Discovery of new tranylcypromine derivatives as highly potent LSD1 inhibitors

Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of the Selective and Orally Active LSD1 Inhibitor with the Potential of Treating Heart Failure

LSD1 has become an appealing target for the development of new pharmacologic agents to treat cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure. Herein, we reported the design, synthesis, and structure-activity relationship of a series of TCP-based derivatives targeting LSD1. Docking studies were employed to successfully elucidate the SAR. Particularly, compound 7d, characterized by low toxicity, demonstrated a high affinity for LSD1 at molecular and cellular levels. It also displayed favorable pharmacokinetic properties for oral dosing (e.g., F = 77.61%), effectively alleviating Ang II-induced NRCFs activation in vitro and reducing pathological myocardial remodeling in TAC-induced cardiac remodeling and heart failure in vivo. Additionally, mechanism studies revealed that suppression of myocardial dysfunction by compound 7d is related to LSD1 inhibition-induced TGFβ signaling pathway repressing. In summary, the current report presents compound 7d as a potent LSD1 inhibitor with the potential for further development as a therapeutic agent for pressure overload-related heart failure.

A Quinquennial Review of Potent LSD1 Inhibitors Explored for the Treatment of Different Cancers, with Special Focus on SAR Studies

Cancer bears a significant share of global mortality. The enzyme Lysine Specific Demethylase 1 (LSD1, also known as KDM1A), since its discovery in 2004, has captured the attention of cancer researchers due to its overexpression in several cancers like acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), solid tumours, etc. The Lysine Specific Demethylase (LSD1) downregulation is reported to have an effect on cancer proliferation, migration, and invasion. Therefore, research to discover safer and more potent LSD1 inhibitors can pave the way for the development of better cancer therapeutics. These efforts have resulted in the synthesis of many types of derivatives containing diverse structural nuclei. The present manuscript describes the role of Lysine Specific Demethylase 1 (LSD1) in carcinogenesis, reviews the LSD1 inhibitors explored in the past five years and discusses their comprehensive structural activity characteristics apart from the thorough description of LSD1. Besides, the potential challenges, opportunities, and future perspectives in the development of LSD1 inhibitors are also discussed. The review suggests that tranylcypromine derivatives are the most promising potent LSD1 inhibitors, followed by triazole and pyrimidine derivatives with IC₅₀ values in the nanomolar and sub-micromolar range. A number of potent LSD1 inhibitors derived from natural sources like resveratrol, protoberberine alkaloids, curcumin, etc. are also discussed. The structural-activity relationships discussed in the manuscript can be exploited to design potent and relatively safer LSD1 inhibitors as anticancer agents.

Discovery of novel tranylcypromine-based derivatives as LSD1 inhibitors for gastric cancer treatment

As an important epigenetic regulator, histone lysine specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) has become an attractive target for the discovery of anticancer agents. In this work, a series of tranylcypromine-based derivatives were designed and synthesized. Among them, compound 12u exhibited the most potent inhibitory potency on LSD1 (IC₅₀ = 25.3 nM), and also displayed good antiproliferative effects on MGC-803, KYSE450 and HCT-116 cells with IC₅₀ values of 14.3, 22.8 and 16.3 μM, respectively. Further studies revealed that compound 12u could directly act on LSD1 and inhibit LSD1 in MGC-803 cells, thereby significantly increasing the expression levels of mono-/bi-methylation of H3K4 and H3K9. In addition, compound 12u could induce apoptosis and differentiation, inhibit migration and cell stemness in MGC-803 cells. All these findings suggested that compound 12u was an active tranylcypromine-based derivative as a LSD1 inhibitor that inhibited gastric cancer.

Annual review of lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1/KDM1A) inhibitors in 2021

Lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1/KDM1A) has emerged as a promising epigenetic target for disease treatment. Several LSD1 inhibitors have advanced into clinical trials. Following our last annual review on LSD1 inhibitors in 2020 (Eur. J. Med. Chem. 2021, 214, 113254), in this review we aim to update LSD1 inhibitors including natural products, synthetic compounds and cyclic peptides reported during 2021. Design strategies, structure-activity relationships, binding model analysis and modes of action are highlighted. In particular, two FDA-approved antihypertensive drugs raloxifene and fenoldopam were repurposed as reversible LSD1 inhibitors. The clinical candidate TAK-418 for treating neurodevelopmental disorders and PET imaging agent [¹⁸F]30 for LSD1 were identified. Moreover, dual inhibitors targeting both LSD1 and HDAC6 or tubulin displayed enhanced anti-cancer effects than single agents. These compounds further enrich the structural types of LSD1 inhibitors.

Installation of Pargyline, a LSD1 Inhibitor, in the HDAC Inhibitory Template Culminated in the Identification of a Tractable Antiprostate Cancer Agent

Pragmatic insertion of pargyline, a LSD1 inhibitor, as a surface recognition part in the HDAC inhibitory pharmacophore was planned in pursuit of furnishing potent antiprostate cancer agents. Resultantly, compound 14 elicited magnificent cell growth inhibitory effects against the PC-3 and DU-145 cell lines and led to remarkable suppression of tumor growth in human prostate PC-3 and DU-145 xenograft nude mouse models. The outcome of the enzymatic assays ascertained that the substantial antiproliferative effects of compound 14 were mediated through HDAC6 isoform inhibition as well as selective MAO-A and LSD1 inhibition. Moreover, the signatory feature of LSD1 inhibition by 14 in the context of H3K4ME2 accumulation was clearly evident from the results of western blot analysis. Gratifyingly, hydroxamic acid 14 demonstrates good human hepatocytic stability and good oral bioavailability in rats and exhibits enough promise to emerge as a therapeutic for the treatment of prostate cancer in the near future.