In Silico Analysis of Cancer-related miRNA Binding to a Self-Assembling ẞ-Helix Scaffold

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a type of small noncoding RNAs, which are essential in many critical cell activities, such as apoptosis, cell division, DNA repair and control of cancer development. Beta helix protein scaffold due their stable and programmable structure is an attractive platform in the targeted delivery of RNA molecules. In this study, binding of a ẞ-helix scaffold and three cancer-related microRNAs; miR-۱۶, miR-۲۰۵, and miR-۳۴a were analyzed with the aid of molecular modelling. The ẞ-helix structure was first predicted and mature miRNAs were modeled and docked to determine binding affinities and interactions. The results showed that miR-۳۴a has the highest affinity the ẞ-helix scaffold, followed by miR-۲۰۵ and miR-۱۶. These results indicate that ẞ-helix can be a helpful delivery vehicle for miRNA in therapeutic applications.

کلیدواژه ها:

MicroRNAs ، ẞ-helix scaffold ، RNA delivery ، Molecular docking ، Cancer-related miRNAs