Mutational Analysis of Interleukin-11 and its Consequences on Cancer and
COVID-19 Related Cytokine Storm -An Extensive Molecular Dynamics Study
Abstract
Interleukin-11 is a pleiotropic cytokine that is known to play an
important role in the progression of various forms of cancer by
modulating the survival and proliferation of tumour cells. IL11 also
demonstrates a structural homology to IL6 - the predominant cytokine
involved in COVID-19. This makes IL11 a potential therapeutic target in
both diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of two mutations-
R135E and R190E on the stability of IL11. Any changes in the interaction
of IL11 with its receptor IL11Rα, induced by the two mutations were also
determined with the help of techniques such as molecular modelling,
molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations. Our analysis
revealed that the two mutations cause a small decrease in the overall
stability of IL11, which was evident by the increased atomic
fluctuations in the mutated regions. Moreover, mutation R135E led to an
increase in the binding affinity of IL11 with IL11Rα and the formation
of a more stable complex in comparison to the wild-type protein and its
receptor. Mutation R190E led to the formation of a less stable complex
than the wild-type which suggests a decrease in the binding affinity
between IL11 and IL11Rα.