NSC232003 is a highly potent and cell-permeable UHRF1 inhibitor, which inhibits DNA methylation in vitro and disrupts DNMT1/UHRF1 interactions at a cellular level.

NSC232003, a uracil derivative freely available by the NCI/DTP repository, provides a versatile lead for developing highly potent and cell-permeable UHRF1 inhibitors that will enable dissection of DNA methylation inheritance. NSC232003 is indeed an effective DNA methylation inhibitor and indicate that this particular nucleotide scaffold could provide a versatile basis for the design of potent UHRF1 inhibitors. NSC232003 is predicted to be partially deprotonated at pH 7, as the pKa of the more acidic imide nitrogen of the pyrimidine ring is a value of 7.6 in NSC232003. The DNMT1/UHRF1 interactions are significantly reduced after 4 h of incubation of U251 glioma cells with the most potent compound NSC232003, showing a 50% interaction inhibition at 15 μM as well as induction of global DNA cytosine demethylation as measured by ELISA[1].

[1]. Myrianthopoulos V, et al. Tandem virtual screening targeting the SRA domain of UHRF1 identifies a novel chemical tool modulating DNA methylation. Eur J Med Chem. 2016 May 23;114:390-6.