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Ravnik V, Jukič M, Bren U. Identifying Metal Binding Sites in Proteins Using Homologous Structures, the MADE Approach. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:5204-5219. [PMID: 37557084 PMCID: PMC10466382 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00558] [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: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
In order to identify the locations of metal ions in the binding sites of proteins, we have developed a method named the MADE (MAcromolecular DEnsity and Structure Analysis) approach. The MADE approach represents an evolution of our previous toolset, the ProBiS H2O (MD) methodology, for the identification of conserved water molecules. Our method uses experimental structures of proteins homologous to a query, which are subsequently superimposed upon it. Areas with a particular species present in a similar location among many homologous protein structures are identified using a clustering algorithm. Dense clusters likely represent positions containing species important to the query protein structure or function. We analyze well-characterized apo protein structures and show that the MADE approach can identify clusters corresponding to the expected positions of metal ions in their binding sites. The greatest advantage of our method lies in its generality. It can in principle be applied to any species found in protein records; it is not only limited to metal ions. We additionally demonstrate that the MADE approach can be successfully applied to predict the location of cofactors in computer-modeled structures, e.g., via AlphaFold. We also conduct a careful protein superposition method comparison and find our methodology robust and the results largely independent of the selected protein superposition algorithm. We postulate that with increasing structural data availability, additional applications of the MADE approach will be possible such as non-protein systems, water network identification, protein binding site elaboration, and analysis of binding events, all in a dynamic manner. We have implemented the MADE approach as a plugin for the PyMOL molecular visualization tool. The MADE plugin is available free of charge at https://gitlab.com/Jukic/made_software.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vid Ravnik
- Faculty
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University
of Maribor, Smetanova
ulica 17, Maribor SI-2000, Slovenia
| | - Marko Jukič
- Faculty
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University
of Maribor, Smetanova
ulica 17, Maribor SI-2000, Slovenia
- The
Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, Glagoljaška 8, Koper SI-6000, Slovenia
- Institute
for Environmental Protection and Sensors, Beloruska ulica 7, Maribor SI-2000, Slovenia
| | - Urban Bren
- Faculty
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University
of Maribor, Smetanova
ulica 17, Maribor SI-2000, Slovenia
- The
Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, Glagoljaška 8, Koper SI-6000, Slovenia
- Institute
for Environmental Protection and Sensors, Beloruska ulica 7, Maribor SI-2000, Slovenia
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2
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To KKW, Cho WC. Drug Repurposing to Circumvent Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Resistance in Cancer Immunotherapy. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:2166. [PMID: 37631380 PMCID: PMC10459070 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15082166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have achieved unprecedented clinical success in cancer treatment. However, drug resistance to ICI therapy is a major hurdle that prevents cancer patients from responding to the treatment or having durable disease control. Drug repurposing refers to the application of clinically approved drugs, with characterized pharmacological properties and known adverse effect profiles, to new indications. It has also emerged as a promising strategy to overcome drug resistance. In this review, we summarized the latest research about drug repurposing to overcome ICI resistance. Repurposed drugs work by either exerting immunostimulatory activities or abolishing the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Compared to the de novo drug design strategy, they provide novel and affordable treatment options to enhance cancer immunotherapy that can be readily evaluated in the clinic. Biomarkers are exploited to identify the right patient population to benefit from the repurposed drugs and drug combinations. Phenotypic screening of chemical libraries has been conducted to search for T-cell-modifying drugs. Genomics and integrated bioinformatics analysis, artificial intelligence, machine and deep learning approaches are employed to identify novel modulators of the immunosuppressive TME.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth K. W. To
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - William C. Cho
- Department of Clinical Oncology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China
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3
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Konc J, Janežič D. ProBiS-Fold Approach for Annotation of Human Structures from the AlphaFold Database with No Corresponding Structure in the PDB to Discover New Druggable Binding Sites. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:5821-5829. [PMID: 36269348 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
ProBiS (Protein Binding Sites), a local structure-based comparison algorithm, is used in the new ProBiS-Fold web server to annotate human structures from the AlphaFold database without a corresponding structure in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) to discover new druggable binding sites. The ProBiS algorithm is used to compare each query protein structure predicted by the AlphaFold approach with the protein structures from the PDB to identify similarities between known binding sites found in the PDB and yet unknown binding sites in the AlphaFold database. Ligands bound in these identified similar PDB sites are then transferred to each query protein from the AlphaFold database, and binding sites are identified as ligand clusters on an AlphaFold protein. Small molecule binding sites are assigned druggability scores based on the similarity of their ligands to known drugs, allowing them to be ranked according to their perceived and actual potential for drug development. ProBiS-Fold provides interactive and downloadable binding sites for the entire human structural proteome, including more than 3000 new druggable binding sites that have no corresponding structure in the PDB, taking into account AlphaFold's model quality, to enable protein structure-function relationship studies and pharmaceutical drug discovery research. The web server is freely accessible to academic users at http://probis-fold.insilab.org.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janez Konc
- Theory Department, National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, SI-1001 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Dušanka Janežič
- Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, Glagoljaška 8, SI-6000 Koper, Slovenia
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4
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Khan K, Alhar MSO, Abbas MN, Abbas SQ, Kazi M, Khan SA, Sadiq A, Hassan SSU, Bungau S, Jalal K. Integrated Bioinformatics-Based Subtractive Genomics Approach to Decipher the Therapeutic Drug Target and Its Possible Intervention against Brucellosis. Bioengineering (Basel) 2022; 9:633. [PMID: 36354544 PMCID: PMC9687753 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering9110633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Brucella suis, one of the causative agents of brucellosis, is Gram-negative intracellular bacteria that may be found all over the globe and it is a significant facultative zoonotic pathogen found in livestock. It may adapt to a phagocytic environment, reproduce, and develop resistance to harmful environments inside host cells, which is a crucial part of the Brucella life cycle making it a worldwide menace. The molecular underpinnings of Brucella pathogenicity have been substantially elucidated due to comprehensive methods such as proteomics. Therefore, we aim to explore the complete Brucella suis proteome to prioritize the novel proteins as drug targets via subtractive proteo-genomics analysis, an effort to conjecture the existence of distinct pathways in the development of brucellosis. Consequently, 38 unique metabolic pathways having 503 proteins were observed while among these 503 proteins, the non-homologs (n = 421), essential (n = 350), drug-like (n = 114), virulence (n = 45), resistance (n = 42), and unique to pathogen proteins were retrieved from Brucella suis. The applied subsequent hierarchical shortlisting resulted in a protein, i.e., isocitrate lyase, that may act as potential drug target, which was finalized after the extensive literature survey. The interacting partners for these shortlisted drug targets were identified through the STRING database. Moreover, structure-based studies were also performed on isocitrate lyase to further analyze its function. For that purpose, ~18,000 ZINC compounds were screened to identify new potent drug candidates against isocitrate lyase for brucellosis. It resulted in the shortlisting of six compounds, i.e., ZINC95543764, ZINC02688148, ZINC20115475, ZINC04232055, ZINC04231816, and ZINC04259566 that potentially inhibit isocitrate lyase. However, the ADMET profiling showed that all compounds fulfill ADMET properties except for ZINC20115475 showing positive Ames activity; whereas, ZINC02688148, ZINC04259566, ZINC04232055, and ZINC04231816 showed hepatoxicity while all compounds were observed to have no skin sensitization. In light of these parameters, we recommend ZINC95543764 compound for further experimental studies. According to the present research, which uses subtractive genomics, proteins that might serve as therapeutic targets and potential lead options for eradicating brucellosis have been narrowed down.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanwal Khan
- Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi City 75270, Pakistan
| | | | - Muhammad Naseer Abbas
- Department of Pharmacy, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat 26000, Pakistan
| | - Syed Qamar Abbas
- Department of Pharmacy, Sarhad University of Science and Technology, Peshawar 25000, Pakistan
| | - Mohsin Kazi
- Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, P.O. Box-2457, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Saeed Ahmad Khan
- Department of Pharmacy, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat 26000, Pakistan
- Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, The University of Texas at Austin, 2409 University Ave., Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Abdul Sadiq
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Malakand, Chakdara 18000, Pakistan
| | - Syed Shams ul Hassan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Engineering of Chiral Drugs, School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- Department of Natural Product Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Simona Bungau
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Oradea, 410028 Oradea, Romania
| | - Khurshid Jalal
- HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi City 75270, Pakistan
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5
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Khan K, Jalal K, Khan A, Al-Harrasi A, Uddin R. Comparative Metabolic Pathways Analysis and Subtractive Genomics Profiling to Prioritize Potential Drug Targets Against Streptococcus pneumoniae. Front Microbiol 2022; 12:796363. [PMID: 35222301 PMCID: PMC8866961 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.796363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a notorious pathogen that affects ∼450 million people worldwide and causes up to four million deaths per annum. Despite availability of antibiotics (i.e., penicillin, doxycycline, or clarithromycin) and conjugate vaccines (e.g., PCVs), it is still challenging to treat because of its drug resistance ability. The rise of antibiotic resistance in S. pneumoniae is a major source of concern across the world. Computational subtractive genomics is one of the most applied techniques in which the whole proteome of the bacterial pathogen is gradually reduced to a limited number of potential therapeutic targets. Whole-genome sequencing has greatly reduced the time required and provides more opportunities for drug target identification. The goal of this work is to evaluate and analyze metabolic pathways in serotype 14 of S. pneumonia to identify potential drug targets. In the present study, 47 potent drug targets were identified against S. pneumonia by employing the computational subtractive genomics approach. Among these, two proteins are prioritized (i.e., 4-oxalocrotonate tautomerase and Sensor histidine kinase uniquely present in S. pneumonia) as novel drug targets and selected for further structure-based studies. The identified proteins may provide a platform for the discovery of a lead drug candidate that may be capable of inhibiting these proteins and, therefore, could be helpful in minimizing the associated risk related to the drug-resistant S. pneumoniae. Finally, these enzymatic proteins could be of prime interest against S. pneumoniae to design rational targeted therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanwal Khan
- Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Khurshid Jalal
- HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Ajmal Khan
- Natural and Medical Sciences Research Center, University of Nizwa, Nizwa, Oman
| | - Ahmed Al-Harrasi
- Natural and Medical Sciences Research Center, University of Nizwa, Nizwa, Oman
| | - Reaz Uddin
- Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan
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6
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Jalal K, Khan K, Hassam M, Abbas MN, Uddin R, Khusro A, Sahibzada MUK, Gajdács M. Identification of a Novel Therapeutic Target against XDR Salmonella Typhi H58 Using Genomics Driven Approach Followed Up by Natural Products Virtual Screening. Microorganisms 2021; 9:2512. [PMID: 34946114 PMCID: PMC8708826 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9122512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Revised: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Typhoid fever is caused by a pathogenic, rod-shaped, flagellated, and Gram-negative bacterium known as Salmonella Typhi. It features a polysaccharide capsule that acts as a virulence factor and deceives the host immune system by protecting phagocytosis. Typhoid fever remains a major health concern in low and middle-income countries, with an estimated death rate of ~200,000 per annum. However, the situation is exacerbated by the emergence of the extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strain designated as H58 of S. Typhi. The emergence of the XDR strain is alarming, and it poses serious threats to public health due to the failure of the current therapeutic regimen. A relatively newer computational method called subtractive genomics analyses has been widely applied to discover novel and new drug targets against pathogens, particularly drug-resistant ones. The method involves the gradual reduction of the complete proteome of the pathogen, leading to few potential and novel drug targets. Thus, in the current study, a subtractive genomics approach was applied against the Salmonella XDR strain to identify potential drug targets. The current study predicted four prioritized proteins (i.e., Colanic acid biosynthesis acetyltransferase wcaB, Shikimate dehydrogenase aroE, multidrug efflux RND transporter permease subunit MdtC, and pantothenate synthetase panC) as potential drug targets. Though few of the prioritized proteins are treated in the literature as the established drug targets against other pathogenic bacteria, these drug targets are identified here for the first time against S. Typhi (i.e., S. Typhi XDR). The current study aimed at drawing attention to new drug targets against S. Typhi that remain largely unexplored. One of the prioritized drug targets, i.e., Colanic acid biosynthesis acetyltransferase, was predicted as a unique, new drug target against S. Typhi XDR. Therefore, the Colanic acid was further explored using structure-based techniques. Additionally, ~1000 natural compounds were docked with Colanic acid biosynthesis acetyltransferase, resulting in the prediction of seven compounds as potential lead candidates against the S. Typhi XDR strain. The ADMET properties and binding energies via the docking program of these seven compounds characterized them as novel drug candidates. They may potentially be used for the development of future drugs in the treatment of Typhoid fever.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khurshid Jalal
- International Center for Chemical and Biological Science, H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan;
| | - Kanwal Khan
- Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Science, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan; (K.K.); (M.H.)
| | - Muhammad Hassam
- Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Science, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan; (K.K.); (M.H.)
| | - Muhammad Naseer Abbas
- Department of Pharmacy, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat 26000, Pakistan;
| | - Reaz Uddin
- Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Science, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan; (K.K.); (M.H.)
| | - Ameer Khusro
- Research Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Loyola College, Chennai 600034, India;
| | | | - Márió Gajdács
- Department of Oral Biology and Experimental Dental Research, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary
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7
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Škrlj B, Novak MP, Brader G, Anžič B, Ramšak Ž, Gruden K, Kralj J, Kladnik A, Lavrač N, Roitsch T, Dermastia M. New Cross-Talks between Pathways Involved in Grapevine Infection with ' Candidatus Phytoplasma solani' Revealed by Temporal Network Modelling. PLANTS 2021; 10:plants10040646. [PMID: 33805409 PMCID: PMC8065506 DOI: 10.3390/plants10040646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Understanding temporal biological phenomena is a challenging task that can be approached using network analysis. Here, we explored whether network reconstruction can be used to better understand the temporal dynamics of bois noir, which is associated with ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’, and is one of the most widespread phytoplasma diseases of grapevine in Europe. We proposed a methodology that explores the temporal network dynamics at the community level, i.e., densely connected subnetworks. The methodology offers both insights into the functional dynamics via enrichment analysis at the community level, and analyses of the community dissipation, as a measure that accounts for community degradation. We validated this methodology with cases on experimental temporal expression data of uninfected grapevines and grapevines infected with ‘Ca. P. solani’. These data confirm some known gene communities involved in this infection. They also reveal several new gene communities and their potential regulatory networks that have not been linked to ‘Ca. P. solani’ to date. To confirm the capabilities of the proposed method, selected predictions were empirically evaluated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blaž Škrlj
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
- Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
- Correspondence:
| | - Maruša Pompe Novak
- National Institute of Biology, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (M.P.N.); (B.A.); (Ž.R.); (K.G.); (M.D.)
- School of Viticulture and Enology, University of Nova Gorica, 5271 Vipava, Slovenia
| | - Günter Brader
- Austrian Institute of Technology, Bioresources Unit, 3430 Tulln, Austria;
| | - Barbara Anžič
- National Institute of Biology, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (M.P.N.); (B.A.); (Ž.R.); (K.G.); (M.D.)
| | - Živa Ramšak
- National Institute of Biology, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (M.P.N.); (B.A.); (Ž.R.); (K.G.); (M.D.)
| | - Kristina Gruden
- National Institute of Biology, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (M.P.N.); (B.A.); (Ž.R.); (K.G.); (M.D.)
| | - Jan Kralj
- Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
| | - Aleš Kladnik
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
| | - Nada Lavrač
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
- Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
| | - Thomas Roitsch
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2630 Taastrup, Denmark;
| | - Marina Dermastia
- National Institute of Biology, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (M.P.N.); (B.A.); (Ž.R.); (K.G.); (M.D.)
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Ensemble Docking Coupled to Linear Interaction Energy Calculations for Identification of Coronavirus Main Protease (3CL pro) Non-Covalent Small-Molecule Inhibitors. Molecules 2020; 25:molecules25245808. [PMID: 33316996 PMCID: PMC7763084 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25245808] [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: 11/05/2020] [Revised: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2, or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, represents a new strain of Coronaviridae. In the closing 2019 to early 2020 months, the virus caused a global pandemic of COVID-19 disease. We performed a virtual screening study in order to identify potential inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 main viral protease (3CLpro or Mpro). For this purpose, we developed a novel approach using ensemble docking high-throughput virtual screening directly coupled with subsequent Linear Interaction Energy (LIE) calculations to maximize the conformational space sampling and to assess the binding affinity of identified inhibitors. A large database of small commercial compounds was prepared, and top-scoring hits were identified with two compounds singled out, namely 1-[(R)-2-(1,3-benzimidazol-2-yl)-1-pyrrolidinyl]-2-(4-methyl-1,4-diazepan-1-yl)-1-ethanone and [({(S)-1-[(1H-indol-2-yl)methyl]-3-pyrrolidinyl}methyl)amino](5-methyl-2H-pyrazol-3-yl)formaldehyde. Moreover, we obtained a favorable binding free energy of the identified compounds, and using contact analysis we confirmed their stable binding modes in the 3CLpro active site. These compounds will facilitate further 3CLpro inhibitor design.
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Tak MH, Jang Y, Son WS, Yang YD, Oh U. EF-hand like Region in the N-terminus of Anoctamin 1 Modulates Channel Activity by Ca 2+ and Voltage. Exp Neurobiol 2019; 28:658-669. [PMID: 31902154 PMCID: PMC6946113 DOI: 10.5607/en.2019.28.6.658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Revised: 11/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Anoctamin1 (ANO1) also known as TMEM16A is a transmembrane protein that functions as a Ca2+ activated chloride channel. Recently, the structure determination of a fungal Nectria haematococca TMEM16 (nhTMEM16) scramblase by X-ray crystallography and a mouse ANO1 by cryo-electron microscopy has provided the insight in molecular architecture underlying phospholipid scrambling and Ca2+ binding. Because the Ca2+ binding motif is embedded inside channel protein according to defined structure, it is still unclear how intracellular Ca2+ moves to its deep binding pocket effectively. Here we show that EF-hand like region containing multiple acidic amino acids at the N-terminus of ANO1 is a putative site regulating the activity of ANO1 by Ca2+ and voltage. The EF-hand like region of ANO1 is highly homologous to the canonical EF hand loop in calmodulin that contains acidic residues in key Ca2+-coordinating positions in the canonical EF hand. Indeed, deletion and Ala-substituted mutation of this region resulted in a significant reduction in the response to Ca2+ and changes in its key biophysical properties evoked by voltage pulses. Furthermore, only ANO1 and ANO2, and not the other TMEM16 isoforms, contain the EF-hand like region and are activated by Ca2+. Moreover, the molecular modeling analysis supports that EF-hand like region could play a key role during Ca2+ transfer. Therefore, these findings suggest that EF-hand like region in ANO1 coordinates with Ca2+ and modulate the activation by Ca2+ and voltage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Ho Tak
- Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
| | - Yongwoo Jang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
| | - Woo Sung Son
- College of Pharmacy, CHA University, Seongnam 13488, Korea
| | - Young Duk Yang
- College of Pharmacy, CHA University, Seongnam 13488, Korea
| | - Uhtaek Oh
- Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.,Sensory Research Center, Brain Science Institute, Korea Institute of Science & Technology (KIST), Seoul 02792, Korea
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10
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In Silico Laboratory: Tools for Similarity-Based Drug Discovery. Methods Mol Biol 2019. [PMID: 31773644 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0163-1_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
Abstract
Computational methods that predict and evaluate binding of ligands to receptors implicated in different pathologies have become crucial in modern drug design and discovery. Here, we describe protocols for using the recently developed package of computational tools for similarity-based drug discovery. The ProBiS stand-alone program and web server allow superimposition of protein structures against large protein databases and predict ligands based on detected binding site similarities. GenProBiS allows mapping of human somatic missense mutations related to cancer and non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms and subsequent visual exploration of specific interactions in connection to these mutations. We describe protocols for using LiSiCA, a fast ligand-based virtual screening software that enables easy screening of large databases containing billions of small molecules. Finally, we show the use of BoBER, a web interface that enables user-friendly access to a large database of bioisosteric and scaffold hopping replacements.
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11
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Abrusán G, Marsh JA. Ligands and Receptors with Broad Binding Capabilities Have Common Structural Characteristics: An Antibiotic Design Perspective. J Med Chem 2019; 62:9357-9374. [PMID: 31188598 PMCID: PMC6858282 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b00220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The spread of antibiotic resistance is one of the most serious global public-health problems. Here we show that a particular class of homomers with binding sites spanning multiple protein chains is particularly suitable for targeting by broad-spectrum antibacterial agents because due to the slow evolutionary change of such binding pockets, ligands of such homomers are much more likely to bind their homologs than ligands of monomers, or homomers with a single-chain binding site. Additionally, using de novo ligand design and deep learning, we show that the chemical compounds that can bind several different receptors have common structural characteristics and that halogens and fragments similar to the building blocks existing antimicrobials are overrepresented in them. Finally, we show that binding multiple receptors selects for flexible compounds, which are less likely to accumulate in Gram-negative bacteria; thus there is trade-off between reducing the emergence of resistance by multitargeting and broad-spectrum antibacterial activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- György Abrusán
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute
of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University
of Edinburgh, Crewe Road, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, U.K.
| | - Joseph A. Marsh
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute
of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University
of Edinburgh, Crewe Road, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, U.K.
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12
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Abrusán G, Marsh JA. Ligand Binding Site Structure Influences the Evolution of Protein Complex Function and Topology. Cell Rep 2019; 22:3265-3276. [PMID: 29562182 PMCID: PMC5873459 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.02.085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2017] [Revised: 01/17/2018] [Accepted: 02/22/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
It has been suggested that the evolution of protein complexes is significantly influenced by stochastic, non-adaptive processes. Using ligand binding as a proxy of function, we show that the structure of ligand-binding sites significantly influences the evolution of protein complexes. We show that homomers with multi-chain binding sites (MBSs) evolve new functions slower than monomers or other homomers, and those binding cofactors and metals have more conserved quaternary structure than other homomers. Moreover, the ligands and ligand-binding pockets of homologous MBS homomers are more similar than monomers and other homomers. Our results suggest strong evolutionary selection for quaternary structure in cofactor-binding MBS homomers, whereas neutral processes are more important in complexes with single-chain binding sites. They also have pharmacological implications, suggesting that complexes with single-chain binding sites are better targets for selective drugs, whereas MBS homomers are good candidates for broad-spectrum antibiotic and multitarget drug design. Ligand binding site structure significantly influences protein function evolution MBS homomers have more similar ligand binding pockets than monomers and other homomers Cofactor and metal-binding MBS homomers have more conserved QS than other homomers MBS homomers are promising targets for developing antibiotics and multitarget drugs
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Affiliation(s)
- György Abrusán
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK.
| | - Joseph A Marsh
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
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Konc J. Identification of neurological disease targets of natural products by computational screening. Neural Regen Res 2019; 14:2075-2076. [PMID: 31397338 PMCID: PMC6788253 DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.262576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Janez Konc
- Theory Department, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Abrusán G, Marsh JA. Ligand-Binding-Site Structure Shapes Allosteric Signal Transduction and the Evolution of Allostery in Protein Complexes. Mol Biol Evol 2019; 36:1711-1727. [PMID: 31004156 PMCID: PMC6657754 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msz093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The structure of ligand-binding sites has been shown to profoundly influence the evolution of function in homomeric protein complexes. Complexes with multichain binding sites (MBSs) have more conserved quaternary structure, more similar binding sites and ligands between homologs, and evolve new functions slower than homomers with single-chain binding sites (SBSs). Here, using in silico analyses of protein dynamics, we investigate whether ligand-binding-site structure shapes allosteric signal transduction pathways, and whether the structural similarity of binding sites influences the evolution of allostery. Our analyses show that: 1) allostery is more frequent among MBS complexes than in SBS complexes, particularly in homomers; 2) in MBS homomers, semirigid communities and critical residues frequently connect interfaces and thus they are characterized by signal transduction pathways that cross protein-protein interfaces, whereas SBS homomers usually not; 3) ligand binding alters community structure differently in MBS and SBS homomers; and 4) except MBS homomers, allosteric proteins are more likely to have homologs with similar binding site than nonallosteric proteins, suggesting that binding site similarity is an important factor driving the evolution of allostery.
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Affiliation(s)
- György Abrusán
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Joseph A Marsh
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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3D-PP: A Tool for Discovering Conserved Three-Dimensional Protein Patterns. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20133174. [PMID: 31261733 PMCID: PMC6651053 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20133174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2019] [Revised: 06/19/2019] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Discovering conserved three-dimensional (3D) patterns among protein structures may provide valuable insights into protein classification, functional annotations or the rational design of multi-target drugs. Thus, several computational tools have been developed to discover and compare protein 3D-patterns. However, most of them only consider previously known 3D-patterns such as orthosteric binding sites or structural motifs. This fact makes necessary the development of new methods for the identification of all possible 3D-patterns that exist in protein structures (allosteric sites, enzyme-cofactor interaction motifs, among others). In this work, we present 3D-PP, a new free access web server for the discovery and recognition all similar 3D amino acid patterns among a set of proteins structures (independent of their sequence similarity). This new tool does not require any previous structural knowledge about ligands, and all data are organized in a high-performance graph database. The input can be a text file with the PDB access codes or a zip file of PDB coordinates regardless of the origin of the structural data: X-ray crystallographic experiments or in silico homology modeling. The results are presented as lists of sequence patterns that can be further analyzed within the web page. We tested the accuracy and suitability of 3D-PP using two sets of proteins coming from the Protein Data Bank: (a) Zinc finger containing and (b) Serotonin target proteins. We also evaluated its usefulness for the discovering of new 3D-patterns, using a set of protein structures coming from in silico homology modeling methodologies, all of which are overexpressed in different types of cancer. Results indicate that 3D-PP is a reliable, flexible and friendly-user tool to identify conserved structural motifs, which could be relevant to improve the knowledge about protein function or classification. The web server can be freely utilized at https://appsbio.utalca.cl/3d-pp/.
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Jukič M, Gobec S, Sova M. Reaching toward underexplored targets in antibacterial drug design. Drug Dev Res 2018; 80:6-10. [PMID: 30312991 DOI: 10.1002/ddr.21465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2018] [Revised: 08/13/2018] [Accepted: 08/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The increase of antimicrobial resistance necessitates the renewal and strong research involvement in antibacterial drug design. In the following work, we comment on the key approaches used in development of new antibacterials, focusing on intracellular therapeutic targets that have been so far mostly underexplored: the enzymes of the Mur pathway MurA to MurF. We identify common obstacles observed during research on MurA, MurB, and Mur ligases inhibitors and their development into potential antibacterial compounds, and discern several approaches and solutions to tackle the whole-cell activity of designed compounds. Furthermore, we consolidate recent literature reports and encourage the further research on Mur enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marko Jukič
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Stanislav Gobec
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Matej Sova
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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