In Vitro: NSC59984 specifically restores p53 pathway signaling in mutant p53-expressing human colorectal cancer cells. NSC59984 induces cell death in tumor cells but not normal cells with little or no genotoxicity. NSC59984 induces mutant p53 protein degradation through MDM2-mediated ubiquitination in cancer cells. NSC59984 restores p53 pathway signaling through activation of p73. NSC59984 induces p73-dependent cell apoptosis in cancer. The EC50 of NSC59984 in most cancer cells is significantly lower than those of normal cells, with EC50 of 8.38 μM for p53-null HCT116 cells.
In Vivo: NSC59984 synergizes with CPT11 to induce cell death in mutant p53-expressing colorectal cancer cells and inhibits mutant p53-associated colon tumor xenograft growth in a p73-dependent manner.