Design, synthesis and evaluation of pyrimidinobenzylamide and pyrimidinothiophenamide derivatives as inhibitors of DOT1L and related epigenetic targets DNMT3a, PRMT4 and other HMTs.

The histone methyltransferase DOT1L (DOT1 like, disruptor of telomeric silencing) is responsible for methylation of H3K79, leading to oncogene transcription, and it is involved in the development of different types of cancers such as MLL-rearranged leukemia (MLL-r, myeloid-lymphoid leukemia). Inhibitors of DOT1L have therapeutic potential. Thus, we present herein the based design and the multi-step synthesis of different series of non-nucleosidic compounds that mimic the -adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) cofactor and inhibit DOT1L.