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Inhibition of lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1), a flavin-dependent histone demethylase, has recently emerged as a new strategy for treating cancer and other diseases. LSD1 interacts physically with SNAIL1, a member of the SNAIL/SCRATCH family of transcription factors. This study describes the discovery of SNAIL1 peptide-based inactivators of LSD1. We designed and prepared SNAIL1 peptides bearing a propargyl amine, hydrazine, or phenylcyclopropane moiety. Among them, peptide 3, bearing hydrazine, displayed the most potent LSD1-inhibitory activity in enzyme assays. Kinetic study and mass spectrometric analysis indicated that peptide 3 is a mechanism-based LSD1 inhibitor. Furthermore, peptides 37 and 38, which consist of cell-membrane-permeable oligoarginine conjugated with peptide 3, induced a dose-dependent increase of dimethylated Lys4 of histone H3 in HeLa cells, suggesting that they are likely to exhibit LSD1-inhibitory activity intracellularly. In addition, peptide 37 decreased the viability of HeLa cells. We believe this new approach for targeting LSD1 provides a basis for development of potent selective inhibitors and biological probes for LSD1.

To find HDAC8-selective inhibitors, we designed a library of HDAC inhibitor candidates, each containing a zinc-binding group that coordinates with the active-site zinc ion, linked via a triazole moiety to a capping structure that interacts with residues on the rim of the active site. These compounds were synthesized by using click chemistry. Screening identified HDAC8-selective inhibitors including C149 (IC(50) = 0.070 μM), which was more potent than PCI-34058 (6) (IC(50) = 0.31 μM), a known HDAC8 inhibitor. Molecular modeling suggested that the phenylthiomethyl group of C149 binds to a unique hydrophobic pocket of HDAC8, and the orientation of the phenylthiomethyl and hydroxamate moieties (fixed by the triazole moiety) is important for the potency and selectivity. The inhibitors caused selective acetylation of cohesin in cells and exerted growth-inhibitory effects on T-cell lymphoma and neuroblastoma cells (GI(50) = 3-80 μM). These findings suggest that HDAC8-selective inhibitors have potential as anticancer agents.

Guided by the proposed catalytic mechanism of histone deacetylases (HDACs), we designed and synthesized a series of boronic acid-based HDAC inhibitors bearing an alpha-amino acid moiety. In this series, compounds (S)-18, 20, and 21 showed potent HDAC-inhibitory activity, highlighting the significance of the (S)-amino acid moiety. In cancer cell growth inhibition assays, compounds (S)-18, 20, and 21 exerted strong activity, and the values of the ratio of the concentration causing 50% growth inhibition (GI(50)) to the concentration causing 50% enzyme inhibition (IC(50)), i.e., GI(50)/IC(50), were low. The potency of these compounds was similar to that of clinically used suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) (2). The results of Western blot analysis indicated that the cancer cell growth-inhibitory activity of compounds (S)-18, 20, and 21 is the result of HDAC inhibition. A molecular modeling study suggested that the hydrated boronic acid interacts with zinc ion, Tyr residue, and His residue in the active site of HDACs. Our findings indicate that these boronic acid derivatives represent an entry into a new class of HDAC inhibitors.