Plant growth regulator daminozide is a selective inhibitor of human KDM2/7 histone demethylases.
Rose NR., Woon ECY., Tumber A., Walport LJ., Chowdhury R., Li XS., King ONF., Lejeune C., Ng SS., Krojer T., Chan MC., Rydzik AM., Hopkinson RJ., Che KH., Daniel M., Strain-Damerell C., Gileadi C., Kochan G., Leung IKH., Dunford J., Yeoh KK., Ratcliffe PJ., Burgess-Brown N., von Delft F., Muller S., Marsden B., Brennan PE., McDonough MA., Oppermann U., Klose RJ., Schofield CJ., Kawamura A.
The JmjC oxygenases catalyze the N-demethylation of N(ε)-methyl lysine residues in histones and are current therapeutic targets. A set of human 2-oxoglutarate analogues were screened using a unified assay platform for JmjC demethylases and related oxygenases. Results led to the finding that daminozide (N-(dimethylamino)succinamic acid, 160 Da), a plant growth regulator, selectively inhibits the KDM2/7 JmjC subfamily. Kinetic and crystallographic studies reveal that daminozide chelates the active site metal via its hydrazide carbonyl and dimethylamino groups.