{"title":"Identification of a novel small-molecule inhibitor of heterochromatin protein 1","authors":"Akari Tokuyama , Yasunobu Yamashita , Ryo Maeda , Toshiki Akiyama , Yuri Takada , Ryunosuke Yoshino , Hiroki Kato , Shengwang Yu , Yukihiro Itoh , Makoto Tachibana , Takayoshi Suzuki","doi":"10.1016/j.bmcl.2025.130469","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1), one of the epigenetic “reader” proteins, recognizes trimethylated lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3K9me3) to repressively regulate gene transcription by promoting chromatin aggregation. Overexpression of HP1 plays a role in the growth of various cancer cells. Therefore, inhibiting its interaction with H3K9me3 is considered a promising therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment. This study aimed to identify small molecules that bind to HP1 and inhibit the HP1/H3K9me3 interaction. We performed <em>in silico</em> screening of the compounds from the Osaka University Library and selected 61 virtual hit compounds. As a result of <em>in vitro</em> evaluation of the hits by an HP1/H3K9me3 interaction inhibition assay, we identified compound <strong>1</strong>, which exhibited 36 % inhibitory activity at 100 μM. Furthermore, the structural optimization of <strong>1</strong> led to the identification of (<em>R</em>)-<strong>18</strong> (IC<sub>50</sub>: 18.1 μM)—a novel small molecule that inhibits the HP1/H3K9me3 interaction.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":256,"journal":{"name":"Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters","volume":"131 ","pages":"Article 130469"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960894X25003786","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/11/9 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MEDICINAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1), one of the epigenetic “reader” proteins, recognizes trimethylated lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3K9me3) to repressively regulate gene transcription by promoting chromatin aggregation. Overexpression of HP1 plays a role in the growth of various cancer cells. Therefore, inhibiting its interaction with H3K9me3 is considered a promising therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment. This study aimed to identify small molecules that bind to HP1 and inhibit the HP1/H3K9me3 interaction. We performed in silico screening of the compounds from the Osaka University Library and selected 61 virtual hit compounds. As a result of in vitro evaluation of the hits by an HP1/H3K9me3 interaction inhibition assay, we identified compound 1, which exhibited 36 % inhibitory activity at 100 μM. Furthermore, the structural optimization of 1 led to the identification of (R)-18 (IC50: 18.1 μM)—a novel small molecule that inhibits the HP1/H3K9me3 interaction.
期刊介绍:
Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters presents preliminary experimental or theoretical research results of outstanding significance and timeliness on all aspects of science at the interface of chemistry and biology and on major advances in drug design and development. The journal publishes articles in the form of communications reporting experimental or theoretical results of special interest, and strives to provide maximum dissemination to a large, international audience.