In-silico investigation of RPS6KB1 associated cancer inhibitor: a drug repurposing study

Abstract

The ribosomal protein S6 kinase beta-1 (RPS6KB1), also known as p70S6 kinase, plays a crucial role in various disease-related conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and cancer. Its activity is regulated by phosphorylation events, including phosphorylation of Threonine 389 in the hydrophobic motif by the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) and phosphorylation of Threonine 229 in the activation loop by PDK1 (phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1). However, other phenomena connected to RPS6KB1 remain unknown. In this study, we employed virtual screening and molecular docking techniques on the molecules in the ZINC library to identify potential inhibitors. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and MMGBSA calculations were carried out on promising compounds to determine their binding affinity and stability. We also evaluated the drug-likeness properties of the selected compounds. A comparative study between the native RPS6KB1 structure, co-crystal ligands, and the shortlisted molecules from the ZINC dataset was carried out. The identified molecules possess significant potential for future in vitro and in vivo studies, paving the way for developing effective cancer treatments.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Keywords:

• Cancer
• ZINC database
• virtual screening
• molecular dynamic simulation
• RPS6KB1

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the Deanship of Scientific Research, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia, for financially supporting this work through the Large Research Group Project under Grant no. R.G.P.2/317/44.

Disclosure statement

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