Study of potential inhibition of the estrogen receptor α by cannabinoids using an in silico approach: Agonist vs antagonist mechanism

Computers in Biology and Medicine

“Breast cancer is the main cancer type with more than 2.2 million cases in 2020, and is the principal cause of death in women; with 685000 deaths in 2020 worldwide. The estrogen receptor is involved at least in 70% of breast cancer diagnoses, and the agonist and antagonist properties of the drug in this receptor play a pivotal role in the control of this illness.

This work evaluated the agonist and antagonist mechanisms of 30 cannabinoids by employing molecular docking and dynamic simulations. Compounds with docking scores < -8 kcal/mol were analyzed by molecular dynamic simulation at 300 ns, and relevant insights are given about the protein’s structural changes, centered on the helicity in alpha-helices H3, H8, H11, and H12.

Cannabicitran was the cannabinoid that presented the best relative binding-free energy (-34.96 kcal/mol), and based on rational modification, we found a new natural-based compound with relative binding-free energy (-44.83 kcal/mol) better than the controls hydroxytamoxifen and acolbifen. Structure modifications that could increase biological activity are suggested.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36543006/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010482522011118?via%3Dihub

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *