Skip to main content
Log in

Bioactive compounds from Morchella esculenta as potential inhibitors of RNA-binding protein La in ovarian cancer: a molecular modeling and quantum mechanics approach

  • Original Research
  • Published:
In Silico Pharmacology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

La protein is significantly expressed in various malignant tumors, including ovarian cancer (OC), which is related to the poor response to platinum-based chemotherapy. Thus, inhibiting La protein could control the expression of the potential downstream genes involved in promoting proliferation and chemotherapy resistance to OC, which could serve as a therapeutic intervention. Through a molecular docking approach, 12 compounds from Morchella esculenta were screened against the crystal structure of La protein and four hit compounds were identified, including beta-carotene, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, gamma-tocopherol, and alpha-tocopherol, with a binding affinity of − 10.7, − 8.1, − 7.9, and − 7.6 kcal/mol, respectively, higher than pyridine-2-carboxylate (control), with a binding affinity of − 5.2 kcal/mol. To explore the interaction of the hit compounds with the target receptor, they were selected for a molecular dynamic simulation and post-simulation analysis for 100 ns. The result showed promising reliability of the ligands due to a stable interaction with the La protein crystal structure. Furthermore, the drug-likeness and physicochemical chemical properties of the compounds were investigated using ADMET study and density functional theory analysis, respectively, and the result shows that the hit compounds could serve as a promising starting for the development of novel LA protein inhibitors for OC therapeutics. Finally, this study compared HOMO and LUMO values from global hybrids with long-range corrected DFAs, and the result from the two followed the same qualitative pattern while calculating HOMO values; however, MO62X/cc-pVTZ could better predict LUMO values when considering a global hybrid.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability statement

Data available upon request.

References

  • Aihara JI (2000) Correlation found between the HOMO–LUMO energy separation and the chemical reactivity at the most reactive site for isolated-pentagon isomers of fullerenes. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2(14):3121–3125

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Makhzumi QMAH, Abdullah HI, Al-Ani RR (2018) Theoretical study of N-methyl-3-phenyl-3-(4-(trifluoromethyl) phenoxy) propan as a drug and its five derivatives. J Biosci Med 6(8):80–98

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Alves MJ, Ferreira IC, Dias J, Teixeira V, Martins A, Pintado M (2012). A review on antimicrobial activity of mushroom (Basidiomycetes) extracts and isolated compounds. Planta Med 1707–1718

  • Amaral M, Kokh DB, Bomke J, Wegener A, Buchstaller HP, Eggenweiler HM, Frech MJNC (2017) Protein conformational flexibility modulates kinetics and thermodynamics of drug binding. Nat Commun 8(1):2276

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bai SK, Lee SJ, Na HJ, Ha KS, Han JA, Lee H, Kim YM (2005) β-Carotene inhibits inflammatory gene expression in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages by suppressing redox-based NF-κB activation. Exp Mol Med 37(4):323–334

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Becke AD (1993) Density-functional thermochemistry. III. The role of exact exchange. J Chem Phys 98:5648–5652

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Benet LZ, Hosey CM, Ursu O, Oprea TI (2016) BDDCS, the rule of 5 and drugability. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 101:89–98

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Blagden S, Abdel Mouti M, Chettle J (2018) Ancient and modern: hints of a core post-transcriptional network driving chemotherapy resistance in OC. Wiley Interdiscip Rev RNA 9(1):e1432

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chai JD, Head-Gordon M (2008) Long-range corrected hybrid density functionals with damped atom–atom dispersion corrections. Phys Chem Chem Phys 10(44):6615–6620

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng F, Li W, Zhou Y, Shen J, Wu Z, Liu G, Tang Y (2012) admetSAR: a comprehensive source and free tool for assessment of chemical ADMET properties

  • Chenzhong C, Zhiliang L (1998) Molecular polarizability. 1. Relationship to water solubility of alkanes and alcohols. J Chem Inf Comput Sci 38(1):1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choudhury A, Das NC, Patra R, Bhattacharya M, Ghosh P, Patra BC, Mukherjee S (2021) Exploring the binding efficacy of ivermectin against the key proteins of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis: an in silico approach. Future Virol 16(4):277–291

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Daina A, Michielin O, Zoete V (2017) SwissADME: a free web tool to evaluate pharmacokinetics, drug-likeness and medicinal chemistry friendliness of small molecules. Sci Rep 7(1):42717

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Dairo G, Ilesanmi A, Balogun T, Ward M, Soendergaard M, Determan J (2023) Computational evaluation of bioactive compounds from Viscum album (mistletoe) as inhibitors of p63 for pancreatic cancer treatment. J Biomol Struct Dyn 41(24):15610–15624

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dallakyan S, Olson AJ (2015) Small-molecule library screening by docking with PyRx. Chem Biol Methods Protoc 243–250

  • Darden T, York D, Pedersen L (1993) Particle mesh Ewald: AnN·log(N) method for Ewald sums in large systems. J Chem Phys 98:10089–10092

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Das NC, Labala RK, Patra R, Chattoraj A, Mukherjee S (2022) In silico identification of new anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents from bioactive phytocompounds targeting the viral spike glycoprotein and human TLR4. Lett Drug Des Discov 19(3):175–191

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Debnath U, Mukherjee S, Joardar N, Babu SPS, Jana K, Misra AK (2019) Aryl quinolinyl hydrazone derivatives as anti-inflammatory agents that inhibit TLR4 activation in the macrophages. Eur J Pharm Sci 134:102–115

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dietrich M, Traber MG, Jacques PF, Cross CE, Hu Y, Block G (2006) Does γ-tocopherol play a role in the primary prevention of heart disease and cancer? A review. J Am Coll Nutr 25(4):292–299

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dunning TH (1989) Gaussian basis sets for use in correlated molecular calculations. I. The atoms boron through neon and hydrogen. J Chem Phys 90(2):1007–1023

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ferreira IC, Barros L, Abreu R (2009) Antioxidants in wild mushrooms. Curr Med Chem 16(12):1543–1560

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Friesner RA, Banks JL, Murphy RB, Halgren TA, Klicic JJ, Mainz DT, Shenkin PS (2004) Glide: a new approach for rapid, accurate docking and scoring. 1. Method and assessment of docking accuracy. J Med Chem 47(7):1739–1749

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Frisch ME, Trucks GW, Schlegel HB, Scuseria GE, Robb MA, Cheeseman JR, Fox DJ (2016) Gaussian, 16

  • Geerlings P, De Proft F (2002) Chemical reactivity as described by quantum chemical 590 methods. Int J Mol Sci 3(4):276–309

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hatua K, Nandi PK (2013) Relationships between different-order polarizabilities and ground state dipole moment. J Theor Comput Chem 12(01):1250099

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heise T, Sommer G (2021) RNA-binding protein La mediates TGFβ-induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cell properties. Cancers 13(2):343

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Heleno SA, Stojković D, Barros L, Glamočlija J, Soković M, Martins A, Ferreira IC (2013) A comparative study of chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of Morchella esculenta (L.) Pers from Portugal and Serbia. Food Res Int 51(1):236–243

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Henderson TM, Izmaylov AF, Scalmani G, Scuseria GE (2009) Can short-range hybrids describe long-range-dependent properties? J Chem Phys 131(4)

  • Hensley K, Benaksas EJ, Bolli R, Comp P, Grammas P, Hamdheydari L, Floyd RA (2004) New perspectives on vitamin E: γ-tocopherol and carboxyethylhydroxychroman metabolites in biology and medicine. Free Radic Biol Med 36(1):1–15

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes D (2015) OC: beyond resistance. Nature 527(7579):S217–S217

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Huang X, Zhu J, Li Y, Yu Y, Tang J (2022) La protein regulates protein expression by binding with the mRNAs of target genes and participates the pathological process of OC. Front Oncol 12:763480

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ioakimidis L, Thoukydidis L, Mirza A, Naeem S, Reynisson J (2008) Benchmarking the reliability of QikProp. Correlation between experimental and predicted values. QSAR Comb Sci 27(4):445–456

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Janiszewska M, Suvà ML, Riggi N, Houtkooper RH, Auwerx J, Clément-Schatlo V, Stamenkovic I (2012) Imp2 controls oxidative phosphorylation and is crucial for preserving glioblastoma cancer stem cells. Genes Dev 26(17):1926–1944

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ju J, Hao X, Lee MJ, Lambert JD, Lu G, Xiao H, Yang CS (2009) A γ-tocopherol–rich mixture of tocopherols inhibits colon inflammation and carcinogenesis in azoxymethane and dextran sulfate sodium-treated miceinhibition of colon carcinogenesis by mixed tocopherols. Cancer Prev Res 2(2):143–152

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kapsogeorgou EK, Gourzi VC, Manoussakis MN, Moutsopoulos HM, Tzioufas AG (2011) Cellular microRNAs (miRNAs) and Sjögren’s syndrome: candidate regulators of autoimmune response and autoantigen expression. J Autoimmun 37(2):129–135

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lawore DC (2021) Anti-cancer activity of morel mushroom (Morchella esculenta) extracts in OC Cells. Western Illinois University

  • Lee SR, Roh HS, Lee S, Park HB, Jang TS, Ko YJ, Kim KH (2018) Bioactivity-guided isolation and chemical characterization of antiproliferative constituents from morel mushroom (Morchella esculenta) in human lung adenocarcinoma cells. J Funct Foods 40:249–260

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lee NY, Kim Y, Kim YS, Shin JH, Rubin LP, Kim Y (2020) β-Carotene exerts anti-colon cancer effects by regulating M2 macrophages and activated fibroblasts. J Nutr Biochem 82:108402

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lin TY, Chaudhari A, Lee SL (2013) Correlation between substituent constants and hyperpolarizabilities for di-substituted trans-azobenzenes. J Mol Model 19:529–538

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lipinski CA, Lombardo F, Dominy BW, Feeney PJ (2001) Experimental and computational approaches to estimate solubility and permeability in drug discovery and development settings. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 46(1):3–26

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lorusso D, Tripodi E, Maltese G, Lepori S, Sabatucci I, Bogani G, Raspagliesi F (2018) Spotlight on olaparib in the treatment of BRCA-mutated OC: design, development and place in therapy. Drug Des Dev Ther 12:1501

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mitra D, Afreen S, Das Mohapatra PK, Abdalla M (2023) Threat of respiratory syncytial virus infection knocking the door: a proposed potential drug candidate through molecular dynamics simulations, a future alternative. J Mol Model 29(4):91

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mohibi S, Chen X, Zhang J (2019) Cancer the ‘RBP’eutics–RNA-binding proteins as therapeutic targets for cancer. Pharmacol Ther 203:107390

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Mukherjee S, Patra R, Behzadi P, Masotti A, Paolini A, Sarshar M (2023) Toll-like receptor-guided therapeutic intervention of human cancers: molecular and immunological perspectives. Front Immunol 14:1244345

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Nagai H, Kim YH (2017) Cancer prevention from the perspective of global cancer burden patterns. J Thorac Dis 9(3):448

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Neira JL, Bintz J, Arruebo M, Rizzuti B, Bonacci T, Vega S, Abián O (2017) Identification of a drug targeting an intrinsically disordered protein involved in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Sci Rep 7(1):1–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newmark HL, Huang MT, Reddy BS (2006) Mixed tocopherols inhibit azoxymethane-induced aberrant crypt foci in rats. Nutr Cancer 56(1):82–85

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nitha B, De S, Adhikari SK, Devasagayam TPA, Janardhanan KK (2010) Evaluation of free radical scavenging activity of morel mushroom, Morchella esculenta mycelia: a potential source of therapeutically useful antioxidants. Pharm Biol 48(4):453–460

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Obot IB, Kaya S, Kaya C, Tüzün B (2016) Theoretical evaluation of triazine derivatives as steel corrosion inhibitors: DFT and Monte Carlo simulation approaches. Res Chem Intermed 42(5):4963–4983

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Oronsky B, Ray CM, Spira AI, Trepel JB, Carter CA, Cottrill HM (2017) A brief review of the management of platinum-resistant–platinum-refractory OC. Med Oncol 34(6):1–7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Palozza P, Serini S, Maggiano N, Angelini M, Boninsegna A, Di Nicuolo F, Calviello G (2002) Induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human colon adenocarcinoma cell lines by β-carotene through down-regulation of cyclin A and Bcl-2 family proteins. Carcinogenesis 23(1):11–18

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pan J, Tong S, Kong L, Zhu J, Tang J (2020) La protein contributes to cells proliferation and migration and serves as a potential therapeutic target for hepatocellular carcinoma. Asia Pac J Clin Oncol 16(5):e228–e235

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parrinello M, Rahman A (1981) Polymorphic transitions in single crystals: a new molecular dynamics method. J Appl Phys 52(12):7182–7190

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pathak MP, Pathak K, Saikia R, Gogoi U, Ahmad MZ, Patowary P, Das A (2022) Immunomodulatory effect of mushrooms and their bioactive compounds in cancer: a comprehensive review. Biomed Pharmacother 149:112901

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pearson RG (1986) Absolute electronegativity and hardness correlated with molecular orbital theory. Proc Natl Acad Sci 83(22):8440–8441

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Pu C, Yan G, Shi J, Li R (2017) Assessing the performance of docking scoring function, FEP, MM-GBSA, and QM/MM-GBSA approaches on a series of PLK1 inhibitors. Medchemcomm 8(7):1452–1458

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Qiu D, Shenkin PS, Hollinger FP, Still WC (1997) The GB/SA continuum model for solvation. A fast analytical method for the calculation of approximate Born radii. J Phys Chem A 101(16):3005–3014

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sastry GM, Adzhigirey M, Day T, Annabhimoju R, Sherman W (2013) Protein and ligand preparation: parameters, protocols, and influence on virtual screening enrichments. J Comput Aided Mol Des 27:221–234

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schrödinger Release 2018-4: Maestro Schrödinger. LLC, New York

  • Shameem N, Kamili AN, Ahmad M, Masoodi FA, Parray JA (2017) Radical scavenging potential and DNA damage protection of wild edible mushrooms of Kashmir Himalaya. J Saudi Soc Agric Sci 16(4):314–321

    Google Scholar 

  • Siegel RL, Miller KD, Fuchs HE, Jemal A (2021) Cancer statistics, 2021. CA Cancer J Clin 71(1):7–33

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sommer G, Heise T (2021) Role of the RNA-binding protein La in cancer pathobiology. RNA Biol 18(2):218–236

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Srivastava R (2021) Physicochemical, antioxidant properties of carotenoids and its optoelectronic and interaction studies with chlorophyll pigments. Sci Rep 11(1):18365

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Stahl W, Sies H (2005) Bioactivity and protective effects of natural carotenoids. Biochim Biophys Acta (BBA) Mol Basis Dis 1740(2):101–107

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Suh N, Paul S, Lee HJ, Ji Y, Lee MJ, Yang CS, Newmark HL (2007) Mixed tocopherols inhibit N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced mammary tumor growth in rats. Nutr Cancer 59(1):76–81

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tang J, Huang ZM, Chen YY, Zhang ZH, Liu GL, Zhang J (2012) A novel inhibitor of human La protein with anti-HBV activity discovered by structure-based virtual screening and in vitro evaluation. PLoS ONE 7(4):e36363

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Tong S, Pan J, Tang J (2019) Study on the structure optimization and anti-hepatitis B virus activity of novel human La protein inhibitor HBSC11. J Med Virol 91(10):1818–1829

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Traber MG, Frei B, Beckman JS (2008) Vitamin E revisited: do new data validate benefits for chronic disease prevention? Curr Opin Lipidol 19(1):30–38

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Upadhyaya KR, Radha KS, Madhyastha HK (2007) Cell cycle regulation and induction of apoptosis by β-carotene in U937 and HL-60 leukemia cells. BMB Rep 40(6):1009–1015

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vivas MG, da Silva DL, Mendonca CR, De Boni L (2020) First-order hyperpolarizability of organic molecules: hyper-Rayleigh scattering and applications. In: Molecular and laser spectroscopy. Elsevier, pp 275–314

  • Vuillemin N, Mahou P, Débarre D, Gacoin T, Tharaux PL, Schanne-Klein MC, Beaurepaire E (2016) Efficient second-harmonic imaging of collagen in histological slides using Bessel beam excitation. Sci Rep 6(1):29863

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wang NX, Wilson AK (2005) Density functional theory and the correlation consistent basis sets: the tight d effect on HSO and HOS. J Phys Chem A 109(32):7187–7196

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang NX, Venkatesh K, Wilson AK (2006) Behavior of density functionals with respect to basis set. 3. Basis set superposition error. J Phys Chem A 110(2):779–784

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang XN, Wang KY, Zhang XS, Yang C, Li XY (2018) 4-Hydroxybenzoic acid (4-HBA) enhances the sensitivity of human breast cancer cells to adriamycin as a specific HDAC6 inhibitor by promoting HIPK2/p53 pathway. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 504(4):812–819

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wojciechowski A, Raposo MMM, Castro MCR, Kuznik W, Fuks-Janczarek I, Pokladko-Kowar M, Bureš F (2014) Nonlinear optoelectronic materials formed by push–pull (bi) thiophene derivatives functionalized with di (tri) cyanovinyl acceptor groups. J Mater Sci Mater Electron 25:1745–1750

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao Z, Morris-Natschke SL, Lee KH (2016) Strategies for the optimization of natural leads to anticancer drugs or drug candidates. Med Res Rev 36(1):32–91

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yanai T, Tew DP, Handy NC (2004) A new hybrid exchange–correlation functional using the Coulomb-attenuating method (CAM-B3LYP). Chem Phys Lett 393(1–3):51–57

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang H, Lou C, Sun L, Li J, Cai Y, Wang Z, Tang Y (2019) admetSAR 2.0: web-service for prediction and optimization of chemical ADMET properties. Bioinformatics 35(6):1067–1069

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao Y, Truhlar DG (2008) The M06 suite of density functionals for main group thermochemistry, thermochemical kinetics, noncovalent interactions, excited states, and transition elements: two new functionals and systematic testing of four M06-class functionals and 12 other functionals. Theor Chem Acc 120:215–241

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work used Bridges-2 at the Pittsburgh Supercomputer Center through allocation CHE220065 from the Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support (ACCESS) program, which is supported by National Science Foundation Grants #2138259, #2138286, #2138307, #2137603, and #2138296.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

GD designed the study. GD performed high-throughput virtual screening, chemical library curation, molecular docking, pharmacokinetic analysis, molecular dynamics simulation, and post-simulation analysis. GD, MNW, and JJD performed density functional theory calculations. GD drafted the manuscript. JJD and MS critically revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Mette Soendergaard or John J. Determan.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Informed consent statement

Not applicable.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dairo, G., Ward, M.N., Soendergaard, M. et al. Bioactive compounds from Morchella esculenta as potential inhibitors of RNA-binding protein La in ovarian cancer: a molecular modeling and quantum mechanics approach. In Silico Pharmacol. 12, 32 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40203-024-00202-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40203-024-00202-7

Keywords

Navigation