INVESTIGATION OF THE INHIBITORY POTENTIAL OF SOME ANTIVIRAL AGENTS ON HUMAN TELOMERASE BY MOLECULAR DOCKING AND MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATION STUDIES

Objective: This study investigated the anticancer effects of nucleoside and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors drugs by computational methods. The study aimed to evaluate the binding capacity of these drugs on the telomerase essential N-terminal (TEN) domain of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT). Molecular docking was used to assess the drugs' binding potential to the TEN domain. The stability of the protein-drug combination obtained from the docking method was assessed using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Material and Method: The TEN domain of TERT's crystal structure was obtained from the Protein Data Bank (PDB). The crystal structure identified by the PDB code 2B2A has a resolution of 2.2 Å. The molecular docking was performed using AutoDock Vina. The complexes were visualized using Biovia Discovery Studio. The MD simulation was conducted using GROMACS 2020 as indicated. An MD simulation was conducted for 200 ns on both the complexes and the free protein. The RMSD (root mean square deviation) of the backbone protein and the molecules in relation to the backbone protein, RMSF (root mean square fluctuation), and Rg (radius of gyration) were shown via Qt Grace. Result and Discussion: Doravirine, Etravirine, Rilpivirine showed higher binding affinity to the TEN domain compared to the reference TERT inhibitor, BIBR1532, based on the docking investigation. The MD simulation analysis showed that the protein-Doravirine complex had the highest stability in remaining within the protein's binding pocket. On the contrary, the protein-Rilpivirine complex decreased stability, potentially causing the ligand to not to stay within the binding site. Doravirine was found to inhibit the TEN domain in the computational study. Therefore, the design and synthesis of novel doravirin derivatives is being considered because of the potential anticancer activity of doravirin in inhibiting the TEN domain of TERT. © 2024 University of Ankara. All rights reserved.