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Kaczor AA, Zięba A, Matosiuk D. The application of WaterMap-guided structure-based virtual screening in novel drug discovery. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2024; 19:73-83. [PMID: 37807912 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2023.2267015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Nowadays, it is widely accepted that water molecules play a key role in binding a ligand to a molecular target. Neglecting water molecules in the process of molecular recognition was the result of several failures of the structure-based drug discovery campaigns. The application of WaterMap, in particular WaterMap-guided molecular docking, enables the reasonably accurate and quick description of the location and energetics of water molecules at the ligand-protein interface. AREAS COVERED In this review, the authors shortly discuss the importance of water in drug design and discovery and provide a brief overview of the computational approaches used to predict the solvent-related effects for the purposes of presenting WaterMap in the context of other available techniques and tools. A concise description of WaterMap concept is followed by the presentation of WaterMap-assisted virtual screening literature published between 2013 and 2023. EXPERT OPINION In recent years, WaterMap software has been extensively used to support structure-based drug design, in particular structure-based virtual screening. Indeed, it is a useful tool to rescore docking results considering water molecules in the binding pocket. Although WaterMap allows for the consideration of the dynamic behavior of water molecules in the binding site, for best accuracy, its application in conjunction with other techniques such as molecular mechanics-generalized Born surface area of FEP (Free Energy Perturbation) is recommended.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka A Kaczor
- Department of Synthesis and Chemical Technology of Pharmaceutical Substances with Computer Modeling Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, Lublin, Poland
- School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Agata Zięba
- Department of Synthesis and Chemical Technology of Pharmaceutical Substances with Computer Modeling Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, Lublin, Poland
| | - Dariusz Matosiuk
- Department of Synthesis and Chemical Technology of Pharmaceutical Substances with Computer Modeling Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, Lublin, Poland
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Vázquez J, Ginex T, Herrero A, Morisseau C, Hammock BD, Luque FJ. Screening and Biological Evaluation of Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Inhibitors: Assessing the Role of Hydrophobicity in the Pharmacophore-Guided Search of Novel Hits. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:3209-3225. [PMID: 37141492 PMCID: PMC10207366 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
The human soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) is a bifunctional enzyme that modulates the levels of regulatory epoxy lipids. The hydrolase activity is carried out by a catalytic triad located at the center of a wide L-shaped binding site, which contains two hydrophobic subpockets at both sides. On the basis of these structural features, it can be assumed that desolvation is a major factor in determining the maximal achievable affinity that can be attained for this pocket. Accordingly, hydrophobic descriptors may be better suited to the search of novel hits targeting this enzyme. This study examines the suitability of quantum mechanically derived hydrophobic descriptors in the discovery of novel sEH inhibitors. To this end, three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) pharmacophores were generated by combining electrostatic and steric or alternatively hydrophobic and hydrogen-bond parameters in conjunction with a tailored list of 76 known sEH inhibitors. The pharmacophore models were then validated by using two external sets chosen (i) to rank the potency of four distinct series of compounds and (ii) to discriminate actives from decoys, using in both cases datasets taken from the literature. Finally, a prospective study was performed including a virtual screening of two chemical libraries to identify new potential hits, which were subsequently experimentally tested for their inhibitory activity on human, rat, and mouse sEH. The use of hydrophobic-based descriptors led to the identification of six compounds as inhibitors of the human enzyme with IC50 < 20 nM, including two with IC50 values of 0.4 and 0.7 nM. The results support the use of hydrophobic descriptors as a valuable tool in the search of novel scaffolds that encode a proper hydrophilic/hydrophobic distribution complementary to the target's binding site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Vázquez
- Departament
de Nutrició, Ciències de l′Alimentació
i Gastronomia, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l′Alimentació, Institut de Biomedicina (IBUB), Prat de la Riba 171, 08921 Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain
- Pharmacelera,
Parc Científic de Barcelona (PCB), Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Tiziana Ginex
- Departament
de Nutrició, Ciències de l′Alimentació
i Gastronomia, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l′Alimentació, Institut de Biomedicina (IBUB), Prat de la Riba 171, 08921 Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain
| | - Albert Herrero
- Pharmacelera,
Parc Científic de Barcelona (PCB), Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Christophe Morisseau
- Department
of Entomology and Nematology, and Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, United States
| | - Bruce D. Hammock
- Department
of Entomology and Nematology, and Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, United States
| | - F. Javier Luque
- Departament
de Nutrició, Ciències de l′Alimentació
i Gastronomia, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l′Alimentació, Institut de Biomecidina (IBUB) and Institut de Química
Teòrica i Computacional (IQTCUB), Prat de la Riba 171, 08921 Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain
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Morningstar-Kywi N, Wang K, Asbell TR, Wang Z, Giles JB, Lai J, Brill D, Sutch BT, Haworth IS. Prediction of Water Distributions and Displacement at Protein-Ligand Interfaces. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:1489-1497. [PMID: 35261241 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c01266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The retention and displacement of water molecules during formation of ligand-protein interfaces play a major role in determining ligand binding. Understanding these effects requires a method for positioning of water molecules in the bound and unbound proteins and for defining water displacement upon ligand binding. We describe an algorithm for water placement and a calculation of ligand-driven water displacement in >9000 protein-ligand complexes. The algorithm predicts approximately 38% of experimental water positions within 1.0 Å and about 83% within 1.5 Å. We further show that the predicted water molecules can complete water networks not detected in crystallographic structures of the protein-ligand complexes. The algorithm was also applied to solvation of the corresponding unbound proteins, and this allowed calculation of water displacement upon ligand binding based on differences in the water network between the bound and unbound structures. We illustrate use of this approach through comparison of water displacement by structurally related ligands at the same binding site. This method for evaluation of water displacement upon ligand binding may be of value for prediction of the effects of ligand modification in drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noam Morningstar-Kywi
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, 1985 Zonal Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Kaichen Wang
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, 1985 Zonal Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Thomas R Asbell
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, 1985 Zonal Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Zhaohui Wang
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, 1985 Zonal Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Jason B Giles
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, 1985 Zonal Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Jiawei Lai
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, 1985 Zonal Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Dab Brill
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, 1985 Zonal Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Brian T Sutch
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, 1985 Zonal Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Ian S Haworth
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, 1985 Zonal Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
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Debnath J, Parrinello M. Computing Rates and Understanding Unbinding Mechanisms in Host-Guest Systems. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:1314-1319. [PMID: 35200023 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c01075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The long time scale associated with ligand residence times renders their computation challenging. Therefore, the influence of factors like solvation and steric hindrance on residence times is not fully understood. Here, we demonstrate in a set of model host-guest systems that the recently developed Gaussian mixture based enhanced sampling allows residence times to be computed and enables an understanding of their unbinding mechanism. We observe that guest unbinding often proceeds via a series of intermediate states that can be labeled by the number of water molecules present in the binding cavity. In several cases the residence time is correlated to the water trapping times in the cavity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayashrita Debnath
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.,Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, 16163 Genova, Italy
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