Assessment of dual inhibition property of newly discovered inhibitors against PCAF and GCN5 through in silico screening, molecular dynamics simulation and DFT approach

p300/CBP-associated factor (PCAF) is one among the histone acetyltransferase (HAT) family enzymes. It is involved in the regulation of transcription by modifying the chromatin structure indirectly through the acetylation of histones. It has been emerged as a promising drug target for various types of cancer. A four-point pharmacophore with two hydrogen bond acceptor, one aromatic ring and one hydrophobic feature, was generated for six highly active isothiazolone derivatives as PCAF inhibitors in order to elucidate their anticancer activity. The generated pharmacophore was used for screening three different databases such as Maybridge, Life Chemicals and Chembridge databases. The screened compounds were further filtered through docking studies. Then the compounds were further carried for ADME prediction. The best three compounds BTB09406, F1418-0051 and F1880-1727 were docked to GCN5 to explore the dual inhibitory properties. The conformational stability of the protein-ligand complexes were analyzed through molecular dynamics simulation. Three best compounds were finally went through electronic structure analysis using density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP/6-31**G level to understand their molecular reactivity. The results obtained from this study exploit that the three best compounds (BTB09406, F1418-0051 and F1880-1727) were found to have more potent and dual inhibitory properties.