Targeting human progesterone receptor (PR), through pharmacophore-based screening and molecular simulation revealed potent inhibitors against breast cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer, the prevailing malignant tumor among women, is linked to progesterone and its receptor (PR) in both tumorigenesis and treatment responsiveness. Despite thorough investigation, the precise molecular mechanisms of progesterone in breast cancer remain unclear. The human progesterone receptor (PR) serves as an essential therapeutic target for breast cancer treatment, warranting the rapid design of small molecule therapeutics that can effectively inhibit HPR. By employing cutting-edge computational techniques like molecular screening, simulation, and free energy calculation, the process of identifying potential lead molecules from natural products has been significantly expedited. In this study, we employed pharmacophore-based virtual screening and molecular simulations to identify natural product-based inhibitors of human progesterone receptor (PR) in breast cancer treatment. High-throughput molecular screening of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and zinc databases was performed, leading to the identification of potential lead compounds. The analysis of binding modes for the top five compounds from both database provides valuable structural insights into the inhibition of HPR for breast cancer treatment. The top five hits exhibited enhanced stability and compactness compared to the reference compound. In conclusion, our study provides valuable insights for identifying and refining lead compounds as HPR inhibitors.