Insilico inhibition of hexokinase-2 to treat cancer cells

The use of molecular oxygen is the key to achieve complete oxidation of foodstuff and maximise the energy yield from nutrients. When oxygen tension is not high enough to oxidise reduced substrates to CO2 and water through respiration in mitochondria, most organisms rely on anaerobic glycolysis to obtain energy. The utilisation of glucose is higher under anaerobic conditions than under aerobic conditions. Cancer cells require energy to support their rapid rates of division and the more slowly dividing cancer cells in the hypoxic regions of tumours too require energy to survive. Many cancer cells exhibit, relative to normal cells, increased glucose transport and glycolysis, because energy can also be generated by glycolysis in the absence of oxygen. Moreover, the increased uptake of glucose is one of the most common signs of a highly malignant tumour. The key enzyme (hexokinase-II) of anaerobic glycolysis in cancer cells was inhibited by metabolic poisons such as 2-deoxy-D-glucose and 3-bromopyruvate using molecular docking programme ArgusLab. The efficiency of these compounds was also compared with its analogues. Consequently, the potent compound could also be used to treat the cancer cells.