S100A4 inhibits cell proliferation by interfering with the S100A1-RAGE V domain

The Ca(2+)-dependent human S100A4 (Mts1) protein is part of the S100 family. Here, we studied the interactions of S100A4 with S100A1 using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. We used the chemical shift perturbed residues from HSQC to model S100A4 and S100A1 complex with HADDOCK software. We observed that S100A1 and the RAGE V domain have an analogous binding area in S100A4. We discovered that S100A4 acts as an antagonist among the RAGE V domain and S100A1, which inhibits tumorigenesis and cell proliferation. We used a WST-1 assay to examine the bioactivity of S100A1 and S100A4. This study could possibly be beneficial for evaluating new proteins for the treatment of diseases.