<i>N</i>-Hydroxy-3-phenyl-2-propenamides as Novel Inhibitors of Human Histone Deacetylase with in Vivo Antitumor Activity:  Discovery of (2<i>E</i>)-<i>N</i>-Hydroxy-3-[4-[[(2-hydroxyethyl)[2-(1<i>H</i>-indol-3-yl)ethyl]amino]methyl]phenyl]-2-propenamide (NVP-LAQ824)

A series of N-hydroxy-3-phenyl-2-propenamides were prepared as novel inhibitors of human histone deacetylase (HDAC). These compounds were potent enzyme inhibitors, having IC(50)s < 400 nM in a partially purified enzyme assay. However, potency in cell growth inhibition assays ranged over 2 orders of magnitude in two human carcinoma cell lines. Selected compounds having cellular IC(50) < 750 nM were tested for maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and for efficacy in the HCT116 human colon tumor xenograft assay. Four compounds having an MTD > or = 100 mg/kg were selected for dose-response studies in the HCT116 xenograft model. One compound, 9 (NVP-LAQ824), had significant dose-related activity in the HCT116 colon and A549 lung tumor models, high MTD, and low gross toxicity. On the basis, in part, of these properties, 9 has entered human clinical trials in 2002.