Journal of the American Chemical Society
Article
trifluoroacetic acid (0.1%) in 10 min and a flow rate of 10 mL/min.
The fractions containing Pr-SNF were collected. The volatile solvents
were removed by SpeedVac. The resultant solution was lyophilized to
give the desirable product 3c with overall 7% from compound 4. Pr-
SNF was dissolved in water and stored at −20 °C before use. The
compounds 3a, 3b, and 3d were obtained in a similar manner
(Supporting Information).
methyltransferases, though structurally similar in terms of
conversed SAM-binding motifs, can display a broad range of
affinity to the same ligand (e.g., SAM and sinefungin) and this
variation, even between closely related methyltransferases,
could not be readily justified according to their static
structures.3,8−10 This observation therefore argues that
individual protein methyltransferases may achieve tight
interaction with specific ligands by adopting alternative but
better matched conformations. Our current success in
identifying the N-alkyl sinefungin analogues as SETD2
inhibitors presents the utility and power of using privileged
scaffolds to probe these distinct conformations in the course of
developing PKMT inhibitors. Given that only a limited number
of sinefungin analogues and PKMTs are examined here, we
envision a promising use of structural variants of sinefungin as
structure and chemical probes to elucidate functions of protein
methyltransferases.
1
3a. R = Me, 52% yield. H NMR (600 MHz, MeOD): δ 1.96−
2.03(m, 2H), 2.05−2.08(m, 2H), 2.25−2.29(m, 2H), 2.64(s, 3H),
3.43−3.45(m, 1H), 3.99−4.03(m, 1H), 4.19−4.22(m, 1H), 4.36(t, 1H,
J = 5.9 Hz), 4.65(dd, 1H, J = 5.4 Hz, 3.7 Hz), 6.01(d, 1H, J = 3.7 Hz),
8.35(s, 1H), 8.36(s, 1H); 13C NMR (150 MHz, MeOD): δ 26.54,
27.60, 31.43, 33.55, 53.59, 58.23, 74.86, 75.01, 80.92, 91.85, 117.99(q,
J = 289.7 Hz), 121.15, 143.44, 149.45, 150.10, 154.64, 162.57(q, J =
35.5 Hz),171.52; MS(ESI) m/z: 396 [M+H]+; HRMS: calcd for
C17H28N7O5 ([M+H]+): 396.1995; found: 396.1982.
3b. R = Et, 56% yield. 1H NMR (600 MHz, MeOD): δ 1.11(t, 3H,
J = 7.2 Hz), 1.93−1.97(m, 2H), 1.99−2.07(m, 2H), 2.23−2.27(m,
1H), 2.28−2.32(m, 1H), 3.05(q, 2H, J = 7.2 Hz), 3.46−3.48(m, 1H),
3.97(t, 1H, J = 6.0 Hz), 4.19−4.22(m, 1H), 4.37(t, 1H, J = 6.0 Hz),
4.70(dd, 1H, J = 5.4 Hz, 3.8 Hz), 5.99(d, 1H, J = 3.8 Hz), 8.30(s, 2H);
13C NMR (150 MHz, MeOD): δ 11.53, 26.99, 27.71, 33.51, 41.92,
53.75, 56.89, 74.57, 75.17, 80.91, 91.78, 118.09(q, J = 289.2 Hz),
121.12, 142.79, 150.26, 151.64, 156.02, 162.70(q, J = 35.4 Hz),171.77 ;
MS(ESI) m/z: 410 [M+H]+; HRMS: calcd for C17H28N7O5 ([M
+H]+): 410.2152; found: 410.2142.
CONCLUSION
■
In this work, we outlined an approach, apart from the
conventional high-throughput screening, to identify target-
specific methyltransferase inhibitors by screening privileged
small-molecule scaffolds against diverse methyltransferases.
Among the small set of sinefungin derivatives synthesized
here, Pr-SNF and N-benzyl sinefungin were identified as
SETD2-specific inhibitors with decent potency and selectivity.
The preferential interaction between the N-alkyl sinefungin
analogues and SETD2 attributes to the distinct transition-state
features of SETD2’s catalytically active conformer. With Pr-
SNF as a structure probe, we further revealed a dual role of
SETD2’s post-SET loop on regulating substrate access through
a distinct topological reconfiguration. The current work further
argues that even closely related SET-domain-containing
PKMTs, which contain almost identical SAM-binding motifs,
can adopt distinct configurations and thus be selectively
inhibited by well-designed small molecules. Although sinefun-
gin was regarded as a pan-inhibitor of methyltransferases, we
demonstrated that well-designed sinefungin variants can go
beyond the pan-inhibitor category and thus stand as lead
compounds for further optimization. Given sinefungin contains
rich structural motifs including primary amine, carboxylic acid,
adenine and ribosyl moieties and thus can be subject to further
derivatization, privileged sinefungin scaffolds are expected to
show broad use in the course of developing inhibitors and
interrogating functions of methyltransferases.
3c. R = Pr, 57% yield. 1H NMR (500 MHz, MeOD): δ 0.83(t, 3H, J
= 7.4 Hz), 1.42−1.49(m, 1H), 1.52−1.59(m, 1H), 1.94−2.09(m, 4H),
2.21−2.26(m, 1H), 2.29−2.35(m, 1H), 2.92(t, 2H, J = 8.0 Hz) 3.44−
3.48(m, 1H), 4.01(t, 1H, J = 6.0 Hz), 4.19−4.22(m, 1H), 4.40(t, 1H, J
= 6.0 Hz), 4.67(dd, 1H, J = 5.4 Hz, 3.4 Hz), 6.02(d, 1H, J = 3.4 Hz),
8.35(s, 1H), 8.36(s, 1H); 13C NMR (150 MHz, MeOD): δ 11.20,
20.77, 27.05, 27.64, 33.32, 48.23, 53.54, 57.29, 74.83, 75.16, 80.91,
91.90, 117.92 (q, J = 289.4 Hz),121.11, 143.47, 149.35, 150.09, 154.55,
162.44(q, J = 35.8 Hz),171.50; MS(ESI) m/z: 424 [M+H]+; HRMS:
calcd for C18H30N7O5 ([M+H]+): 424.2308; found: 424.2296.
1
3d. R = Bn, 30% yield. H NMR (600 MHz, MeOD): δ 1.97−
2.10(m, 4H), 2.31 (ddd, 1H, J = 15.8 Hz, 5.8 Hz, 3.2 Hz), 2.40−
2.45(m, 1H), 3.57−3.59(m, 1H), 3.99(t, 1H, J = 6.0 Hz), 4.12(d, 1H, J
= 13.0 Hz), 4.20(d, 1H, J = 13.0 Hz), 4.41(t, 1H, J = 6.0 Hz), 4.70(dd,
1H, J = 5.8 Hz, 4.0 Hz), 5.49(s, 2H), 5.99(d, 1H, J = 3.8 Hz), 7.10(d,
2H, J = 7.2 Hz), 7.23(t, 2H, J = 7.2 Hz), 7.31(t, 1H, J = 7.2 Hz),
8.20(s, 1H), 8.33(s, 1H); 13C NMR (150 MHz, MeOD): δ 27.09,
27.87, 32.45, 53.71, 54.96, 57.08, 74.33, 74.84, 80.98, 91.88, 121.22,
130.22, 130.55, 130.68, 132.26, 142.88, 150.14, 151.49, 155.86,
162.55(q, J = 35.4 Hz), 171.75; MS(ESI) m/z: 472 [M+H]+;
HRMS: calcd for C22H30N7O5 ([M+H]+): 472.2308; found: 472.2299.
Protein Expression and Purification for the Assays of
Enzymatic Activities. Full-length SET7/9, SET8 (residues 191−
395), SETD2 (residues 1347−1711, native and mutants), GLP
(residues 951−1235), G9a (residues 913−1193), SUV39H2 (residues
112−410), PRMT1 (residues 10−352), PRMT3 (residues 211−531),
and CARM1 (residues 19−608) were expressed and purified as
previously reported (see the Supporting Information). DOT1L
(residues 1−420), SUV420H1 (residues 69−335), and SUV420H2
(residues 2−248) containing an N-terminal His tag were overex-
pressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) V2R-pRARE (SGC) and purified by Ni-
NTA column (Qiagen). The EZH2 complex containing EZH2
(residues 1−751), EED (residues 1−441), and SUZ12 (residues 1−
739) and the MLL complex containing MLL (residues 3745−3969),
WDR5 (residues 1−334), and RBBP5 (residues 1−538) were cloned
in a pFastBac Dual vector (Invitrogen) with an N-terminal His6-tag on
MLL or EZH2. Both complexes were expressed in SF9 cells and
purified by a Ni-NTA column. Additional purification steps were used
if needed.
METHODS
■
Synthesis and Characterization of Pr-SNF 3c. To a stirred
solution of 12c (0.02 mmol) in methanol (10 mL) was added
potassium carbonate (14 mg, 0.1 mmol). The resultant mixture was
stirred at ambient temperature for 8 h, concentrated to dryness, and
then redissolved in 10 mL water. To the mixture was added hydrazine
monohydrate (5 μL, 0.1 mmol). The reaction was stirred for 8 h at
ambient temperature, neutralized with 1 M aqueous HCl, and then
concentrated under reduced pressure. This mixture was then dissolved
in 6 mL ethanol:water (5:1). To this solution was added 20 μL acetic
acid and palladium on activated carbon (15 mg, 10 wt %, wet Degussa
type). The subsequent hydrogenation reaction was carried out with
hydrogen balloon for 12 h. The reaction mixture was filtered through a
short pad of Celite and washed out with 20 mL MeOH and then 20
mL 0.1% TFA/water. The combined filtrates were concentrated under
reduced pressure. The resultant crude products were purified by
preparative reversed-phase HPLC (XBridge Prep C18 5 μm OBD 19
× 150 mm) with 0−15% gradient of acetonitrile in aqueous
Biochemical Assays of Methylation Activities. Three assays
(the filter paper assay, scintillation proximity assay (SPA), and the fiber
filterplate assay) were used to determine the activities of
methyltransferases according to the readiness of assay reagents and
3
the characters of enzymes. The filter paper assay, in which H-Me of
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dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja307060p | J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134, 18004−18014