Structural and Dynamic Insights into Podocalyxin-Ezrin Interaction as a Target in Cancer Progression

Cancer metastasis, the spread of tumour cells from the primary site to distant organs, is responsible for over 90% of cancer deaths, yet effective treatments remain elusive due to incomplete understanding of the molecular drivers involved. Podocalyxin (PODXL), a protein overexpressed in many aggressive cancers, links the cell membrane to the internal skeleton through its interaction with Ezrin, an actin cytoskeleton cross-linker. Despite its therapeutic relevance, the PODXL-Ezrin interface remains structurally uncharacterised and pharmacologically intractable. Here, we employed an integrated computational approach combining protein-protein docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and virtual screening to investigate the structural basis of the PODXL-Ezrin interaction. Using AlphaFold-predicted structures, we modelled PODXL and Ezrin complexes, revealing that PODXL's cytoplasmic domain stabilises upon Ezrin binding, with Arg495 mediating temporally distinct electrostatic interactions essential for initial complex assembly. Particularly, we characterised the R495W missense mutation in PODXL's Ezrin-binding domain, demonstrating that substitution of arginine with bulky, hydrophobic tryptophan may allosterically destabilise Ezrin's dormant conformation. This mutation slightly increases the intramolecular distance between the F3 subdomain and C-terminal domain from 2.59 Å to 3.40 Å, thus leading to potential partial unmasking of the Thr567 phosphorylation site that could plausibly prime Ezrin for activation. Molecular dynamics simulations in the WT state with a total simulation time of 100 ns revealed enhanced structural rigidity and reduced radius of gyration fluctuations in the mutant complex, consistent with a potential "locked," activation-prone state that amplifies oncogenic signalling. Through virtual screening, we identified NSC305787 as a selective destabiliser of the R495W mutant complex by disrupting key Trp495-pre-C-terminal loop Ezrin interactions and causing steric hindrance to PIP2 recruitment. Our findings identified mutation-dependent changes in drug binding that can guide the development and repurposing of compounds for targeting PODXL-related cancers and improve patient outcomes in PODXL-altered malignancies.