Abstract 5881: Novel inhibitors of the epigenetic reader protein MBD2

Abstract

Abstract DNA hypermethylation can trigger silencing of tumor suppressor genes during cancer development and progression, partly through binding by methylated-DNA binding proteins (MBD), such as MBD2, that function as “epigenetic readers” and recruit co-repressor complexes to promote gene repression. Inhibiting MBD2-mediated repression represents an attractive cancer therapeutic strategy. Here, we used a cell-based screen to identify small molecules capable of reactivating hypermethylated promoter sequences. We used biochemical, molecular biologic, and pharmacologic approaches to characterize mechanism of action of identified MBD2 inhibitors. A subset of these compounds represent a new class of inhibitors capable of selectively antagonizing interactions between MBD2 and methylated DNA, leading to reactivation of the hypermethylated gene GSTP1 and the epigenetically silenced retinoic acid signaling pathway. Combinations of one of the newly identified MBD2 inhibitors, KCC-08, with the retinoic acid receptor agonist, isotretinoin, significantly reduced cancer cell growth/survival in vitro and in vivo. These novel MBD2 inhibitors are thus positioned for further pharmacologic lead development for use as probes to interrogate epigenetic gene silencing mechanisms and as cancer therapeutics. Citation Format: Hugh Giovinazzo, Zachary R. Reichert, Andries Bergman, Xiaohui Lin, Nicolas Wyhs, David Esopi, Ajay Vaghasia, Jianyong Liu, Yash Jain, Akshay Bhamidipati, Ruchama Steinberg, Traci Speed, Matthew Vaughn, Yonggang Zhang, Nate Brennen, Theodore Deweese, Srinivasan Yegnasubramanian, William G. Nelson. Novel inhibitors of the epigenetic reader protein MBD2 [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5881.