Repurposing Nirmatrelvir for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Network Pharmacology and Molecular Dynamics Simulations Identify HDAC3 as a Key Molecular Target
<h3>Background</h3><p dir="ltr">Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and fatal malignancies worldwide, characterized by remarkable molecular heterogeneity and poor clinical outcomes. Despite advancements in diagnosis and treatment, the prognosis for HC...
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| مؤلفون آخرون: | , , , , , , , , |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1864513537141899264 |
|---|---|
| author | Muhammad Suleman (3829027) |
| author2 | Hira Arbab (22443761) Hadi M. Yassine (22136905) Abrar Mohammad Sayaf (11644294) Usama Ilahi (22443762) Mohammed Alissa (18607830) Abdullah Alghamdi (14375904) Suad A. Alghamdi (21998691) Sergio Crovella (20921252) Abdullah Shaito (20545181) |
| author2_role | author author author author author author author author author |
| author_facet | Muhammad Suleman (3829027) Hira Arbab (22443761) Hadi M. Yassine (22136905) Abrar Mohammad Sayaf (11644294) Usama Ilahi (22443762) Mohammed Alissa (18607830) Abdullah Alghamdi (14375904) Suad A. Alghamdi (21998691) Sergio Crovella (20921252) Abdullah Shaito (20545181) |
| author_role | author |
| dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv | Muhammad Suleman (3829027) Hira Arbab (22443761) Hadi M. Yassine (22136905) Abrar Mohammad Sayaf (11644294) Usama Ilahi (22443762) Mohammed Alissa (18607830) Abdullah Alghamdi (14375904) Suad A. Alghamdi (21998691) Sergio Crovella (20921252) Abdullah Shaito (20545181) |
| dc.date.none.fl_str_mv | 2025-07-31T03:00:00Z |
| dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv | 10.3390/ph18081144 |
| dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv | https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Repurposing_Nirmatrelvir_for_Hepatocellular_Carcinoma_Network_Pharmacology_and_Molecular_Dynamics_Simulations_Identify_HDAC3_as_a_Key_Molecular_Target/30363589 |
| dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv | CC BY 4.0 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv | Biological sciences Biochemistry and cell biology Bioinformatics and computational biology Biomedical and clinical sciences Clinical sciences Oncology and carcinogenesis Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences Chemical sciences Medicinal and biomolecular chemistry Health sciences Public health HCC HDAC3 network pharmacology molecular docking MD simulation |
| dc.title.none.fl_str_mv | Repurposing Nirmatrelvir for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Network Pharmacology and Molecular Dynamics Simulations Identify HDAC3 as a Key Molecular Target |
| dc.type.none.fl_str_mv | Text Journal contribution info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion text contribution to journal |
| description | <h3>Background</h3><p dir="ltr">Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and fatal malignancies worldwide, characterized by remarkable molecular heterogeneity and poor clinical outcomes. Despite advancements in diagnosis and treatment, the prognosis for HCC remains dismal, largely due to late-stage diagnosis and limited therapeutic efficacy. Therefore, there is a critical need to identify novel therapeutic targets and explore alternative strategies, such as drug repurposing, to improve patient outcomes.</p><h3>Methods</h3><p dir="ltr">In this study, we employed network pharmacology, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to explore the potential therapeutic targets of Nirmatrelvir in HCC.</p><h3>Results</h3><p dir="ltr">Nirmatrelvir targets were predicted through SwissTarget (101 targets), SuperPred (1111 targets), and Way2Drug (38 targets). Concurrently, HCC-associated genes (5726) were retrieved from DisGeNet. Cross-referencing the two datasets identified 29 overlapping proteins. A protein–protein interaction (PPI) network constructed from the overlapping proteins was analyzed using CytoHubba, identifying 10 hub genes, with HDAC1, HDAC3, and STAT3 achieving the highest degree scores. Molecular docking revealed a strong binding affinity of Nirmatrelvir to HDAC1 (docking score = −7.319 kcal/mol), HDAC3 (−6.026 kcal/mol), and STAT3 (−6.304 kcal/mol). Moreover, Nirmatrelvir displayed stable dynamic behavior in repeated 200 ns simulation analyses. Binding free energy calculations using MM/GBSA showed values of −23.692 kcal/mol for the HDAC1–Nirmatrelvir complex, −33.360 kcal/mol for HDAC3, and −21.167 kcal/mol for STAT3. MM/PBSA analysis yielded −17.987 kcal/mol for HDAC1, −27.767 kcal/mol for HDAC3, and −16.986 kcal/mol for STAT3.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p dir="ltr">The findings demonstrate Nirmatrelvir’s strong binding affinity towards HDAC3, underscoring its potential for future drug development. Collectively, the data provide computational evidence for repurposing Nirmatrelvir as a multi-target inhibitor in HCC therapy, warranting in vitro and in vivo studies to confirm its clinical efficacy and safety and elucidate its mechanisms of action in HCC.</p><h2>Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: Pharmaceuticals<br>License: <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ph18081144" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.3390/ph18081144</a></p> |
| eu_rights_str_mv | openAccess |
| id | Manara2_52fe74115e39846d5613560fca4bbb24 |
| identifier_str_mv | 10.3390/ph18081144 |
| network_acronym_str | Manara2 |
| network_name_str | Manara2 |
| oai_identifier_str | oai:figshare.com:article/30363589 |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| repository.mail.fl_str_mv | |
| repository.name.fl_str_mv | |
| repository_id_str | |
| rights_invalid_str_mv | CC BY 4.0 |
| spelling | Repurposing Nirmatrelvir for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Network Pharmacology and Molecular Dynamics Simulations Identify HDAC3 as a Key Molecular TargetMuhammad Suleman (3829027)Hira Arbab (22443761)Hadi M. Yassine (22136905)Abrar Mohammad Sayaf (11644294)Usama Ilahi (22443762)Mohammed Alissa (18607830)Abdullah Alghamdi (14375904)Suad A. Alghamdi (21998691)Sergio Crovella (20921252)Abdullah Shaito (20545181)Biological sciencesBiochemistry and cell biologyBioinformatics and computational biologyBiomedical and clinical sciencesClinical sciencesOncology and carcinogenesisPharmacology and pharmaceutical sciencesChemical sciencesMedicinal and biomolecular chemistryHealth sciencesPublic healthHCCHDAC3network pharmacologymolecular dockingMD simulation<h3>Background</h3><p dir="ltr">Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and fatal malignancies worldwide, characterized by remarkable molecular heterogeneity and poor clinical outcomes. Despite advancements in diagnosis and treatment, the prognosis for HCC remains dismal, largely due to late-stage diagnosis and limited therapeutic efficacy. Therefore, there is a critical need to identify novel therapeutic targets and explore alternative strategies, such as drug repurposing, to improve patient outcomes.</p><h3>Methods</h3><p dir="ltr">In this study, we employed network pharmacology, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to explore the potential therapeutic targets of Nirmatrelvir in HCC.</p><h3>Results</h3><p dir="ltr">Nirmatrelvir targets were predicted through SwissTarget (101 targets), SuperPred (1111 targets), and Way2Drug (38 targets). Concurrently, HCC-associated genes (5726) were retrieved from DisGeNet. Cross-referencing the two datasets identified 29 overlapping proteins. A protein–protein interaction (PPI) network constructed from the overlapping proteins was analyzed using CytoHubba, identifying 10 hub genes, with HDAC1, HDAC3, and STAT3 achieving the highest degree scores. Molecular docking revealed a strong binding affinity of Nirmatrelvir to HDAC1 (docking score = −7.319 kcal/mol), HDAC3 (−6.026 kcal/mol), and STAT3 (−6.304 kcal/mol). Moreover, Nirmatrelvir displayed stable dynamic behavior in repeated 200 ns simulation analyses. Binding free energy calculations using MM/GBSA showed values of −23.692 kcal/mol for the HDAC1–Nirmatrelvir complex, −33.360 kcal/mol for HDAC3, and −21.167 kcal/mol for STAT3. MM/PBSA analysis yielded −17.987 kcal/mol for HDAC1, −27.767 kcal/mol for HDAC3, and −16.986 kcal/mol for STAT3.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p dir="ltr">The findings demonstrate Nirmatrelvir’s strong binding affinity towards HDAC3, underscoring its potential for future drug development. Collectively, the data provide computational evidence for repurposing Nirmatrelvir as a multi-target inhibitor in HCC therapy, warranting in vitro and in vivo studies to confirm its clinical efficacy and safety and elucidate its mechanisms of action in HCC.</p><h2>Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: Pharmaceuticals<br>License: <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ph18081144" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.3390/ph18081144</a></p>2025-07-31T03:00:00ZTextJournal contributioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersiontextcontribution to journal10.3390/ph18081144https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Repurposing_Nirmatrelvir_for_Hepatocellular_Carcinoma_Network_Pharmacology_and_Molecular_Dynamics_Simulations_Identify_HDAC3_as_a_Key_Molecular_Target/30363589CC BY 4.0info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:figshare.com:article/303635892025-07-31T03:00:00Z |
| spellingShingle | Repurposing Nirmatrelvir for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Network Pharmacology and Molecular Dynamics Simulations Identify HDAC3 as a Key Molecular Target Muhammad Suleman (3829027) Biological sciences Biochemistry and cell biology Bioinformatics and computational biology Biomedical and clinical sciences Clinical sciences Oncology and carcinogenesis Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences Chemical sciences Medicinal and biomolecular chemistry Health sciences Public health HCC HDAC3 network pharmacology molecular docking MD simulation |
| status_str | publishedVersion |
| title | Repurposing Nirmatrelvir for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Network Pharmacology and Molecular Dynamics Simulations Identify HDAC3 as a Key Molecular Target |
| title_full | Repurposing Nirmatrelvir for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Network Pharmacology and Molecular Dynamics Simulations Identify HDAC3 as a Key Molecular Target |
| title_fullStr | Repurposing Nirmatrelvir for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Network Pharmacology and Molecular Dynamics Simulations Identify HDAC3 as a Key Molecular Target |
| title_full_unstemmed | Repurposing Nirmatrelvir for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Network Pharmacology and Molecular Dynamics Simulations Identify HDAC3 as a Key Molecular Target |
| title_short | Repurposing Nirmatrelvir for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Network Pharmacology and Molecular Dynamics Simulations Identify HDAC3 as a Key Molecular Target |
| title_sort | Repurposing Nirmatrelvir for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Network Pharmacology and Molecular Dynamics Simulations Identify HDAC3 as a Key Molecular Target |
| topic | Biological sciences Biochemistry and cell biology Bioinformatics and computational biology Biomedical and clinical sciences Clinical sciences Oncology and carcinogenesis Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences Chemical sciences Medicinal and biomolecular chemistry Health sciences Public health HCC HDAC3 network pharmacology molecular docking MD simulation |