Mdm2 as a potential target for mushrooms LMW compounds.

In some human cancer cases, the activity of p53 is inhibited by the overexpressed Mdm2 (E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase Mdm2) oncoprotein.1 Mdm2 acts as an ubiquitin ligase, resulting in p53 ubiquitination and subsequent p53 proteasomal degradation. The disruption of the Mdm2-p53 interaction using small-molecule inhibitors is recognized as a promising strategy for anticancer drug design.2 Mushrooms are a vast and yet largely untapped source of powerful new pharmaceutical products. In particular, and most importantly for modern medicine, they represent an unlimited source of compounds with antitumor and immunostimulating properties.3 In this study, a total of 85 LMW (low molecular weight) compounds present in mushrooms were used in a protein-ligand docking experiment using a Mdm2 protein structure (PDB:1T4E) as receptor protein target.