Phytocompounds of Onion Target Heat Shock Proteins (HSP70s) to Control Breast Cancer Malignancy

Globally, breast cancer is one of the leading invasive cancers in women. Moreover, the use of chemotherapeutic drugs for treating cancer produces toxic side effects and has even led to drug resistance. This research paper focuses on targeting three heat shock proteins belonging to 70 kDa subfamily (HSP70s), predominantly, Mortalin, Binding Immunoglobulin Protein (BiP), and Stress Inducible HSP70 (Stress Inducible Heat Shock Protein 70) involved in breast cancer malignancy using different phytocompounds of onion. Phytocompounds of onion (ligands) obtained from different literature sources and the conventional drug, Tamoxifen (standard ligand), used for treating breast cancer are docked against three HSP70s (target proteins) through molecular docking. Molecular docking helps to determine protein-ligand interactions with minimum binding affinity. A comparative analysis revealed that fourteen phytocompounds of onion have lesser binding affinity and formed more stable complexes with the target proteins compared to that of the conventional drug. This evidence can be used and confirmed further through in vitro (cell culture) and in vivo (animal models) studies, and then, these phytocompounds can be modulated efficiently as potential therapeutics for treating breast cancer with less or nearly no side effects. In Silico work represented here targets three heat shock proteins belonging to 70 kDa subfamily (HSP70s)-Mortalin, Binding Immunoglobulin Protein (BiP), and Stress Inducible HSP70 involved in breast cancer malignancy using different phytocompounds of onion to identify potential phytocompounds that can treat breast cancer with nearly no side effects.