| dc.description.abstract | Lifestyle and food choices have an important role in the onset and in the prevention of
some diseases. The assumption of some food-related molecules can have different
effects on human health; for example, the antioxidants can lower the risk of some
diseases, while the mycotoxins, contaminants of cereals and milk, could be involved
in the rise of Autism Spectrum Disorders in genetically predisposed patients. The aim
of this project was to identify possible protein targets for both mycotoxins and
antioxidants, and to understand the mechanisms of actions underlying their effects.
Protein targets were searched through a reverse docking approach using idTarget
web-server. Subsequently, molecular docking using AutoDock 4.2 between the
ligands (mycotoxins and antioxidants) and each of the selected protein targets was
performed, in order to identify their binding sites. The interactions between
mycotoxins and possible protein targets with good predicted energies were selected
in order to validate them experimentally by means of techniques such as fluorescence
techniques and MST. The interactions between antioxidants and possible protein
targets with good predicted energies were selected to perform functional analysis via
bioinformatics tools.
The fluorescence techniques confirm that some mycotoxins bind the
Acetylcholinesterase and Neuroligin-4, X linked, which is involved in Autism disease.
The functional analysis results about the protein targets of the antioxidants suggests
that chemopreventive effects of antioxidants in human pathologies, in particular for
colon cancer, may be related to the possible interference of these molecules with the
activity of nucleotide metabolism and methylation enzymes, similarly to some classes
of anticancer drugs.[edited by Autor] | it_IT |
