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Choi S, Seo S, Kim BJ, Park C, Park S. PIDiff: Physics informed diffusion model for protein pocket-specific 3D molecular generation. Comput Biol Med 2024; 180:108865. [PMID: 39067153 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2024.108865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Revised: 07/02/2024] [Accepted: 07/07/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024]
Abstract
Designing drugs capable of binding to the structure of target proteins for treating diseases is essential in drug development. Recent remarkable advancements in geometric deep learning have led to unprecedented progress in three-dimensional (3D) generation of ligands that can bind to the protein pocket. However, most existing methods primarily focus on modeling the geometric information of ligands in 3D space. Consequently, these methods fail to consider that the binding of proteins and ligands is a phenomenon driven by intrinsic physicochemical principles. Motivated by this understanding, we propose PIDiff, a model for generating molecules by accounting in the physicochemical principles of protein-ligand binding. Our model learns not only the structural information of proteins and ligands but also to minimize the binding free energy between them. To evaluate the proposed model, we introduce an experimental framework that surpasses traditional assessment methods by encompassing various essential aspects for the practical application of generative models to actual drug development. The results confirm that our model outperforms baseline models on the CrossDocked2020 benchmark dataset, demonstrating its superiority. Through diverse experiments, we have illustrated the promising potential of the proposed model in practical drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seungyeon Choi
- Department of Computer Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Sangmin Seo
- Department of Computer Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Byung Ju Kim
- UBLBio Corporation, Suwon, 16679, Republic of Korea
| | - Chihyun Park
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Republic of Korea
| | - Sanghyun Park
- Department of Computer Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea.
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2
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Jurj A, Fontana B, Varani G, Calin GA. Small molecules targeting microRNAs: new opportunities and challenges in precision cancer therapy. Trends Cancer 2024; 10:809-824. [PMID: 39107162 DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2024.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 06/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 08/09/2024]
Abstract
Noncoding RNAs, especially miRNAs, play a pivotal role in cancer initiation and metastasis, underscoring their susceptibility to precise modulation via small molecule inhibitors. This review examines the innovative strategy of targeting oncogenic miRNAs with small drug-like molecules, an approach that can reshape the cancer treatment landscape. We review the current understanding of the multifaceted roles of miRNAs in oncogenesis, highlighting emerging therapeutic paradigms that have the potential to expand cancer treatment options. As research on small molecule inhibitors of miRNA is still in its early stages, ongoing investigative efforts and the development of new technologies and chemical matter are essential to fulfill the significant potential of this innovative approach to cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ancuta Jurj
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Beatrice Fontana
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC), Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Gabriele Varani
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
| | - George A Calin
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA; Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNAs, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
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3
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Zhong Z, Wang T, Zang R, Zang Y, Feng Y, Yan S, Geng C, Zhu N, Wang Q. Dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor PF-04979064 regulates tumor growth in gastric cancer and enhances drug sensitivity of gastric cancer cells to 5-FU. Biomed Pharmacother 2024; 170:116086. [PMID: 38159377 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.116086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Gastric cancer (GC) is characterized by high tumor heterogeneity, increased surgical difficulty, and limited chemotherapy efficacy, and it is associated with a poor prognosis. The abnormal proliferation of cells involves abnormal activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Inhibition of this signaling pathway can inhibit tumor cell proliferation and induce cell apoptosis. This study evaluated the effect of PF-04979064, a dual inhibitor of PI3K and mTOR, on human GC cells. PF-04979064 significantly inhibited the proliferation of human gastric adenocarcinoma AGS cells and the undifferentiated GC cell line HGC-27, promoting cell apoptosis. Combination treatment with PF-04979064 and the GC first-line clinical drug 5-FU showed synergistic effects, and PF-04979064 markedly increased the sensitivity of GC cells to chemotherapy drugs. Western blot results showed that PF-04979064 significantly inhibited the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in GC cells, whereas RNA seq results demonstrated substantial alterations in gene expression profiles upon treatment with PF-04979064. This study provides insight into the effects of PF-04979064, thereby establishing a solid foundation for its potential clinical application in the treatment of GC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziyuan Zhong
- School of Medical Laboratory, WeiFang Medical University, No.7166, Baotong West Street, Weifang, Shandong, 261053, China
| | - Tengkai Wang
- Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, No. 44 Wenhua West Road, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China; Department of Gastroenterology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, 107 Wenhuaxi Road, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China
| | - Ruochen Zang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, 107 Wenhuaxi Road, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China
| | - Yufei Zang
- Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, No. 44 Wenhua West Road, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China
| | - Yaoyao Feng
- Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, No. 44 Wenhua West Road, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China
| | - Shujun Yan
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University (Qingdao), 758 Hefei Road, Qingdao, Shandong, 266035, China
| | - Congcong Geng
- Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, No. 44 Wenhua West Road, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China
| | - Na Zhu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University (Qingdao), 758 Hefei Road, Qingdao, Shandong, 266035, China
| | - Qian Wang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, 107 Wenhuaxi Road, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China; Department of Clinical Laboratory, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University (Qingdao), 758 Hefei Road, Qingdao, Shandong, 266035, China.
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4
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Krause F, Voigt K, Di Ventura B, Öztürk MA. ReverseDock: a web server for blind docking of a single ligand to multiple protein targets using AutoDock Vina. Front Mol Biosci 2023; 10:1243970. [PMID: 37881441 PMCID: PMC10594994 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1243970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Several platforms exist to perform molecular docking to computationally predict binders to a specific protein target from a library of ligands. The reverse, that is, docking a single ligand to various protein targets, can currently be done by very few web servers, which limits the search to a small set of pre-selected human proteins. However, the possibility to in silico predict which targets a compound identified in a high-throughput drug screen bind would help optimize and reduce the costs of the experimental workflow needed to reveal the molecular mechanism of action of a ligand. Here, we present ReverseDock, a blind docking web server based on AutoDock Vina specifically designed to allow users with no computational expertise to dock a ligand to 100 protein structures of their choice. ReverseDock increases the number and type of proteins a ligand can be docked to, making the task of in silico docking of a ligand to entire families of proteins straightforward. We envision ReverseDock will support researchers by providing the possibility to apply inverse docking computations using web browser. ReverseDock is available at: https://reversedock.biologie.uni-freiburg.de/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Krause
- Signaling Research Centres BIOSS and CIBSS, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Institute of Biology II, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Karsten Voigt
- Institute of Biology III, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Barbara Di Ventura
- Signaling Research Centres BIOSS and CIBSS, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Institute of Biology II, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Mehmet Ali Öztürk
- Signaling Research Centres BIOSS and CIBSS, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Institute of Biology II, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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5
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Banerjee A, Gosavi S. Potential Self-Peptide Inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:855-865. [PMID: 36689738 PMCID: PMC9883841 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c05917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) plays an essential role in viral replication, cleaving viral polyproteins into functional proteins. This makes Mpro an important drug target. Mpro consists of an N-terminal catalytic domain and a C-terminal α-helical domain (MproC). Previous studies have shown that peptides derived from a given protein sequence (self-peptides) can affect the folding and, in turn, the function of that protein. Since the SARS-CoV-1 MproC is known to stabilize its Mpro and regulate its function, we hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2 MproC-derived self-peptides may modulate the folding and the function of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. To test this, we studied the folding of MproC in the presence of various self-peptides using coarse-grained structure-based models and molecular dynamics simulations. In these simulations of MproC and one self-peptide, we found that two self-peptides, the α1-helix and the loop between α4 and α5 (loop4), could replace the equivalent native sequences in the MproC structure. Replacement of either sequence in full-length Mpro should, in principle, be able to perturb Mpro function albeit through different mechanisms. Some general principles for the rational design of self-peptide inhibitors emerge: The simulations show that prefolded self-peptides are more likely to replace native sequences than those which do not possess structure. Additionally, the α1-helix self-peptide is kinetically stable and once inserted rarely exchanges with the native α1-helix, while the loop4 self-peptide is easily replaced by the native loop4, making it less useful for modulating function. In summary, a prefolded α1-derived peptide should be able to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Mpro function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arkadeep Banerjee
- Simons Centre for the Study
of Living Machines, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru 560065, India
| | - Shachi Gosavi
- Simons Centre for the Study
of Living Machines, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru 560065, India
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6
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Karimi S, Shahabi F, Mubarak SMH, Arjmandi H, Hashemi ZS, Pourzardosht N, Zakeri A, Mahboobi M, Jahangiri A, Rahbar MR, Khalili S. Impact of SNPs, off-targets, and passive permeability on efficacy of BCL6 degrading drugs assigned by virtual screening and 3D-QSAR approach. Sci Rep 2022; 12:21091. [PMID: 36473934 PMCID: PMC9726907 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25587-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
B-cell lymphoma 6 (BCL6) regulates various genes and is reported to be overexpressed in lymphomas and other malignancies. Thus, BCL6 inhibition or its tagging for degradation would be an amenable therapeutic approach. A library of 2500 approved drugs was employed to find BCL6 inhibitory molecules via virtual screening. Moreover, the 3D core structure of 170 BCL6 inhibitors was used to build a 3D QSAR model and predict the biological activity. The SNP database was analyzed to study the impact on the destabilization of BCL6/drug interactions. Structural similarity search and molecular docking analyses were used to assess the interaction between possible off-targets and BCL6 inhibitors. The tendency of drugs for passive membrane permeability was also analyzed. Lifitegrast (DB11611) had favorable binding properties and biological activity compared to the BI-3802. Missense SNPs were located at the essential interaction sites of the BCL6. Structural similarity search resulted in five BTB-domain containing off-target proteins. BI-3802 and Lifitegrast had similar chemical behavior and binding properties against off-target candidates. More interestingly, the binding affinity of BI-3802 (against off-targets) was higher than Lifitegrast. Energetically, Lifitegrast was less favorable for passive membrane permeability. The interaction between BCL6 and BI-3802 is more prone to SNP-derived variations. On the other hand, higher nonspecific binding of BI-3802 to off-target proteins could bring about higher undesirable properties. It should also be noted that energetically less desirable passive membrane translocation of Lifitegrast would demand drug delivery vehicles. However, further empirical evaluation of Lifitegrast would unveil its true potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Solmaz Karimi
- grid.419305.a0000 0001 1943 2944Laboratory of Mitochondrial Biology and Metabolism, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of Polish Academy of Sciences, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Farzaneh Shahabi
- grid.411747.00000 0004 0418 0096Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medical Sciences, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
| | - Shaden M. H. Mubarak
- grid.442852.d0000 0000 9836 5198Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq
| | - Hanie Arjmandi
- grid.467532.10000 0004 4912 2930Faculty of Pharmacy, Islamic Azad University of Amol Branch, Amol, Iran
| | - Zahra Sadat Hashemi
- grid.417689.5ATMP Department, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
| | - Navid Pourzardosht
- grid.411874.f0000 0004 0571 1549Biochemistry Department, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
| | - Alireza Zakeri
- grid.440791.f0000 0004 0385 049XDepartment of Biology Sciences, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mahdieh Mahboobi
- grid.411521.20000 0000 9975 294XApplied Microbiology Research Center, Systems Biology and Poisonings Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Abolfazl Jahangiri
- grid.411521.20000 0000 9975 294XApplied Microbiology Research Center, Systems Biology and Poisonings Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Reza Rahbar
- grid.412571.40000 0000 8819 4698Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Saeed Khalili
- grid.440791.f0000 0004 0385 049XDepartment of Biology Sciences, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran
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7
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Gnilopyat S, DePietro PJ, Parry TK, McLaughlin WA. The Pharmacorank Search Tool for the Retrieval of Prioritized Protein Drug Targets and Drug Repositioning Candidates According to Selected Diseases. Biomolecules 2022; 12:1559. [PMID: 36358909 PMCID: PMC9687941 DOI: 10.3390/biom12111559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/22/2022] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
We present the Pharmacorank search tool as an objective means to obtain prioritized protein drug targets and their associated medications according to user-selected diseases. This tool could be used to obtain prioritized protein targets for the creation of novel medications or to predict novel indications for medications that already exist. To prioritize the proteins associated with each disease, a gene similarity profiling method based on protein functions is implemented. The priority scores of the proteins are found to correlate well with the likelihoods that the associated medications are clinically relevant in the disease's treatment. When the protein priority scores are plotted against the percentage of protein targets that are known to bind medications currently indicated to treat the disease, which we termed the pertinency score, a strong correlation was observed. The correlation coefficient was found to be 0.9978 when using a weighted second-order polynomial fit. As the highly predictive fit was made using a broad range of diseases, we were able to identify a general threshold for the pertinency score as a starting point for considering drug repositioning candidates. Several repositioning candidates are described for proteins that have high predicated pertinency scores, and these provide illustrative examples of the applications of the tool. We also describe focused reviews of repositioning candidates for Alzheimer's disease. Via the tool's URL, https://protein.som.geisinger.edu/Pharmacorank/, an open online interface is provided for interactive use; and there is a site for programmatic access.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - William A. McLaughlin
- Department of Medical Education, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, 525 Pine Street, Scranton, PA 18509, USA
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8
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Vigil-Vásquez C, Schüller A. De Novo Prediction of Drug Targets and Candidates by Chemical Similarity-Guided Network-Based Inference. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23179666. [PMID: 36077062 PMCID: PMC9455815 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23179666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Identifying drug–target interactions is a crucial step in discovering novel drugs and for drug repositioning. Network-based methods have shown great potential thanks to the straightforward integration of information from different sources and the possibility of extracting novel information from the graph topology. However, despite recent advances, there is still an urgent need for efficient and robust prediction methods. Here, we present SimSpread, a novel method that combines network-based inference with chemical similarity. This method employs a tripartite drug–drug–target network constructed from protein–ligand interaction annotations and drug–drug chemical similarity on which a resource-spreading algorithm predicts potential biological targets for both known or failed drugs and novel compounds. We describe small molecules as vectors of similarity indices to other compounds, thereby providing a flexible means to explore diverse molecular representations. We show that our proposed method achieves high prediction performance through multiple cross-validation and time-split validation procedures over a series of datasets. In addition, we demonstrate that our method performed a balanced exploration of both chemical ligand space (scaffold hopping) and biological target space (target hopping). Our results suggest robust and balanced performance, and our method may be useful for predicting drug targets, virtual screening, and drug repositioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Vigil-Vásquez
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, School of Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8331150, Chile
| | - Andreas Schüller
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, School of Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8331150, Chile
- Institute for Biological and Medical Engineering, Schools of Engineering, Medicine and Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 7820436, Chile
- Correspondence:
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9
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Dhakal A, McKay C, Tanner JJ, Cheng J. Artificial intelligence in the prediction of protein-ligand interactions: recent advances and future directions. Brief Bioinform 2022; 23:bbab476. [PMID: 34849575 PMCID: PMC8690157 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbab476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
New drug production, from target identification to marketing approval, takes over 12 years and can cost around $2.6 billion. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has unveiled the urgent need for more powerful computational methods for drug discovery. Here, we review the computational approaches to predicting protein-ligand interactions in the context of drug discovery, focusing on methods using artificial intelligence (AI). We begin with a brief introduction to proteins (targets), ligands (e.g. drugs) and their interactions for nonexperts. Next, we review databases that are commonly used in the domain of protein-ligand interactions. Finally, we survey and analyze the machine learning (ML) approaches implemented to predict protein-ligand binding sites, ligand-binding affinity and binding pose (conformation) including both classical ML algorithms and recent deep learning methods. After exploring the correlation between these three aspects of protein-ligand interaction, it has been proposed that they should be studied in unison. We anticipate that our review will aid exploration and development of more accurate ML-based prediction strategies for studying protein-ligand interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashwin Dhakal
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - Cole McKay
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - John J Tanner
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - Jianlin Cheng
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
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10
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Recent Advances in In Silico Target Fishing. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26175124. [PMID: 34500568 PMCID: PMC8433825 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26175124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 08/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
In silico target fishing, whose aim is to identify possible protein targets for a query molecule, is an emerging approach used in drug discovery due its wide variety of applications. This strategy allows the clarification of mechanism of action and biological activities of compounds whose target is still unknown. Moreover, target fishing can be employed for the identification of off targets of drug candidates, thus recognizing and preventing their possible adverse effects. For these reasons, target fishing has increasingly become a key approach for polypharmacology, drug repurposing, and the identification of new drug targets. While experimental target fishing can be lengthy and difficult to implement, due to the plethora of interactions that may occur for a single small-molecule with different protein targets, an in silico approach can be quicker, less expensive, more efficient for specific protein structures, and thus easier to employ. Moreover, the possibility to use it in combination with docking and virtual screening studies, as well as the increasing number of web-based tools that have been recently developed, make target fishing a more appealing method for drug discovery. It is especially worth underlining the increasing implementation of machine learning in this field, both as a main target fishing approach and as a further development of already applied strategies. This review reports on the main in silico target fishing strategies, belonging to both ligand-based and receptor-based approaches, developed and applied in the last years, with a particular attention to the different web tools freely accessible by the scientific community for performing target fishing studies.
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Amparo TR, Seibert JB, Silveira BM, Costa FSF, Almeida TC, Braga SFP, da Silva GN, dos Santos ODH, de Souza GHB. Brazilian essential oils as source for the discovery of new anti-COVID-19 drug: a review guided by in silico study. PHYTOCHEMISTRY REVIEWS : PROCEEDINGS OF THE PHYTOCHEMICAL SOCIETY OF EUROPE 2021; 20:1013-1032. [PMID: 33867898 PMCID: PMC8042356 DOI: 10.1007/s11101-021-09754-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/27/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in China and its spread worldwide has become one of the biggest health problem due to the lack of knowledge about an effective chemotherapy. Based on the current reality of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, this study aimed to make a review literature about potential anti-coronavirus natural compounds guided by an in silico study. In the first step, essential oils from native species found in the Brazilian herbal medicine market and Brazilian species that have already shown antiviral potential were used as source for the literature search and compounds selection. Among these compounds, 184 showed high antiviral potential against rhinovirus or picornavirus by quantitative structure-activity relationship analysis. (E)-α-atlantone; 14-hydroxy-α-muurolene; allo-aromadendrene epoxide; amorpha-4,9-dien-2-ol; aristochene; azulenol; germacrene A; guaia-6,9-diene; hedycaryol; humulene epoxide II; α-amorphene; α-cadinene; α-calacorene and α-muurolene showed by a molecular docking study the best result for four target proteins that are essential for SARS-CoV-2 lifecycle. In addition, other parameters obtained for the selected compounds indicated low toxicity and showed good probability to achieve cell permeability and be used as a drug. These results guided the second literature search which included other species in addition to native Brazilian plants. The majority presence of any of these compounds was reported for essential oils from 45 species. In view of the few studies relating essential oils and antiviral activity, this review is important for future assays against the new coronavirus. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11101-021-09754-4.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Benila Maria Silveira
- Laboratório de Fitotecnologia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
| | - Fernanda Senna Ferreira Costa
- Laboratório de Fitotecnologia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
- Laboratório de Microbiologia Ambiental e Biotecnologia, Universidade Vila Velha, Vila Velha, Brazil
| | - Tamires Cunha Almeida
- Laboratório de Fitotecnologia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
- Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
| | - Saulo Fehelberg Pinto Braga
- Laboratório de Fitotecnologia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
- Laboratório de Química Medicinal e Bioensaios, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
| | - Glenda Nicioli da Silva
- Laboratório de Fitotecnologia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
- Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
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12
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2LTRZFP Interacts Specifically to HIV-1 DNA without Off-Target Effects as Determined by Biolayer Interferometry. BIOSENSORS-BASEL 2021; 11:bios11030076. [PMID: 33800287 PMCID: PMC8001305 DOI: 10.3390/bios11030076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Protein and DNA interactions are crucial for many cellular processes. Biolayer Interferometry (BLI) is a label-free technology for determining kinetic biomolecular interactions with high accuracy results. In the present study, we determined the kinetic binding of a zinc finger scaffold, 2LTRZFP, which formerly constructed the interfering effect on HIV-1 integration process using BLI. The competitive Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to initially show the specific binding of 2LTRZFP. The percentages of inhibition were 62% and 22% in double-stranded 2LTR (ds2LTR) and irrelevant DNA (dsNeg), respectively. Consequently, the binding affinity of 2LTRZFP against ds2LTR target analyzed by BLI was 40 nM, which is stronger than the interaction of HIV-1 integrase (IN) enzyme to the 2LTR circle junction. Additionally, the 2LTRZFP did not interact with the genomic DNA extracted from SupT1 cell line. This result indicates that 2LTRZFP did not exhibit off-target effects against human genome. The knowledge obtained from this study supports the prospect of using 2LTRZFP in HIV-1 gene therapy.
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Liu H, Sun R, Ren C, Qiu X, Yang X, Jiang B. Construction of an IMiD-based azide library as a kit for PROTAC research. Org Biomol Chem 2021; 19:166-170. [PMID: 33226388 DOI: 10.1039/d0ob02120b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
As a promising protein degradation strategy, PROTAC technology is increasingly becoming a new star in cancer treatment. Here we report the efficient construction of an IMiD-based azide library via a quick one-step conversion of the existing IMiD-based amine library. This new azide library can act as a kit to endow PROTAC libraries with triazole moieties for various POIs through a highly effective 'click reaction' and then help to rapidly screen out lead degraders that are valuable for drug development. Its power in fleetly identifying potent degraders has been verified on two oncogenic proteins, BCR-ABL and BET, the degraders of which showed comparable potency to or even higher potency than the reported PROTACs in degrading target proteins and effectively inhibiting cancer cell proliferation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haixia Liu
- Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies, ShanghaiTech University, 393 Middle Huaxia Road, Shanghai 201210, China.
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14
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Yang L, Bui L, Hanjaya-Putra D, Bruening ML. Membrane-Based Affinity Purification to Identify Target Proteins of a Small-Molecule Drug. Anal Chem 2020; 92:11912-11920. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.0c02316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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15
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Mechanisms of Action for Small Molecules Revealed by Structural Biology in Drug Discovery. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21155262. [PMID: 32722222 PMCID: PMC7432558 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21155262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2020] [Revised: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Small-molecule drugs are organic compounds affecting molecular pathways by targeting important proteins. These compounds have a low molecular weight, making them penetrate cells easily. Small-molecule drugs can be developed from leads derived from rational drug design or isolated from natural resources. A target-based drug discovery project usually includes target identification, target validation, hit identification, hit to lead and lead optimization. Understanding molecular interactions between small molecules and their targets is critical in drug discovery. Although many biophysical and biochemical methods are able to elucidate molecular interactions of small molecules with their targets, structural biology is the most powerful tool to determine the mechanisms of action for both targets and the developed compounds. Herein, we reviewed the application of structural biology to investigate binding modes of orthosteric and allosteric inhibitors. It is exemplified that structural biology provides a clear view of the binding modes of protease inhibitors and phosphatase inhibitors. We also demonstrate that structural biology provides insights into the function of a target and identifies a druggable site for rational drug design.
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16
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Rallabandi HR, Ganesan P, Kim YJ. Targeting the C-Terminal Domain Small Phosphatase 1. Life (Basel) 2020; 10:life10050057. [PMID: 32397221 PMCID: PMC7281111 DOI: 10.3390/life10050057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2020] [Revised: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The human C-terminal domain small phosphatase 1 (CTDSP1/SCP1) is a protein phosphatase with a conserved catalytic site of DXDXT/V. CTDSP1’s major activity has been identified as dephosphorylation of the 5th Ser residue of the tandem heptad repeat of the RNA polymerase II C-terminal domain (RNAP II CTD). It is also implicated in various pivotal biological activities, such as acting as a driving factor in repressor element 1 (RE-1)-silencing transcription factor (REST) complex, which silences the neuronal genes in non-neuronal cells, G1/S phase transition, and osteoblast differentiation. Recent findings have denoted that negative regulation of CTDSP1 results in suppression of cancer invasion in neuroglioma cells. Several researchers have focused on the development of regulating materials of CTDSP1, due to the significant roles it has in various biological activities. In this review, we focused on this emerging target and explored the biological significance, challenges, and opportunities in targeting CTDSP1 from a drug designing perspective.
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Allosteric Binding Sites On Nuclear Receptors: Focus On Drug Efficacy and Selectivity. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21020534. [PMID: 31947677 PMCID: PMC7014104 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21020534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2019] [Revised: 12/29/2019] [Accepted: 01/10/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Nuclear receptors (NRs) are highly relevant drug targets in major indications such as oncologic, metabolic, reproductive, and immunologic diseases. However, currently, marketed drugs designed towards the orthosteric binding site of NRs often suffer from resistance mechanisms and poor selectivity. The identification of two superficial allosteric sites, activation function-2 (AF-2) and binding function-3 (BF-3), as novel drug targets sparked the development of inhibitors, while selectivity concerns due to a high conservation degree remained. To determine important pharmacophores and hydration sites among AF-2 and BF-3 of eight hormonal NRs, we systematically analyzed over 10 μ s of molecular dynamics simulations including simulations in explicit water and solvent mixtures. In addition, a library of over 300 allosteric inhibitors was evaluated by molecular docking. Based on our results, we suggest the BF-3 site to offer a higher potential for drug selectivity as opposed to the AF-2 site that is more conserved among the selected receptors. Detected similarities among the AF-2 sites of various NRs urge for a broader selectivity assessment in future studies. In combination with the Supplementary Material, this work provides a foundation to improve both selectivity and potency of allosteric inhibitors in a rational manner and increase the therapeutic applicability of this promising compound class.
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18
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Joshi G, Kalra S, Yadav UP, Sharma P, Singh PK, Amrutkar S, Ansari AJ, Kumar S, Sharon A, Sharma S, Sawant DM, Banerjee UC, Singh S, Kumar R. E-pharmacophore guided discovery of pyrazolo[1,5-c]quinazolines as dual inhibitors of topoisomerase-I and histone deacetylase. Bioorg Chem 2020; 94:103409. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2019.103409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2019] [Revised: 09/27/2019] [Accepted: 10/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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Xia LW, Ba MY, Liu W, Cheng W, Hu CP, Zhao Q, Yao YF, Sun MR, Duan YT. Triazol: a privileged scaffold for proteolysis targeting chimeras. Future Med Chem 2019; 11:2919-2973. [PMID: 31702389 DOI: 10.4155/fmc-2019-0159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Current traditional drugs such as enzyme inhibitors and receptor agonists/antagonists present inherent limitations due to occupancy-driven pharmacology as the mode of action. Proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) are composed of an E3 ligand, a connecting linker and a target protein ligand, and are an attractive approach to specifically knockdown-targeted proteins utilizing an event-driven mode of action. The length, hydrophilicity and rigidity of connecting linkers play important role in creating a successful PROTAC. Some PROTACs with a triazole linker have displayed promising anticancer activity. This review provides an overview of PROTACs with a triazole scaffold and discusses its structure-activity relationship. Important milestones in the development of PROTACs are addressed and a critical analysis of this drug discovery strategy is also presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Wen Xia
- School of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan New Drug Research & Safety Evaluation, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China
| | - Meng-Yu Ba
- School of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan New Drug Research & Safety Evaluation, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China
| | - Wei Liu
- Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Children's Genetics & Metabolic Diseases, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450018, China
| | - Weyland Cheng
- Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Children's Genetics & Metabolic Diseases, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450018, China
| | - Chao-Ping Hu
- School of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan New Drug Research & Safety Evaluation, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China
| | - Qing Zhao
- School of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan New Drug Research & Safety Evaluation, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China
| | - Yong-Fang Yao
- School of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan New Drug Research & Safety Evaluation, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China
| | - Mo-Ran Sun
- School of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan New Drug Research & Safety Evaluation, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China
| | - Yong-Tao Duan
- Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Children's Genetics & Metabolic Diseases, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450018, China
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Bruno A, Costantino G, Sartori L, Radi M. The In Silico Drug Discovery Toolbox: Applications in Lead Discovery and Optimization. Curr Med Chem 2019; 26:3838-3873. [PMID: 29110597 DOI: 10.2174/0929867324666171107101035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2017] [Revised: 09/27/2017] [Accepted: 09/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Discovery and development of a new drug is a long lasting and expensive journey that takes around 20 years from starting idea to approval and marketing of new medication. Despite R&D expenditures have been constantly increasing in the last few years, the number of new drugs introduced into market has been steadily declining. This is mainly due to preclinical and clinical safety issues, which still represent about 40% of drug discontinuation. To cope with this issue, a number of in silico techniques are currently being used for an early stage evaluation/prediction of potential safety issues, allowing to increase the drug-discovery success rate and reduce costs associated with the development of a new drug. METHODS In the present review, we will analyse the early steps of the drug-discovery pipeline, describing the sequence of steps from disease selection to lead optimization and focusing on the most common in silico tools used to assess attrition risks and build a mitigation plan. RESULTS A comprehensive list of widely used in silico tools, databases, and public initiatives that can be effectively implemented and used in the drug discovery pipeline has been provided. A few examples of how these tools can be problem-solving and how they may increase the success rate of a drug discovery and development program have been also provided. Finally, selected examples where the application of in silico tools had effectively contributed to the development of marketed drugs or clinical candidates will be given. CONCLUSION The in silico toolbox finds great application in every step of early drug discovery: (i) target identification and validation; (ii) hit identification; (iii) hit-to-lead; and (iv) lead optimization. Each of these steps has been described in details, providing a useful overview on the role played by in silico tools in the decision-making process to speed-up the discovery of new drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agostino Bruno
- Experimental Therapeutics Unit, IFOM - The FIRC Institute for Molecular Oncology Foundation, Via Adamello 16 - 20139 Milano, Italy
| | - Gabriele Costantino
- Dipartimento di Scienze degli Alimenti e del Farmaco, Universita degli Studi di Parma, Viale delle Scienze, 27/A, 43124 Parma, Italy
| | - Luca Sartori
- Experimental Therapeutics Unit, IFOM - The FIRC Institute for Molecular Oncology Foundation, Via Adamello 16 - 20139 Milano, Italy
| | - Marco Radi
- Dipartimento di Scienze degli Alimenti e del Farmaco, Universita degli Studi di Parma, Viale delle Scienze, 27/A, 43124 Parma, Italy
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Schuler J, Samudrala R. Fingerprinting CANDO: Increased Accuracy with Structure- and Ligand-Based Shotgun Drug Repurposing. ACS OMEGA 2019; 4:17393-17403. [PMID: 31656912 PMCID: PMC6812124 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.9b02160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Accepted: 08/30/2019] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
We have upgraded our Computational Analysis of Novel Drug Opportunities (CANDO) platform for shotgun drug repurposing by including ligand-based, data fusion, and decision tree pipelines. The goal of shotgun drug repurposing is to screen and rank every existing human use drug or compound for every disease/indication. The first version of CANDO implemented a structure-based pipeline that modeled interactions between compounds and proteins on a large scale, generating compound-proteome interaction signatures used to infer the similarity of drug behavior; the new pipelines accomplish this by incorporating molecular fingerprints and the Tanimoto coefficient. We obtain improved benchmarking performance with the new pipelines across all three evaluation metrics used: average indication accuracy, pairwise accuracy, and coverage. The best performing pipeline achieves an average indication accuracy of 19.0% at the top10 cutoff, compared to 11.7% for v1, and 2.2% for a random control. Our results demonstrate that the CANDO drug recovery accuracy is substantially improved by integrating multiple pipelines, thereby enhancing our ability to generate putative therapeutic repurposing candidates, and increasing drug discovery efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Schuler
- Department of Biomedical
Informatics, Jacobs School of Medicine and
Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York 14203, United States
| | - Ram Samudrala
- Department of Biomedical
Informatics, Jacobs School of Medicine and
Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York 14203, United States
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22
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Sadhasivam A, Nagarajan H, Umashankar V. Structure-based drug target prioritisation and rational drug design for targeting Chlamydia trachomatis eye infections. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2019; 38:3131-3143. [PMID: 31380730 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2019.1652691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Chlamydia trachomatis (C.t) is a major causative of infectious blindness in world. It is a real challenge to combat Chlamydial infection as it is an intracellular pathogen. Hence, it is essential to determine the most potential targets of C.t in order to inhibit or suppress its virulence during its infectious phase. Thus, in this study, the highly expressed-cum-most essential genes reported through our earlier study were reprioritized by structure-based comparative binding site analysis with host proteome. Therefore, computational approaches involving molecular modelling, large-scale binding site prediction and comparison, molecular dynamics simulation studies were performed to narrow down the most potential targets. Furthermore, high-throughput virtual screening and ADMETox were also performed to identify potential hits that shall efficiently inhibit the prioritised targets. Hence, by this study we report Pyruvoyl-dependent arginine decarboxylase (PvlArgDC), DNA-repair protein (RecO) and porin (outer membrane protein) as the most viable targets of C.t which can be potentially targeted by compounds, NSC_13086, MFCD00276409, MFCD05662003, respectively. AbbreviationsC.tChlamydia trachomatisSTDSexually transmitted diseaseHTVSHigh-throughput virtual screeningADMEToxAbsorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion and ToxicityPMPocketMatchMDMolecular Dynamics simulationSPStandard precisionXPExtra precisionMMGBSAMolecular mechanics energies combined with generalised Born and surface area continuum solvationOMPOuter membrane proteinPvlArgDCPyruvoyl-dependent arginine decarboxylaseRecORecombination protein O.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anupriya Sadhasivam
- Centre for Bioinformatics, Kamalnayan Bajaj Institute for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Vision Research Foundation, Chennai, India
| | - Hemavathy Nagarajan
- Centre for Bioinformatics, Kamalnayan Bajaj Institute for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Vision Research Foundation, Chennai, India
| | - Vetrivel Umashankar
- Centre for Bioinformatics, Kamalnayan Bajaj Institute for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Vision Research Foundation, Chennai, India
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Abrusán G, Marsh JA. Ligand-Binding-Site Structure Shapes Allosteric Signal Transduction and the Evolution of Allostery in Protein Complexes. Mol Biol Evol 2019; 36:1711-1727. [PMID: 31004156 PMCID: PMC6657754 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msz093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The structure of ligand-binding sites has been shown to profoundly influence the evolution of function in homomeric protein complexes. Complexes with multichain binding sites (MBSs) have more conserved quaternary structure, more similar binding sites and ligands between homologs, and evolve new functions slower than homomers with single-chain binding sites (SBSs). Here, using in silico analyses of protein dynamics, we investigate whether ligand-binding-site structure shapes allosteric signal transduction pathways, and whether the structural similarity of binding sites influences the evolution of allostery. Our analyses show that: 1) allostery is more frequent among MBS complexes than in SBS complexes, particularly in homomers; 2) in MBS homomers, semirigid communities and critical residues frequently connect interfaces and thus they are characterized by signal transduction pathways that cross protein-protein interfaces, whereas SBS homomers usually not; 3) ligand binding alters community structure differently in MBS and SBS homomers; and 4) except MBS homomers, allosteric proteins are more likely to have homologs with similar binding site than nonallosteric proteins, suggesting that binding site similarity is an important factor driving the evolution of allostery.
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Affiliation(s)
- György Abrusán
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Joseph A Marsh
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Nnadi CO, Ebiloma GU, Black JA, Nwodo NJ, Lemgruber L, Schmidt TJ, de Koning HP. Potent Antitrypanosomal Activities of 3-Aminosteroids against African Trypanosomes: Investigation of Cellular Effects and of Cross-Resistance with Existing Drugs. Molecules 2019; 24:E268. [PMID: 30642032 PMCID: PMC6359104 DOI: 10.3390/molecules24020268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2018] [Revised: 01/07/2019] [Accepted: 01/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Treatment of animal African trypanosomiasis (AAT) requires urgent need for safe, potent and affordable drugs and this has necessitated this study. We investigated the trypanocidal activities and mode of action of selected 3-aminosteroids against Trypanosoma brucei brucei. The in vitro activity of selected compounds of this series against T. congolense (Savannah-type, IL3000), T. b. brucei (bloodstream trypomastigote, Lister strain 427 wild-type (427WT)) and various multi-drug resistant cell lines was assessed using a resazurin-based cell viability assay. Studies on mode of antitrypanosomal activity of some selected 3-aminosteroids against Tbb 427WT were also carried out. The tested compounds mostly showed moderate-to-low in vitro activities and low selectivity to mammalian cells. Interestingly, a certain aminosteroid, holarrhetine (10, IC50 = 0.045 ± 0.03 µM), was 2 times more potent against T. congolense than the standard veterinary drug, diminazene aceturate, and 10 times more potent than the control trypanocide, pentamidine, and displayed an excellent in vitro selectivity index of 2130 over L6 myoblasts. All multi-drug resistant strains of T. b. brucei tested were not significantly cross-resistant with the purified compounds. The growth pattern of Tbb 427WT on long and limited exposure time revealed gradual but irrecoverable growth arrest at ≥ IC50 concentrations of 3-aminosteroids. Trypanocidal action was not associated with membrane permeabilization of trypanosome cells but instead with mitochondrial membrane depolarization, reduced adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels and G₂/M cell cycle arrest which appear to be the result of mitochondrial accumulation of the aminosteroids. These findings provided insights for further development of this new and promising class of trypanocide against African trypanosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles O Nnadi
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Phytochemistry (IPBP), University of Münster, Pharma Campus Corrensstraße 48, D-48149 Münster, Germany.
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu 410001, Nigeria.
| | - Godwin U Ebiloma
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TA, UK.
- Department of Applied Biology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan.
| | - Jennifer A Black
- The Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TA, UK.
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14049-900, Brazil.
| | - Ngozi J Nwodo
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu 410001, Nigeria.
| | - Leandro Lemgruber
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TA, UK.
| | - Thomas J Schmidt
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Phytochemistry (IPBP), University of Münster, Pharma Campus Corrensstraße 48, D-48149 Münster, Germany.
| | - Harry P de Koning
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TA, UK.
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Hu G, Wang K, Song J, Uversky VN, Kurgan L. Taxonomic Landscape of the Dark Proteomes: Whole-Proteome Scale Interplay Between Structural Darkness, Intrinsic Disorder, and Crystallization Propensity. Proteomics 2018; 18:e1800243. [PMID: 30198635 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.201800243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2018] [Revised: 08/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Growth rate of the protein sequence universe dramatically exceeds the speed of expansion for the protein structure universe, generating an immense dark proteome that includes proteins with unknown structure. A whole-proteome scale analysis of 5.4 million proteins from 987 proteomes in the three domains of life and viruses to systematically dissect an interplay between structural coverage, degree of putative intrinsic disorder, and predicted propensity for structure determination is performed. It has been found that Archaean and Bacterial proteomes have relatively high structural coverage and low amounts of disorder, whereas Eukaryotic and Viral proteomes are characterized by a broad spread of structural coverage and higher disorder levels. The analysis reveals that dark proteomes (i.e., proteomes containing high fractions of proteins with unknown structure) have significantly elevated amounts of intrinsic disorder and are predicted to be difficult to solve structurally. Although the majority of dark proteomes are of viral origin, many dark viral proteomes have at least modest crystallization propensity and only a handful of them are enriched in the intrinsic disorder. The disorder, structural coverage, and propensity are mapped for structural determination onto a novel proteome-level sequence similarity network to analyze the interplay of these characteristics in the taxonomic landscape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Hu
- School of Mathematical Sciences and LPMC, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, P. R. China
| | - Kui Wang
- School of Mathematical Sciences and LPMC, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, P. R. China
| | - Jiangning Song
- Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia.,Monash Centre for Data Science, Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Vladimir N Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, 33612, USA.,Institute for Biological Instrumentation, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, 142290, Russia
| | - Lukasz Kurgan
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA
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26
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Bergenin: a computationally proven promising scaffold for novel galectin-3 inhibitors. J Mol Model 2018; 24:302. [PMID: 30276553 DOI: 10.1007/s00894-018-3831-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2017] [Accepted: 09/13/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Bergenin is a C-glycoside of 4-O-methylgallic acid that is isolated from medicinal plants such as Flueggea leucopyrus, Bergenia crassifolia, Mallotus philippensis, Corylopsis spicata, Caesalpinia digyna, Mallotus japonicus, and Sacoglottis gabonensis. Even though there appears to be ample evidence from South Asian traditional medicine that bergenin possesses strong anticancer activity, no comprehensive scientific study has been carried out to test its anticancer potency. Therefore, in this study, the potential mechanisms of action for bergenin's postulated anticancer activity were examined using computational techniques. Firstly, bergenin was tested for its toxicity as a drug candidate using in silico toxicity analysis. It was found that bergenin is nontoxic according to modern toxicity measures. The optimized structure of bergenin was obtained at the DFT-B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory. Potential biological targets of bergenin were identified using reverse docking calculations. Reverse docking results suggested that galectin-3 is a potential target of bergenin. Gelectin-3 is an enzyme that plays a major role in cell-cell adhesion, cell-matrix interactions, macrophage activation, angiogenesis, metastasis, and apoptosis in cancer, making it a popular target in anticancer drug design. Among the many potential biological targets predicted by reverse docking calculations, galectin-3 was selected as it complies with the primary objective of this study. The binding of bergenin to galectin-3 was studied by conventional forward docking calculations. Classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to study the stability of the galectin-3:bergenin complex. Docking calculations indicated that bergenin has the potential to effectively bind to the carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) of galectin-3. As well as electrostatic and van der Waals interactions, a few strong hydrogen bonds were found to be involved in the binding of bergenin to galectin-3. There is also a plausible π-stacking interaction between the aromatic moiety of bergenin and the His158 residue at the binding site. A 50-ns MD simulation was carried out for the bergenin:galectin-3 complex in a cubic water box with periodic boundary conditions. The MD results showed that the bergenin:galectin-3 complex is highly stable and confirmed the veracity of the docking results, which suggested that bergenin potentially exerts an inhibitory effect on galectin-3. This study therefore sheds new light on the anticancer activity of bergenin and demonstrates that bergenin could potentially be used to develop more potent galectin-3 inhibitors. The study also provides scientific evidence supporting the use of bergenin-containing plants in cancer treatments in Eastern traditional medicine. Graphical abstract Bergenin in the galectin-3 binding site.
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Martin HL, Bedford R, Heseltine SJ, Tang AA, Haza KZ, Rao A, McPherson MJ, Tomlinson DC. Non-immunoglobulin scaffold proteins: Precision tools for studying protein-protein interactions in cancer. N Biotechnol 2018; 45:28-35. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nbt.2018.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2017] [Revised: 02/08/2018] [Accepted: 02/18/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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Gupta M, Sharma R, Kumar A. Docking techniques in pharmacology: How much promising? Comput Biol Chem 2018; 76:210-217. [PMID: 30067954 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2018.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2017] [Revised: 02/21/2018] [Accepted: 06/30/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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Krivák R, Hoksza D. P2Rank: machine learning based tool for rapid and accurate prediction of ligand binding sites from protein structure. J Cheminform 2018; 10:39. [PMID: 30109435 PMCID: PMC6091426 DOI: 10.1186/s13321-018-0285-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 177] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2017] [Accepted: 06/29/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Ligand binding site prediction from protein structure has many applications related to elucidation of protein function and structure based drug discovery. It often represents only one step of many in complex computational drug design efforts. Although many methods have been published to date, only few of them are suitable for use in automated pipelines or for processing large datasets.
These use cases require stability and speed, which disqualifies many of the recently introduced tools that are either template based or available only as web servers. Results We present P2Rank, a stand-alone template-free tool for prediction of ligand binding sites based on machine learning. It is based on prediction of ligandability of local chemical neighbourhoods that are centered on points placed on the solvent accessible surface of a protein.
We show that P2Rank outperforms several existing tools, which include two widely used stand-alone tools (Fpocket, SiteHound), a comprehensive consensus based tool (MetaPocket 2.0), and a recent deep learning based method (DeepSite). P2Rank belongs to the fastest available tools (requires under 1 s for prediction on one protein), with additional advantage of multi-threaded implementation. Conclusions P2Rank is a new open source software package for ligand binding site prediction from protein structure. It is available as a user-friendly stand-alone command line program and a Java library. P2Rank has a lightweight installation and does not depend on other bioinformatics tools or large structural or sequence databases. Thanks to its speed and ability to make fully automated predictions, it is particularly well suited for processing large datasets or as a component of scalable structural bioinformatics pipelines. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13321-018-0285-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radoslav Krivák
- Department of Software Engineering, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - David Hoksza
- Department of Software Engineering, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
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Han M, Song Y, Qian J, Ming D. Sequence-based prediction of physicochemical interactions at protein functional sites using a function-and-interaction-annotated domain profile database. BMC Bioinformatics 2018; 19:204. [PMID: 29859055 PMCID: PMC5984826 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-018-2206-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2017] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Identifying protein functional sites (PFSs) and, particularly, the physicochemical interactions at these sites is critical to understanding protein functions and the biochemical reactions involved. Several knowledge-based methods have been developed for the prediction of PFSs; however, accurate methods for predicting the physicochemical interactions associated with PFSs are still lacking. Results In this paper, we present a sequence-based method for the prediction of physicochemical interactions at PFSs. The method is based on a functional site and physicochemical interaction-annotated domain profile database, called fiDPD, which was built using protein domains found in the Protein Data Bank. This method was applied to 13 target proteins from the very recent Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction (CASP10/11), and our calculations gave a Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) value of 0.66 for PFS prediction and an 80% recall in the prediction of the associated physicochemical interactions. Conclusions Our results show that, in addition to the PFSs, the physical interactions at these sites are also conserved in the evolution of proteins. This work provides a valuable sequence-based tool for rational drug design and side-effect assessment. The method is freely available and can be accessed at http://202.119.249.49.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Han
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Life Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Yifan Song
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Life Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiaqiang Qian
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Life Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Dengming Ming
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Biotech Building Room B1-404, 30 South Puzhu Road, Jiangsu, 211816, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
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Xu X, Huang M, Zou X. Docking-based inverse virtual screening: methods, applications, and challenges. BIOPHYSICS REPORTS 2018; 4:1-16. [PMID: 29577065 PMCID: PMC5860130 DOI: 10.1007/s41048-017-0045-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2017] [Accepted: 09/08/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Identifying potential protein targets for a small-compound ligand query is crucial to the process of drug development. However, there are tens of thousands of proteins in human alone, and it is almost impossible to scan all the existing proteins for a query ligand using current experimental methods. Recently, a computational technology called docking-based inverse virtual screening (IVS) has attracted much attention. In docking-based IVS, a panel of proteins is screened by a molecular docking program to identify potential targets for a query ligand. Ever since the first paper describing a docking-based IVS program was published about a decade ago, the approach has been gradually improved and utilized for a variety of purposes in the field of drug discovery. In this article, the methods employed in docking-based IVS are reviewed in detail, including target databases, docking engines, and scoring function methodologies. Several web servers developed for non-expert users are also reviewed. Then, a number of applications are presented according to different research purposes, such as target identification, side effects/toxicity, drug repositioning, drug-target network development, and receptor design. The review concludes by discussing the challenges that docking-based IVS needs to overcome to become a robust tool for pharmaceutical engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianjin Xu
- Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 USA
- Informatics Institute, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 USA
| | - Marshal Huang
- Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 USA
- Informatics Institute, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 USA
| | - Xiaoqin Zou
- Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 USA
- Informatics Institute, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 USA
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Malhotra S, Mugumbate G, Blundell TL, Higueruelo AP. TIBLE: a web-based, freely accessible resource for small-molecule binding data for mycobacterial species. DATABASE-THE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL DATABASES AND CURATION 2018; 2017:3866794. [PMID: 29220433 PMCID: PMC5502366 DOI: 10.1093/database/bax041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2017] [Accepted: 04/25/2017] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Database URL http://www-cryst.bioc.cam.ac.uk/tible/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sony Malhotra
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK
| | - Grace Mugumbate
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK
| | - Tom L Blundell
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK
| | - Alicia P Higueruelo
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK
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Abstract
Nowadays it is widely accepted that one compound can be able to hit several targets at once. This "magic shotgun" approach for drug development properly describes the mechanism of biomolecular recognition. The need to take into account the polypharmacology in structure-based drug design has led to the development of several computational tools. Here we present a computational protocol to identify promising compounds against several biological targets, a protocol known as inverse docking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Saenz-Méndez
- Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. .,Computational Chemistry and Biology Group, Facultad de Química, UdelaR, Montevideo, Uruguay.
| | - Leif A Eriksson
- Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
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Duran-Frigola M, Siragusa L, Ruppin E, Barril X, Cruciani G, Aloy P. Detecting similar binding pockets to enable systems polypharmacology. PLoS Comput Biol 2017; 13:e1005522. [PMID: 28662117 PMCID: PMC5490940 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2016] [Accepted: 04/15/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
In the era of systems biology, multi-target pharmacological strategies hold promise for tackling disease-related networks. In this regard, drug promiscuity may be leveraged to interfere with multiple receptors: the so-called polypharmacology of drugs can be anticipated by analyzing the similarity of binding sites across the proteome. Here, we perform a pairwise comparison of 90,000 putative binding pockets detected in 3,700 proteins, and find that 23,000 pairs of proteins have at least one similar cavity that could, in principle, accommodate similar ligands. By inspecting these pairs, we demonstrate how the detection of similar binding sites expands the space of opportunities for the rational design of drug polypharmacology. Finally, we illustrate how to leverage these opportunities in protein-protein interaction networks related to several therapeutic classes and tumor types, and in a genome-scale metabolic model of leukemia. Traditionally, the fact that most drugs are promiscuous binders has been a major concern in pharmacology, due to the occurrence of undesired off-target clinical events. In the recent years, however, the realization that many diseases are the result of complex biological processes has encouraged rethinking of drug promiscuity as a promising feature, since it is sometimes necessary to interfere with multiple receptors in order to overcome the robustness of disease-related networks. One way to identify groups of proteins that could be targeted simultaneously is to look for similar binding sites. We have massively done so for all human proteins with a known high-resolution three-dimensional structure, unveiling a vast space of ‘polypharmacology’ opportunities. Of these, we know, a great majority is not of therapeutic interest. To pinpoint promising multi-target combinations, we advocate for the use of computational tools that are able to rapidly simulate the effect of drug-target interactions on biological networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miquel Duran-Frigola
- Joint IRB-BSC-CRG Program in Computational Biology, Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | | | - Eytan Ruppin
- Department of Computer Science & Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
- School of Computer Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Xavier Barril
- Departament de Fisicoquímica, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Gabriele Cruciani
- Molecular Discovery Limited, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Patrick Aloy
- Joint IRB-BSC-CRG Program in Computational Biology, Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- * E-mail:
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Singh K, Lahiri T. A new search subspace to compensate failure of cavity-based localization of ligand-binding sites. Comput Biol Chem 2017; 68:6-11. [DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2017.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2015] [Revised: 04/27/2016] [Accepted: 01/30/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Saenz-Méndez P, Eriksson M, Eriksson LA. Ligand Selectivity between the ADP-Ribosylating Toxins: An Inverse-Docking Study for Multitarget Drug Discovery. ACS OMEGA 2017; 2:1710-1719. [PMID: 30023642 PMCID: PMC6044789 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.7b00010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2017] [Accepted: 03/17/2017] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Bacterial adenosine 5'-diphosphate-ribosylating toxins are encoded by several human pathogens, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (exotoxin A (ETA)), Corynebacterium diphtheriae (diphtheria toxin (DT)), and Vibrio cholerae (cholix toxin (CT)). The toxins modify eukaryotic elongation factor 2, an essential human enzyme in protein synthesis, thereby causing cell death. Targeting external virulence factors, such as the above toxins, is a promising alternative for developing new antibiotics, while at the same time avoiding drug resistance. This study aims to establish a reliable computational methodology to find a "silver bullet" able to target all three toxins. Herein, we have undertaken a detailed analysis of the active sites of ETA, DT, and CT, followed by the determination of the most appropriate selection of the size of the docking sphere. Thereafter, we tested two different approaches for normalizing the docking scores and used these to verify the best target (toxin) for each ligand. The results indicate that the methodology is suitable for identifying selective as well as multitoxin inhibitors, further validating the robustness of inverse docking for target-fishing experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Saenz-Méndez
- Department
of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University
of Gothenburg, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
- Computational
Chemistry and Biology Group, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, 11800 Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Martin Eriksson
- Department
of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University
of Gothenburg, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Leif A. Eriksson
- Department
of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University
of Gothenburg, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
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Molecular mechanisms involved in the side effects of fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitors: a structural phenomics approach to proteome-wide cellular off-target deconvolution and disease association. NPJ Syst Biol Appl 2016; 2:16023. [PMID: 28725477 PMCID: PMC5516858 DOI: 10.1038/npjsba.2016.23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2016] [Revised: 07/14/2016] [Accepted: 08/02/2016] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) is a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of pain and CNS disorders. However, the development of potent and safe FAAH inhibitors is hindered by their off-target mediated side effect that leads to brain cell death. Its physiological off-targets and their associations with phenotypes may not be characterized using existing experimental and computational techniques as these methods fail to have sufficient proteome coverage and/or ignore native biological assemblies (BAs; i.e., protein quaternary structures). To understand the mechanisms of the side effects from FAAH inhibitors and other drugs, we develop a novel structural phenomics approach to identifying the physiological off-targets binding profile in the cellular context and on a structural proteome scale, and investigate the roles of these off-targets in impacting human physiology and pathology using text mining-based phenomics analysis. Using this integrative approach, we discover that FAAH inhibitors may bind to the dimerization interface of NMDA receptor (NMDAR) and several other BAs, and thus disrupt their cellular functions. Specifically, the malfunction of the NMDAR is associated with a wide spectrum of brain disorders that are directly related to the observed side effects of FAAH inhibitors. This finding is consistent with the existing literature, and provides testable hypotheses for investigating the molecular origin of the side effects of FAAH inhibitors. Thus, the in silico method proposed here, which can for the first time predict proteome-wide drug interactions with cellular BAs and link BA–ligand interaction with clinical outcomes, can be valuable in off-target screening. The development and application of such methods will accelerate the development of more safe and effective therapeutics.
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Andrade EL, Bento AF, Cavalli J, Oliveira SK, Freitas CS, Marcon R, Schwanke RC, Siqueira JM, Calixto JB. Non-clinical studies required for new drug development - Part I: early in silico and in vitro studies, new target discovery and validation, proof of principles and robustness of animal studies. Braz J Med Biol Res 2016; 49:e5644. [PMID: 27783811 PMCID: PMC5089235 DOI: 10.1590/1414-431x20165644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2016] [Accepted: 09/20/2016] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
This review presents a historical overview of drug discovery and the non-clinical stages of the drug development process, from initial target identification and validation, through in silico assays and high throughput screening (HTS), identification of leader molecules and their optimization, the selection of a candidate substance for clinical development, and the use of animal models during the early studies of proof-of-concept (or principle). This report also discusses the relevance of validated and predictive animal models selection, as well as the correct use of animal tests concerning the experimental design, execution and interpretation, which affect the reproducibility, quality and reliability of non-clinical studies necessary to translate to and support clinical studies. Collectively, improving these aspects will certainly contribute to the robustness of both scientific publications and the translation of new substances to clinical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- E L Andrade
- Centro de Inovação e Ensaios Pré-clínicos, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
| | - A F Bento
- Centro de Inovação e Ensaios Pré-clínicos, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
| | - J Cavalli
- Centro de Inovação e Ensaios Pré-clínicos, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
| | - S K Oliveira
- Centro de Inovação e Ensaios Pré-clínicos, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
| | - C S Freitas
- Centro de Inovação e Ensaios Pré-clínicos, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
| | - R Marcon
- Centro de Inovação e Ensaios Pré-clínicos, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
| | - R C Schwanke
- Centro de Inovação e Ensaios Pré-clínicos, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
| | - J M Siqueira
- Centro de Inovação e Ensaios Pré-clínicos, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
| | - J B Calixto
- Centro de Inovação e Ensaios Pré-clínicos, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
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Kell DB, Pretorius E. On the translocation of bacteria and their lipopolysaccharides between blood and peripheral locations in chronic, inflammatory diseases: the central roles of LPS and LPS-induced cell death. Integr Biol (Camb) 2016; 7:1339-77. [PMID: 26345428 DOI: 10.1039/c5ib00158g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
We have recently highlighted (and added to) the considerable evidence that blood can contain dormant bacteria. By definition, such bacteria may be resuscitated (and thus proliferate). This may occur under conditions that lead to or exacerbate chronic, inflammatory diseases that are normally considered to lack a microbial component. Bacterial cell wall components, such as the endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Gram-negative strains, are well known as potent inflammatory agents, but should normally be cleared. Thus, their continuing production and replenishment from dormant bacterial reservoirs provides an easy explanation for the continuing, low-grade inflammation (and inflammatory cytokine production) that is characteristic of many such diseases. Although experimental conditions and determinants have varied considerably between investigators, we summarise the evidence that in a great many circumstances LPS can play a central role in all of these processes, including in particular cell death processes that permit translocation between the gut, blood and other tissues. Such localised cell death processes might also contribute strongly to the specific diseases of interest. The bacterial requirement for free iron explains the strong co-existence in these diseases of iron dysregulation, LPS production, and inflammation. Overall this analysis provides an integrative picture, with significant predictive power, that is able to link these processes via the centrality of a dormant blood microbiome that can resuscitate and shed cell wall components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas B Kell
- School of Chemistry and The Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, 131, Princess St, Manchester M1 7DN, Lancs, UK.
| | - Etheresia Pretorius
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Arcadia 0007, South Africa.
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Kapoor S, Waldmann H, Ziegler S. Novel approaches to map small molecule–target interactions. Bioorg Med Chem 2016; 24:3232-45. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2016.05.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2016] [Revised: 05/10/2016] [Accepted: 05/12/2016] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Mih N, Brunk E, Bordbar A, Palsson BO. A Multi-scale Computational Platform to Mechanistically Assess the Effect of Genetic Variation on Drug Responses in Human Erythrocyte Metabolism. PLoS Comput Biol 2016; 12:e1005039. [PMID: 27467583 PMCID: PMC4965186 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2016] [Accepted: 06/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Progress in systems medicine brings promise to addressing patient heterogeneity and individualized therapies. Recently, genome-scale models of metabolism have been shown to provide insight into the mechanistic link between drug therapies and systems-level off-target effects while being expanded to explicitly include the three-dimensional structure of proteins. The integration of these molecular-level details, such as the physical, structural, and dynamical properties of proteins, notably expands the computational description of biochemical network-level properties and the possibility of understanding and predicting whole cell phenotypes. In this study, we present a multi-scale modeling framework that describes biological processes which range in scale from atomistic details to an entire metabolic network. Using this approach, we can understand how genetic variation, which impacts the structure and reactivity of a protein, influences both native and drug-induced metabolic states. As a proof-of-concept, we study three enzymes (catechol-O-methyltransferase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase) and their respective genetic variants which have clinically relevant associations. Using all-atom molecular dynamic simulations enables the sampling of long timescale conformational dynamics of the proteins (and their mutant variants) in complex with their respective native metabolites or drug molecules. We find that changes in a protein's structure due to a mutation influences protein binding affinity to metabolites and/or drug molecules, and inflicts large-scale changes in metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Mih
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth Brunk
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (EB); (BOP)
| | - Aarash Bordbar
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Bernhard O. Palsson
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (EB); (BOP)
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de Ruyck J, Brysbaert G, Blossey R, Lensink MF. Molecular docking as a popular tool in drug design, an in silico travel. Adv Appl Bioinform Chem 2016; 9:1-11. [PMID: 27390530 PMCID: PMC4930227 DOI: 10.2147/aabc.s105289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
New molecular modeling approaches, driven by rapidly improving computational platforms, have allowed many success stories for the use of computer-assisted drug design in the discovery of new mechanism-or structure-based drugs. In this overview, we highlight three aspects of the use of molecular docking. First, we discuss the combination of molecular and quantum mechanics to investigate an unusual enzymatic mechanism of a flavoprotein. Second, we present recent advances in anti-infectious agents' synthesis driven by structural insights. At the end, we focus on larger biological complexes made by protein-protein interactions and discuss their relevance in drug design. This review provides information on how these large systems, even in the presence of the solvent, can be investigated with the outlook of drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ralf Blossey
- University Lille, CNRS UMR8576 UGSF, Lille, France
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44
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Stephens DC, Kim HM, Kumar A, Farahat AA, Boykin DW, Poon GM. Pharmacologic efficacy of PU.1 inhibition by heterocyclic dications: a mechanistic analysis. Nucleic Acids Res 2016; 44:4005-13. [PMID: 27079976 PMCID: PMC4872103 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkw229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2016] [Accepted: 03/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Heterocyclic dications are receiving increasing attention as targeted inhibitors of transcription factors. While many dications act as purely competitive inhibitors, some fail to displace protein efficiently at drug concentrations expected to saturate their DNA target. To achieve a mechanistic understanding of these non-competitive effects, we used a combination of dications, which are intrinsically fluorescent and spectrally-separated fluorescently labeled DNA to dissect complex interactions in multi-component drug/DNA/protein systems. Specifically, we interrogated site-specific binding by the transcription factor PU.1 and its perturbation by DB270, a furan-bisbenzimidazole-diamidine that strongly targets PU.1 binding sites yet poorly inhibits PU.1/DNA complexes. By titrating DB270 and/or cyanine-labeled DNA with protein or unlabeled DNA, and following the changes in their fluorescence polarization, we found direct evidence that DB270 bound protein independently of their mutual affinities for sequence-specific DNA. Each of the three species competed for the other two, and this interplay of mutually dependent equilibria abrogated DB270's inhibitory activity, which was substantively restored under conditions that attenuated DB270/PU.1 binding. PU.1 binding was consistent with DB270's poor inhibitory efficacy of PU.1 in vivo, while its isosteric selenophene analog (DB1976), which did not bind PU.1 and strongly inhibited the PU.1/DNA complex in vitro, fully antagonized PU.1-dependent transactivation in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hye Mi Kim
- Department of Chemistry, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | - Arvind Kumar
- Department of Chemistry, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | | | - David W Boykin
- Department of Chemistry, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | - Gregory M Poon
- Department of Chemistry, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA Center for Diagnostics and Therapeutics, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
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Xu X, Ma Z, Sun H, Zou X. SM-TF: A structural database of small molecule-transcription factor complexes. J Comput Chem 2016; 37:1559-64. [PMID: 27010673 DOI: 10.1002/jcc.24370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2015] [Revised: 02/12/2016] [Accepted: 03/05/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Transcription factors (TFs) are the proteins involved in the transcription process, ensuring the correct expression of specific genes. Numerous diseases arise from the dysfunction of specific TFs. In fact, over 30 TFs have been identified as therapeutic targets of about 9% of the approved drugs. In this study, we created a structural database of small molecule-transcription factor (SM-TF) complexes, available online at http://zoulab.dalton.missouri.edu/SM-TF. The 3D structures of the co-bound small molecule and the corresponding binding sites on TFs are provided in the database, serving as a valuable resource to assist structure-based drug design related to TFs. Currently, the SM-TF database contains 934 entries covering 176 TFs from a variety of species. The database is further classified into several subsets by species and organisms. The entries in the SM-TF database are linked to the UniProt database and other sequence-based TF databases. Furthermore, the druggable TFs from human and the corresponding approved drugs are linked to the DrugBank. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianjin Xu
- Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 65211
| | - Zhiwei Ma
- Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 65211.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 65211
| | - Hongmin Sun
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Missouri Hospital and Clinics, Columbia, Missouri, 65212
| | - Xiaoqin Zou
- Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 65211.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 65211.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 65211.,Informatics Institute, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 65211
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46
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Zhao Z, Xie L, Xie L, Bourne PE. Delineation of Polypharmacology across the Human Structural Kinome Using a Functional Site Interaction Fingerprint Approach. J Med Chem 2016; 59:4326-41. [PMID: 26929980 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5b02041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Targeted polypharmacology of kinases has emerged as a promising strategy to design efficient and safe therapeutics. Here, we perform a systematic study of kinase-ligand binding modes for the human structural kinome at scale (208 kinases, 1777 unique ligands, and their complexes) by integrating chemical genomics and structural genomics data and by introducing a functional site interaction fingerprint (Fs-IFP) method. New insights into kinase-ligand binding modes were obtained. We establish relationships between the features of binding modes, the ligands, and the binding pockets, respectively. We also drive the intrinsic binding specificity and which correlation with amino acid conservation. Third, we explore the landscape of the binding modes and highlight the regions of "selectivity pocket" and "selectivity entrance". Finally, we demonstrate that Fs-IFP similarity is directly correlated to the experimentally determined profile. These improve our understanding of kinase-ligand interactions and contribute to the design of novel polypharmacological therapies targeting kinases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Zhao
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda, Maryland 20894, United States
| | - Li Xie
- Scripps Ranch , San Diego, California 92131, United States
| | - Lei Xie
- Department of Computer Science, Hunter College, The City University of New York , New York, New York 10065, United States.,The Graduate Center, The City University of New York , New York, New York 10016, United States
| | - Philip E Bourne
- Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
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47
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Zhao Z, Martin C, Fan R, Bourne PE, Xie L. Drug repurposing to target Ebola virus replication and virulence using structural systems pharmacology. BMC Bioinformatics 2016; 17:90. [PMID: 26887654 PMCID: PMC4757998 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-016-0941-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2015] [Accepted: 02/10/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The recent outbreak of Ebola has been cited as the largest in history. Despite this global health crisis, few drugs are available to efficiently treat Ebola infections. Drug repurposing provides a potentially efficient solution to accelerating the development of therapeutic approaches in response to Ebola outbreak. To identify such candidates, we use an integrated structural systems pharmacology pipeline which combines proteome-scale ligand binding site comparison, protein-ligand docking, and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation. Results One thousand seven hundred and sixty-six FDA-approved drugs and 259 experimental drugs were screened to identify those with the potential to inhibit the replication and virulence of Ebola, and to determine the binding modes with their respective targets. Initial screening has identified a number of promising hits. Notably, Indinavir; an HIV protease inhibitor, may be effective in reducing the virulence of Ebola. Additionally, an antifungal (Sinefungin) and several anti-viral drugs (e.g. Maraviroc, Abacavir, Telbivudine, and Cidofovir) may inhibit Ebola RNA-directed RNA polymerase through targeting the MTase domain. Conclusions Identification of safe drug candidates is a crucial first step toward the determination of timely and effective therapeutic approaches to address and mitigate the impact of the Ebola global crisis and future outbreaks of pathogenic diseases. Further in vitro and in vivo testing to evaluate the anti-Ebola activity of these drugs is warranted. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12859-016-0941-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Zhao
- High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, P. R. China.,National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Che Martin
- The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, New York, USA
| | - Raymond Fan
- Department of Chemistry, Hunter College, The City University of New York, New York, USA
| | - Philip E Bourne
- Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Lei Xie
- The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, New York, USA. .,Department of Computer Science, Hunter College, The City University of New York, New York, USA.
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48
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Hart T, Xie L. Providing data science support for systems pharmacology and its implications to drug discovery. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2016; 11:241-56. [PMID: 26689499 DOI: 10.1517/17460441.2016.1135126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The conventional one-drug-one-target-one-disease drug discovery process has been less successful in tracking multi-genic, multi-faceted complex diseases. Systems pharmacology has emerged as a new discipline to tackle the current challenges in drug discovery. The goal of systems pharmacology is to transform huge, heterogeneous, and dynamic biological and clinical data into interpretable and actionable mechanistic models for decision making in drug discovery and patient treatment. Thus, big data technology and data science will play an essential role in systems pharmacology. AREAS COVERED This paper critically reviews the impact of three fundamental concepts of data science on systems pharmacology: similarity inference, overfitting avoidance, and disentangling causality from correlation. The authors then discuss recent advances and future directions in applying the three concepts of data science to drug discovery, with a focus on proteome-wide context-specific quantitative drug target deconvolution and personalized adverse drug reaction prediction. EXPERT OPINION Data science will facilitate reducing the complexity of systems pharmacology modeling, detecting hidden correlations between complex data sets, and distinguishing causation from correlation. The power of data science can only be fully realized when integrated with mechanism-based multi-scale modeling that explicitly takes into account the hierarchical organization of biological systems from nucleic acid to proteins, to molecular interaction networks, to cells, to tissues, to patients, and to populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Hart
- a The Rockefeller University , New York , NY , USA.,b Department of Biological Sciences, Hunter College , The City University of New York , New York , NY , USA
| | - Lei Xie
- c Department of Computer Science, Hunter College , The City University of New York , New York , NY , USA.,d The Graduate Center , The City University of New York , New York , NY , USA
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Kazakiewicz D, Karr JR, Langner KM, Plewczynski D. A combined systems and structural modeling approach repositions antibiotics for Mycoplasma genitalium. Comput Biol Chem 2015; 59 Pt B:91-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2015.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2015] [Revised: 05/05/2015] [Accepted: 07/24/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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Liu T, Altman RB. Relating Essential Proteins to Drug Side-Effects Using Canonical Component Analysis: A Structure-Based Approach. J Chem Inf Model 2015; 55:1483-94. [PMID: 26121262 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.5b00030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The molecular mechanism of many drug side-effects is unknown and difficult to predict. Previous methods for explaining side-effects have focused on known drug targets and their pathways. However, low affinity binding to proteins that are not usually considered drug targets may also drive side-effects. In order to assess these alternative targets, we used the 3D structures of 563 essential human proteins systematically to predict binding to 216 drugs. We first benchmarked our affinity predictions with available experimental data. We then combined singular value decomposition and canonical component analysis (SVD-CCA) to predict side-effects based on these novel target profiles. Our method predicts side-effects with good accuracy (average AUC: 0.82 for side effects present in <50% of drug labels). We also noted that side-effect frequency is the most important feature for prediction and can confound efforts at elucidating mechanism; our method allows us to remove the contribution of frequency and isolate novel biological signals. In particular, our analysis produces 2768 triplet associations between 50 essential proteins, 99 drugs, and 77 side-effects. Although experimental validation is difficult because many of our essential proteins do not have validated assays, we nevertheless attempted to validate a subset of these associations using experimental assay data. Our focus on essential proteins allows us to find potential associations that would likely be missed if we used recognized drug targets. Our associations provide novel insights about the molecular mechanisms of drug side-effects and highlight the need for expanded experimental efforts to investigate drug binding to proteins more broadly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianyun Liu
- †Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Russ B Altman
- ‡Department of Genetics and Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
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