Discovery of Potent 2‑Aryl-6,7-dihydro‑5<i>H</i>‑pyrrolo[1,2‑<i>a</i>]imidazoles as WDR5-WIN-Site Inhibitors Using Fragment-Based Methods and Structure-Based Design

WDR5 is a chromatin-regulatory scaffold protein overexpressed in various cancers and a potential epigenetic drug target for the treatment of mixed-lineage leukemia. Here, we describe the discovery of potent and selective WDR5-WIN-site inhibitors using fragment-based methods and structure-based design. NMR-based screening of a large fragment library identified several chemically distinct hit series that bind to the WIN site within WDR5. Members of a 6,7-dihydro-5<i>H</i>-pyrrolo­[1,2-<i>a</i>]­imidazole fragment class were expanded using a structure-based design approach to arrive at lead compounds with dissociation constants