Docking studies on NSAID/COX-2 isozyme complexes using contact statistics analysis

The selective inhibition of COX-2 isozymes should lead to a new generation of NSAIDs with significantly reduced side effects; e.g. celecoxib (Celebrex) and rofecoxib (Vioxx). To obtain inhibitors with higher selectivity it has become essential to gain additional insight into the details of the interactions between COX isozymes-and NSAIDs. Although X-ray structures of COX-2 complexed with a small number of ligands are available, experimental data are missing for two well-known selective COX-2 inhibitors (rofecoxib and nimesulide) and docking results reported are controversial. We use a combination of a traditional docking procedure with a new computational tool (Contact Statistics analysis) that identifies the best orientation among a number of solutions to shed some light on this topic.