Louis V. LaFrance

Benzodiazepinedione inhibitors of the Hdm2:p53 complex suppress human tumor cell proliferation in vitro and sensitize tumors to doxorubicin in vivo.

The activity and stability of the p53 tumor suppressor are regulated by the human homologue of the mouse double minute 2 (Hdm2) oncoprotein. It has been hypothesized that small molecules disrupting the Hdm2:p53 complex would allow for the activation of p53 and result in growth suppression. We have identified small-molecule inhibitors of the Hdm2:p53 interaction using our proprietary ThermoFluor microcalorimetry technology. Medicinal chemistry and structure-based drug design led to the development of an optimized series of benzodiazepinediones, including TDP521252 and TDP665759. Activities were dependent on the expression of wild-type (wt) p53 and Hdm2 as determined by lack of potency in mutant or null p53-expressing cell lines or cells engineered to no longer express Hdm2 and wt p53. TDP521252 and TDP665759 inhibited the proliferation of wt p53-expressing cell lines with average IC50s of 14 and 0.7 μmol/L, respectively. These results correlated with the direct cellular dissociation of Hdm2 from wt p53 observed within 15 minutes in JAR choriocarcinoma cells. Additional activities of these inhibitors in vitro include stabilization of p53 protein levels, up-regulation of p53 target genes in a DNA damage–independent manner, and induction of apoptosis in HepG2 cells. Administration of TDP665759 to mice led to an increase in p21waf1/cip1 levels in liver samples. Finally, TDP665759 synergizes with doxorubicin both in culture and in an A375 xenograft model to decrease tumor growth. Taken together, these data support the potential utility of small-molecule inhibitors of the Hdm2:p53 interaction for the treatment of wt p53-expressing tumors. [Mol Cancer Ther 2006;5(1):160–9]

Substituted 1,4-benzodiazepine-2,5-diones as α-helix mimetic antagonists of the HDM2-p53 protein-protein interaction

Small molecule antagonists of protein–protein interactions represent a particular challenge for pharmaceutical discovery. One approach to finding molecules that can disrupt these interactions is to seek mimics of common protein structure motifs. We present an analysis of how molecules based on the 1,4‐benzodiazepine‐2,5‐dione scaffold serve to mimic the side‐chains presented by the hydrophobic face of two turns of an α‐helix derived from the tumor suppressor protein p53, and thus antagonize the HDM2‐p53 protein–protein binding interaction.