scholarly journals Integration of Molecular Docking and In Vitro Studies: A Powerful Approach for Drug Discovery in Breast Cancer

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (19) ◽  
pp. 6981
Author(s):  
Claudia Cava ◽  
Isabella Castiglioni

Molecular docking in the pharmaceutical industry is a powerful in silico approach for discovering novel therapies for unmet medical needs predicting drug–target interactions. It not only provides binding affinity between drugs and targets at the atomic level, but also elucidates the fundamental pharmacological properties of specific drugs. The purpose of this review was to illustrate newer and emergent uses of docking when combined with in vitro techniques for drug discovery in metastatic breast cancer. We grouped the selected articles into five main categories; namely, systematic repositioning of drugs, natural drugs, new synthesized molecules, combinations of drugs, and drug latentiation. We focused on new promising drugs that have a good affinity with their targets, thus inducing a favorable biological response. This review suggests that the integration of molecular docking and in vitro studies can accelerate cancer drug discovery showing a good consistency of the results between the two approaches.

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elke Kaemmerer ◽  
Tayner E. Rodriguez Garzon ◽  
Aaron M. Lock ◽  
Carrie J. Lovitt ◽  
Vicky M. Avery

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-173
Author(s):  
Elaheh Amini ◽  
Mohammad Nabiuni ◽  
Seyed Bahram Behzad ◽  
Danial Seyfi ◽  
Farhad Eisvand ◽  
...  

Background: Breast carcinoma is a malignant disease that represents the most common non-skin malignancy and a chief reason of cancer death in women. Large interest is growing in the use of natural products for cancer treatment, especially with goal of suppression angiogenesis, tumor cell growth, motility, as well as invasion and metastasis with low/no toxicity. It is evident from recent patents on the anticancer properties of sesquiterpene lactones such as parthenolide. Objective: In this study, using MDA-MB-231 cells of a human breast adenocarcinoma, the effects of aguerin B, as a natural sesquiterpene lactone, has been evaluated, in terms of the expression of metastatic-related genes (Pak-1, Rac-1 and HIF-1α). Methods: Cytotoxicity of aguerin B was tested toward MDA-MB-231 breast tumor cells using MTT. Scratch assay was accomplished to evaluate the tumor cell invasion. To understand the underlying molecular basis, the mRNA expressions were evaluated by real time PCR. Results: It was found that aguerin B significantly inhibited human breast cancer cell growth in vitro (IC50 = 2μg/mL) and this effect was accompanied with a persuasive suppression on metastasis. Our results showed that aguerin B in IC50 concentration down-regulated Rac-1, Pak-1, Hif-1α and Zeb-1 transcriptional levels. Conclusion: Taken together, this study demonstrated that aguerin B possessed potential anti-metastatic effect, suggesting that it may consider as a potential multi target bio compound for treatment of breast metastatic carcinoma.


Author(s):  
Suong N.T. Ngo ◽  
Desmond B. Williams

Background: The effect of cruciferous vegetable intake on breast cancer survival is controversial at present. Glucosinolates are the naturally occurring constituents found across the cruciferous vegetables. Isothiocyanates are produced from the hydrolysis of glucosinolates and this reaction is catalysed by the plant-derived enzyme myrosinase. The main isothiocyanates (ITCs) from cruciferous vegetables are sulforaphane, benzyl ITC, and phenethyl ITC, which had been intensively investigated over the last decade for their antibreast cancer effects. Objective: The aim of this article is to systematically review the evidence from all types of studies, which examined the protective effect of cruciferous vegetables and/or their isothiocyanate constituents on breast cancer. Methods: A systematic review was conducted in Pubmed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library from inception to 27 April 2020. Peerreviewed studies of all types (in vitro studies, animal studies, and human studies) were selected. Results: The systematic literature search identified 16 human studies, 4 animal studies, and 65 in vitro studies. The effect of cruciferous vegetables and/or their ITCs intake on breast cancer survival was found to be controversial and varied greatly across human studies. Most of these trials were observational studies conducted in specific regions, mainly in the US and China. Substantial evidence from in vitro and animal studies was obtained, which strongly supported the protective effect of sulforaphane and other ITCs against breast cancer. Evidence from in vitro studies showed sulforaphane and other ITCs reduced cancer cell viability and proliferation via multiple mechanisms and pathways. Isothiocyanates inhibited cell cycle, angiogenesis and epithelial mesenchymal transition, as well as induced apoptosis and altered the expression of phase II carcinogen detoxifying enzymes. These are the essential pathways which promote the growth and metastasis of breast cancer. Noticeably, benzyl ITC showed a significant inhibitory effect on breast cancer stem cells, a new dimension of chemoresistance in breast cancer treatment. Sulforaphane and other ITCs displayed anti-breast cancer effects at variable range of concentrations and benzyl isothiocyanate appeared to have a relatively smallest inhibitory concentration IC50. The mechanisms underlying the cancer protective effect of sulforaphane and other ITCs have also been highlighted in this article. Conclusion: Current preclinical evidence strongly supports the role of sulforaphane and other ITCs as potential therapeutic agents for breast cancer, either as adjunct therapy or combined therapy with current anti-breast cancer drugs, with sulforaphane appeared to display the greatest potential.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selin Yılmaz ◽  
Çiğdem İçhedef ◽  
Kadriye Buşra Karatay ◽  
Serap Teksöz

Backgorund: Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) have been extensively used for targeted drug delivery systems due to their unique magnetic properties. Objective: In this study, it’s aimed to develop a novel targeted 99mTc radiolabeled polymeric drug delivery system for Gemcitabine (GEM). Methods: Gemcitabine, an anticancer agent, was encapsulated into polymer nanoparticles (PLGA) together with iron oxide nanoparticles via double emulsion technique and then labeled with 99mTc. SPIONs were synthesized by reduction–coprecipitation method and encapsulated with oleic acid for surface modification. Size distribution and the morphology of the synthesized nanoparticles were caharacterized by dynamic light scattering(DLS)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM), respectively. Radiolabeling yield of SPION-PLGAGEM nanoparticles were determined via Thin Layer Radio Chromatography (TLRC). Cytotoxicity of GEM loaded SPION-PLGA were investigated on MDA-MB-231 and MCF7 breast cancer cells in vitro. Results: SEM images displayed that the average size of the drug-free nanoparticles was 40 nm and the size of the drug-loaded nanoparticles was 50 nm. The diameter of nanoparticles were determined as 366.6 nm by DLS, while zeta potential was found as-29 mV. SPION was successfully coated with PLGA, which was confirmed by FTIR. GEM encapsulation efficiency of SPION-PLGA was calculated as 4±0.16 % by means of HPLC. Radiolabeling yield of SPION-PLGA-GEM nanoparticles were determined as 97.8±1.75 % via TLRC. Cytotoxicity of GEM loaded SPION-PLGA were investigated on MDA-MB-231 and MCF7 breast cancer cells. SPION-PLGA-GEM showed high uptake on MCF-7, whilst incorporation rate was increased for both cell lines which external magnetic field application. Conclusion: 99mTc labeled SPION-PLGA nanoparticles loaded with GEM may overcome some of the obstacles in anti-cancer drug delivery because of their appropriate size, non-toxic, and supermagnetic characteristics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Débora Ferreira ◽  
Joaquim Barbosa ◽  
Diana A. Sousa ◽  
Cátia Silva ◽  
Luís D. R. Melo ◽  
...  

AbstractTriple-negative breast cancer is the most aggressive subtype of invasive breast cancer with a poor prognosis and no approved targeted therapy. Hence, the identification of new and specific ligands is essential to develop novel targeted therapies. In this study, we aimed to identify new aptamers that bind to highly metastatic breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells using the cell-SELEX technology aided by high throughput sequencing. After 8 cycles of selection, the aptamer pool was sequenced and the 25 most frequent sequences were aligned for homology within their variable core region, plotted according to their free energy and the key nucleotides possibly involved in the target binding site were analyzed. Two aptamer candidates, Apt1 and Apt2, binding specifically to the target cells with $$K_{d}$$ K d values of 44.3 ± 13.3 nM and 17.7 ± 2.7 nM, respectively, were further validated. The binding analysis clearly showed their specificity to MDA-MB-231 cells and suggested the targeting of cell surface receptors. Additionally, Apt2 revealed no toxicity in vitro and showed potential translational application due to its affinity to breast cancer tissue sections. Overall, the results suggest that Apt2 is a promising candidate to be used in triple-negative breast cancer treatment and/or diagnosis.


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