Targeting Angiogenesis Receptors in Retinoblastoma: New Treatment Opportunities

Retinoblastoma (Rb) is a cancer that affects the retina of the eye, and can be fatal if the malignancy is left untreated. According to previous investigations, current treatments including chemotherapy, focal therapy, radiation therapy, and enucleation, can cause damage to normal cells. In an effort to offer an alternate treatment, we investigated three pharmacologic agents that target receptor proteins involved in the angiogenic pathway. Previous studies have demonstrated that the proteins prostaglandin F receptor, histone acetyltransferase, cyclooxygenase-1, and kinase-C are involved in the angiogenic pathway and have a strong association with cancer progression. In order to determine if these proteins can be targeted, we executed several protein-ligand induced fit docking simulations using curcumin, OBE022, and AL-8810. Our simulations demonstrate that these pharmacologic agents can bind efficiently and therefore may assist in the inhibition of angiogenesis.