Molecular modeling simulation studies reveal new potential inhibitors against HPV E6 protein

High-risk strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) have been identified as the etiologic agent of some anogenital tract, head, and neck cancers. Although prophylactic HPV vaccines have been approved; it is still necessary a drug-based treatment against the infection and its oncogenic effects. The E6 oncoprotein is one of the most studied therapeutic targets of HPV, it has been identified as a key factor in cell immortalization and tumor progression in HPV-positive cells. E6 can promote the degradation of p53, a tumor suppressor protein, through the interaction with the cellular ubiquitin ligase E6AP. Therefore, preventing the formation of the E6-E6AP complex is one of the main strategies to inhibit the viability and proliferation of infected cells. Herein, we propose an in silico pipeline to identify small-molecule inhibitors of the E6-E6AP interaction. Virtual screening was carried out by predicting the ADME properties of the molecules and performing ensemble-based docking simulations to E6 protein followed by binding free energy estimation through MM/PB(GB)SA methods. Finally, the top-three compounds were selected, and their stability in the E6 docked complex and their effect in the inhibition of the E6-E6AP interaction was corroborated by molecular dynamics simulation. Therefore, this pipeline and the identified molecules represent a new starting point in the development of anti-HPV drugs.

Notas

Indexación Scopus

Palabras clave

Antiviral Agents, DNA-Binding Proteins, Drug Development, Human papillomavirus 16, Humans, Molecular Docking Simulations

Citación

PLoS ONE Volume 14, Issue 3 March 2019 Article number e0213028

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0213028

URI

https://repositorio.unab.cl/xmlui/handle/ria/52314

Colecciones

FCE - Artículos de Revista

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