Fragments deliver (another) inhibitor for CBP and EP300

In 2016 we highlighted a chemical probe that binds two closely related bromodomains, CBP (cyclic-AMP response element binding protein) and EP300 (adenoviral E1A binding protein of 300 kDa). These proteins bind to acetylated lysine residues in various nuclear receptors and are implicated in several types of cancer. Multiple chemical probes are always nice to have, and in a new paper in Eur. J. Med. Chem., Yong Xu and collaborators at Guangzhou Medical University, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jilin University, the University of Hong Kong, and the University of Auckland go some way towards this goal.

The researchers started with a virtual screen of 272,741 fragments (MW < 300 Da) docked against CBP. The top 5000 were clustered into related subsets and analyzed manually. Of thirteen fragments purchased and tested in an AlphaScreen assay, two had IC₅₀ values better than 40 µM. Compound 6 was slightly less potent, but showed good selectivity against three other bromodomains.

The docking model of compound 6 suggested that more bulk between the indole and the carboxylic acid could be beneficial. Several molecules were made and tested, with compound 25e being the most potent. A related molecule was characterized crystallographically bound to CBP; this suppored the predicted binding mode.

Next, various small lipophilic elements were added to try to pick up additional interactions, ultimately leading to compound 32h, with low nanomolar affinity. This compound, which is equally active against EP300, also showed promising selectivity: it had no activity in a panel of six other bromodomains, including BRD9, which is inhibited by the chemical probe (CPI-637) mentioned above. Unfortunately compound 32h has no activity in cells, which the researchers speculate is due to the carboxylic acid. Masking this moiety with a tert-butyl ester causes a modest reduction in the biochemical activity but does lead to low micromolar activity in several cell assays.

Although much remains to be done, this is a nice example of advancing a computationally-derived fragment with limited structural information. I suspect we’ll see more of these, particularly for well-understood target families.