Parameterization of the GPR119 Receptor Agonist AR231453

Optimization of CHARMM force field parameters for ryanodine receptor inhibitory drug dantrolene using FFTK and FFParam

CONTEXT

Ryanodine receptors (RyRs) are large intracellular ligand-gated calcium release ion channels. Mutations in human RyR1 in combination with a volatile anesthetic or muscle relaxant are known to cause leaky RyRs resulting in malignant hyperthermia (MH). This has long been primarily treated with the RyR inhibitory drug dantrolene. Alternatives to dantrolene as a RyR inhibitor may be found through computer-aided drug design. Additionally, molecular dynamics (MD) studies of dantrolene interacting with RyRs may reveal its full mechanism of action. The availability of accurate force field parameters is important for the success of both.

METHODS

In this study, force field parameters for dantrolene were obtained from the CHARMM General Force Field (CGenFF) program and optimized using the force field toolkit (FFTK) and FFParam programs. The obtained parameters were then validated by a comparison between calculated and experimental IR spectra and normal mode analysis, among other techniques.

GPR119 agonists for the treatment of type 2 diabetes: an updated patent review (2014-present)

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes is a rapid-growing complex chronic metabolic disease characterized by hyperglycemia due to lessened insulin secretion, insulin resistance and hepatic glucose overproduction. GPR119 is a class A of G protein-coupled receptor, expressed on certain enteroendocrine L and K cells in the small intestine and by β-cells within the islets of Langerhans of the pancreas. Activation of GPR119 stimulates the secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in the intestinal tract and glucose-dependent release of insulin in pancreatic β-cells.Area covered: This review summarized the reported patents on GPR119 agonists from 2014 to present. The authors described the structural features of these novel synthetic molecules and compared their biological activities (including in vitro and in vivo) as potent GPR119 agonists for the treatment of diabetes.Expert opinion: GPR119 agonists remain the advantage of stimulating both insulin and incretin release in a glucose-dependent manner over other hypoglycemic agents, although some GPR119 agonist clinical candidates have been discontinued in Phase І or Phase II. GPR119 agonists will succeed to be developed as anti-diabetic drugs after accumulated scaffolds of agonists are discovered and the crystallographic structure of GPR119 is elucidated. The synergic effect of GPR119 agonist and DPP-4 inhibitor will also elicit a benefit for the new therapeutic of diabetes.

Optimization of CHARMM force field parameters of a prostate cancer drug enzalutamide

Enzalutamide is the most recent and potent clinically available drug molecule used to treat castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer patients. In the presence of certain mutations on the Androgen receptor, enzalutamide fails to function as an antagonist. The molecular mechanism of this resistance has not been understood clearly. Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations are a powerful tool to investigate such resistance mechanisms. Insights from MD simulations of receptor-ligand complex heavily depend on the quality of the parameters of the ligands. Thus, we developed and optimized CHARMM Force field parameters of enzalutamide. The initial assignment of parameters was done by using the CHARMM General Force Field (CGenFF) program. After that, using the Force Field Tool Kit (FFTK) partial charges, bond, angle and dihedral parameters of enzalutamide were optimized to reproduce quantum mechanics calculation results. For the validation of parameters, water-octanol partition coefficient, Infrared Spectra (IR) and normal mode analysis calculations were performed. In addition, a 300 ns-long MD simulation of enzalutamide was carried out to assess the ability of the optimized parameters in exploring torsional angle space.