Investigating the Interaction between SSRI Drugs and Human Serum Albumin: Unraveling the Key Players in Antidepressant Delivery

Antidepressant drugs are medications used to treat various types of depressive disorders. They work by altering the balance of chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters, which are involved in regulating mood. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) is a class of antidepressant drugs that specifically target the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. They work by blocking the reuptake of serotonin, which increases the concentration of serotonin in the synaptic gap between neurons. HSA plays a crucial role as a transport protein, facilitating the delivery of hormones and various other ligands to their specific destinations within the body. The interaction of SSRI drugs with HSA and their binding mechanism in the HSA-SSRI system has not been extensively studied so far. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the binding affinity (BA) of SSRI drugs with HSA and identify the amino acids that bind to the antidepressant drug. The HSA protein structure (PDB ID: 1AO6) has been downloaded from the Protein Data Bank, and the SSRI antidepressant drugs structure were generated using ChemDraw. Our docking results showed that the SSRI drugs had a significant binding affinity (BA) (more negative than -5.0) with the HSA protein. Among them, the highest BA was found with vilazodone (-8.6), and the lowest BA was observed with escitalopram (-6.1). This suggests that SSRI drugs can bind to the HSA protein, potentially facilitating their transport through the bloodstream. HSA binding can also influence the drug's free concentration, which is the active form available for interaction with its target receptors in the brain.