Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41955111›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2026

Structure-guided design of 7-azaindole DNMT1 inhibitors active against hypomethylating agent-resistant acute myeloid leukemia.

Shibing Tang, Liangyi Zong, Shuyuan Ma, Yini Shang, Jiale Wei, Jianguang Liu, Ying Cui, Huahui Guo, Kang Zou, Kezhi Wang and 7 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Shibing Tang *Institute of Drug Discovery, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, China-New Zealand Joint Laboratory on Biomedicine and Health, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China.
Liangyi Zong *Institute of Drug Discovery, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, China-New Zealand Joint Laboratory on Biomedicine and Health, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China.
Shuyuan Ma *Key Laboratory of Glyco-drug Research of Zhejiang Province, School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310024, China.
Yini Shang *Institute of Drug Discovery, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, China-New Zealand Joint Laboratory on Biomedicine and Health, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China.
Jiale Wei *Key Laboratory of Glyco-drug Research of Zhejiang Province, School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310024, China.
Jianguang LiuInstitute of Drug Discovery, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, China-New Zealand Joint Laboratory on Biomedicine and Health, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China.
Ying CuiDepartment of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287.
Huahui GuoInstitute of Drug Discovery, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, China-New Zealand Joint Laboratory on Biomedicine and Health, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China.
Kang ZouInstitute of Drug Discovery, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, China-New Zealand Joint Laboratory on Biomedicine and Health, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China.
Kezhi WangInstitute of Drug Discovery, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, China-New Zealand Joint Laboratory on Biomedicine and Health, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China.
Hongkun LiKey Laboratory of Glyco-drug Research of Zhejiang Province, School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310024, China.
Fei YeCollege of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
Jing HuangState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou 510060, China.
Cheng LuoKey Laboratory of Glyco-drug Research of Zhejiang Province, School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310024, China.
Zhihai LiKey Laboratory of Glyco-drug Research of Zhejiang Province, School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310024, China.
Stephen B BaylinDepartment of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287.ORCID 0000-0003-3697-3798
Xiangqian KongInstitute of Drug Discovery, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, China-New Zealand Joint Laboratory on Biomedicine and Health, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China.

Funding

CAS | Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences (GIBH) GIBHBRP24-03CAS | Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences (GIBH) GIBHMRP2025-02Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) XDB1250000GDSTC | Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province () 2023B0303000023GDSTC | Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province () 2025A1515012895Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology (GDSTC) GZNL2023A02012| Guangdong Provincial Pearl River Talents Program () 2021QN02Y734MOST | National Key Research and Development Program of China (NKPs) 2022YFC3400500MOST | National Key Research and Development Program of China (NKPs) 2023YFD1800102MOST | National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) 82404017MOST | National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) 82473951MOST | National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) U23A20108
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pharmacological reversal of abnormal promoter DNA hypermethylation at tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) is a key therapeutic paradigm for cancer management. However, the clinical efficacy of currently approved nucleoside analog hypomethylating agents (HMAs) is limited by dose-dependent toxicity and high resistance rates. Nonnucleoside, DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1)-selective inhibitors offer a promising alternative. To date, only limited chemotypes, exemplified by the dicyanopyridine derivative GSK3685032 (GSK5032), have demonstrated translatable DNMT1 inhibition, with resistance emerging upon prolonged exposure. To address these limitations, we employ structure-guided scaffold hopping and chemical optimization to develop a series of DNMT1 inhibitors (DNMT1i) featuring a bicyclic 7-azaindole scaffold. We identify DMI46, a potent enzymatic DNMT1i capable of reversing cancer-specific DNA methylation abnormalities and TSG silencing, leading to robust antileukemic effects and favorable tolerability. Cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) studies reveal that the 7-azaindole inhibitor exhibits enhanced intercalation into hemi-methylated CpG dyads and increased minor-groove contacts within the DNMT1/hemimethylated DNA complex compared to GSK5032. These structural features enable sustained DNMT1 targeting and significant antiproliferative activity of DMI46 in GSK5032-resistant acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells. We also demonstrate DMI46's capacity to overcome AML resistance to nucleoside-based HMAs both in vitro and in vivo. These findings introduce a distinct DNMT1i chemotype with enhanced on-target engagement and broad applicability against HMA-resistant AML.

Indexed as

Antineoplastic AgentsDNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferase 1Drug Resistance, NeoplasmEnzyme InhibitorsIndolesLeukemia, Myeloid, AcuteAnimalsCell Line, TumorDNA MethylationDrug DesignHumansMice7-azaindole dimerAntineoplastic AgentsDNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferase 1DNMT1 protein, humanEnzyme InhibitorsIndolesacquired drug resistanceDNA hypomethylating agentsDNMT1 inhibitorsstructure-based drug designtumor suppressor gene silencing

Identifiers

PMID41955111
PMCPMC13079937

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.