Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of HDAC6 inhibitors targeting L1 loop and serine 531 residue

• Published in: European journal of medicinal chemistry 2024-02, Vol.265, p.116057-116057, Article 116057
• Main Authors: Jha, Sonam, Kim, Ji Hyun, Kim, Mikyung, Nguyen, Ai-Han, Ali, Khan Hashim, Gupta, Sunil K., Park, Sun You, Ha, Eunyoung, Seo, Young Ho
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Epigenetics; Histone Deacetylase 6; Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors - chemistry; Histone Deacetylases - metabolism; Histones - metabolism; Hydroxamic Acids - chemistry; Lung cancer; Molecular Docking Simulation; Small molecule
• ISSN: 0223-5234; 1768-3254
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.116057

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are a group of enzymes that remove acetyl groups from histones, leading to the silencing of genes. Targeting specific isoforms of HDACs has emerged as a promising approach for cancer therapy, as it can overcome drawbacks associated with pan-HDAC inhibitors. HDAC6 is a unique HDAC isoform that deacetylates non-histone proteins and is primarily located in the cytoplasm. It also has two catalytic domains and a zinc-finger ubiquitin binding domain (Zf-UBD) unlike other HDACs. HDAC6 plays a critical role in various cellular processes, including cell motility, protein degradation, cell proliferation, and transcription. Hence, the deregulation of HDAC6 is associated with various malignancies. In this study, we report the design and synthesis of a series of HDAC6 inhibitors. We evaluated the synthesized compounds by HDAC enzyme assay and identified that compound 8g exhibited an IC50 value of 21 nM and 40-fold selective activity towards HDAC6. We also assessed the effect of compound 8g on various cell lines and determined its ability to increase protein acetylation levels by Western blotting. Furthermore, the increased acetylation of α-tubulin resulted in microtubule polymerization and changes in cell morphology. Our molecular docking study supported these findings by demonstrating that compound 8g binds well to the catalytic pocket via L1 loop of HDAC6 enzyme. Altogether, compound 8g represents a preferential HDAC6 inhibitor that could serve as a lead for the development of more potent and specific inhibitors. [Display omitted] •HDAC6 inhibitors were designed, synthesized, and biologically evaluated.•Compound 8g preferentially inhibited HDAC6 and induce the acetylation of α-tubulin.•Compound 8g blocked the growth of H1975 non-small cell lung cancer cells.•Compound 8g inhibited tumor growth in H1975 xenografts mice models.