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Discovery of WD Repeat-Containing Protein 5 (WDR5)-MYC Inhibitors Using Fragment-Based Methods and Structure-Based Design


AUTHORS

Chacón Simon S , Wang F , Thomas LR , Phan J , Zhao B , Olejniczak ET , Macdonald JD , Shaw JG , Schlund C , Payne W , Creighton J , Stauffer SR , Waterson AG , Tansey WP , Fesik SW , . Journal of medicinal chemistry. 2020 4 9; 63(8). 4315-4333

ABSTRACT

The frequent deregulation of MYC and its elevated expression via multiple mechanisms drives cells to a tumorigenic state. Indeed, MYC is overexpressed in up to ∼50% of human cancers and is considered a highly validated anticancer target. Recently, we discovered that WD repeat-containing protein 5 (WDR5) binds to MYC and is a critical cofactor required for the recruitment of MYC to its target genes and reported the first small molecule inhibitors of the WDR5-MYC interaction using structure-based design. These compounds display high binding affinity, but have poor physicochemical properties and are hence not suitable for studies. Herein, we conducted an NMR-based fragment screening to identify additional chemical matter and, using a structure-based approach, we merged a fragment hit with the previously reported sulfonamide series. Compounds in this series can disrupt the WDR5-MYC interaction in cells, and as a consequence, we observed a reduction of MYC localization to chromatin.



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