Identification and Assessments of Novel and Potent Small-Molecule Inhibitors of EED-EZH2 Interaction of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 by Computational Methods and Biological Evaluations

Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) is an attractive drug target for anti-cancer treatment. Among the three core subunits (EZH2, EED and SUZ12) of PRC2, EZH2 is the catalytic subunit that methylates histone 113 lysine 27 (H3K27), while EED is the regulatory subunit. Besides the small-molecule inhibitors of EZH2, those targeting the protein-protein interaction (PPI) between EZH2 and EED have also been reported. Here, for the first time, we have identified the key residues that contributed most to the EED-EZH2 binding affinity by molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) calculations based on the 200 ns molecular dynamics simulation. Moreover, we report the identification of two novel and potent small-molecule inhibitors (35 and 49) of EZH2-EED interaction (bottom interaction surface) by virtual screening and biological evaluations. Binding modes of the two identified molecules with EED were probed by molecular docking. Additionally, 35 and 49 displayed cellular antiproliferative activity against diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) cancer cell line Toledo whose cell growth was driven by aberrant PRC2 activity. Our findings have provided structural insights for the design of novel EZH2-EED interaction inhibitors to regulate the activity of PRC2 complex.