Identification and Evaluation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Natural Compounds as Potential Myostatin Inhibitors: An In Silico Approach

Myostatin (MSTN), a negative regulator of muscle mass, is reported to be increased in conditions linked with muscle atrophy, sarcopenia, and other muscle-related diseases. Most pharmacologic approaches that treat muscle disorders are ineffective, emphasizing the emergence of MSTN inhibition. In this study, we used computational screening to uncover natural small bioactive inhibitors from the Traditional Chinese Medicine database (~38,000 compounds) for the MSTN protein. Potential ligands were screened, based on binding affinity (150), physicochemical (53) and ADMET properties (17). We found two hits (ZINC85592908 and ZINC85511481) with high binding affinity and specificity, and their binding patterns with MSTN protein. In addition, molecular dynamic simulations were run on each complex to better understand the interaction mechanism of MSTN with the control (curcumin) and the hit compounds (ZINC85592908 and ZINC85511481). We determined that the hits bind to the active pocket site (Helix region) and trigger conformational changes in the MSTN protein. Since the stability of the ZINC85592908 compound was greater than the MSTN control, we believe that ZINC85592908 has therapeutic potential against the MSTN protein and may hinder downstream singling by inhibiting the MSTN protein and increasing myogenesis in the skeletal muscle tissues.