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Targeting Different Transthyretin Binding Sites with Unusual Natural Compounds
Author(s) -
Ortore Gabriella,
Orlandini Elisabetta,
Braca Alessandra,
Ciccone Lidia,
Rossello Armando,
Martinelli Adriano,
Nencetti Susanna
Publication year - 2016
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.201600092
Subject(s) - transthyretin , chemistry , nutraceutical , computational biology , amyloid fibril , docking (animal) , binding site , bioavailability , protein folding , biochemistry , bioinformatics , biology , amyloid β , medicine , nursing , disease , pathology , endocrinology
Misfolding and aggregation of the transthyretin (TTR) protein leads to certain forms of amyloidosis. Some nutraceuticals, such as flavonoids and natural polyphenols, have recently been investigated as modulators of the self‐assembly process of TTR, but they generally suffer from limited bioavailability. To discover innovative and more bioavailable natural compounds able to inhibit TTR amyloid formation, a docking study was performed using the crystallographic structure of TTR. This computational strategy was projected as an ad hoc inspection of the possible relationship between binding site location and modulation of the assembly process; interactions with the as‐yet‐unexplored epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) sites and with the thyroxine (T4) pocket were simultaneously analyzed. All the compounds studied seem to prefer the traditional T4 binding site, but some interesting results emerged from the screening of an in‐house database, used for validating the computational protocol, and of the Herbal Ingredients Targets (HIT) catalogue available on the ZINC database.