Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) is a class I and class II histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor that binds directly to the catalytic site of the enzyme thereby blocking substrate access. SAHA-BPyne is a SAHA derivative with a benzophenone crosslinker and an alkyne tag intended to be used for profiling HDAC activities in proteomes and live cells. Such terminal alkyne groups can be used in linking reactions, known as click chemistry, characterized by high dependability and specificity of azide-alkyne bioconjugation reactions. SAHA-BPyne labels HDAC complex proteins both in proteomes at 100 nM and in live cells at 500 nM and demonstrates an IC50 value of ~3 μM for inhibition of HDAC activity in HeLa cell nuclear lysates in an HDAC activity assay.
Isogarcinol is a natural polyisoprenylated benzophenone first isolated from plant species in the genus Garcinia. It has immunosuppressant actions, inhibiting the protein phosphatase calcineurin (IC50 = 36 μM) and suppressing the proliferation of T cells. Oral administration of isogarcinol in mice decreases delayed type hypersensitivity, prolongs graft survival in allogeneic skin transplants, suppresses inflammation in collagen-induced arthritis, and reduces clinical symptoms in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Isogarcinol inhibits the proliferation of HL-60 and PC-3 cancer cells (IC50s = 4 and 8 μg ml, respectively) through cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.