Nanosecond molecular dynamics simulations of Cdc25B and its complex with a 1,4-naphthoquinone inhibitor: Implications for rational inhibitor design

A Comprehensive Overview of the Developments of Cdc25 Phosphatase Inhibitors

Cdc25 phosphatases have been considered promising targets for anticancer development due to the correlation of their overexpression with a wide variety of cancers. In the last two decades, the interest in this subject has considerably increased and many publications have been launched concerning this issue. An overview is constructed based on data analysis of the results of the previous publications covering the years from 1992 to 2021. Thus, the main objective of the current review is to report the chemical structures of Cdc25s inhibitors and answer the question, how to design an inhibitor with better efficacy and lower toxicity?

Identification of the quinolinedione inhibitor binding site in Cdc25 phosphatase B through docking and molecular dynamics simulations

Cdc25 phosphatase B, a potential target for cancer therapy, is inhibited by a series of quinones. The binding site and mode of quinone inhibitors to Cdc25B remains unclear, whereas this information is important for structure-based drug design. We investigated the potential binding site of NSC663284 [DA3003-1 or 6-chloro-7-(2-morpholin-4-yl-ethylamino)-quinoline-5, 8-dione] through docking and molecular dynamics simulations. Of the two main binding sites suggested by docking, the molecular dynamics simulations only support one site for stable binding of the inhibitor. Binding sites in and near the Cdc25B catalytic site that have been suggested previously do not lead to stable binding in 50 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In contrast, a shallow pocket between the C-terminal helix and the catalytic site provides a favourable binding site that shows high stability. Two similar binding modes featuring protein-inhibitor interactions involving Tyr428, Arg482, Thr547 and Ser549 are identified by clustering analysis of all stable MD trajectories. The relatively flexible C-terminal region of Cdc25B contributes to inhibitor binding. The binding mode of NSC663284, identified through MD simulation, likely prevents the binding of protein substrates to Cdc25B. The present results provide useful information for the design of quinone inhibitors and their mechanism of inhibition.

Molecular simulation study of the specific combination between four kinds of phthalic acid esters and human serum albumin

The interaction between endocrine disruptor phthalic acid esters (PAEs) and human serum albumin (HSA) was studied by fluorescence spectroscopy and molecular modeling methods. The efficiency of energy transfer and the distance between HSA and PAEs were calculated. The results showed that all of the four kinds of PAEs could quench the intrinsic fluorescence of the HSA, with the mechanisms of static quenching and non-radiative energy transfer. Molecular docking study and thermodynamic analysis revealed that the binding behavior was mainly governed by hydrophobic force. And the results of site marker competitive experiments and modeling method suggested that the four PAEs would mainly bind to the HSA in sub-domain IIIA, which demonstrated that the experimental results could coordinate with the theoretical results. Molecular dynamic simulation (MD) revealed that HSA did have a slight conformational change when it bound with PAEs. It also verified the greater stability of HSA-PAEs complex compared to free protein.