Exploring dual inhibitors for STAT1 and STAT5 receptors utilizing virtual screening and dynamics simulation validation

Abstract

Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins are latent cytoplasmic transcription factors that transduce signals from cytokines and growth factors to the nucleus and thereby regulate the expression of a variety of target genes. Although mutations of STATs have not been reported in human tumors but the activity of several members of the family, such as STAT1 and STAT5, is deregulated in a variety of human carcinoma. STAT1 and STAT5 share a structural similarity with a highly conserved SH2 domain which is responsible for the activation of STAT proteins on interaction with phosphotyrosine motifs for specific STAT-receptor contacts and STAT dimerization. The purpose of this study is to identify domain-specific dual inhibitors for both STAT1 and STAT5 proteins from a database of natural products and natural product-like compounds comprising of over 90,000 compounds. Virtual screening-based molecular docking was performed in order to find novel natural dual inhibitors. Further, the study was supported by the 50-ns molecular dynamics simulation for receptor-ligand complexes (STAT1-STOCK-1N-69677 and STAT5-STOCK-1N-69677). Analysis of molecular interactions in the SH2 domains of both STAT1 and STAT5 proteins with the ligand revealed few conserved amino acid residues which are responsible to stabilize the ligands within the binding pocket through bonded and non-bonded interactions. This study suggested that compound STOCK-1N-69677 might putatively act as a dual inhibitor of STAT1 and STAT5 receptors, through its binding to the SH2 domain.

Keywords: STAT1; STAT5; cancer epigenetics; dual inhibitor; molecular dynamics.