In Silico Investigation of Taurodispacamide A and Strepoxazine A from <i>Agelas oroides</i> S. as Potential Inhibitors of Neuroblastoma Targets Reveals Promising Anticancer Activity

Abstract

This study investigated the potential of five pyrrole-imidazole alkaloids from the marine sponge Agelas sp. to inhibit key targets in neuroblastoma, the most common pediatric malignant solid tumor. Molecular docking analysis using GOLD software (v4.1.2) revealed that Strepoxazine A (Mol3) and Taurodispacamide A (Mol5) exhibited the strongest inhibition of focal adhesion kinase 1 (FAK), caspase-3 (ca3), phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit gamma isoform (PI3K), telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), osm-9-like TRP channel 1 (TRPV1), and RAC-alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase (AKT1). Normal mode analysis using iMODS server confirmed the stability of the best complexes and pharmacokinetics, such as toxicity and predictions of biological activity as inhibitors of anticancer targets, indicating a balance between efficacy and safety for bothMol3 and Mol5. The remaining compounds (Ageladine A, Oroidine, and Cyclooroidine) showed moderate effects, with significant toxicity, suggesting limited therapeutic potential. The promising results of our in silico-study suggest that Strepoxazine A and Taurodispacamide A could serve as novel therapeutic agents for neuroblastoma, potentially leading to more effective treatment options and improved survival rates for pediatric patients suffering from this challenging malignancy, although further in vitro and in vivo validation is needed.

Keywords

• neuroblastoma
• <i>Agelas</i> sp.
• pyrrole-imidazole alkaloids
• GOLD
• Strepoxazine A
• Taurodispacamide A