Activating the p53 anti-cancer pathway by targeting the MDM2/MDMX dimer interface with short peptide segments: a computational peptide design experiment

Systematic mutation of the I485 and I489 residues of the KEIQLVIKVFI 489 A peptide leads to 14 mutant peptides that show at least three-fold preferential binding to the MDM2/MDMX interface (ΔΔ G ∼ −3.00 kcal mol −1 ) lower than the KEIQLVIKVFI 489 A peptide (ΔΔ G = −1.02 kcal mol −1 ).