CM-579 trihydrochloride is a first-in-class reversible and dual inhibitor of G9a and DNMT (IC50s: 16 nM, 32 nM) with potent in vitro cellular activity in a wide range of cancer cells.
EML741 also inhibits DNMT1 (IC50, 3.1 μM), with no effect on DNMT3a or DNMT3b. EML741 exhibits low cell toxicity, and is membrane permeable and blood-brain barrier penetrated. EML741 is a histone lysine methyltransferase G9a GLP inhibitor, with an IC50 of 23 nM, Kd of 1.13 μM for G9a.
The methylation of lysine residues on histones plays a central role in determining euchromatin structure and gene expression. The histone methyltransferase (HMTase) G9a can mono- or dimethylate lysine 9 on histone 3 (H3), contributing to early embryogenesis, genomic imprinting, and lymphocyte development. BIX01294 (hydrochloride hydrate) is a selective inhibitor of G9a HMTase (IC50 = 1.7 μM). It less effectively inhibits the HMTase G9a-like protein (GLP; IC50 = 38 μM) and has no effect on other known HMTases. BIX01294 has been used in combination with the calcium channel activator BayK8644 to facilitate the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells from somatic cells in vitro.