Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) confers wild type p53 function in p53Y220C mutant: bioinformatics and experimental evidence

Abstract Mutations in the tumor suppressor protein p53 is a prevalent feature in majority of cancers resulting in inactivation of its activities related to control of cell cycle progression and proliferation. p53Y220C is one of the common hotspot mutations that causes decrease in its thermodynamic stability. Some small molecules have been shown to bind to the mutated site and restore its wild type thermodynamics and tumor suppressor function. In this study, we have explored the potential of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE—a bioactive compound from propolis) to interact with p53Y220C and restore its wild type p53 (p53wt) transcription activation and tumor suppressor activities. We recruited computational methods, viz. molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations to study the interaction of CAPE at the mutation crevice and found that it has potential to restore p53wt function of the p53Y220C mutant similar to a previously described restoration molecule PK7242. We provide cell-based experimental evidence to these predictions and suggest CAPE as a potential natural drug for treatment of p53Y220C mutant harboring cancers.