Abstract

The combination of molecular modeling methods to identify the putative binding site of inhibitors constitutes an important tool in drug discovery. In this work, we used these analyses to understand the potent inhibitory effect of naphthoquinone derivatives on heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), one of the proteins involved in many types of cancer. Molecular docking results indicated that some favorable interactions of key amino acid residues at the binding site of Hsp90 with these quinones would be responsible for the inhibition of Hsp90 activity. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation were carried out to further understand the binding modes and the interactions between the protein and these inhibitors. The main residues of the internal cavity were Val136, Phe138, Tyr139, Val150, Trp162 and Val186. The high concordance between the docking results and 3D-QSAR contour maps gives us helpful information about the environment of the binding site. Our results provide the bases for a rational modification of new molecules based in quinone scaffold, in order to design more potent Hsp90 inhibitors, which would exhibit highly potent antitumor activity. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma