Cleroda-4(18),13-dien-15,16-olide as novel xanthine oxidase inhibitors: An integrated in silico and in vitro study

PLoS One. 2021 Jun 30;16(6):e0253572. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0253572. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

In the present study, in silico predictions and molecular docking were performed on five clerodane diterpenes (1-5) from Polyalthia longifolia seeds to evaluate their potential as xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitors. The initial screening was conducted by target prediction using TargetNet web server application and only compounds 3 and 4 showed a potential interaction with XO. Compounds 3 and 4 were subsequently subjected to in silico analyses on XO protein structure (PDB: 1N5X) using Schrödinger Release 2020-3 followed by structural modeling & molecular simulation studies to confirm the initial prediction result and identify the binding mode of these compounds to the XO. Molecular docking results revealed that compounds 3 (-37.3 kcal/mol) and 4 (-32.0 kcal/mol) binds more stably to XO than the reference drug allopurinol (-27.0 kcal/mol). Interestingly, two residues Glu 802 and Thr 1010 were observed as the two main H-bond binding sites for both tested compounds and the allopurinol. The center scaffold of allopurinol was positioned by some π-π stacking with Phe 914 and Phe 1009, while that of compounds 3 and 4 were supported by many hydrophobic interactions mainly with Leu 648, Phe 649, Phe 1013, and Leu 1014. Additionally, the docking simulation predicted that the inhibitory effect of compounds 3 and 4 was mediated by creating H-bond with particularly Glu 802, which is a key amino acid for XO enzyme inhibition. Altogether, in vitro studies showed that compounds 3 and 4 had better inhibitory capacity against XO enzyme with IC50 values significantly (p < 0.001) lower than that of allopurinol. In short, the present study identified cleroda-4(18),13-dien-15,16-olide as novel potential XO inhibitors, which can be potentially used for the treatment of gout.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Diterpenes, Clerodane / chemistry
  • Diterpenes, Clerodane / isolation & purification
  • Diterpenes, Clerodane / pharmacology*
  • Enzyme Assays
  • Gout / drug therapy
  • Gout / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Molecular Docking Simulation
  • Plant Extracts / chemistry
  • Plant Extracts / isolation & purification
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology*
  • Polyalthia / chemistry*
  • Seeds / chemistry
  • Uric Acid / metabolism
  • Xanthine Oxidase / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Xanthine Oxidase / chemistry
  • Xanthine Oxidase / metabolism

Substances

  • Diterpenes, Clerodane
  • Plant Extracts
  • Uric Acid
  • Xanthine Oxidase

Grants and funding

The study was supported by the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED; Grant no. 106- YS.01-2015.12). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.