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- Background The increasing global incidence of breast cancer calls for the identification of new therapeutic targets and the assessment of possible neem-derived inhibitors by means of computational modeling and integrated genomic research. Methods Originally looking at 59,424 genes throughout 42 samples, we investigated gene expression data from The Cancer Genome Atlas—Breast Cancer (TCGA-BRCA) dataset. We chose 286 genes for thorough investigation following strict screening for consistent expression. R’s limma package was used in differential expression analysis. The leading candidate’s protein modeling was done with Swiss-ADME and Discovery Studio. Molecular docking studies, including 132 neem compounds, were conducted utilizing AutoDock Vina. Results Among the 286 examined, mitochondrially encoded cytochrome C oxidase III (MT—CO3) turned out to be the most greatly overexpressed gene, showing consistent elevation across all breast cancer samples. Protein modeling revealed a substantial hydrophobic pocket (volume: 627.3 Å3) inside the structure of MT—CO3. Docking investigations showed five interesting neem-derived inhibitors: 7-benzoylnimbocinol, nimolicinol, melianodiol, isonimocinolide, and stigmasterol. Strong binding affinities ranging from −9.2 to −11.5 kcal/mol and diverse interactions with MT—CO3, mostly involving the residues Phe214, Arg221, and Trp58, these molecules displayed. With hydrophobic interactions dominant across all chemicals, fragment contribution analysis revealed that scaffold percentage greatly influences binding effectiveness. Stigmasterol revealed greater drug-likeness (QED = 0.79) despite minimal interaction variety, while 7-benzoylnimbocinol presented the best-balanced physicochemical profile. Conclusion Connecting traditional medicine with current genomics and computational biology, this work proposes a methodology for structure-guided drug design and development using neem-derived chemicals and finds MT—CO3 as a potential therapeutic target for breast cancer.
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- Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by the accumulation of amyloid beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles composed of hyperphosphorylated tau protein. This study computationally investigated natural neem compounds (limonoids) and gut microbiome metabolites for their inhibitory potential against key AD targets. Molecular docking analyses were performed on approximately 200 neem phytochemicals and 9 microbial metabolites against betasecretase 1 (BACE1), gingipain cysteine protease, and tau oligomerization receptors using AutoDock. BBB permeability was computationally evaluated using six molecular descriptors: molecular weight, LogP, hydrogen bond acceptors/ donors, polar surface area, and rotatable bonds, categorizing compounds as highly or poorly BBB permeable based on established predictive criteria. The results revealed superior binding affinities of limonoids, notably Rutin (− 9.642 kcal/ mol), 7-benzoylnimbocinol (−9.706 kcal/mol), and tirucallol (−9.488 kcal/mol) against BACE1, gingipain protease, and tau oligomerization receptors, respectively. These compounds exhibited key interactions through hydrogen bonding with Gly34, Asn233 (rutin-BACE1), Lys311, and Asn363 (7-benzoylnimbocinol-gingipain) and hydrophobic interactions with Ile40 and Ile48 (tirucallol-tau). While these limonoids demonstrated binding affinities exceeding melatonin by >30%, their BBB permeability profiles necessitate sophisticated delivery strategies. Among gut microbiome metabolites, melatonin showed consistent binding across all targets (−7.079 to −8.452 kcal/mol). These findings establish limonoids’ superiority over gut microbiome metabolites and highlight their therapeutic potential as multi-target inhibitors in AD pathology, warranting investment in nanocarrier systems for optimizing BBB penetration.
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