1 Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Rajasthan, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
2 Department of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Banasthali Vidyapith, Tonk, India
3 Centre for Innovation, Research & Development (CIRD), Dr. B. Lal Clinical Laboratory Pvt. Ltd., India
* Corresponding Authors: Prof. (Dr.) Vinay Sharma (vinaysharma30@yahoo.co.uk) and Dr. Ravi Ranjan Kumar Niraj (rrkniraj@gmail.com)
Introduction:
Ovarian cancer, the deadliest kind of gynecological malignancy, is a significant public health issue despite its uncommon occurrence. The World Health Organisation estimates that ovarian cancer will be diagnosed in 225,500 cases per year and that 140,200 individuals will die from the disease. This makes ovarian cancer the seventh most prevalent kind of cancer and the eighth most common cause of cancer-related death for women globally. When combined, these numbers highlight the importance of ovarian cancer as a cause of illness and death for people worldwide. Ovarian cancer ranks fifth among women in Western countries who die from cancer. One cysteine protease that may be used as a therapeutic target in cancer treatment is cathepsin L. Inhibiting the activity of specific proteases can slow cancer progression. Peptide therapeutics are good as far as effectiveness and side effects are concerned.
Methods:
In our study, we selected 274 anticancer peptides from databases and screened them against CatL as the target protein of EOC using the HDOCK server and then selected VLL-28 after analyzing various parameters. To validate the interaction of VLL-28 with CatL, we performed a molecular dynamic simulation of the dock complex of VLL-28 with CatL using GROMACS.
Results:
We observed a strong interaction of VLL-28 with CatL, and a molecular dynamic simulation study further confirmed a stable interaction between VLL-28 and CatL.
Discussion:
Difficulties in treatment mode and for efficiently treating conditions stand out, making anti-cancer peptide therapies a viable next-generation treatment. Peptide binding dynamics and affinity to CatL are highlighted in the investigation, especially in light of the development of innovative therapeutic approaches for the treatment of cancer.
Conclusion:
Our study suggests VLL-28 peptide may be a good therapeutic candidate for EOC as a CatL inhibitor. Although, further wet lab validations are suggested.
Keywords: Anticancer Peptide, Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, In-silico, Molecular Docking, Molecular Dynamic Simulation.
How to cite this article: Choudhary A, Kumari N, Sharma PK, Shrivastava SK, Niraj RRK, Sharma V. Computational Study of the Anti-cancer Peptide VLL-28 Targeting Cathepsin L to Combat Epithelial Ovarian Cancer. Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026;16(5): 323-332. DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.5.34
Source of support: Nil.
Conflict of interest: None