Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel FK228 analogues as potential isoform selective HDAC inhibitors.

Novel C4- and C7-modified FK228 analogues were efficiently synthesized in a highly convergent and unified manner. This synthesis features the amide condensation of glycine-d-cysteine-containing segments with d-valine-containing segments for the direct assembly of the corresponding seco-acids, which are key precursors of macrolactones. The HDAC inhibition assay and cell-growth inhibition analysis of the synthesized analogues revealed novel aspects of their structure-activity relationship. This study demonstrated that simple modification at the C4 and C7 side chains in FK228 is effective for improving both HDAC inhibitory activity and isoform selectivity; moreover, potent and highly isoform-selective class I HDAC1 inhibitors were identified.