Introduction
PF-06821497 is a potent EZH2 Inhibitor which can be used for the treatment of relapsed/refractory SCLC (small cell lung cancer), castration resistant prostate cancer, and follicular lymphoma. The structure of PF-06821497 is showed in figure 1.
EZH2 (Enhancer of zeste homolog 2) is one of the three core subunits of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), which is a highly conserved histone methyltransferase that participates in histone methylation and, ultimately, transcriptional repression.
Fig. 1 Structure of PF-06821497
Application as a EZH2 Inhibitor
EZH2 plays critical roles in a range of biological processes including organ development and homeostasis, epigenomic and transcriptomic regulation, gene repression and imprinting, and DNA damage repair. However, when mutation happens or expression is abnormal (including overexpression, downregulated expression, and expression loss), it is related to cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis.
- EZH2 and Cancer
EZH2 contains a SET domain and functions as a histone methyltransferase and it is involved in methylation of lysine 27 on histone H3, which is then transformed to H3K27me3, leading to heterochromatin formation and priming for epigenetic gene silencing and transcriptional repression (see figure 2)[1].
Fig. 2 Regulation of EZH2 in tumor cells and immune cells
Hyperactivation of EZH2 is found in a variety of malignancies including prostate, breast, uterine, gastric, and renal cell cancers in addition to melanoma. And EZH2 expression is correlated with aggressiveness, metastasis, and poor prognosis in most of these cancers. The extensive reports describing EZH2 hyperactivation in various cancers is listed in table 1[2].
Tab. 1 EZH2 hyperactivation and cancers
| Cancer type | Link to cancer | Possible associated mechanisms |
| Prostate | Overexpression | p130/RB-dependent pathways |
| Breast | Overexpression and Y641F mutant | pRB-E2F, PI3K/Akt, and estrogen receptor pathways |
| B-cell lymphoma | Overexpression and Y641F mutant | Myc pathway |
| Non-small cell lung cancers | Overexpression | pRB-E2F/Cell cycle |
- PF-06821497 (the EZH2 inhibitor)
A growing area of interest within cancer treatment are the targeted epigenetic regulators. Epigenetic regulation is a genomic process that reversibly modifies gene expression without altering DNA sequencing. One way to regulate gene expression is through inhibition of enhancer of EZH2. Pei-Pei Kung[3] reported that PF-06821497 is a potent, selective, and orally active Enhancer of EZH2 inhibitor. Importantly, PF-06821497 displayed superior LipE among all analogs synthesized in the lactam series. This superior LipE enabled the combination of excellent potency, sufficient metabolic stability, permeability, and solubility properties.
Fig. 3 PF-06821497 as an EZH2 inhibitor
Alfa Chemistry offers high quality of PF-06821497 which can be a potent EZH2 Inhibitor for the treatment of relapsed/refractory SCLC (small cell lung cancer), castration resistant prostate cancer, and follicular lymphoma, etc. Please feel free to contact us for APIs or technical services.
References
- Fang-Fei Shao, Bo-Jin Chen, Guo-Qing Wu. The functions of EZH2 in immune cells: Principles for novel immunotherapies. J Leukoc Biol. 2020;1–11.
- Tan, Jz., Yan, Y., Wang, Xx. et al. EZH2: biology, disease, and structure-based drug discovery. Acta Pharmacol Sin 35, 161–174 (2014).
- Kung PP, Bingham P, Brooun A, et al. Optimization of Orally Bioavailable Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 (EZH2) Inhibitors Using Ligand and Property-Based Design Strategies: Identification of Development Candidate (R)-5,8-Dichloro-7-(methoxy(oxetan-3-yl)methyl)-2-((4-methoxy-6-methyl-2-oxo-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl)methyl)-3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-1(2H)-one (PF-06821497). J Med Chem. 2018 Feb 8;61(3):650-665.
