In Silico Structural Prediction of Human Steroid 5α-Reductase Type II
March 2016
in “
Medicinal Chemistry Research
”
TLDR Scientists found out the structure of a human enzyme linked to prostate cancer and hair loss, which could help in designing drugs.
In 2016, researchers studied the structure of human steroid 5α-reductase type II, an enzyme linked to androgenic disorders like prostate cancer and androgenic alopecia. They used homology modeling to create a comparative structure of the enzyme, identifying a catalytic pocket and the transmembrane site. The structure was validated by docking studies of 30 known inhibitors, including finasteride and dutasteride. The model fit the membrane-associated character and showed reasonable docking results, suggesting it could be useful for steroid reductase drug design.
