Synthesis and evaluation of a potent and selective cell-permeable p300 histone acetyltransferase inhibitor.

This paper describes the first potent and selective p300 histone acetyltransferase (HAT) inhibitor which is effective in live cells. This compound 7 is a coenzyme A analogue conjugated to a cell permeabilizing oligoArg peptide via disulfide linkage. This compound was shown to block cellular histone acetylation and transcription using a p300-sensitive reporter. It should thus be broadly useful for dissecting the role of p300 HAT activity in physiologic and disease states.