YEATS (YAF9, ENL, AF9, TAF14, SAS5) family proteins recognize acylated histones and in turn regulate chromatin structure, gene transcription, and stress signaling. The chromosomal translocations of ENL and mixed lineage leukemia are considered oncogenic drivers in acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoid leukemia. However, known ENL YEATS domain inhibitors have failed to suppress the proliferation of 60 tested cancer cell lines. Herein, we identified four hits from the NMR fragment-based screening against the AF9 YEATS domain. Ten inhibitors of new chemotypes were then designed and synthesized guided by two complex structures and affinity assays. The complex structures revealed that these inhibitors formed an extra hydrogen bond to AF9, with respect to known ENL inhibitors. Furthermore, these inhibitors demonstrated antiproliferation activities in AF9-sensitive HGC-27 cells, which recapitulated the phenotype of the CRISPR studies against AF9. Our work will provide the basis for further structured-based optimization and reignite the campaign for potent AF9 YEATS inhibitors as a precise treatment for AF9-sensitive cancers.
YEATS(YAF9、ENL、AF9、TAF14、SAS5)家族蛋白识别乙酰化组蛋白,进而调节染色质结构、基因转录和应激信号传导。ENL和混合型白血病基因的染色体易位被认为是急性髓样白血病和急性淋巴细胞白血病的致癌驱动因子。然而,已知的ENL YEATS结构域抑制剂未能抑制60种经过测试的癌细胞系的增殖。在本研究中,我们对AF9 YEATS结构域进行了NMR基于片段的筛选,识别出四个化合物。然后,根据两个复合物结构和亲和力实验设计并合成了十种新化学类型的抑制剂。复合物结构显示,相对于已知的ENL抑制剂,这些抑制剂与AF9形成了额外的氢键。此外,这些抑制剂在对AF9敏感的HGC-27细胞中表现出抗增殖活性,这与针对AF9的CRISPR研究的表型相符。我们的工作将为进一步基于结构的优化提供基础,并重新点燃针对AF9敏感癌症的精确治疗的强效AF9 YEATS抑制剂的研究活动。