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Manoharan S, Saha S, Murugesan K, Santhakumar A, Perumal E. Natural bioactive compounds and STAT3 against hepatocellular carcinoma: An update. Life Sci 2024; 337:122351. [PMID: 38103726 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2023.122351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a challenging and very fatal liver cancer. The signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway is a crucial regulator of tumor development and are ubiquitously active in HCC. Therefore, targeting STAT3 has emerged as a promising approach for preventing and treating HCC. Various natural bioactive compounds (NBCs) have been proven to target STAT3 and have the potential to prevent and treat HCC as STAT3 inhibitors. Numerous kinds of STAT3 inhibitors have been identified, including small molecule inhibitors, peptide inhibitors, and oligonucleotide inhibitors. Due to the undesirable side effects of the conventional therapeutic drugs against HCC, the focus is shifted to NBCs derived from plants and other natural sources. NBCs can be broadly classified into the categories of terpenes, alkaloids, carotenoids, and phenols. Most of the compounds belong to the family of terpenes, which prevent tumorigenesis by inhibiting STAT3 nuclear translocation. Further, through STAT3 inhibition, terpenes downregulate matrix metalloprotease 2 (MMP2), matrix metalloprotease 9 (MMP9) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), modulating metastasis. Terpenes also suppress the anti-apoptotic proteins and cell cycle markers. This review provides comprehensive information related to STAT3 abrogation by NBCs in HCC with in vitro and in vivo evidences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suryaa Manoharan
- Molecular Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641 046, India
| | - Shreejit Saha
- Molecular Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641 046, India
| | - Krishnasanthiya Murugesan
- Molecular Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641 046, India
| | - Aksayakeerthana Santhakumar
- Molecular Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641 046, India
| | - Ekambaram Perumal
- Molecular Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641 046, India.
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Kant R, Kaushik R, Chopra M, Saluja D. Structure-based drug discovery to identify SARS-CoV2 spike protein-ACE2 interaction inhibitors. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024:1-19. [PMID: 38174578 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2300060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
After the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has undergone a dynamic evolution driven by the acquisition of genetic modifications, resulting in several variants that are further classified as variants of interest (VOIs), variants under monitoring (VUM) and variants of concern (VOC) by World Health Organization (WHO). Currently, there are five SARS-CoV-2 VOCs (Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma and Omicron), two VOIs (Lambda and Mu) and several other VOIs that have been reported globally. In this study, we report a natural compound, Curcumin, as the potential inhibitor to the interactions between receptor binding domain (RBD(S1)) and human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) domains and showcased its inhibitory potential for the Delta and Omicron variants through a computational approach by implementing state of the art methods. The study for the first time revealed a higher efficiency of Curcumin, especially for hindering the interaction between RBD(S1) and hACE-2 domains of Delta and Omicron variants as compared to other lead compounds. We investigated that the mutations in the RBD(S1) of VOC especially Delta and Omicron variants affect its structure compared to that of the wild type and other variants and therefore altered its binding to the hACE2 receptor. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation analyses substantially supported the findings in terms of the stability of the docked complexes. This study offers compelling evidence, warranting a more in-depth exploration into the impact of these alterations on the binding of identified drug molecules with the Spike protein. Further investigation into their potential therapeutic effects in vivo is highly recommended.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravi Kant
- Medical Biotechnology Laboratory, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Center for Biomedical Research &Delhi School of Public Health, IoE, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
| | - Rahul Kaushik
- Biotechology Research Center, Technology Innovation Institute, Masdar City, UAE
- Laboratory for Structural Bioinformatics, Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, RIKEN, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Madhu Chopra
- Laboratory of Molecular Modeling and Drug Development, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Center for Biomedical Research, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
| | - Daman Saluja
- Medical Biotechnology Laboratory, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Center for Biomedical Research &Delhi School of Public Health, IoE, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
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Rafiq H, Hu J, Hakami MA, Hazazi A, Alamri MA, Alkhatabi HA, Mahmood A, Alotaibi BS, Wadood A, Huang X. Identification of novel STAT3 inhibitors for liver fibrosis, using pharmacophore-based virtual screening, molecular docking, and biomolecular dynamics simulations. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20147. [PMID: 37978263 PMCID: PMC10656421 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46193-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) plays a fundamental role in the growth and regulation of cellular life. Activation and over-expression of STAT3 have been implicated in many cancers including solid blood tumors and other diseases such as liver fibrosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Therefore, STAT3 inhibitors are be coming a growing and interesting area of pharmacological research. Consequently, the aim of this study is to design novel inhibitors of STAT3-SH3 computationally for the reduction of liver fibrosis. Herein, we performed Pharmacophore-based virtual screening of databases including more than 19,481 commercially available compounds and in-house compounds. The hits obtained from virtual screening were further docked with the STAT3 receptor. The hits were further ranked on the basis of docking score and binding interaction with the active site of STAT3. ADMET properties of the screened compounds were calculated and filtered based on drug-likeness criteria. Finally, the top five drug-like hit compounds were selected and subjected to molecular dynamic simulation. The stability of each drug-like hit in complex with STAT3 was determined by computing their RMSD, RMSF, Rg, and DCCM analyses. Among all the compounds Sa32 revealed a good docking score, interactions, and stability during the entire simulation procedure. As compared to the Reference compound, the drug-like hit compound Sa32 showed good docking scores, interaction, stability, and binding energy. Therefore, we identified Sa32 as the best small molecule potent inhibitor for STAT3 that will be helpful in the future for the treatment of liver fibrosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huma Rafiq
- Department of Biochemistry, Computational Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan
| | - Junjian Hu
- Department of Central Laboratory, Dongguan Songshan Lake Central Hospital, Dongguan, China
| | - Mohammed Ageeli Hakami
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Al-Quwayiyah, Shaqra University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ali Hazazi
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Security Forces Hospital Program, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mubarak A Alamri
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, 11942, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hind A Alkhatabi
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Arif Mahmood
- Center for Medical Genetics and Human Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, Hunan, China
| | - Bader S Alotaibi
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Al-Quwayiyah, Shaqra University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdul Wadood
- Department of Biochemistry, Computational Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan.
| | - Xiaoyun Huang
- Department of Neurology, Dongguan Songshan Lake Central Hospital, Dongguan, China.
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Sarkar K, Das B, Das RK. Discovery of new oxadiazolo pyridine derivatives as potent ghrelin O-acyltransferase inhibitors using molecular modeling techniques. In Silico Pharmacol 2023; 11:35. [PMID: 37954893 PMCID: PMC10632319 DOI: 10.1007/s40203-023-00167-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Diabesity is a major global health concern, and ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT) acts as an important target for the development of new inhibitors of this disease. The present work highlights a detailed QSAR study using QSARINS software, which provides an excellent model equation using descriptors. Here, the best model equation developed has two variables, namely MLFER_E and XlogP, with statistical parameters R2 = 0.8433, LOF = 0.0793, CCCtr = 0.915, Q2LOO = 0.8303, Q2LMO = 0.8275, CCCcv = 0.9081, R2ext = 0.7712, and CCCext = 0.8668. A higher correlation of the key structural fragments with activity is validated by the developed QSAR model. Furthermore, molecular docking helped us identify the binding interactions. Thirty four new molecules with better predicted biological activity (pIC50) were designed. The binding energy of four compounds have shown higher binding activity into the membrane protein (PDB Id: 6BUG). Molecular dynamics simulation has established the stability of the protein-ligand complex over 100 ns. DFT and ADME-toxicity analyses also confirmed their drug-like properties. Based on our findings, we report that these new oxadiazolo pyridine derivatives lead to the development of potent candidates for further development. Graphical abstract METTL3-mediated HOTAIRM1 promotes vasculogenic mimicry in glioma via regulating IGFBP2 expression. METTL3 expression is high in glioma cells and tissues that stabilize and enhance HOTAIRM1 expression. This HOTAIRM1 then interacts with IGFBP2 which in turn promotes glioma cell malignancy and vasculogenic mimicry (VM) formation, thus providing a new direction for glioma therapy. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40203-023-00167-z.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaushik Sarkar
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Bengal, Darjeeling, 734013 West Bengal India
| | - Bipasha Das
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Bengal, Darjeeling, 734013 West Bengal India
| | - Rajesh Kumar Das
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Bengal, Darjeeling, 734013 West Bengal India
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Tan X, Ma X, Dai Y, An J, Yu X, Li S, Liao Y, Pei T, Tang Y, Gui Y, Zhou S, Guo D, Deng Y, Hu K, Wang D. A large-scale transcriptional analysis reveals herb-derived ginsenoside F2 suppressing hepatocellular carcinoma via inhibiting STAT3. PHYTOMEDICINE : INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYTOTHERAPY AND PHYTOPHARMACOLOGY 2023; 120:155031. [PMID: 37666060 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2023.155031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Revised: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common type of cancer that shows great morbidity and mortality rates. However, there are limited available drugs to treat HCC. AIM The present work focused on discovering the potential anti-HCC compounds from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) by employing high-throughput sequencing-based high-throughput screening (HTS2) together with the liver cancer pathway-associated gene signature. METHODS HTS2 assay was adopted for identifying herbs. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis and computer-aided drug design (CADD) were used to identify key targets and screen the candidate natural products of herbs. Molecular docking, network pharmacology analysis, western blotting, immunofluorescent staining, subcellular fractionation experiment, dual-luciferase reporter gene assay, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) as well as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were performed to validate the ability of compound binding with key target and inhibiting its function. Moreover, cell viability, colony-forming, cell cycle assay and animal experiments were performed to examine the inhibitory effect of compound on HCC. RESULTS We examined the perturbation of 578 herb extracts on the expression of 84 genes from the liver cancer pathway, and identified the top 20 herbs significantly reverting the gene expression of this pathway. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) was identified as one of the key targets of the liver cancer pathway by PPI network analysis. Then, by analyzing compounds from top 20 herbs utilizing CADD, we found ginsenoside F2 (GF2) binds to STAT3 with high affinity, which was further validated by the results from molecular docking, SPR and NMR. Additionally, our results showed that GF2 suppresses the phosphorylation of Y705 of STAT3, inhibits its nuclear translocation, decreases its transcriptional activity and inhibits the growth of HCC in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSION Based on this large-scale transcriptional study, a number of anti-HCC herbs were identified. GF2, a compound derived from TCM, was found to be a chemical basis of these herbs in treating HCC. The present work also discovered that GF2 is a new STAT3 inhibitor, which is able to suppress HCC. As such, GF2 represents a new potential anti-HCC therapeutic strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Tan
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China
| | - Xiaofang Ma
- Innovative Institute of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, 611137, China
| | - Yifei Dai
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Jun An
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China
| | - Xiankuo Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China
| | - Shengrong Li
- School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China
| | - Yile Liao
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China
| | - Tianli Pei
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China
| | - Yuqin Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China; Clinical Bioinformatics Experimental Center, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450003, China
| | - Yu Gui
- School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China
| | - Shiyi Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China
| | - Dale Guo
- School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China
| | - Yun Deng
- School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China
| | - Kaifeng Hu
- Innovative Institute of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, 611137, China.
| | - Dong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China.
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Chemotherapeutic Potential of Saikosaponin D: Experimental Evidence. J Xenobiot 2022; 12:378-405. [PMID: 36547471 PMCID: PMC9782205 DOI: 10.3390/jox12040027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2022] [Revised: 12/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Saikosaponin D (SSD), an active compound derived from the traditional plant Radix bupleuri, showcases potential in disease management owing to its antioxidant, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory properties. The toxicological effects of SSD mainly include hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicity, hemolysis, and cardiotoxicity. SSD exhibits antitumor effects on multiple targets and has been witnessed in diverse cancer types by articulating various cell signaling pathways. As a result, carcinogenic processes such as proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis are inhibited, whereas apoptosis, autophagy, and differentiation are induced in several cancer cells. Since it reduces side effects and strengthens anti-cancerous benefits, SSD has been shown to have an additive or synergistic impact with chemo-preventive medicines. Regardless of its efficacy and benefits, the considerations of SSD in cancer prevention are absolutely under-researched due to its penurious bioavailability. Diverse studies have overcome the impediments of inadequate bioavailability using nanotechnology-based methods such as nanoparticle encapsulation, liposomes, and several other formulations. In this review, we emphasize the association of SSD in cancer therapeutics and the discussion of the mechanisms of action with the significance of experimental evidence.
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