Discovery of WD Repeat-Containing Protein 5 (WDR5)-MYC inhibitors using fragment-based methods and structure-based design
AUTHORS
- PMID: 32223236 [PubMed].
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 WDR5 binds to MYC and is a critical cofactor required for the recruitment of MYC to its target genes and have 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.