NCIt definition : An orally bioavailable HDM2 antagonist with potential antineoplastic activity. Serdemetan
inhibits the binding of the HDM2 protein to the transcriptional activation domain
of the tumor suppressor protein p53. By preventing this HDM2-p53 interaction, the
proteasome-mediated enzymatic degradation of p53 is inhibited, which may result in
the restoration of p53 signaling and thus the p53-mediated induction of tumor cell
apoptosis. HDM2 (human homolog of double minute 2), a zinc finger protein, is a negative
regulator of the p53 pathway; often overexpressed in cancer cells, it has been implicated
in cancer cell proliferation and survival.;