Discovery of a nanomolar inhibitor of the human murine double minute 2 (MDM2)-p53 interaction through an integrated, virtual database screening strategy.

An integrated, virtual database screening strategy has led to 7-[anilino(phenyl)methyl]-2-methyl-8-quinolinol (4, NSC 66811) as a novel inhibitor of the murine double minute 2 (MDM2)-p53 interaction. This quinolinol binds to MDM2 with a Ki of 120 nM and activates p53 in cancer cells with a mechanism of action consistent with targeting the MDM2-p53 interaction. It mimics three p53 residues critical in the binding to MDM2 and represents a promising new class of non-peptide inhibitors of the MDM2-p53 interaction.