Plant growth regulator daminozide is a selective inhibitor of human KDM2/7 histone demethylases.
Rose, N.R., Woon, E.C., Tumber, A., Walport, L.J., Chowdhury, R., Li, X.S., King, O.N., Lejeune, C., Ng, S.S., Krojer, T., Chan, M.C., Rydzik, A.M., Hopkinson, R.J., Che, K.H., Daniel, M., Strain-Damerell, C., Gileadi, C., Kochan, G., Leung, I.K., Dunford, J., Yeoh, K.K., Ratcliffe, P.J., Burgess-Brown, N., von Delft, F., Muller, S., Marsden, B., Brennan, P.E., McDonough, M.A., Oppermann, U., Klose, R.J., Schofield, C.J., Kawamura, A.(2012) J Med Chem 55: 6639-6643
- PubMed: 22724510 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/jm300677j
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
4AI8, 4AI9 - PubMed Abstract: 
The JmjC oxygenases catalyze the N-demethylation of N(ε)-methyl lysine residues in histones and are current therapeutic targets. A set of human 2-oxoglutarate analogues were screened using a unified assay platform for JmjC demethylases and related oxygenases. Results led to the finding that daminozide (N-(dimethylamino)succinamic acid, 160 Da), a plant growth regulator, selectively inhibits the KDM2/7 JmjC subfamily. Kinetic and crystallographic studies reveal that daminozide chelates the active site metal via its hydrazide carbonyl and dimethylamino groups.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Epigenetic Regulation of Chromatin Function Group, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, U.K.