BMC Cancer . Exploring the potential mechanism of emetine against coronavirus disease 2019 combined with lung adenocarcinoma: bioinformatics and molecular simulation analyses

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BMC Cancer


. 2022 Jun 22;22(1):687.
doi: 10.1186/s12885-022-09763-2.
Exploring the potential mechanism of emetine against coronavirus disease 2019 combined with lung adenocarcinoma: bioinformatics and molecular simulation analyses


Kun Zhang ¹ , Ke Wang ¹ , Chaoguo Zhang ¹ , Xiuli Teng ¹ , Dan Li ¹ , Mingwei Chen ²



Affiliations

• PMID: 35733175
• DOI: 10.1186/s12885-022-09763-2

Abstract

Background: Patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) may be more predisposed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and have a poorer prognosis. Currently, there is still a lack of effective anti-LUAD/COVID-19 drugs. Thus, this study aimed to screen for an effective anti-LUAD/COVID-19 drug and explore the potential mechanisms.
Methods: Firstly, we performed differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis on LUAD transcriptome profiling data in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), where intersections with COVID-19-related genes were screened out. Then, we conducted Cox proportional hazards analyses on these LUAD/COVID-19 DEGs to construct a risk score. Next, LUAD/COVID-19 DEGs were uploaded on Connectivity Map to obtain drugs for anti-LUAD/COVID-19. Finally, we used network pharmacology, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to explore the drug's therapeutic targets and potential mechanisms for anti-LUAD/COVID-19.
Results: We identified 230 LUAD/COVID-19 DEGs and constructed a risk score containing 7 genes (BTK, CCL20, FURIN, LDHA, TRPA1, ZIC5, and SDK1) that could classify LUAD patients into two risk groups. Then, we screened emetine as an effective drug for anti-LUAD/COVID-19. Network pharmacology analyses identified 6 potential targets (IL6, DPP4, MIF, PRF1, SERPING1, and SLC6A4) for emetine in anti-LUAD/COVID-19. Molecular docking and MD simulation analyses showed that emetine exhibited excellent binding capacities to DDP4 and the main protease (Mpro) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
Conclusions: This study found that emetine may inhibit the entry and replication of SARS-CoV-2 and enhance tumor immunity by bounding to DDP4 and Mpro.

Keywords: Bioinformatics analyses; COVID-19; Emetine; Lung adenocarcinoma; Molecular docking; Molecular dynamics.