Identification of human IKK-2 inhibitors of natural origin (Part II): In Silico prediction of IKK-2 inhibitors in natural extracts with known anti-inflammatory activity

Human inhibitor NF-κB kinase 2 (hIKK-2) is the primary component responsible for activating NF-κB in response to various inflammatory stimuli. Thus, synthetic ATP-competitive inhibitors for hIKK-2 have been developed as anti-inflammatory compounds. We recently reported a virtual screening protocol (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0016903) that is able to identify hIKK-2 inhibitors that are not structurally related to any known molecule that inhibits hIKK-2 and that have never been reported to have anti-inflammatory activity. In this study, a stricter version of this protocol was applied to an in-house database of 29,779 natural products annotated with their natural source. The search identified 274 molecules (isolated from 453 different natural extracts) predicted to inhibit hIKK-2. An exhaustive bibliographic search revealed that anti-inflammatory activity has been previously described for: (a) 36 out of these 453 extracts; and (b) 17 out of 30 virtual screening hits present in these 36 extracts. Only one of the remaining 13 hit molecules in these extracts shows chemical similarity with known synthetic hIKK-2 inhibitors. Therefore, it is plausible that a significant portion of the remaining 12 hit molecules are lead-hopping candidates for the development of new hIKK-2 inhibitors.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► hIKK-2 activates NF-κB in response to various inflammatory stimuli. ► We reported a virtual screening protocol that is able to identify hIKK-2 inhibitors. ► This protocol is applied to 29,779 natural products annotated with their source. ► Hits are found for 36 extracts with known anti-inflammatory activity. ► 12 new lead-hopping candidates are predicted in these extracts.