A Multi-target Small Molecule for Targeted Transcriptional Activation of Therapeutically Significant Nervous System Genes

Abstract

An integrated multi-target small molecule capable of altering dynamic epigenetic and transcription programs associated with the brain and nervous system has versatile applications in the regulation of therapeutic and cell-fate genes. Recently, we have been constructing targeted epigenetic ON switches by integrating sequence-specific DNA binding pyrrole-imidazole polyamides with a potent histone deacetylase inhibitor SAHA. Here, we identified a DNA-based epigenetic ON switch termed SAHA-L as the first-ever multi-target small molecule capable of inducing transcription programs associated with the human neural system and brain synapses networks in BJ human foreskin fibroblasts and 201B7-iPS cells. Ingenuity pathway analysis showed that SAHA-L activates the signaling of synaptic receptors like glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid, which are key components of autism spectrum disorders. The long-term incubation of SAHA-L in 201B7-iPS cells induced morphology changes and promoted a neural progenitor state. Our finding suggests that the tunable SAHA-L could be advanced as a cell-type-independent multi-target small molecule for therapeutic and/or cell-fate gene modulation.