In silico drug design and molecular docking studies targeting Akt1 (RAC-alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase) and Akt2 (RAC-beta serine/threonine-protein kinase) proteins and investigation of CYP (cytochrome P450) inhibitors against MAOB (monoamine oxidase B) for OSCC (oral squamous cell carcinoma) treatment

Abstract

The overexpression of Akt1 (RAC-alpha serine/threonine-protein Kinase) and Akt2 (RAC-beta serine/threonine-protein Kinase) is a hallmark of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC). Because of the elevated frequency of OSCC occurrence in South Asian countries, novel therapeutic approaches are indispensable. Drugs that inhibit the overexpression of Akt1 and Akt2 proteins in Akt pathway and do not cause reduced expression of MAOB can be leads for OSCC treatment. In this study, Akt1, Akt2 and MAOB were targeted and 100 CYP inhibitors were screened through several in silico approaches and Galuteolin and Linarin were identified as potential leads for OSCC treatment as they inhibited Akt1 proteins with strong binding affinities of −12.3 and −11.5 kcal/mol respectively and also Akt2 proteins with strong binding affinities of −11.4 and −11.1 kcal/mol respectively, but they did not inhibit MAOB. Decreased expression of MAOB in tissues causes OSCC but overexpression is also responsible for other types of diseases and cancers. From the investigation of CYP inhibitors against MAOB, five CYP inhibitors- Diosmetin, Acacetin, Epicatechin, Eriodictyol and Capillin have expressed inhibitory action against MAOB without any interference with Akt1 and Akt2. This study mainly represents that Galuteolin and Linarin in the Akt pathway can be perceived for OSCC treatment and other five CYP inhibitors – Diosmetin, Acacetin, Epicatechin, Eriodictyol and Capillin for the treatment of other diseases and cancers caused by overexpression of MAOB. ADMET properties of CYP inhibitors obtained from admetSAR 2.0 and were compared with reference drugs for validation.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Keywords:

• Oral squamous cell carcinoma
• Akt1 and Akt2
• drug repurposing
• protein-ligand interactions
• MAOB

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Brac University, Dhaka Bangladesh for providing the logistic support.

Author contributions

Mohammad Kawsar Sharif Siam conceived and designed the experiments, performed the experiments, analyzed the data, contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools, prepared figures and/or tables, performed the statistical analysis, authored or reviewed drafts of the paper, and approved the final draft.

Anusree Sarker performed the experiments, analyzed the data, performed the statistical analysis, authored or reviewed drafts of the paper, performed the statistical analysis, and approved the final draft.

Mohammad Manzur Sharif Sayeem performed the experiments, prepared figures and/or tables, performed the statistical analysis, authored or reviewed drafts of the paper, and approved the final draft.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding

This study received no external funding.