Phenomics-Based Discovery of Novel Orthosteric Choline Kinase Inhibitors.

Choline kinase alpha (CHKA) is a central mediator of cell metabolism linked to cancer and immune regulation. Cellular and clinical evaluation of CHKA has been hampered by challenges in the development of drug-like choline kinase inhibitors. Here, we identify CHKA as an unexpected off-target of histone methyltransferase inhibitors using an integrated phenomic approach. We confirm CHKA as a direct protein target of the aminoquinazolines UNC0638 and UNC0737 using a combination of chemoproteomic, biochemical, cellular, and metabolic profiling assays, possibly explaining the previously reported discrepancies observed for different G9a/GLP inhibitor scaffolds in cellular assays. Using primary human cell model systems, we discover that CHKA modulation impairs IgG secretion and B-cell maturation consistent with the notion that choline metabolism plays an important role in immune signalling. Co-crystal structures of UNC0638 and UNC0737 with CHKA unravel an unexpected binding mode and suggest the inhibitors as attractive starting points for the development of selective chemical tools to further explore the biological role of CHKA in cancer and immune metabolism.