Hunting potential SIRT2 inhibitors towards cancer treatment: Drug repurposing, molecular dynamics, and binding energy

Mahmoud A A Ibrahim1, Khlood A A Abdeljawaad2, Alaa H M Abdelrahman3

  • 1Computational Chemistry Laboratory, Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Minia University, Minia, 61519, Egypt; Department of Engineering, College of Engineering and Technology, University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Nizwa, 611, Oman; School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Durban, 4000, South Africa.

Insights

This study repurposed existing drugs to find new SIRT2 inhibitors for cancer treatment. Five drug candidates, including DB11526, showed strong potential for inhibiting SIRT2 and warrant further investigation in cancer therapy.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Pharmacology
  • Computational Biology

Background:

  • Histone deacetylases, including sirtuins, play a role in cellular processes and cancer development.
  • Sirtuin 2 (SIRT2) is a potential cancer biomarker, and its inhibition shows promise for cancer treatment.
  • Pharmacological inhibition of SIRT2 leads to growth inhibition in various cancer cell lines.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify potential SIRT2 inhibitors from the DrugBank database using in-silico methods.
  • To evaluate the efficacy of identified compounds as potential anticancer drugs targeting SIRT2.
  • To assess the drug-likeness and stability of potential SIRT2 inhibitors.

Main Methods:

  • In-silico drug repurposing using AutoDock Vina for docking simulations.
  • Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations to assess the stability of drug-protein complexes.
  • MM-GBSA calculations for binding affinity estimation.
  • ADMET property analysis for drug-likeness.

Main Results:

  • Five drug candidates (DB11526, DB11977, DB15133, DB04739, DB04632) exhibited significant binding affinities to SIRT2 (ΔGbinding < -50.0 kcal/mol).
  • MD simulations confirmed the stability of these five drug candidates bound to SIRT2 over 200 ns.
  • The identified compounds demonstrated acceptable ADMET properties.

Conclusions:

  • DB11526, DB11977, DB15133, DB04739, and DB04632 are promising SIRT2 inhibitors with potential for cancer therapy.
  • Further in-vitro and in-vivo studies are recommended to validate these findings.
  • In-silico drug repurposing is an effective strategy for identifying novel anticancer agents targeting SIRT2.

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