Discovery and optimization of novel N-benzyl-3,6-dimethylbenzo[d]-isoxazol-5-amine derivatives as potent and selective TRIM24 bromodomain inhibitors with potential anti-cancer activities

Abstract Tripartite motif-containing protein 24 (TRIM24), recognized as an epigenetic reader for acetylated H3K23 (H3K23ac) via its bromodomain, has been closely involved in tumorigenesis or tumor progression of several cancers. Developing inhibitors of TRIM24 is significant for functional studies and drug discovery. Herein, we report the identification, optimization and evaluation of N-benzyl-3,6-dimethylbenzo[d]isoxazol-5-amines as TRIM24 bromodomain inhibitors starting from an in house library screening. Structure-based optimization leads to two potent and selective compounds 11d and 11h in an Alphascreen assay with IC50 values of 1.88 μM and 2.53 μM, respectively. The viability assay demonstrates the great potential of this series of compounds as inhibitors of proliferation of prostate cancer (PC) cells LNCaP, C4-2B. A colony formation assay further supports this inhibitory activity. Compounds 11d and 11h inhibit cell proliferation of other cancer types such as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells A549 with IC50 values of 1.08 μM and 0.75 μM, respectively. These data suggests that compounds 11d and 11h are promising lead compounds for further research.