Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Lysine-Stapled Peptide Inhibitors of p53-MDM2/MDMX Interactions with Potent Antitumor Activity <i>In Vivo</i>
Lei Xu, Xin Fan, Yi He, Xuefeng Xia, Jinqiang Zhang
Abstract
We introduce novel lysine-stapled peptide inhibitors targeting p53 -MDM2/MDMX interactions. Leveraging the model peptides pDI (LTFEHYWAQLTS) and PMI-M3 (LTFLEYWAQLMQ) as starting points, a series of lysine-stapled analogues were designed and synthesized. Through in vitro cell assay screening, two lead compounds, SPDI-48-T 1 and SPMI-48-T 3, were identified for their excellent antiproliferation activity. Fluorescence polarization assays revealed that both compounds exhibited strong binding affinities against MDM2 and MDMX, ascertained by K d values within the low micromolar spectrum. Further characterization of SPDI-48-T 1 and SPMI-48-T 3 demonstrated that SPDI-48-T 1 possessed superior cell permeability and serum stability. Notably, SPDI-48-T 1 displayed a dose-dependent suppression of tumor growth in an HCT116 xenograft mouse model. Our findings indicate that SPDI-48-T 1 holds promise as a lead compound for further development as an anticancer agent by modulating p53 -MDM2/MDMX interactions. Additionally, this study also proved that the lysine stapling strategy may serve as a robust approach for generating peptide ligands targeting other protein–protein interactions.