressive heterochromatin domains by recruiting histone lysine methyltransferase enzymes to chromatin, resulting in increased levels of histone H3K9me3. To identify chemical inhibitors of the HP1-heterochromatin gene repression pathway, we combined a cell-based assay that utilized chemical-mediated recruitment of HP1 to an endogenous active gene with high-throughput flow cytometry. Here we characterized small molecule inhibitors that block HP1-mediated heterochromatin formation.

Repressing Gene Transcription by Redirecting Cellular Machinery with Chemical Epigenetic Modifiers.

Regulation of chromatin compaction is an important process that governs gene expression in higher eukaryotes. Although chromatin compaction and gene expression regulation are commonly disrupted in many diseases, a locus-specific, endogenous, and reversible method to study and control these mechanisms of action has been lacking. To address this issue, we have developed and characterized novel gene-regulating bifunctional molecules.

Structure-inspired design of β-arrestin-biased ligands for aminergic GPCRs.

Development of biased ligands targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) is a promising approach for current drug discovery. Although structure-based drug design of biased agonists remains challenging even with an abundance of GPCR crystal structures, we present an approach for translating GPCR structural data into β-arrestin-biased ligands for aminergic GPCRs. We identified specific amino acid-ligand contacts at transmembrane helix 5 (TM5) and extracellular loop 2 (EL2) responsible for Gi/o and β-arrestin signaling, respectively, and targeted those residues to develop biased ligands.

Targeted Gene Repression Using Novel Bifunctional Molecules to Harness Endogenous Histone Deacetylation Activity.

Epigenome editing is a powerful method for life science research and could give rise to new therapies for diseases initiated or maintained by epigenetic dysregulation, including several types of cancers and autoimmune disorders. In addition, much is still unknown about the mechanisms by which histone-modifying proteins work in concert to properly regulate gene expression. To investigate and manipulate complex epigenetic interactions in live cells, we have developed a small molecule platform for specifically inducing gene repression and histone deacetylation at a reporter gene.

Report and Application of a Tool Compound Data Set.

Small molecule tool compounds have enabled profound advances in life science research. These chemicals are potent, cell active, and selective, and, thus, are suitable for interrogating biological processes. For these chemicals to be useful they must be correctly characterized and researchers must be aware of them.

Development of a S-adenosylmethionine analog that intrudes the RNA-cap binding site of Zika methyltransferase.

The Zika virus (ZIKV) has emerged as a major health hazard. We present here a high resolution structure (1.55 Å) of ZIKV NS5 methyltransferase bound to a novel S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) analog in which a 4-fluorophenyl moiety substitutes for the methyl group.

Discovery of G Protein-Biased D2 Dopamine Receptor Partial Agonists.

Biased ligands (also known as functionally selective ligands) of G protein-coupled receptors are valuable tools for dissecting the roles of G protein-dependent and independent signaling pathways in health and disease. Biased ligands have also been increasingly pursued by the biomedical community as promising therapeutics with improved efficacy and reduced side effects compared with unbiased ligands. We previously discovered first-in-class β-arrestin-biased agonists of dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) by extensively exploring multiple regions of aripiprazole, a balanced D2R agonist.

Structure-Based Design of a Covalent Inhibitor of the SET Domain-Containing Protein 8 (SETD8) Lysine Methyltransferase.

Selective inhibitors of protein lysine methyltransferases, including SET domain-containing protein 8 (SETD8), are highly desired, as only a fraction of these enzymes are associated with high-quality inhibitors. From our previously discovered SETD8 inhibitor, we developed a more potent analog and solved a cocrystal structure, which is the first crystal structure of SETD8 in complex with a small-molecule inhibitor. This cocrystal structure allowed the design of a covalent inhibitor of SETD8 (MS453), which specifically modifies a cysteine residue near the inhibitor binding site, has an IC value of 804 nM, reacts with SETD8 with near-quantitative yield, and is selective for SETD8 against 28 other methyltransferases.

Non-Substrate Based, Small Molecule Inhibitors of the Human Isoprenylcysteine Carboxyl Methyltransferase.

Activating mutations of human K-Ras proteins are among the most common oncogenic mutations, present in approximately 30% of all human cancers. Posttranslational modifications to K-Ras guide it to the plasma membrane and disruption of this localization inhibits the growth of Ras-driven cancers. The human isoprenylcysteine carboxyl methyltransferase (hIcmt) enzyme catalyzes the final α-carboxyl methylesterification of the C-terminal farnesyl cysteine of K-Ras, which is necessary for its proper localization.

A Potent, Selective, and Cell-Active Inhibitor of Human Type I Protein Arginine Methyltransferases.

Protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) play a crucial role in a variety of biological processes. Overexpression of PRMTs has been implicated in various human diseases including cancer. Consequently, selective small-molecule inhibitors of PRMTs have been pursued by both academia and the pharmaceutical industry as chemical tools for testing biological and therapeutic hypotheses.

Structure-activity relationship studies of SETD8 inhibitors.

SETD8 (also known as SET8, PR-SET7, or KMT5A (lysine methyltransferase 5A)) is the only known lysine methyltransferase that catalyzes monomethylation of histone H4 lysine 20 (H4K20). In addition to H4K20, SETD8 monomethylates non-histone substrates such as the tumor suppressor p53 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Because of its role in regulating diverse biological processes, SETD8 has been pursued as a potential therapeutic target.

Discovery of a selective, substrate-competitive inhibitor of the lysine methyltransferase SETD8.

The lysine methyltransferase SETD8 is the only known methyltransferase that catalyzes monomethylation of histone H4 lysine 20 (H4K20). Monomethylation of H4K20 has been implicated in regulating diverse biological processes including the DNA damage response. In addition to H4K20, SETD8 monomethylates non-histone substrates including proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and promotes carcinogenesis by deregulating PCNA expression.

Dissecting the chemical interactions and substrate structural signatures governing RNA polymerase II trigger loop closure by synthetic nucleic acid analogues.

The trigger loop (TL) of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is a conserved structural motif that is crucial for Pol II catalytic activity and transcriptional fidelity. The TL remains in an inactive open conformation when the mismatched substrate is bound. In contrast, TL switches from an inactive open state to a closed active state to facilitate nucleotide addition upon the binding of the cognate substrate to the Pol II active site.

Second-generation histone deacetylase 6 inhibitors enhance the immunosuppressive effects of Foxp3+ T-regulatory cells.

Second-generation Tubastatin A analogues were synthesized and evaluated for their ability to inhibit selectively histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6). Substitutions to the carboline cap group were well-tolerated with substitution at the 2-position of both β- and γ-carbolines being optimal for HDAC6 activity and selectivity. Some compounds in this series were determined to have subnanomolar activity at HDAC6 with more than 7000 fold selectivity for HDAC6 versus HDAC1.

Rational design and simple chemistry yield a superior, neuroprotective HDAC6 inhibitor, tubastatin A.

Structure-based drug design combined with homology modeling techniques were used to develop potent inhibitors of HDAC6 that display superior selectivity for the HDAC6 isozyme compared to other inhibitors. These inhibitors can be assembled in a few synthetic steps, and thus are readily scaled up for in vivo studies. An optimized compound from this series, designated Tubastatin A, was tested in primary cortical neuron cultures in which it was found to induce elevated levels of acetylated alpha-tubulin, but not histone, consistent with its HDAC6 selectivity.

Stereoselective HDAC inhibition from cysteine-derived zinc-binding groups.

A series of small-molecule histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, which feature zinc binding groups derived from cysteine, were synthesized. These inhibitors were tested against multiple HDAC isoforms, and the most potent, compound 10, was determined to have IC(50) values below 1 microM. The compounds were also tested in a cellular assay of oxidative stress-induced neurodegeneration.

Creating zinc monkey wrenches in the treatment of epigenetic disorders.

The approval of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid by the FDA for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma in October, 2006 sparked a dramatic increase in the development of inhibitors for the class of enzymes known as the histone deacetylases (HDACs). In recent years, a large number of combination therapies involving histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) have been developed for the treatment of a variety of malignancies and neurodegenerative disorders. Promising evidence has been reported for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, and leukemia as well as a number of other previously difficult to treat cancers.

Novel inhibitors of human histone deacetylase (HDAC) identified by QSAR modeling of known inhibitors, virtual screening, and experimental validation.

Inhibitors of histone deacetylases (HDACIs) have emerged as a new class of drugs for the treatment of human cancers and other diseases because of their effects on cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. In this study we have developed several quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models for 59 chemically diverse histone deacetylase class 1 (HDAC1) inhibitors. The variable selection k nearest neighbor (kNN) and support vector machines (SVM) QSAR modeling approaches using both MolconnZ and MOE chemical descriptors generated from two-dimensional rendering of compounds as chemical graphs have been employed.

Chemical origins of isoform selectivity in histone deacetylase inhibitors.

Histones undergo extensive posttranslational modifications that affect gene expression. Acetylation is a key histone modification that is primarily regulated by two enzymes, one of which is histone deacetylase (HDAC). The activity of HDAC causes transcriptional silencing of DNA.