N-acylpolyamine inhibitors of HDM2 and HDMX binding to p53

Bioorg Med Chem. 2009 Dec 1;17(23):7884-93. doi: 10.1016/j.bmc.2009.10.032. Epub 2009 Oct 21.

Abstract

Selective inhibition of protein-protein interactions important for cellular processes could lead to the development of new therapies against disease. In the area of cancer, overexpression of the proteins human double minute 2 (HDM2) and its homolog HDMX has been linked to tumor aggressiveness. Both HDM2 and HDMX bind to p53 and prevent cell cycle arrest or apoptosis in damaged cells. Developing a strategy to simultaneously prevent the binding of both HDM2 and HDMX to p53 is an essential feature of inhibitors to restore p53 activity in a number of different cancers. Inhibition of protein-protein interactions with synthetic molecules is an emerging area of research that requires new inhibitors tailored to mimic the types of interfaces between proteins. Our strategy to create inhibitors of protein-protein interactions is to develop a non-natural scaffold that may be used as a starting point to identify important molecular components necessary for inhibition. In this study, we report an N-acylpolyamine (NAPA) scaffold that supports numerous sidechains in a compact atomic arrangement. NAPAs were constructed by a series of reductive aminations between amino acid derivatives followed by acylation at the resulting secondary amine. An optimized NAPA was able to equally inhibit the association of both HDM2 and HDMX with p53. Our results demonstrate some of the challenges associated with targeting multiple protein-protein interactions involved in overlapping cellular processes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemical synthesis
  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Binding, Competitive
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Fluorescence Polarization
  • Humans
  • Inhibitory Concentration 50
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Nuclear Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Nuclear Proteins / metabolism
  • Polyamines / chemical synthesis
  • Polyamines / chemistry
  • Polyamines / pharmacology*
  • Protein Binding
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / metabolism
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-mdm2 / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-mdm2 / metabolism
  • Recombinant Proteins / metabolism
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / metabolism*

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • MDM4 protein, human
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • Polyamines
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53
  • MDM2 protein, human
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-mdm2