Electrophilic MiniFrags Revealed Unprecedented Binding Sites for Covalent HDAC8 Inhibitors

Screening of ultra-low-molecular weight ligands (MiniFrags) successfully identified viable chemical starting points for a variety of drug targets. Here we report the electrophilic analogues of MiniFrags that allow the mapping of potential binding sites for covalent inhibitors by biochemical screening and mass spectrometry. Small electrophilic heterocycles and their N-quaternized analogues were first characterized in the glutathione assay to analyze their electrophilic reactivity. Next, the library was used for systematic mapping of potential covalent binding sites available in human histone deacetylase 8 (HDAC8). The covalent labeling of HDAC8 cysteines has been proven by tandem mass spectrometry measurements, and the observations were explained by mutating HDAC8 cysteines. As a result, screening of electrophilic MiniFrags identified three potential binding sites suitable for the development of allosteric covalent HDAC8 inhibitors. One of the hit fragments was merged with a known HDAC8 inhibitor fragment using different linkers, and the linker length was optimized to result in a lead-like covalent inhibitor.