Project description:The dynamic and reversible acetylation of proteins catalyzed by histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs) was discovered more than 2 decades ago and the enzymatic function of these enzymes are established as a major epigenetic regulatory mechanism of gene transcription. Thus, these epigenetic modifiers are involved in multiple diseases and represent attractive targets for therapeutic intervention. While HDAC inhibitors have been developed and approved by the FDA to treat certain cancers, progress on the development of drug-like HAT inhibitors has lagged. The HAT paralogs p300 and CBP (here called p300/CBP) are key transcriptional co-activators that are essential for a multitude of cellular processes and also implicated in human pathological conditions, including cancer. Current p300/CBP HAT domain inhibitors including natural products and bisubstrate analogs such as Lys-CoA either lack potency and selectivity or suffer from poor cellular permeability. C646 is widely utilized as a tool to inhibit p300/CBP HAT activity, but its off-target activity and reactivity may limit its cellular specificity. Here, we describe A-485 as a potent, selective and drug-like p300/CBP catalytic inhibitor. We show the first high resolution (1.95Å) co-crystal structure of a pharmacologically active small molecule (A-485) bound to the catalytic active site of p300 HAT domain and demonstrate that A-485 is an acetyl-CoA competitive inhibitor of p300/CBP. A-485 selectively inhibited proliferation across lineage-specific tumor types, including several hematological malignancies and androgen receptor-positive prostate cancer. A-485 robustly inhibited the androgen receptor transcriptional program in both androgen sensitive and castrate resistant prostate cancer and inhibited tumor growth in a castration resistant xenograft model. These results demonstrate the feasibility of selectively drugging the catalytic activity of histone acetyltransferases, provide the framework for delineating the enzymatic functions of HATs, and pave the way for the development of novel therapeutics targeting HAT activity.

Project description:Histone acetyltransferases (HAT) catalyze the acylation of lysine side chains and are implicated in diverse human cancers as both oncogenes and non-oncogene dependencies. Acetyl-CoA-competitive HAT inhibitors have garnered attention as potential cancer therapeutics and the first clinical trial for this class is ongoing (NCT04606446). Despite broad enthusiasm for these targets, notably including CBP/p300 and KAT6A/B, the potential mechanisms of therapeutic response and evolved drug resistance remain poorly understood. Using comparative transcriptional genomics, we found that the direct gene regulatory consequences of CBP/p300 HAT inhibition are indistinguishable in models of intrinsically hypersensitive and insensitive acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We therefore modelled acquired drug resistance using a forward genetic selection and identified dysregulation of coenzyme A (CoA) metabolism as a facile driver of resistance to HAT inhibitors. Specifically, drug resistance selected for mutations in PANK3, a pantothenate kinase that controls the rate limiting step in CoA biosynthesis. These mutations prevent negative feedback inhibition, resulting in drastically elevated concentrations of intracellular acetyl-CoA, which directly outcompetes drug-target engagement. This not only impacts the activity of structurally diverse CBP/p300 HAT inhibitors, but also agents related to an investigational KAT6A/B inhibitor that is currently in Phase-1 clinical trials. We further validated these results using a genome-scale CRISPR/Cas9 loss-of-function genetic modifier screen, which identified additional gene-drug interactions between HAT inhibitors and the CoA biosynthetic pathway. Top hits from the screen included the phosphatase, PANK4, which negatively regulates CoA production and therefore suppresses sensitivity to HAT inhibition upon knockout, as well as the pantothenate transporter, SLC5A6, which enhances sensitivity. Altogether, this work uncovers CoA plasticity as an unexpected but potentially class-wide liability of anti-cancer HAT inhibitors and will therefore buoy future efforts to optimize the efficacy of this new form of targeted therapy.

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Expression profile of melanoma cells following p300 HAT inhibition

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