Discovery of HDAC6-Selective Inhibitor NN-390 with in Vitro Efficacy in Group 3 Medulloblastoma

J Med Chem. 2022 Feb 24;65(4):3193-3217. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c01585. Epub 2022 Feb 4.

Abstract

Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) has been targeted in clinical studies for anticancer effects due to its role in oncogenic transformation and metastasis. Through a second-generation structure-activity relationship (SAR) study, the design, and biological evaluation of the selective HDAC6 inhibitor NN-390 is reported. With nanomolar HDAC6 potency, >200-550-fold selectivity for HDAC6 in analogous HDAC isoform functional assays, potent intracellular target engagement, and robust cellular efficacy in cancer cell lines, NN-390 is the first HDAC6-selective inhibitor to show therapeutic potential in metastatic Group 3 medulloblastoma (MB), an aggressive pediatric brain tumor often associated with leptomeningeal metastases and therapy resistance. MB stem cells contribute to these patients' poor clinical outcomes. NN-390 selectively targets this cell population with a 44.3-fold therapeutic margin between patient-derived Group 3 MB cells in comparison to healthy neural stem cells. NN-390 demonstrated a 45-fold increased potency over HDAC6-selective clinical candidate citarinostat. In summary, HDAC6-selective molecules demonstrated in vitro therapeutic potential against Group 3 MB.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Brain Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Computer Simulation
  • Drug Discovery
  • Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor
  • Histone Deacetylase 6 / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors / chemical synthesis*
  • Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Humans
  • Medulloblastoma / drug therapy*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Docking Simulation
  • Neoplastic Stem Cells / drug effects
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors
  • HDAC6 protein, human
  • Histone Deacetylase 6