by Chandru Gajendran, Subramanyam Janardhan Tantry, Naveen Sadhu M., Zainuddin Mohammed, Purushottam Dewang, Mahanandeesha Hallur, Sreekala Nair, Krishnakumar Vaithilingam, Basavaprabhu Nagayya, Sridharan Rajagopal, Dhanalakshmi Sivanandhan
Dually targeting the epigenetic proteins lysine specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) and histone deacetylases (HDACs) that play a key role in cancer cells by modulating gene repressor complexes including CoREST will have a profound effect in inhibiting tumour growth. Here, we evaluated JBI-097 a dual LSD1/HDAC6 inhibitor, for its in vitro and in vivo activities in various tumor models. In vitro, JBI-097 showed a strong potency in inhibiting LSD1 and HDAC6 enzymatic activities with the isoform selectivity over other HDACs. Cell-based experiments demonstrated a superior anti-proliferative profile against haematological and solid tumor cell lines. JBI-097 also showed strong modulation of HDAC6 and LSD1 specific biomarkers, alpha-tubulin, CD86, CD11b, and GFi1b. In vivo, JBI-097 showed a stronger effect in erythroleukemia, multiple myeloma xenograft models, and in CT-26 syngeneic model. JBI-097 also showed efficacy as monotherapy and additive or synergistic efficacy in combination with the standard of care or with immune checkpoint inhibitors. These and other findings suggest that JBI-097 could be a promising molecule for targeting the LSD1 and HDAC6. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the mechanism of action.