Association between GSTP1 I105V polymorphisms and responses to GSTP1 inhibitor treatment: in silico and in vitro insights

Abstract

Glutathione S-transferase P1 (GSTP1) has gradually become a promising target for cancer prevention and treatment. However, subtle variations in GSTP1 can lead to the occurrence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The correlation between specific genotypes of GSTP1 and the clinical outcome of the disease has been extensively investigated, demonstrating a significant area of research in this field. However, their impact on the responses to GSTP1 inhibitor treatment remains to be elucidated. Among the various SNPs of GSTP1, I105V polymorphisms is the most widely studied. In this study, a silico model of GSTP1 I105V polymorphism was successfully established to predict the changes of binding model and binding affinity between GSTP1 I105(WT) or GSTP1 V105 and ethacrynic acid via molecular docking and molecular dynamics, and ultimately further evaluated for its anticancer effects. The result demonstrated that the binding capacity of ethacrynic acid decreases with the I105V mutation of GSTP1, indicating the changes in its anticancer activities. Cancer cells expressing GSTP1 V105 may exhibit greater tolerance to ethacrynic acid-induced toxicity compared to other genotypes. In summary, this study provides the first evidence that the GSTP1 I105V polymorphism may impact cancer cell sensitivity to its inhibitor through theoretical prediction. Furthermore, a comprehensive understanding of the correlation between GSTP1 I105V polymorphisms and responses to GSTP1 inhibitor treatment would offer valuable insights for future drug development targeting GSTP1 in cancer-related diseases.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Keywords:

• GSTP1
• I105V polymorphisms
• etacrynic acid
• treatment responses

Author contribution

Conceptualization, H.J., J.J.L, H.L. and Z.R.Z.; methodology, H.L. and A.Q.S.; formal analysis, A.Q.S and L.C.; investigation, A.Q.S. and D.X.Z.; project administration, H.L. and Z.R.Z.; writing – review & editing, H.J., A.Q.S., H.L. and Z.R.Z.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Talent Introduction Science Foundation of Yijishan Hospital, Wannan Medical College (YR20220216) and the Science and Technology Project of Wuhu City (2022jc70, 2023jc29). All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.