Structural insights of human N-acetyltransferase 10 and identification of its potential novel inhibitors

Abstract

N-acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10), is an acetyltransferase that regulates RNA stability and translation processes. Association of NAT10 with several diseases including cancer, makes it a promising therapeutic target. Remodelin is the only known NAT10 inhibitor, but the structural information related to its binding with NAT10 is still obscure. Here, we predicted the human NAT10 structure using homology modeling that was not available previously and used human NAT10 to identify the novel binding site(s) of Remodelin. The alignment of the modeled human NAT10 showed 24% identity and 37% positivity with crystal structure of tRNA (Met) cytidine acetyltransferase. Molecular docking showed binding of Remodelin with NAT10 in acetyl-CoA binding pocket. Additionally, we screened a library of FDA-approved drugs for the identification of novel inhibitors of NAT10 activity. Binding score showed that four drugs namely, Fosaprepitant (− 11.709), Leucal (− 10.46), Fludarabine (− 10.347) and Dantrolene (− 9.875) bind to NAT10 and have better binding capability when compared with Acetyl-CoA (− 5.691) and Remodelin (− 5.3). Acetyl-CoA, Remodelin, and others exhibit hits for hydrophobic, hydrophilic and hydrogen interactions. Interestingly, Remodelin and others interact with the amino acid residues ILE629, GLY639, GLY641, LEU719, and PHE722 in the Acetyl-CoA binding pocket of NAT10 similar to Acetyl-CoA. Our findings revealed that Fosaprepitant, Leucal, Fludarabine, and Dantrolene are promising molecules that can be tested and developed as potential inhibitors of NAT10 acetyltransferase activity.