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Abstract
AutoDock is one of the most popular receptor-ligand docking simulation programs. It was first released in the early 1990s and is in continuous development and adapted to specific protein targets. AutoDock has been applied to a wide range of biological systems. It has been used not only for protein-ligand docking simulation but also for the prediction of binding affinity with good correlation with experimental binding affinity for several protein systems. The latest version makes use of a semi-empirical force field to evaluate protein-ligand binding affinity and for selecting the lowest energy pose in docking simulation. AutoDock4.2.6 has an arsenal of four search algorithms to carry out docking simulation including simulated annealing, genetic algorithm, and Lamarckian algorithm. In this chapter, we describe a tutorial about how to perform docking with AutoDock4. We focus our simulations on the protein target cyclin-dependent kinase 2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Bitencourt-Ferreira
- Escola de Ciências da Saúde, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul-PUCRS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Val Oliveira Pintro
- Escola de Ciências da Saúde, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul-PUCRS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Walter Filgueira de Azevedo
- Escola de Ciências da Saúde, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul-PUCRS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
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102
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Cournia Z, Allen BK, Beuming T, Pearlman DA, Radak BK, Sherman W. Rigorous Free Energy Simulations in Virtual Screening. J Chem Inf Model 2020; 60:4153-4169. [PMID: 32539386 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.0c00116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Virtual high throughput screening (vHTS) in drug discovery is a powerful approach to identify hits: when applied successfully, it can be much faster and cheaper than experimental high-throughput screening approaches. However, mainstream vHTS tools have significant limitations: ligand-based methods depend on knowledge of existing chemical matter, while structure-based tools such as docking involve significant approximations that limit their accuracy. Recent advances in scientific methods coupled with dramatic speedups in computational processing with GPUs make this an opportune time to consider the role of more rigorous methods that could improve the predictive power of vHTS workflows. In this Perspective, we assert that alchemical binding free energy methods using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations have matured to the point where they can be applied in virtual screening campaigns as a final scoring stage to prioritize the top molecules for experimental testing. Specifically, we propose that alchemical absolute binding free energy (ABFE) calculations offer the most direct and computationally efficient approach within a rigorous statistical thermodynamic framework for computing binding energies of diverse molecules, as is required for virtual screening. ABFE calculations are particularly attractive for drug discovery at this point in time, where the confluence of large-scale genomics data and insights from chemical biology have unveiled a large number of promising disease targets for which no small molecule binders are known, precluding ligand-based approaches, and where traditional docking approaches have foundered to find progressible chemical matter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoe Cournia
- Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, 4 Soranou Ephessiou, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Bryce K Allen
- Silicon Therapeutics, 300 A Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210, United States
| | - Thijs Beuming
- Latham BioPharm Group, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - David A Pearlman
- QSimulate Incorporated, 625 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Brian K Radak
- Silicon Therapeutics, 300 A Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210, United States
| | - Woody Sherman
- Silicon Therapeutics, 300 A Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210, United States
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103
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Agoni C, Olotu FA, Ramharack P, Soliman ME. Druggability and drug-likeness concepts in drug design: are biomodelling and predictive tools having their say? J Mol Model 2020; 26:120. [PMID: 32382800 DOI: 10.1007/s00894-020-04385-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The drug discovery process typically involves target identification and design of suitable drug molecules against these targets. Despite decades of experimental investigations in the drug discovery domain, about 96% overall failure rate has been recorded in drug development due to the "undruggability" of various identified disease targets, in addition to other challenges. Likewise, the high attrition rate of drug candidates in the drug discovery process has also become an enormous challenge for the pharmaceutical industry. To alleviate this negative outlook, new trends in drug discovery have emerged. By drifting away from experimental research methods, computational tools and big data are becoming valuable in the prediction of biological target druggability and the drug-likeness of potential therapeutic agents. These tools have proven to be useful in saving time and reducing research costs. As with any emerging technique, however, controversial opinions have been presented regarding the validation of predictive computational tools. To address the challenges associated with these varying opinions, this review attempts to highlight the principles of druggability and drug-likeness and their recent advancements in the drug discovery field. Herein, we present the different computational tools and their reliability of predictive analysis in the drug discovery domain. We believe that this report would serve as a comprehensive guide towards computational-oriented drug discovery research. Graphical abstract Highlights of methods for assessing the druggability of biological targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clement Agoni
- Molecular Bio-Computation & Drug Design Lab, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, Durban, 4000, South Africa
| | - Fisayo A Olotu
- Molecular Bio-Computation & Drug Design Lab, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, Durban, 4000, South Africa
| | - Pritika Ramharack
- Molecular Bio-Computation & Drug Design Lab, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, Durban, 4000, South Africa
| | - Mahmoud E Soliman
- Molecular Bio-Computation & Drug Design Lab, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, Durban, 4000, South Africa.
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104
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Duan G, Ji C, Zhang JZH. Developing an effective polarizable bond method for small molecules with application to optimized molecular docking. RSC Adv 2020; 10:15530-15540. [PMID: 35495446 PMCID: PMC9052371 DOI: 10.1039/d0ra01483d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2020] [Accepted: 03/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Electrostatic interaction plays an essential role in protein-ligand binding. Due to the polarization effect, electrostatic interactions are largely impacted by their local environments. However, traditional force fields use fixed point charge-charge interactions to describe electrostatic interactions but is unable to include the polarization effect. The lack of the polarization effect in the force field representation can result in substantial error in biomolecular studies, such as molecular dynamics and molecular docking. Docking programs usually employ traditional force fields to estimate the binding energy between a ligand and a protein for pose selection or scoring. The intermolecular interaction energy mainly consists of van der Waals and electrostatic interaction in the force field representation. In the current study, we developed an Effective Polarizable Bond (EPB) method for small organic molecules and applied this EPB method to optimize protein-ligand docking in computational tests for a variety of protein-ligand systems. We tested the method on a set of 38 cocrystallized structures taken from the Protein Data Bank (PDB) and found that the maximum error was reduced from 7.98 Å to 2.03 Å when using EPB Dock, providing strong evidence that the use of EPB charges is important. We found that our optimized docking approach with EPB charges could improve the docking performance, sometimes dramatically, and the maximum error was reduced from 12.88 Å to 1.57 Å in Optimized Docking (in the case of 1fqx). The average RMSD decreased from 2.83 Å to 1.85 Å. Further investigations showed that the use of the EBP method could enhance intermolecular hydrogen bonding, which is a major contributing factor to improved docking performance. Developed tools for the calculation of the polarized ligand charge from a protein-ligand complex structure with the EPB method are freely available on GitHub (https://github.com/Xundrug/EPB).
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Affiliation(s)
- Guanfu Duan
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center for Molecular Therapeutics and New Drug Development, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Chemical Process, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University Shanghai 200062 China
| | - Changge Ji
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center for Molecular Therapeutics and New Drug Development, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Chemical Process, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University Shanghai 200062 China
- NYU-ECNU Center for Computational Chemistry at NYU Shanghai Shanghai 200062 China
| | - John Z H Zhang
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center for Molecular Therapeutics and New Drug Development, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Chemical Process, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University Shanghai 200062 China
- NYU-ECNU Center for Computational Chemistry at NYU Shanghai Shanghai 200062 China
- Department of Chemistry, New York University NY NY 10003 USA
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University Taiyuan Shanxi 030006 China
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105
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Ligand-based pharmacophore filtering, atom based 3D-QSAR, virtual screening and ADME studies for the discovery of potential ck2 inhibitors. J Mol Struct 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2019.127670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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106
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION Deep discriminative and generative neural-network models are becoming an integral part of the modern approach to ligand-based novel drug discovery. The variety of different architectures of neural networks, the methods of their training, and the procedures of generating new molecules require expert knowledge to choose the most suitable approach. AREAS COVERED Three different approaches to deep learning use in ligand-based drug discovery are considered: virtual screening, neural generative models, and mutation-based structure generation. Several architectures of neural networks for building either discriminative or generative models are considered in this paper, including deep multilayer neural networks, different kinds of convolutional neural networks, recurrent neural networks, and several types of autoencoders. Several kinds of learning frameworks are also considered, including adversarial learning and reinforcement learning. Different types of representations for generating molecules, including SMILES, graphs, and several alternative string representations are also considered. EXPERT OPINION Two kinds of problem should be solved in order to make the models built using deep neural networks, especially generative models, a valuable option in ligand-based drug discovery: the issue of interpretability and explainability of deep-learning models and the issue of synthetic accessibility of novel compounds designed by deep-learning algorithms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor I Baskin
- Faculty of Physics, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University , Moscow, Russia.,Butlerov Institute of Chemistry, Kazan Federal University , Kazan, Russia
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107
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Ferro AP, Flores Júnior R, Finger-Teixeira A, Parizotto AV, Bevilaqua JM, Oliveira DMD, Molinari HBC, Marchiosi R, dos Santos WD, Seixas FAV, Ferrarese-Filho O. Inhibition of Zea mays coniferyl aldehyde dehydrogenase by daidzin: A potential approach for the investigation of lignocellulose recalcitrance. Process Biochem 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.procbio.2019.11.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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108
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Discovery of novel and potent P2Y 14R antagonists via structure-based virtual screening for the treatment of acute gouty arthritis. J Adv Res 2020; 23:133-142. [PMID: 32123586 PMCID: PMC7037572 DOI: 10.1016/j.jare.2020.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2019] [Revised: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
A reliable Glide docking-based virtual screening (VS) pipeline for P2Y14R was developed. Several potent P2Y14R antagonists with novel scaffolds were identified utilizing the VS strategy. P2Y14R inhibitory effect was evaluated by testing cAMP levels in HEK293 cells. Anti-gout activity of screened compound was detected in MSU-treated THP-1 cells. The mechanism of test compound in treating acute gouty arthritis was elucidated.
P2Y14 nucleotide receptor is a Gi protein-coupled receptor, which is widely involved in physiological and pathologic events. Although several P2Y14R antagonists have been developed thus far, few have successfully been developed into a therapeutic drug. In this study, on the basis of two P2Y14R homology models, Glide docking-based virtual screening (VS) strategy was employed for finding potent P2Y14R antagonists with novel chemical architectures. A total of 19 structurally diverse compounds identified by VS and drug-like properties testing were set to experimental testing. 10 of them showed good inhibitory effects against the P2Y14R (IC50 < 50 nM), including four compounds (compounds 8, 10, 18 and 19) with IC50 value below 10 nM. The best VS hit, compound 8 exhibited the best antagonistic activity, with IC50 value of 2.46 nM. More importantly, compound 8 restrained monosodium uric acid (MSU)-induced pyroptosis of THP-1 cells through blocking the activation of Nod-like receptor 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, which was attributed to its inhibitory effects on P2Y14R-cAMP pathways. The key favorable residues uncovered using MM/GBSA binding free energy calculations/decompositions were detected and discussed. These findings suggest that the compound 8 can be used as a good lead compound for further optimization to obtain more promising P2Y14R antagonists for the treatment of acute gouty arthritis.
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109
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Virtual screening identification and chemical optimization of substituted 2-arylbenzimidazoles as new non-zinc-binding MMP-2 inhibitors. Bioorg Med Chem 2020; 28:115257. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2019.115257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Revised: 11/25/2019] [Accepted: 12/06/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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110
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Computational basis for the design of PLK-2 inhibitors. Struct Chem 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s11224-019-01394-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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111
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Benkherouf AY, Logrén N, Somborac T, Kortesniemi M, Soini SL, Yang B, Salo-Ahen OMH, Laaksonen O, Uusi-Oukari M. Hops compounds modulatory effects and 6-prenylnaringenin dual mode of action on GABA A receptors. Eur J Pharmacol 2020; 873:172962. [PMID: 32001220 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2020.172962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2019] [Revised: 12/17/2019] [Accepted: 01/24/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Hops (Humulus lupulus L.), a major component of beer, contain potentially neuroactive compounds that made it useful in traditional medicine as a sleeping aid. The present study aims to investigate the individual components in hops acting as allosteric modulators in GABAA receptors and bring further insight into the mode of action behind the sedative properties of hops. GABA-potentiating effects were measured using [3H]ethynylbicycloorthobenzoate (EBOB) radioligand binding assay in native GABAA receptors. Flumazenil sensitivity of GABA-potentiating effects, [3H]Ro 15-4513, and [3H]flunitrazepam binding assays were used to examine the binding to the classical benzodiazepines site. Humulone (alpha acid) and 6-prenylnaringenin (prenylflavonoid) were the most potent compounds displaying a modulatory activity at low micromolar concentrations. Humulone and 6-prenylnaringenin potentiated GABA-induced displacement of [3H]EBOB binding in a concentration-dependent manner where the IC50 values for this potentiation in native GABAA receptors were 3.2 μM and 3.7 μM, respectively. Flumazenil had no significant effects on humulone- or 6-prenylnaringenin-induced displacement of [3H]EBOB binding. [3H]Ro 15-4513 and [3H]flunitrazepam displacements were only minor with humulone but surprisingly prominent with 6-prenylnaringenin despite its flumazenil-insensitive modulatory activity. Thus, we applied molecular docking methods to investigate putative binding sites and poses of 6-prenylnaringenin at the GABAA receptor α1β2γ2 isoform. Radioligand binding and docking results suggest a dual mode of action by 6-prenylnaringenin on GABAA receptors where it may act as a positive allosteric modulator at α+β- binding interface as well as a null modulator at the flumazenil-sensitive α+γ2- binding interface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Y Benkherouf
- Integrative Physiology and Pharmacology, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Finland
| | - Nora Logrén
- Food Chemistry and Food Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of Turku, Finland
| | - Tamara Somborac
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Laboratory and Structural Bioinformatics Laboratory, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
| | - Maaria Kortesniemi
- Food Chemistry and Food Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of Turku, Finland
| | - Sanna L Soini
- Integrative Physiology and Pharmacology, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Finland
| | - Baoru Yang
- Food Chemistry and Food Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of Turku, Finland
| | - Outi M H Salo-Ahen
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Laboratory and Structural Bioinformatics Laboratory, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
| | - Oskar Laaksonen
- Food Chemistry and Food Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of Turku, Finland
| | - Mikko Uusi-Oukari
- Integrative Physiology and Pharmacology, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Finland.
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112
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Seo M, Shin HK, Myung Y, Hwang S, No KT. Development of Natural Compound Molecular Fingerprint (NC-MFP) with the Dictionary of Natural Products (DNP) for natural product-based drug development. J Cheminform 2020; 12:6. [PMID: 33431009 PMCID: PMC6977316 DOI: 10.1186/s13321-020-0410-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Computer-aided research on the relationship between molecular structures of natural compounds (NC) and their biological activities have been carried out extensively because the molecular structures of new drug candidates are usually analogous to or derived from the molecular structures of NC. In order to express the relationship physically realistically using a computer, it is essential to have a molecular descriptor set that can adequately represent the characteristics of the molecular structures belonging to the NC’s chemical space. Although several topological descriptors have been developed to describe the physical, chemical, and biological properties of organic molecules, especially synthetic compounds, and have been widely used for drug discovery researches, these descriptors have limitations in expressing NC-specific molecular structures. To overcome this, we developed a novel molecular fingerprint, called Natural Compound Molecular Fingerprints (NC-MFP), for explaining NC structures related to biological activities and for applying the same for the natural product (NP)-based drug development. NC-MFP was developed to reflect the structural characteristics of NCs and the commonly used NP classification system. NC-MFP is a scaffold-based molecular fingerprint method comprising scaffolds, scaffold-fragment connection points (SFCP), and fragments. The scaffolds of the NC-MFP have a hierarchical structure. In this study, we introduce 16 structural classes of NPs in the Dictionary of Natural Product database (DNP), and the hierarchical scaffolds of each class were calculated using the Bemis and Murko (BM) method. The scaffold library in NC-MFP comprises 676 scaffolds. To compare how well the NC-MFP represents the structural features of NCs compared to the molecular fingerprints that have been widely used for organic molecular representation, two kinds of binary classification tasks were performed. Task I is a binary classification of the NCs in commercially available library DB into a NC or synthetic compound. Task II is classifying whether NCs with inhibitory activity in seven biological target proteins are active or inactive. Two tasks were developed with some molecular fingerprints, including NC-MFP, using the 1-nearest neighbor (1-NN) method. The performance of task I showed that NC-MFP is a practical molecular fingerprint to classify NC structures from the data set compared with other molecular fingerprints. Performance of task II with NC-MFP outperformed compared with other molecular fingerprints, suggesting that the NC-MFP is useful to explain NC structures related to biological activities. In conclusion, NC-MFP is a robust molecular fingerprint in classifying NC structures and explaining the biological activities of NC structures. Therefore, we suggest NC-MFP as a potent molecular descriptor of the virtual screening of NC for natural product-based drug development.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Myungwon Seo
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun Kil Shin
- Department of Predictive Toxicology, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoochan Myung
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Sungbo Hwang
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.,Bioinformatics and Molecular Design Research Center, Yonsei Engineering Research Park, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyoung Tai No
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. .,Bioinformatics and Molecular Design Research Center, Yonsei Engineering Research Park, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
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113
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Grisoni F, Moret M, Lingwood R, Schneider G. Bidirectional Molecule Generation with Recurrent Neural Networks. J Chem Inf Model 2020; 60:1175-1183. [PMID: 31904964 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.9b00943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Recurrent neural networks (RNNs) are able to generate de novo molecular designs using simplified molecular input line entry systems (SMILES) string representations of the chemical structure. RNN-based structure generation is usually performed unidirectionally, by growing SMILES strings from left to right. However, there is no natural start or end of a small molecule, and SMILES strings are intrinsically nonunivocal representations of molecular graphs. These properties motivate bidirectional structure generation. Here, bidirectional generative RNNs for SMILES-based molecule design are introduced. To this end, two established bidirectional methods were implemented, and a new method for SMILES string generation and data augmentation is introduced-the bidirectional molecule design by alternate learning (BIMODAL). These three bidirectional strategies were compared to the unidirectional forward RNN approach for SMILES string generation, in terms of the (i) novelty, (ii) scaffold diversity, and (iii) chemical-biological relevance of the computer-generated molecules. The results positively advocate bidirectional strategies for SMILES-based molecular de novo design, with BIMODAL showing superior results to the unidirectional forward RNN for most of the criteria in the tested conditions. The code of the methods and the pretrained models can be found at URL https://github.com/ETHmodlab/BIMODAL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Grisoni
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, RETHINK, ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michael Moret
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, RETHINK, ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Robin Lingwood
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, RETHINK, ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Gisbert Schneider
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, RETHINK, ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
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114
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Huggins DJ, Hardwick BS, Sharma P, Emery A, Laraia L, Zhang F, Narvaez AJ, Roberts-Thomson M, Crooks AT, Boyle RG, Boyce R, Walker DW, Mateu N, McKenzie GJ, Spring DR, Venkitaraman AR. Development of a Novel Cell-Permeable Protein-Protein Interaction Inhibitor for the Polo-box Domain of Polo-like Kinase 1. ACS OMEGA 2020; 5:822-831. [PMID: 31956833 PMCID: PMC6964520 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.9b03626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) is a key regulator of mitosis and a recognized drug target for cancer therapy. Inhibiting the polo-box domain of PLK1 offers potential advantages of increased selectivity and subsequently reduced toxicity compared with targeting the kinase domain. However, many if not all existing polo-box domain inhibitors have been shown to be unsuitable for further development. In this paper, we describe a novel compound series, which inhibits the protein-protein interactions of PLK1 via the polo-box domain. We combine high throughput screening with molecular modeling and computer-aided design, synthetic chemistry, and cell biology to address some of the common problems with protein-protein interaction inhibitors, such as solubility and potency. We use molecular modeling to improve the solubility of a hit series with initially poor physicochemical properties, enabling biophysical and biochemical characterization. We isolate and characterize enantiomers to improve potency and demonstrate on-target activity in both cell-free and cell-based assays, entirely consistent with the proposed binding model. The resulting compound series represents a promising starting point for further progression along the drug discovery pipeline and a new tool compound to study kinase-independent PLK functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J. Huggins
- Medical
Research Council Cancer Cell Unit, Hutchison/MRC Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2XZ, United Kingdom
- TCM
Group, Cavendish Laboratory, University
of Cambridge, 19 JJ Thomson
Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United
Kingdom
| | - Bryn S. Hardwick
- Medical
Research Council Cancer Cell Unit, Hutchison/MRC Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2XZ, United Kingdom
| | - Pooja Sharma
- Medical
Research Council Cancer Cell Unit, Hutchison/MRC Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2XZ, United Kingdom
| | - Amy Emery
- Medical
Research Council Cancer Cell Unit, Hutchison/MRC Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2XZ, United Kingdom
| | - Luca Laraia
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United
Kingdom
| | - Fengzhi Zhang
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United
Kingdom
| | - Ana J. Narvaez
- Medical
Research Council Cancer Cell Unit, Hutchison/MRC Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2XZ, United Kingdom
| | - Meredith Roberts-Thomson
- Medical
Research Council Cancer Cell Unit, Hutchison/MRC Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2XZ, United Kingdom
| | - Alex T. Crooks
- Medical
Research Council Cancer Cell Unit, Hutchison/MRC Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2XZ, United Kingdom
| | - Robert G. Boyle
- Sentinel
Oncology Ltd., Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 0EY, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Boyce
- Sentinel
Oncology Ltd., Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 0EY, United Kingdom
| | - David W. Walker
- Sentinel
Oncology Ltd., Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 0EY, United Kingdom
| | - Natalia Mateu
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United
Kingdom
| | - Grahame J. McKenzie
- Medical
Research Council Cancer Cell Unit, Hutchison/MRC Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2XZ, United Kingdom
| | - David R. Spring
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United
Kingdom
| | - Ashok R. Venkitaraman
- Medical
Research Council Cancer Cell Unit, Hutchison/MRC Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2XZ, United Kingdom
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115
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Bagchi A. Latest trends in structure based drug design with protein targets. ADVANCES IN PROTEIN CHEMISTRY AND STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY 2019; 121:1-23. [PMID: 32312418 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apcsb.2019.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Structure based drug designing is an important endeavor in the field of structural bioinformatics. Previously the entire process was dependent on the wet-lab experiments to build libraries of ligand molecules. And the molecules used to be tested to determine their binding efficacies with protein target. However, the entire process is very lengthy and above all highly expensive. With the advent of supercomputers and increasing computational powers, the search process for finding suitable ligand molecules against target proteins have become more streamlined and cost-effective. Now the entire ligand search process is performed in-silico with the help of the techniques of virtual screening, molecular docking simulations and molecular dynamics studies. In the present chapter, a brief overview of the computational techniques involved in structure based drug designing is presented with a special emphasis on the thermodynamic principles behind the molecular interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angshuman Bagchi
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, West Bengal, India
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116
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Xu Y, Cai C, Wang S, Lai L, Pei J. Efficient molecular encoders for virtual screening. DRUG DISCOVERY TODAY. TECHNOLOGIES 2019; 32-33:19-27. [PMID: 33386090 DOI: 10.1016/j.ddtec.2020.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2020] [Revised: 08/23/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Molecular representations encoding molecular structure information play critical roles in molecular virtual screening (VS). In order to improve VS performance, an abundance of molecular encoders have been developed and tested by various VS challenges. Combinational strategies were also used to improve the performance. Deep learning (DL)-based molecular encoders have attracted much attention for their automatic information extraction ability. In this review, we present an overview of two-dimensional-, three-dimensional-, and DL-based molecular encoders, summarize recent progress of VS using DL technologies, and propose a general framework of DL molecular encoder-based VS. Perspectives on the future directions of molecular representations and applications in the prediction of active compounds are also provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youjun Xu
- BNLMS, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China
| | - Chenjing Cai
- Center for Quantitative Biology, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China
| | - Shiwei Wang
- PTN Graduate Program, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, 100871, PR China
| | - Luhua Lai
- BNLMS, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China; Center for Quantitative Biology, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
| | - Jianfeng Pei
- Center for Quantitative Biology, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
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117
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Lee J, Kumar S, Lee SY, Park SJ, Kim MH. Development of Predictive Models for Identifying Potential S100A9 Inhibitors Based on Machine Learning Methods. Front Chem 2019; 7:779. [PMID: 31824919 PMCID: PMC6886474 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2019.00779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
S100A9 is a potential therapeutic target for various disease including prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. However, the sparsity of atomic level data, such as protein-protein interaction of S100A9 with RAGE, TLR4/MD2, or CD147 (EMMPRIN) hinders the rational drug design of S100A9 inhibitors. Herein we first report predictive models of S100A9 inhibitory effect by applying machine learning classifiers on 2D-molecular descriptors. The models were optimized through feature selectors as well as classifiers to produce the top eight random forest models with robust predictability and high cost-effectiveness. Notably, optimal feature sets were obtained after the reduction of 2,798 features into dozens of features with the chopping of fingerprint bits. Moreover, the high efficiency of compact feature sets allowed us to further screen a large-scale dataset (over 6,000,000 compounds) within a week. Through a consensus vote of the top models, 46 hits (hit rate = 0.000713%) were identified as potential S100A9 inhibitors. We expect that our models will facilitate the drug discovery process by providing high predictive power as well as cost-reduction ability and give insights into designing novel drugs targeting S100A9.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jihyeun Lee
- Department of Pharmacy, Gachon Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, College of Pharmacy, Gachon University, Incheon, South Korea
| | - Surendra Kumar
- Department of Pharmacy, Gachon Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, College of Pharmacy, Gachon University, Incheon, South Korea
| | - Sang-Yoon Lee
- Gachon Advanced Institute for Health Science and Technology, Graduate School and Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University, Incheon, South Korea
| | - Sung Jean Park
- Department of Pharmacy, Gachon Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, College of Pharmacy, Gachon University, Incheon, South Korea
| | - Mi-hyun Kim
- Department of Pharmacy, Gachon Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, College of Pharmacy, Gachon University, Incheon, South Korea
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118
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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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119
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Grygorenko OO, Volochnyuk DM, Ryabukhin SV, Judd DB. The Symbiotic Relationship Between Drug Discovery and Organic Chemistry. Chemistry 2019; 26:1196-1237. [PMID: 31429510 DOI: 10.1002/chem.201903232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2019] [Revised: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
All pharmaceutical products contain organic molecules; the source may be a natural product or a fully synthetic molecule, or a combination of both. Thus, it follows that organic chemistry underpins both existing and upcoming pharmaceutical products. The reverse relationship has also affected organic synthesis, changing its landscape towards increasingly complex targets. This Review article sets out to give a concise appraisal of this symbiotic relationship between organic chemistry and drug discovery, along with a discussion of the design concepts and highlighting key milestones along the journey. In particular, criteria for a high-quality compound library design enabling efficient virtual navigation of chemical space, as well as rise and fall of concepts for its synthetic exploration (such as combinatorial chemistry; diversity-, biology-, lead-, or fragment-oriented syntheses; and DNA-encoded libraries) are critically surveyed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleksandr O Grygorenko
- Enamine Ltd., Chervonotkatska Street 78, Kiev, 02094, Ukraine.,Taras Shevchenko National University of Kiev, Volodymyrska Street 60, Kiev, 01601, Ukraine
| | - Dmitriy M Volochnyuk
- Enamine Ltd., Chervonotkatska Street 78, Kiev, 02094, Ukraine.,Taras Shevchenko National University of Kiev, Volodymyrska Street 60, Kiev, 01601, Ukraine.,Institute of Organic Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Murmanska Street 5, Kiev, 02660, Ukraine
| | - Sergey V Ryabukhin
- Enamine Ltd., Chervonotkatska Street 78, Kiev, 02094, Ukraine.,Taras Shevchenko National University of Kiev, Volodymyrska Street 60, Kiev, 01601, Ukraine
| | - Duncan B Judd
- Awridian Ltd., Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, Gunnelswood Road, Stevenage, Herts, SG1 2FX, UK
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120
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Winter R, Montanari F, Steffen A, Briem H, Noé F, Clevert DA. Efficient multi-objective molecular optimization in a continuous latent space. Chem Sci 2019; 10:8016-8024. [PMID: 31853357 PMCID: PMC6836962 DOI: 10.1039/c9sc01928f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2019] [Accepted: 07/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the main challenges in small molecule drug discovery is finding novel chemical compounds with desirable properties. In this work, we propose a novel method that combines in silico prediction of molecular properties such as biological activity or pharmacokinetics with an in silico optimization algorithm, namely Particle Swarm Optimization. Our method takes a starting compound as input and proposes new molecules with more desirable (predicted) properties. It navigates a machine-learned continuous representation of a drug-like chemical space guided by a defined objective function. The objective function combines multiple in silico prediction models, defined desirability ranges and substructure constraints. We demonstrate that our proposed method is able to consistently find more desirable molecules for the studied tasks in relatively short time. We hope that our method can support medicinal chemists in accelerating and improving the lead optimization process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Winter
- Department of Digital Technologies , Bayer AG , Berlin , Germany .
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science , Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin , Germany
| | | | - Andreas Steffen
- Department of Digital Technologies , Bayer AG , Berlin , Germany .
| | - Hans Briem
- Department of Digital Technologies , Bayer AG , Berlin , Germany .
| | - Frank Noé
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science , Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin , Germany
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121
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Affiliation(s)
- W. Patrick Walters
- Relay Therapeutics, 399 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Renxiao Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Shanghai 201203, People’s Republic of China
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122
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Yu E, Xu Y, Shi Y, Yu Q, Liu J, Xu L. Discovery of novel natural compound inhibitors targeting estrogen receptor α by an integrated virtual screening strategy. J Mol Model 2019; 25:278. [PMID: 31463793 DOI: 10.1007/s00894-019-4156-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 08/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Estrogen receptor (ER) is a nuclear hormone receptor and plays an important role in mediating the cellular effects of estrogen. ER can be classified into two receptors: estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and beta (ERβ), and the former is expressed in 50~80% of breast tumors and has been extensively investigated in breast cancer for decades. Excessive exposure to estrogen can obviously stimulate the growth of breast cancers primarily mediated by ERα, and thus anti-estrogen therapies by small molecules are of concern to clinicians and pharmaceutical industry in the treatment of ERα-positive breast cancers. Although a series of estrogen receptor modulators have been developed, these drugs can lead to resistance and side effects. Therefore, the development of small molecule inhibitors with high target specificity has been intensified. In this pursuit, an integrated computer-aided virtual screening technique, including molecular docking and pharmacophore model screening, was used to screen traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) databases. The compounds with high docking scores and fit values were subjected to ADME (adsorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion) and toxicity prediction, and ten hits were identified as potential inhibitors targeting ERα. Molecular docking was used to investigate the binding modes between ERα and three most potent hits, and molecular dynamic simulations were chosen to explore the stability of these complexes. The rank of the predicted binding free energies evaluated by MM/GBSA is consistent with the docking score. These novel scaffolds discovered in the present study can be used as critical starting point in the drug discovery process for treating ERα-positive breast cancer. Graphical abstract .
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Affiliation(s)
- Enguang Yu
- Department of Chinese Surgery, Jiaxing University Affiliated Jiaxing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiaxing, 314000, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Yueping Xu
- Department of Nursing, Jiaxing University Affiliated Jiaxing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiaxing, 314000, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Yanbo Shi
- Central Laboratory of Molecular Medicine Research Center, Jiaxing University Affiliated Jiaxing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiaxing, 314000, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Qiuyan Yu
- Department of Breast Surgery, Jiaxing University Affiliated Jiaxing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiaxing, 314000, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Jie Liu
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine Oncology, Jiaxing University Affiliated Jiaxing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiaxing, 314000, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Lei Xu
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Medical Engineering, School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou, 213001, Jiangsu, China.
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123
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Butkiewicz M, Rodriguez AL, Rainey SE, Wieting J, Luscombe VB, Stauffer SR, Lindsley CW, Conn PJ, Meiler J. Identification of Novel Allosteric Modulators of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor Subtype 5 Acting at Site Distinct from 2-Methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)-pyridine Binding. ACS Chem Neurosci 2019; 10:3427-3436. [PMID: 31132237 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
As part of the G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) family, metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors play an important role as drug targets of cognitive diseases. Selective allosteric modulators of mGlu subtype 5 (mGlu5) have the potential to alleviate symptoms of numerous central nervous system disorders such as schizophrenia in a more targeted fashion. Multiple mGlu5 positive allosteric modulators (PAMs), such as 1-(3-fluorophenyl)-N-((3-fluorophenyl)-methylideneamino)-methanimine (DFB), 3-cyano-N-(1,3-diphenyl-1H-pyrazol-5-yl)-benzamide (CDPPB), and 4-nitro-N-(1,3-diphenyl-1H-pyrazol-5-yl)-benzamide (VU-29), exert their actions by binding to a defined allosteric site on mGlu5 located in the seven-transmembrane domain (7TM) and shared by mGlu5 negative allosteric modulator (NAM) 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)-pyridine (MPEP). Actions of the PAM N-{4-chloro-2-[(1,3-dioxo-1,3-dihydro-2H-isoindol-2-yl)methyl]phenyl}-2-hydroxybenzamide (CPPHA) are mediated by a distinct allosteric site in the 7TM domain different from the MPEP binding site. Experimental evidence confirms these findings through mutagenesis experiments involving residues F585 (TM1) and A809 (TM7). In an effort to investigate mGlu5 PAM selectivity for this alternative allosteric site distinct from MPEP binding, we employed in silico quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) modeling. Subsequent ligand-based virtual screening prioritized a set of 63 candidate compounds predicted from a library of over 4 million commercially available compounds to bind exclusively to this novel site. Experimental validation verified the biological activity for seven of 63 selected candidates. Further, medicinal chemistry optimizations based on these molecules revealed compound VU6003586 with an experimentally validated potency of 174 nM. Radioligand binding experiments showed only partial inhibition at very high concentrations, most likely indicative of binding at a non-MPEP site. Selective positive allosteric modulators for mGlu5 have the potential for tremendous impact concerning devastating neurological disorders such as schizophrenia and Huntington's disease. These identified and validated novel selective compounds can serve as starting points for more specifically tailored lead and probe molecules and thus help the development of potential therapeutic agents with reduced adverse effects.
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124
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Dimitrov T, Kreisbeck C, Becker JS, Aspuru-Guzik A, Saikin SK. Autonomous Molecular Design: Then and Now. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2019; 11:24825-24836. [PMID: 30908004 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b01226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
The success of deep machine learning in processing of large amounts of data, for example, in image or voice recognition and generation, raises the possibilities that these tools can also be applied for solving complex problems in materials science. In this forum article, we focus on molecular design that aims to answer the question on how we can predict and synthesize molecules with tailored physical, chemical, or biological properties. A potential answer to this question could be found by using intelligent systems that integrate physical models and computational machine learning techniques with automated synthesis and characterization tools. Such systems learn through every single experiment in an analogy to a human scientific expert. While the general idea of an autonomous system for molecular synthesis and characterization has been around for a while, its implementations for the materials sciences are sparse. Here we provide an overview of the developments in chemistry automation and the applications of machine learning techniques in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries with a focus on the novel capabilities that deep learning brings in.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanja Dimitrov
- Kebotix, Inc. , 501 Massachusetts Avenue , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02139 , United States
| | - Christoph Kreisbeck
- Kebotix, Inc. , 501 Massachusetts Avenue , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02139 , United States
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology , Harvard University , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02138 , United States
| | - Jill S Becker
- Kebotix, Inc. , 501 Massachusetts Avenue , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02139 , United States
| | - Alán Aspuru-Guzik
- Kebotix, Inc. , 501 Massachusetts Avenue , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02139 , United States
- Department of Chemistry and Department of Computer Science , University of Toronto , Toronto , Ontario M5S 3H6 , Canada
| | - Semion K Saikin
- Kebotix, Inc. , 501 Massachusetts Avenue , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02139 , United States
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology , Harvard University , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02138 , United States
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125
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Ståhl N, Falkman G, Karlsson A, Mathiason G, Boström J. Deep Reinforcement Learning for Multiparameter Optimization in de novo Drug Design. J Chem Inf Model 2019; 59:3166-3176. [PMID: 31273995 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.9b00325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
In medicinal chemistry programs it is key to design and make compounds that are efficacious and safe. This is a long, complex, and difficult multiparameter optimization process, often including several properties with orthogonal trends. New methods for the automated design of compounds against profiles of multiple properties are thus of great value. Here we present a fragment-based reinforcement learning approach based on an actor-critic model, for the generation of novel molecules with optimal properties. The actor and the critic are both modeled with bidirectional long short-term memory (LSTM) networks. The AI method learns how to generate new compounds with desired properties by starting from an initial set of lead molecules and then improving these by replacing some of their fragments. A balanced binary tree based on the similarity of fragments is used in the generative process to bias the output toward structurally similar molecules. The method is demonstrated by a case study showing that 93% of the generated molecules are chemically valid and more than a third satisfy the targeted objectives, while there were none in the initial set.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niclas Ståhl
- School of Informatics , University of Skövde , 541 28 Skövde , Sweden
| | - Göran Falkman
- School of Informatics , University of Skövde , 541 28 Skövde , Sweden
| | | | - Gunnar Mathiason
- School of Informatics , University of Skövde , 541 28 Skövde , Sweden
| | - Jonas Boström
- Medicinal Chemistry, Early Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, R&D BioPharmaceuticals , AstraZeneca , 431 83 Mölndal , Sweden
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126
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Zhang DW, Luo RH, Xu L, Yang LM, Xu XS, Bedwell GJ, Engelman AN, Zheng YT, Chang S. A HTRF based competitive binding assay for screening specific inhibitors of HIV-1 capsid assembly targeting the C-Terminal domain of capsid. Antiviral Res 2019; 169:104544. [PMID: 31254557 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2019.104544] [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] [Received: 10/01/2018] [Revised: 06/13/2019] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Due to its multifaceted essential roles in virus replication and extreme genetic fragility, the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) capsid (CA) protein is a valued therapeutic target. However, CA is as yet unexploited clinically, as there are no antiviral agents that target it currently on the market. To facilitate the identification of potential HIV-1 CA inhibitors, we established a homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence (HTRF) assay to screen for small molecules that target a biologically active and specific binding pocket in the C-terminal domain of HIV-1 CA (CA CTD). The assay, which is based on competition of small molecules for the binding of a known CA inhibitor (CAI) to the CA CTD, exhibited a signal-to-background ratio (S/B) > 10 and a Z' value > 0.9. In a pilot screen of three kinase inhibitor libraries containing 464 compounds, we identified one compound, TX-1918, as a low micromolecular inhibitor of the HIV-1 CA CTD-CAI interaction (IC50 = 3.81 μM) that also inhibited viral replication at moderate micromolar concentration (EC50 = 15.16 μM) and inhibited CA assembly in vitro. Based on the structure of TX-1918, an additional compound with an antiviral EC50 of 6.57 μM and cellular cytotoxicity CC50 of 102.55 μM was obtained from a compound similarity search. Thus, the HTRF-based assay has properties that are suitable for screening large compound libraries to identify novel anti-HIV-1 inhibitors targeting the CA CTD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Da-Wei Zhang
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Medical Engineering, School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou, 213001, China; Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Rong-Hua Luo
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, The National Kunming High Level Biosafety Research Center for Nonhuman Primate, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, 650223, China
| | - Lei Xu
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Medical Engineering, School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou, 213001, China
| | - Liu-Meng Yang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, The National Kunming High Level Biosafety Research Center for Nonhuman Primate, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, 650223, China
| | - Xiao-Shuang Xu
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Medical Engineering, School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou, 213001, China
| | - Gregory J Bedwell
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Alan N Engelman
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Yong-Tang Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, The National Kunming High Level Biosafety Research Center for Nonhuman Primate, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, 650223, China.
| | - Shan Chang
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Medical Engineering, School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou, 213001, China.
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127
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Koulouridi E, Valli M, Ntie-Kang F, Bolzani VDS. A primer on natural product-based virtual screening. PHYSICAL SCIENCES REVIEWS 2019. [DOI: 10.1515/psr-2018-0105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Databases play an important role in various computational techniques, including virtual screening (VS) and molecular modeling in general. These collections of molecules can contain a large amount of information, making them suitable for several drug discovery applications. For example, vendor, bioactivity data or target type can be found when searching a database. The introduction of these data resources and their characteristics is used for the design of an experiment. The description of the construction of a database can also be a good advisor for the creation of a new one. There are free available databases and commercial virtual libraries of molecules. Furthermore, a computational chemist can find databases for a general purpose or a specific subset such as natural products (NPs). In this chapter, NP database resources are presented, along with some guidelines when preparing an NP database for drug discovery purposes.
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128
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Hu X, Contini A. Rescoring Virtual Screening Results with the MM-PBSA Methods: Beware of Internal Dielectric Constants. J Chem Inf Model 2019; 59:2714-2728. [PMID: 31063686 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.9b00095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
With the potential of improving virtual screening outcome, MM-PB/GBSA has become a disputed method that requires extensive testing and tuning to provide the optimal results. One of the tuning factors is the internal or solute dielectric constant. We have applied three test sets with receptors of different categories and libraries from different sources to investigate the underlying issue related to this constant. We discovered that increasing internal dielectric value does not improve the virtual screening enrichment qualitatively. More interestingly, nonpolar and polar calculated energies act differently in libraries with different molecular weight distributions. From this work, the performance of MM-PBSA rescoring in virtual screening is more library- than receptor-dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Hu
- Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche - Sezione di Chimica Generale e Organica "Alessandro Marchesini" , Università degli Studi di Milano , Via Venezian, 21 , 20133 Milano , Italy
| | - Alessandro Contini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche - Sezione di Chimica Generale e Organica "Alessandro Marchesini" , Università degli Studi di Milano , Via Venezian, 21 , 20133 Milano , Italy
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129
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Insights into an alternative benzofuran binding mode and novel scaffolds of polyketide synthase 13 inhibitors. J Mol Model 2019; 25:130. [DOI: 10.1007/s00894-019-4010-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2019] [Accepted: 03/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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130
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Reker D, Bernardes GJL, Rodrigues T. Computational advances in combating colloidal aggregation in drug discovery. Nat Chem 2019; 11:402-418. [PMID: 30988417 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-019-0234-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 02/21/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Small molecule effectors are essential for drug discovery. Specific molecular recognition, reversible binding and dose-dependency are usually key requirements to ensure utility of a novel chemical entity. However, artefactual frequent-hitter and assay interference compounds may divert lead optimization and screening programmes towards attrition-prone chemical matter. Colloidal aggregates are the prime source of false positive readouts, either through protein sequestration or protein-scaffold mimicry. Nevertheless, assessment of colloidal aggregation remains somewhat overlooked and under-appreciated. In this Review, we discuss the impact of aggregation in drug discovery by analysing select examples from the literature and publicly-available datasets. We also examine and comment on technologies used to experimentally identify these potentially problematic entities. We focus on evidence-based computational filters and machine learning algorithms that may be swiftly deployed to flag chemical matter and mitigate the impact of aggregates in discovery programmes. We highlight the tools that can be used to scrutinize libraries, and identify and eliminate these problematic compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Reker
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. .,Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endoscopy, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. .,MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Gonçalo J L Bernardes
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, UK.,Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Tiago Rodrigues
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
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Ikram N, Mirza MU, Vanmeert M, Froeyen M, Salo-Ahen OMH, Tahir M, Qazi A, Ahmad S. Inhibition of Oncogenic Kinases: An In Vitro Validated Computational Approach Identified Potential Multi-Target Anticancer Compounds. Biomolecules 2019; 9:E124. [PMID: 30925835 PMCID: PMC6523505 DOI: 10.3390/biom9040124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Revised: 03/20/2019] [Accepted: 03/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumorigenesis in humans is a multistep progression that imitates genetic changes leading to cell transformation and malignancy. Oncogenic kinases play a central role in cancer progression, rendering them putative targets for the design of anti-cancer drugs. The presented work aims to identify the potential multi-target inhibitors of oncogenic receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and serine/threonine kinases (STKs). For this, chemoinformatics and structure-based virtual screening approaches were combined with an in vitro validation of lead hits on both cancerous and non-cancerous cell lines. A total of 16 different kinase structures were screened against ~739,000 prefiltered compounds using diversity selection, after which the top hits were filtered for promising pharmacokinetic properties. This led to the identification of 12 and 9 compounds against RTKs and STKs, respectively. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were carried out to better comprehend the stability of the predicted hit kinase-compound complexes. Two top-ranked compounds against each kinase class were tested in vitro for cytotoxicity, with compound F34 showing the most promising inhibitory activity in HeLa, HepG2, and Vero cell lines with IC50 values of 145.46 μM, 175.48 μM, and 130.52 μM, respectively. Additional docking of F34 against various RTKs was carried out to support potential multi-target inhibition. Together with reliable MD simulations, these results suggest the promising potential of identified multi-target STK and RTK scaffolds for further kinase-specific anti-cancer drug development toward combinatorial therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nazia Ikram
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Lahore, 54000 Lahore, Pakistan.
| | - Muhammad Usman Mirza
- Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine, The University of Lahore, 54000 Lahore, Pakistan.
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Medicinal Chemistry, University of Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Michiel Vanmeert
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Medicinal Chemistry, University of Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Matheus Froeyen
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Medicinal Chemistry, University of Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Outi M H Salo-Ahen
- Structural Bioinformatics Laboratory, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Biochemistry, Åbo Akademi University, FI-20520 Turku, Finland.
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Laboratory, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Pharmacy, Åbo Akademi University, FI-20520 Turku, Finland.
| | - Muhammad Tahir
- Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine, The University of Lahore, 54000 Lahore, Pakistan.
| | - Aamer Qazi
- Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine, The University of Lahore, 54000 Lahore, Pakistan.
| | - Sarfraz Ahmad
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Riphah University, 54000 Lahore, Pakistan.
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University Malaya, 59100, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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132
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Song S, Jiang J, Zhao L, Wang Q, Lu W, Zheng C, Zhang J, Ma H, Tian S, Zheng J, Luo L, Li Y, Yang ZJ, Zhang X. Structural optimization on a virtual screening hit of smoothened receptor. Eur J Med Chem 2019; 172:1-15. [PMID: 30939349 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2019.03.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Revised: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 03/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The Hedgehog (Hh) pathway plays a critical role during embryonic development by controlling cell patterning, growth and migration. In adults, the function of Hh pathway is curtailed to tissue repair and maintenance. Aberrant reactivation of Hh signaling has been linked to tumorigenesis in various cancers, such as basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and medulloblastoma. The Smoothened (Smo) receptor, a key component of the Hh pathway which is central to the signaling transduction, has emerged as an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of human cancers. Taking advantage of the availability of several crystal structures of Smo in complex with different antagonists, we have previously conducted a molecular docking-based virtual screening to identify several compounds which exhibited significant inhibitory activity against the Hh pathway activation (IC50 < 10 μM) in a Gli-responsive element (GRE) reporter gene assay. The most potent compound (ChemDiv ID C794-1677: 47 nM) showed comparable Hh signaling inhibition to the marketed drug vismodegib (46 nM). Herein, we report our structural optimization based on the virtual screening hit C794-1677. Our efforts are aimed to improve potency, decrease cLogP, and remove potentially metabolic labile/toxic pyrrole and aniline functionalities presented in C794-1677. The optimization led to the identification of numerous potent compounds exemplified by 25 (7.1 nM), which was 7 folds more potent compared with vismodegib. In addition, 25 was much less lipophilic compared with C794-1677 and devoid of the potentially metabolic labile/toxic pyrrole and aniline functional groups. Furthermore, 25 exhibited promising efficacy in inhibiting Gli1 mRNA expression in NIH3T3 cells with either wildtype Smo or D473H Smo mutant. These results represented significant improvement over the virtual screening hit C794-1677 and suggested that compound 25 can be used as a good starting point to support lead optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiwei Song
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, PR China
| | - Jinyi Jiang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, PR China
| | - Li Zhao
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, PR China
| | - Qin Wang
- BeiGene (Beijing) Co., Ltd., No. 30 Science Park Road, Zhongguancun Life Science Park, Beijing, 102206, PR China
| | - Wenfeng Lu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, PR China
| | - Chaonan Zheng
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, PR China
| | - Jie Zhang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, PR China
| | - Haikuo Ma
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, PR China; Cyrus Tang Hematology Center, Jiangsu Institute of Hematology and Collaborative Innovation Center of Hematology, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, PR China.
| | - Sheng Tian
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, PR China
| | - Jiyue Zheng
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, PR China
| | - Lusong Luo
- BeiGene (Beijing) Co., Ltd., No. 30 Science Park Road, Zhongguancun Life Science Park, Beijing, 102206, PR China
| | - Youyong Li
- Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, PR China
| | - Zeng-Jie Yang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, PR China; Cancer Biology Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple University Health System, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Xiaohu Zhang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, PR China.
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133
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Lee YV, Choi SB, Wahab HA, Lim TS, Choong YS. Applications of Ensemble Docking in Potential Inhibitor Screening for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isocitrate Lyase Using a Local Plant Database. J Chem Inf Model 2019; 59:2487-2495. [PMID: 30840452 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.8b00963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Isocitrate lyase (ICL) is a persistent factor for the survival of dormant stage Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), thus a potential drug target for tuberculosis treatment. In this work, ensemble docking approach was used to screen for potential inhibitors of ICL. The ensemble conformations of ICL active site were obtained from molecular dynamics simulation on three dimer form systems, namely the apo ICL, ICL in complex with metabolites (glyoxylate and succinate), and ICL in complex with substrate (isocitrate). Together with the ensemble conformations and the X-ray crystal structures, 22 structures were used for the screening against Malaysian Natural Compound Database (NADI). The top 10 compounds for each ensemble conformation were selected. The number of compounds was then further narrowed down to 22 compounds that were within the Lipinski's Rule of Five for drug-likeliness and were also docked into more than one ensemble conformation. Theses 22 compounds were furthered evaluate using whole cell assay. Some compounds were not commercially available; therefore, plant crude extracts were used for the whole cell assay. Compared to itaconate (the known inhibitor of ICL), crude extracts from Manilkara zapota, Morinda citrifolia, Vitex negundo, and Momordica charantia showed some inhibition activity. The MIC/MBC value were 12.5/25, 12.5/25, 0.78/1.6, and 0.39/1.6 mg/mL, respectively. This work could serve as a preliminary study in order to narrow the scope for high throughput screening in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yie-Vern Lee
- Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine (INFORMM) , Universiti Sains Malaysia , 11800 Minden , Penang , Malaysia
| | - Sy Bing Choi
- School of Data Science , Perdana University , 43400 Sri Kembangan , Selangor , Malaysia
| | - Habibah A Wahab
- Pharmaceutical Design and Simulation Laboratory, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences , Universiti Sains Malaysia , 11800 Minden , Penang , Malaysia
| | - Theam Soon Lim
- Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine (INFORMM) , Universiti Sains Malaysia , 11800 Minden , Penang , Malaysia.,Analytical Biochemistry Research Centre , Universiti Sains Malaysia , 11800 Minden , Penang , Malaysia
| | - Yee Siew Choong
- Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine (INFORMM) , Universiti Sains Malaysia , 11800 Minden , Penang , Malaysia
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134
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Sattarov B, Baskin II, Horvath D, Marcou G, Bjerrum EJ, Varnek A. De Novo Molecular Design by Combining Deep Autoencoder Recurrent Neural Networks with Generative Topographic Mapping. J Chem Inf Model 2019; 59:1182-1196. [PMID: 30785751 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.8b00751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Here we show that Generative Topographic Mapping (GTM) can be used to explore the latent space of the SMILES-based autoencoders and generate focused molecular libraries of interest. We have built a sequence-to-sequence neural network with Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory layers and trained it on the SMILES strings from ChEMBL23. Very high reconstruction rates of the test set molecules were achieved (>98%), which are comparable to the ones reported in related publications. Using GTM, we have visualized the autoencoder latent space on the two-dimensional topographic map. Targeted map zones can be used for generating novel molecular structures by sampling associated latent space points and decoding them to SMILES. The sampling method based on a genetic algorithm was introduced to optimize compound properties "on the fly". The generated focused molecular libraries were shown to contain original and a priori feasible compounds which, pending actual synthesis and testing, showed encouraging behavior in independent structure-based affinity estimation procedures (pharmacophore matching, docking).
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Affiliation(s)
- Boris Sattarov
- Laboratory of Chemoinformatics , UMR 7177 University of Strasbourg/CNRS , 4 rue B. Pascal , 67000 Strasbourg , France
| | - Igor I Baskin
- Faculty of Physics , M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University , Leninskie Gory , Moscow 19991 , Russia
| | - Dragos Horvath
- Laboratory of Chemoinformatics , UMR 7177 University of Strasbourg/CNRS , 4 rue B. Pascal , 67000 Strasbourg , France
| | - Gilles Marcou
- Laboratory of Chemoinformatics , UMR 7177 University of Strasbourg/CNRS , 4 rue B. Pascal , 67000 Strasbourg , France
| | - Esben Jannik Bjerrum
- Wildcard Pharmaceutical Consulting, Zeaborg Science Center, Frødings Allé 41 , 2860 Søborg , Denmark
| | - Alexandre Varnek
- Laboratory of Chemoinformatics , UMR 7177 University of Strasbourg/CNRS , 4 rue B. Pascal , 67000 Strasbourg , France
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135
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Syam YM, El-Karim SSA, Nasr T, Elseginy SA, Anwar MM, Kamel MM, Ali HF. Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Spiro Cyclohexane-1,2- Quinazoline Derivatives as Potent Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV Inhibitors. Mini Rev Med Chem 2019; 19:250-269. [PMID: 28847268 DOI: 10.2174/1389557517666170828121018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2016] [Revised: 11/26/2016] [Accepted: 02/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Inhibition of dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-4) is currently one of the most valuable and potential chemotherapeutic regimes for the medication of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). METHOD Based on linagliptin, this study discusses the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of spiro cyclohexane-1,2'-quinazoline scaffold hybridized with various heterocyclic ring systems through different atomic spacers as a highly potent DPP-4 inhibitors. DPP-4 enzyme assay represented that most of the target compounds are 102-103 folds more active than the reference drug linagliptin (IC50: 0.0005-0.0089 nM vs 0.77 nM; respectively). Moreover, in vivo oral hypoglycemic activity assay revealed that most of the tested candidates were more potent than the reference drug, sitagliptin, producing rapid onset with long duration of activity that extends to 24 h. Interestingly, the derivatives 11, 16, 18a and 23 showed evidence of mild cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) inhibition (IC50; > 210 µM) and their acute toxicity (LD50) was more than 1.9 gm/kg. Molecular simulation study of the new quinazoline derivatives explained the obtained biological results. CONCLUSION Finally, we conclude that our target compounds could be highly beneficial for diabetic patients in the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasmin M Syam
- Therapeutical Chemistry Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo 12622, Egypt
| | - Somaia S Abd El-Karim
- Therapeutical Chemistry Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo 12622, Egypt
| | - Tamer Nasr
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Helwan University, 11795 Helwan, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Samia A Elseginy
- Green Chemistry Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo, 12622, Egypt
| | - Manal M Anwar
- Therapeutical Chemistry Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo 12622, Egypt
| | - Mohsen M Kamel
- Therapeutical Chemistry Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo 12622, Egypt
| | - Hanan F Ali
- Therapeutical Chemistry Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo 12622, Egypt
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137
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Borah K, Sharma S, Silla Y. Structural bioinformatics-based identification of putative plant based lead compounds for Alzheimer Disease Therapy. Comput Biol Chem 2019; 78:359-366. [DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2018.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2018] [Accepted: 12/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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138
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Smelcerovic A, Lazarevic J, Tomovic K, Anastasijevic M, Jukic M, Kocic G, Anderluh M. An Overview, Advantages and Therapeutic Potential of Nonpeptide Positive Allosteric Modulators of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor. ChemMedChem 2019; 14:514-521. [PMID: 30609277 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.201800699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2018] [Revised: 12/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Due to uncomfortable injection regimens of peptidic agonists of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R), orally available nonpeptide positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of GLP-1Rs are foreseen as the possible future mainstream therapy for type 2 diabetes. Herein, current GLP-1R PAMs are reviewed. Based on the effectiveness and in silico predicted physicochemical properties, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity, possible candidates for further development as oral drugs were selected. The suggestion is that GLP-1R PAMs might be used orally alone or in combination with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, which could offer an optimal treatment option next to metformin monotherapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus, or in a wider spectrum of indications. Quercetin acts as a GLP-1R PAM and DPP-4 inhibitor, and therefore, might be considered as a pioneering agent with a dual mechanism of action, in terms of GLP-1R positive allosteric modulation and DPP-4 inhibition for potentiating GLP-1 dependent effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrija Smelcerovic
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, Bulevar Dr Zorana Djindjica 81, 18000, Niš, Serbia
| | - Jelena Lazarevic
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, Bulevar Dr Zorana Djindjica 81, 18000, Niš, Serbia
| | - Katarina Tomovic
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, Bulevar Dr Zorana Djindjica 81, 18000, Niš, Serbia
| | - Marija Anastasijevic
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, Bulevar Dr Zorana Djindjica 81, 18000, Niš, Serbia
| | - Marko Jukic
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Askerceva 7, 1000, Slovenia
| | - Gordana Kocic
- Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, Bulevar Dr Zorana Djindjica 81, 18000, Niš, Serbia
| | - Marko Anderluh
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Askerceva 7, 1000, Slovenia
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139
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Abstract
Since the early 1980s, we have witnessed considerable progress in the development and application of docking programs to assess protein-ligand interactions. Most of these applications had as a goal the identification of potential new binders to protein targets. Another remarkable progress is taking place in the determination of the structures of protein-ligand complexes, mostly using X-ray diffraction crystallography. Considering these developments, we have a favorable scenario for the creation of a computational tool that integrates into one workflow all steps involved in molecular docking simulations. We had these goals in mind when we developed the program SAnDReS. This program allows the integration of all computational features related to modern docking studies into one workflow. SAnDReS not only carries out docking simulations but also evaluates several docking protocols allowing the selection of the best approach for a given protein system. SAnDReS is a free and open-source (GNU General Public License) computational environment for running docking simulations. Here, we describe the combination of SAnDReS and AutoDock4 for protein-ligand docking simulations. AutoDock4 is a free program that has been applied to over a thousand receptor-ligand docking simulations. The dataset described in this chapter is available for downloading at https://github.com/azevedolab/sandres.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Bitencourt-Ferreira
- Escola de Ciências da Saúde, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul-PUCRS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Walter Filgueira de Azevedo
- Escola de Ciências da Saúde, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul-PUCRS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
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140
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Bologa CG, Ursu O, Oprea TI. How to Prepare a Compound Collection Prior to Virtual Screening. Methods Mol Biol 2019; 1939:119-138. [PMID: 30848459 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9089-4_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Virtual screening is a well-established technique that has proven to be successful in the identification of novel biologically active molecules, including drug repurposing. Whether for ligand-based or for structure-based virtual screening, a chemical collection needs to be properly processed prior to in silico evaluation. Here we describe our step-by-step procedure for handling very large collections (up to billions) of compounds prior to virtual screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristian G Bologa
- Division of Translational Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Oleg Ursu
- Merck Research Laboratories, Boston, MA, USA.,Division of Translational Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Tudor I Oprea
- Division of Translational Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
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141
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Dittrich J, Schmidt D, Pfleger C, Gohlke H. Converging a Knowledge-Based Scoring Function: DrugScore2018. J Chem Inf Model 2018; 59:509-521. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.8b00582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Dittrich
- Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Institut für Pharmazeutische und Medizinische Chemie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Denis Schmidt
- Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Institut für Pharmazeutische und Medizinische Chemie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Christopher Pfleger
- Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Institut für Pharmazeutische und Medizinische Chemie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Holger Gohlke
- Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Institut für Pharmazeutische und Medizinische Chemie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
- John von Neumann Institute for Computing (NIC), Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) & Institute for Complex Systems−Structural Biochemistry (ICS-6), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany
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142
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Ashenden SK. Screening Library Design. Methods Enzymol 2018; 610:73-96. [PMID: 30390806 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2018.09.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
Thanks to technological advances and a greater understanding of the biological and chemical natures of targets and related diseases, high-throughput screening (HTS) has been allowed to be faster, cheaper, and more accessible. Yet, despite these increased technologies and understandings, the frequency of novel and drugs are being approved each year has not being increasing over the years. 2017 was considered a "bumper" year with a total of 46 approved drugs, over double that of the previous year. However, it is thought that part of the problem that HTS has not lived up to expectations is because of the contents of current chemical libraries. Therefore, new methods to design screening libraries are of great interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Kay Ashenden
- Department of Chemistry, Cambridge University, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Discovery Sciences, IMed Biotech Unit, AstraZeneca R&D, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
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143
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In silico identification of inhibitors targeting N-Terminal domain of human Replication Protein A. J Mol Graph Model 2018; 86:149-159. [PMID: 30366191 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmgm.2018.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2018] [Revised: 10/08/2018] [Accepted: 10/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Replication Protein A (RPA) mediates DNA Damage Response (DDR) pathways through protein-protein interactions (PPIs). Targeting the PPIs formed between RPA and other DNA Damage Response (DDR) mediators has become an intriguing area of research for cancer drug discovery. A number of studies applied different methods ranging from high throughput screening approaches to fragment-based drug design tools to discover RPA inhibitors. Although these methods are robust, virtual screening approaches may be allocated as an alternative to such experimental methods, especially for screening of large libraries. Here we report the comprehensive screening of the large database, ZINC15 composed of ∼750 M compounds and the comparison of the identified ligands with the previously known inhibitors by means of binding affinity and drug-likeness. Initially, a ligand library sharing similarity with a promising inhibitor of the N-terminal domain of the RPA70 subunit (RPA70N) was generated by screening of the ZINC15 library. 46,999 ligands were collected and screened by LeDock which produced a satisfactory correlation with the experimental values (R2 = 0.77). 10 of the top-scoring ligands in LeDock were directly progressed to molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, while 10 additional ligands were also selected based on their LeDock scores and the presence of a functional group that could interact with the key amino acids in the RPA70N cleft. MD simulations were used to predict the binding free energy of the ligands by the MM-PBSA method which produced a high level of agreement with the experiments (R2 = 0.85). Binding free energy predictions pointed out 2 ligands with higher binding affinity than any of the reference inhibitors. Particularly the ligand ZINC000753854163 exhibited superior drug-likeness features than any of the known inhibitors. Overall, this study reports ZINC000753854163 as a possible inhibitor of RPA70N, reflecting its possible use in RPA70N targeted cancer therapy.
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Fly ash supported NiO as an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of xanthene and its molecular docking study against plasmodium glutathione reductase. RESEARCH ON CHEMICAL INTERMEDIATES 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s11164-018-3567-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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145
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Vidler LR, Watson IA, Margolis BJ, Cummins DJ, Brunavs M. Investigating the Behavior of Published PAINS Alerts Using a Pharmaceutical Company Data Set. ACS Med Chem Lett 2018; 9:792-796. [PMID: 30128069 PMCID: PMC6088356 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.8b00097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 07/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
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Biochemical
assay interference is becoming increasingly recognized
as a significant waste of resource in drug discovery, both in industry
and academia. A seminal publication from Baell and Holloway raised
the awareness of this issue, and they published a set of alerts to
identify what they described as PAINS (pan-assay interference compounds).
These alerts have been taken up by drug discovery groups, even though
the original paper had a somewhat limited data set. Here, we have
taken Lilly’s far larger internal data set to assess the PAINS
alerts on four criteria: promiscuity (over six assay formats including
AlphaScreen), compound stability, cytotoxicity, and presence of a
high Hill slope as a surrogate for non-1:1 protein–ligand binding.
It was found that only three of the alerts show pan-assay promiscuity,
and the alerts appear to encode primarily AlphaScreen promiscuous
molecules. Although not enriching for pan-assay promiscuity, many
of the alerts do encode molecules that are unstable, show cytotoxicity,
and increase the prevalence of high Hill slopes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lewis R. Vidler
- Research and Development, Eli Lilly and Company, Ltd., Sunninghill Road, Windlesham, Surrey GU20 6PH, United Kingdom
| | - Ian A. Watson
- Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly Corporate Center, Indianapolis, Indiana 46285, United States
| | - Brandon J. Margolis
- Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly Corporate Center, Indianapolis, Indiana 46285, United States
| | - David J. Cummins
- Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly Corporate Center, Indianapolis, Indiana 46285, United States
| | - Michael Brunavs
- Research and Development, Eli Lilly and Company, Ltd., Sunninghill Road, Windlesham, Surrey GU20 6PH, United Kingdom
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146
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Araujo JSC, de Souza BC, Costa Junior DB, Oliveira LDM, Santana IB, Duarte AA, Lacerda PS, dos Santos Junior MC, Leite FHA. Identification of new promising Plasmodium falciparum superoxide dismutase allosteric inhibitors through hierarchical pharmacophore-based virtual screening and molecular dynamics. J Mol Model 2018; 24:220. [DOI: 10.1007/s00894-018-3746-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2018] [Accepted: 06/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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147
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Gadaleta D, Manganelli S, Roncaglioni A, Toma C, Benfenati E, Mombelli E. QSAR Modeling of ToxCast Assays Relevant to the Molecular Initiating Events of AOPs Leading to Hepatic Steatosis. J Chem Inf Model 2018; 58:1501-1517. [PMID: 29949360 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.8b00297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Nonalcoholic hepatic steatosis is a worldwide epidemiological concern since it is among the most prominent hepatic diseases. Indeed, research in toxicology and epidemiology has gathered evidence that exposure to endocrine disruptors can perturb cellular homeostasis and cause this disease. Therefore, assessing the likelihood of a chemical to trigger hepatic steatosis is a matter of the utmost importance. However, systematic in vivo testing of all the chemicals humans are exposed to is not feasible for ethical and economical reasons. In this context, predicting the molecular initiating events (MIE) leading to hepatic steatosis by QSAR modeling is an issue of practical relevance in modern toxicology. In this article, we present QSAR models based on random forest classifiers and DRAGON molecular descriptors for the prediction of in vitro assays that are relevant to MIEs leading to hepatic steatosis. These assays were provided by the ToxCast program and proved to be predictive for the detection of chemical-induced steatosis. During the modeling process, special attention was paid to chemical and toxicological data curation. We adopted two modeling strategies (undersampling and balanced random forests) to develop robust QSAR models from unbalanced data sets. The two modeling approaches gave similar results in terms of predictivity, and most of the models satisfy a minimum percentage of correctly predicted chemicals equal to 75%. Finally, and most importantly, the developed models proved to be useful as an effective in silico screening test for hepatic steatosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Domenico Gadaleta
- Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Department of Environmental Health Sciences , IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri , Via la Masa 19 , 20156 Milano , Italy
| | - Serena Manganelli
- Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Department of Environmental Health Sciences , IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri , Via la Masa 19 , 20156 Milano , Italy
| | - Alessandra Roncaglioni
- Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Department of Environmental Health Sciences , IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri , Via la Masa 19 , 20156 Milano , Italy
| | - Cosimo Toma
- Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Department of Environmental Health Sciences , IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri , Via la Masa 19 , 20156 Milano , Italy
| | - Emilio Benfenati
- Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Department of Environmental Health Sciences , IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri , Via la Masa 19 , 20156 Milano , Italy
| | - Enrico Mombelli
- Unité Modèles pour l'Ecotoxicologie et la Toxicologie (METO) , Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques (INERIS) , 60550 Verneuil en Halatte , France
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148
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Design, synthesis and molecular modeling of new 4-phenylcoumarin derivatives as tubulin polymerization inhibitors targeting MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Bioorg Med Chem 2018; 26:3474-3490. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2018.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2018] [Revised: 05/13/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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149
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Li X, Kang H, Liu W, Singhal S, Jiao N, Wang Y, Zhu L, Zhu R. In silico design of novel proton-pump inhibitors with reduced adverse effects. Front Med 2018; 13:277-284. [PMID: 29845582 DOI: 10.1007/s11684-018-0630-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2017] [Accepted: 12/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The development of new proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) with less adverse effects by lowering the pKa values of nitrogen atoms in pyrimidine rings has been previously suggested by our group. In this work, we proposed that new PPIs should have the following features: (1) number of ring II = number of ring I + 1; (2) preferably five, six, or seven-membered heteroatomic ring for stability; and (3) 1 < pKa1 < 4. Six molecular scaffolds based on the aforementioned criteria were constructed, and R groups were extracted from compounds in extensive data sources. A virtual molecule dataset was established, and the pKa values of specific atoms on the molecules in the dataset were calculated to select the molecules with required pKa values. Drug-likeness screening was further conducted to obtain the candidates that significantly reduced the adverse effects of long-term PPI use. This study provided insights and tools for designing targeted molecules in silico that are suitable for practical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyi Li
- Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Hong Kang
- School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7000 Fannin St, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Wensheng Liu
- Digestive Diseases and Nutrition Center, Department of Pediatrics, The State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA
| | - Sarita Singhal
- Digestive Diseases and Nutrition Center, Department of Pediatrics, The State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA
| | - Na Jiao
- Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Yong Wang
- Basic Medical College, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Lixin Zhu
- Digestive Diseases and Nutrition Center, Department of Pediatrics, The State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA.
- Genome, Environment and Microbiome Community of Excellence, The State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14214, USA.
| | - Ruixin Zhu
- Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
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150
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Shiri F, Pirhadi S, Ghasemi JB. Dynamic structure based pharmacophore modeling of the Acetylcholinesterase reveals several potential inhibitors. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2018; 37:1800-1812. [PMID: 29695192 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2018.1468281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Acetylcholinesterase is a critical enzyme that regulates neurotransmission by catalyzing the breakdown of neurotransmitter acetylcholine in synapses of the nervous system. It is an important target for therapeutic drugs that treat Alzheimer's disease. Since, the degree of flexibility of the side chains of the residues in the active-site gorge of Acetylcholinesterase is diverse it results in different bound ligand conformations. The side-chain conformations of Ser293, Tyr341, Leu76, and Val73 are flexible, while the side-chain conformations of Tyr72, Tyr 124, Ser125, Phe295, and Arg296 appear to be fixed. In this study, multi-conformation dynamic pharmacophore models from the donepezyl-binding pocket based on highly populated structures chosen from molecular dynamics simulations were used for screening compounds that can properly bind acetylcholinesterase. Based on these structures, three pharmacophore models were generated. Consequently, 14 hits were retrieved as final candidates by utilizing virtual screening of ZINC database and molecular docking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fereshteh Shiri
- a Department of Chemistry , University of Zabol , Zabol , Iran
| | - Somayeh Pirhadi
- b Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry Research Center , Shiraz University of Medical Sciences , Shiraz , Iran
| | - Jahan B Ghasemi
- c School of Chemistry , University College of Science, University of Tehran , Tehran , Iran
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