Structure prediction and in-silico designing of drugs against homeobox C8 protein

Manish Devgan

Abstract

The Homeobox C8 (HOXC8) gene is a part of the homeobox family of genes. The homeobox genes encrypt a highly preserved family of transcription factors that perform a crucial act in morphogenesis in all multicellular organisms. Objective: HOXC8 is involved in the progression of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and it could prove to be a potential target for prevention and treatment of EOC. Methods: In this work, an in-silico model of HOXC8 protein was generated using the approach of homology modeling and loop modeling. The model was validated with Ramachandran plot analysis. The ligands were generated with the help of Drug bank and ZINC data base and were docked against HOXC8 protein using online server Patchdock. The structure of ligand ZINC 64858686 with the maximum score was varied by using ACD/ChemSketch 8.0 and the docking was done for the resulting 09 new ligands. Results and Conclusion: The results indicated that the ligand ZINC 64858686 shows the maximum score on binding with HOXC8 protein and thus justifies further studies needed for the development of potent inhibitors for the over expression of HOXC8 protein making the management of EOC more efficient