Structure based drug design with Diabetic Retinopathy and Rage

Abstract

ObjectiveDiabetic Retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness, stimulating the rise in 20,000 cases in the United States per year, and leaving over 3 million individuals vulnerable at risk. During the early stages of Diabetic Retinopathy, inflammatory and innate immune responses are derivative from pattern‐recognition receptors (PRRs) expressed as Advanced Glycation End‐products (AGEs). It has been observed that AGEs increases the progression of retinopathy in patients enduring the early stages of retinopathy. The reason behind the complication progression induced by AGEs is the ligand ‐ receptor binding with the Receptor Advanced Glycation End‐products. Therefore, by instituting a drug to bind with RAGE, may prevent the ligand‐receptor binding between RAGEs and AGEs. The following study analyzed drug targets based on their hydrophobicity, as to whether they will be able to bind with RAGE.MethodsA docking program, AutoDock Tools and AutoDock Vina, were both used to determine the binding affinity, rmsd values, and Log P values of the drug targets.ResultsIt was found that Statin drugs and Fibric Acid drugs are the types of drugs that were able to bind with RAGE with a high hydrophobicity and affinity, while a very popularly marketed drug, Metformin, wasn't able to bind with RAGE.ConclusionRAGE may be of importance in the prevention and management of diabetes complications.Support or Funding Informationnone