Interaction of GHK Tripeptide with Receptors Targeted in Some Cancer Studies: A Theoretical Approach with Molecular Docking

Abstract

Cancer, defined as the uncontrolled growth and proliferation of cells, is a serious disease seen in many people around the world. For this reason, a lot of work has been done and continues to be done by scientists for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. It is known that various receptors are targeted in studies on cancers. In this study, ER, PR, EGFR and HER2 receptors, which are among the most frequently used target receptors, were selected. GHK is a tripeptide that has important benefits such as increasing cancer resistance and reversing cancer cells. In this study, the complex structures formed by the most commonly used target receptors (ER, PR, EGFR and HER2) and the GHK tripeptide were examined. These complex structures were obtained by molecular docking method that is a molecular modeling method used to predict how a receptor interacts with small molecules. As a result of the study, binding affinities, close interactions, and interaction types of GHK and receptors were determined, and interaction profiles with various drugs (such as tamoxifen, erlotinib and neratinib) in the literature were examined comparatively. In the light of the findings obtained in the studies, it was determined that the GHK tripeptide gave similar interaction profiles with the drugs used in cancer treatment.

Keywords

• peptide
• ghk
• egfr
• cancer
• docking