An Effective Virtual Screening Protocol To Identify Promising p53-MDM2 Inhibitors

J Chem Inf Model. 2016 Jun 27;56(6):1216-27. doi: 10.1021/acs.jcim.5b00747. Epub 2016 Jun 7.

Abstract

The p53-MDM2 interaction is a well-known protein-protein contact, and its disruption is a key event for p53 activation and induction of its oncosuppressor response. The design of small molecules that can block the p53-MDM2 interaction and reactivate the p53 function is a promising strategy for cancer therapy. To date, several compounds have been identified as p53-MDM2 inhibitors, and X-ray structures of MDM2 complexed with several ligands are available in the Brookhaven Protein Data Bank. These data have been exploited to compile a hierarchical virtual screening protocol. The first steps were aimed at selecting a focused library, which was submitted in parallel to docking and pharmacophore model alignment. Selected compounds were subjected to inhibition assays of both cellular vitality (MTT) and p53-MDM2 interaction (ELISA and co-immunoprecipitation), disclosing four nanomolar inhibitors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents / metabolism
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor / methods*
  • Humans
  • Ligands
  • Molecular Docking Simulation
  • Protein Binding / drug effects
  • Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-mdm2 / chemistry
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-mdm2 / metabolism*
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / chemistry
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / metabolism*
  • User-Computer Interface

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Ligands
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-mdm2