Structure-Based Design of the Indole-Substituted Triazolopyrimidines as New EED-H3K27me3 Inhibitors for the Treatment of Lymphoma

J Med Chem. 2023 Jan 12;66(1):1063-1081. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c02028. Epub 2022 Dec 29.

Abstract

Interrupting the embryonic ectoderm development (EED)-H3K27me3 interaction represents a promising strategy to allosterically inhibit polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) for cancer therapy. In this work, we report the structure-based design of new triazolopyrimidine-based EED inhibitors, which structurally feature the electron-rich indole ring at the C8 position. Particularly, ZJH-16 directly binds to EED (HTRF IC50 = 2.72 nM, BLI KD = 4.4 nM) and potently inhibits the growth of KARPAS422 and Pfeiffer cells. In both cells, ZJH-16 is selectively engaged with EED and reduces H3K27 trimethylation levels. ZJH-16 inhibits the gene silencing function of PRC2 in KARPAS422 cells. ZJH-16 possesses favorable pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles with an excellent oral bioavailability (F = 94.7%). More importantly, ZJH-16 shows robust tumor regression in the KARPAS422 xenograft model after oral administration with the tumor growth inhibition reaching nearly 100%. The robust antitumor efficacy and favorable PK profiles of ZJH-16 warrant further advanced preclinical development for lymphoma treatment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Histones* / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Lymphoma*
  • Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 / metabolism

Substances

  • Histones
  • Polycomb Repressive Complex 2
  • EED protein, human