A simple cell-based HTS assay system to screen for inhibitors of p53-Hdm2 protein-protein interactions

Green fluorescent protein-assisted readout for interacting proteins (GRIP) is a universal protein interaction discovery system that can be used to generate truly high throughput screening-compatible cellular assays to be used to screen for inhibitors of protein-protein interactions. The technology uses a "bait and prey" principle based on the distinct translocation behavior of the human cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase 4A4. Here we use the p53-Hdm2 Redistribution assay (Fisher BioImage ApS, Søborg, Denmark) as an example to describe the GRIP technology. The p53-Hdm2 Redistribution assay is a high content imaging assay based on the GRIP technology that is designed to measure the interaction between Hdm2 and the tumor suppressor p53. Hdm2 regulates p53 and inhibits its function by modulating its transcriptional activity and stability. Activation of p53 in tumor cells through inhibition of its physical interaction with Hdm2 is therefore a focus of cancer drug discovery. We have performed a pilot screen by screening 3,165 compounds from a diverse small-molecule library for inhibitors of the p53-Hdm2 interaction by using the p53-Hdm2 Redistribution assay. Here we show that by taking advantage of the translocation behavior of nonbound p53, it is possible to identify true inhibitors of the p53-Hdm2 interaction by extracting high content information from the acquired images.