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Combining Computational and Biochemical Studies for a Rationale on the Anti‐Aromatase Activity of Natural Polyphenols
Author(s) -
Neves Marco A. C.,
Dinis Teresa C. P.,
Colombo Giorgio,
Sá e Melo M. Luisa
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
chemmedchem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.817
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1860-7187
pISSN - 1860-7179
DOI - 10.1002/cmdc.200700149
Subject(s) - aromatase , chemistry , docking (animal) , virtual screening , homology modeling , polyphenol , computational biology , drug discovery , flavones , structure–activity relationship , enzyme , biochemistry , pharmacology , biology , in vitro , breast cancer , cancer , medicine , antioxidant , genetics , nursing , chromatography
Abstract Aromatase, an enzyme of the cytochrome P450 family, is a very important pharmacological target, particularly for the treatment of breast cancer. The anti‐aromatase activity of a set of natural polyphenolic compounds was evaluated in vitro. Strong aromatase inhibitors including flavones, flavanones, resveratrol, and oleuropein, with activities comparable to that of the reference anti‐aromatase drug aminoglutethimide, were identified. Through the application of molecular modeling techniques based on grid‐independent descriptors and molecular interaction fields, the major physicochemical features associated with inhibitory activity were disclosed, and a putative virtual active site of aromatase was proposed. Docking of the inhibitors into a 3D homology model structure of the enzyme defined a common binding mode for the small molecules under investigation. The good correlation between computational and biological results provides the first rationalization of the anti‐aromatase activity of polyphenolic compounds. Moreover, the information generated in this approach should be further exploited for the design of new aromatase inhibitors.