Evaluation of Zerumbone as an EGFR Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor by Molecular Docking Method

Abstract

Objective: EGFR-TK domain is of great importance in the initiation and progression of various cancer types, especially lung cancer. The existing EGFR-TK inhibitors have numerous side effects, which make them improper to be utilized as cancer therapeutics. In this study, we aimed to analyze the activity of zerumbone as an anticancer agent targeting EGFR by molecular docking approach and to evaluate its activity in comparison with curcumin. Material and Method: MEP and HOMO-LUMO analyses were achieved at B3LYP/6-31G(D,P) level to evaluate electrostatic interactions that affect binding of EGFR with zerumbone and curcumin. Their binding energies were determined by molecular docking and compared with erlotinib as reference ligand. Result and Discussion: Docking studies showed higher bindings (lower binding energy) for curcumin and zerumbone with binding energies -8.0 and -7.6 kcal/mol, respectively, compared to erlotinib (-7.54 kcal/mol). However, there is no significant difference between them. The ΔE energy gap of zerumbone and curcumin were 5.09 and 3.68 eV which implies that these compounds have more stability but less electronegativity in comparison with erlotinib (ΔE=2.22eV). Also, zerumbone showed strong hydrogen bond interactions with EGFR, making it candidate as EGFR inhibitor, as did both in curcumin and erlotinib. It was concluded that zerumbone may have potential for inhibitory activity against EGFR-TK.