1
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Ries B, Alibay I, Anand NM, Biggin PC, Magarkar A. Automated Absolute Binding Free Energy Calculation Workflow for Drug Discovery. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:5357-5364. [PMID: 38952038 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.4c00343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/03/2024]
Abstract
Absolute binding free energies play a crucial role in drug development, particularly as part of the lead discovery process. In recent work, we showed how in silico predictions directly could support drug development by ranking and recommending favorable ideas over unfavorable ones. Here, we demonstrate a Python workflow that enables the calculation of ABFEs with minimal manual input effort, such as the receptor PDB and ligand SDF files, and outputs a .tsv file containing the ranked ligands and their corresponding binding free energies. The implementation uses Snakemake to structure and control the execution of tasks, allowing for dynamic control of parameters and execution patterns. We provide an example of a benchmark system that demonstrates the effectiveness of the automated workflow.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Ries
- Medicinal Chemistry, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Birkendorfer Str 65, 88397 Biberach an der Riss, Germany
| | - Irfan Alibay
- Department of Biochemistry, The University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
| | - Nithishwer Mouroug Anand
- Department of Biochemistry, The University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
| | - Philip C Biggin
- Department of Biochemistry, The University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
| | - Aniket Magarkar
- Medicinal Chemistry, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Birkendorfer Str 65, 88397 Biberach an der Riss, Germany
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2
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Diakogiannaki I, Papadourakis M, Spyridaki V, Cournia Z, Koutselos A. Computational Investigation of BMAA and Its Carbamate Adducts as Potential GluR2 Modulators. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:5140-5150. [PMID: 38973304 PMCID: PMC11234361 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c01195] [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: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 07/09/2024]
Abstract
Beta-N-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA) is a potential neurotoxic nonprotein amino acid, which can reach the human body through the food chain. When BMAA interacts with bicarbonate in the human body, carbamate adducts are produced, which share a high structural similarity with the neurotransmitter glutamate. It is believed that BMAA and its l-carbamate adducts bind in the glutamate binding site of ionotropic glutamate receptor 2 (GluR2). Chronic exposure to BMAA and its adducts could cause neurological illness such as neurodegenerative diseases. However, the mechanism of BMAA action and its carbamate adducts bound to GluR2 has not yet been elucidated. Here, we investigate the binding modes and the affinity of BMAA and its carbamate adducts to GluR2 in comparison to the natural agonist, glutamate, to understand whether these can act as GluR2 modulators. Initially, we perform molecular dynamics simulations of BMAA and its carbamate adducts bound to GluR2 to examine the stability of the ligands in the S1/S2 ligand-binding core of the receptor. In addition, we utilize alchemical free energy calculations to compute the difference in the free energy of binding of the beta-carbamate adduct of BMAA to GluR2 compared to that of glutamate. Our findings indicate that carbamate adducts of BMAA and glutamate remain stable in the binding site of the GluR2 compared to BMAA. Additionally, alchemical free energy results reveal that glutamate and the beta-carbamate adduct of BMAA have comparable binding affinity to the GluR2. These results provide a rationale that BMAA carbamate adducts may be, in fact, the modulators of GluR2 and not BMAA itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isidora Diakogiannaki
- Biomedical
Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, 4 Soranou Ephessiou, Athens 11527, Greece
- Department
of Chemistry, Physical Chemistry Laboratory, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Athens 15771, Greece
| | - Michail Papadourakis
- Biomedical
Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, 4 Soranou Ephessiou, Athens 11527, Greece
- Department
of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Heraklion, Crete 71004, Greece
| | - Vasileia Spyridaki
- Biomedical
Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, 4 Soranou Ephessiou, Athens 11527, Greece
- School
of Chemical Engineering, National Technical
University of Athens, Heroon Polytechniou 9, Zografou 15780, Greece
| | - Zoe Cournia
- Biomedical
Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, 4 Soranou Ephessiou, Athens 11527, Greece
| | - Andreas Koutselos
- Department
of Chemistry, Physical Chemistry Laboratory, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Athens 15771, Greece
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3
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Georgiou K, Konstantinidi A, Hutterer J, Freudenberger K, Kolarov F, Lambrinidis G, Stylianakis I, Stampelou M, Gauglitz G, Kolocouris A. Accurate calculation of affinity changes to the close state of influenza A M2 transmembrane domain in response to subtle structural changes of adamantyl amines using free energy perturbation methods in different lipid bilayers. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA. BIOMEMBRANES 2024; 1866:184258. [PMID: 37995846 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2023.184258] [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: 06/06/2023] [Revised: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
Experimental binding free energies of 27 adamantyl amines against the influenza M2(22-46) WT tetramer, in its closed form at pH 8, were measured by ITC in DPC micelles. The measured Kd's range is ~44 while the antiviral potencies (IC50) range is ~750 with a good correlation between binding free energies computed with Kd and IC50 values (r = 0.76). We explored with MD simulations (ff19sb, CHARMM36m) the binding profile of complexes with strong, moderate and weak binders embedded in DMPC, DPPC, POPC or a viral mimetic membrane and using different experimental starting structures of M2. To predict accurately differences in binding free energy in response to subtle changes in the structure of the ligands, we performed 18 alchemical perturbative single topology FEP/MD NPT simulations (OPLS2005) using the BAR estimator (Desmond software) and 20 dual topology calculations TI/MD NVT simulations (ff19sb) using the MBAR estimator (Amber software) for adamantyl amines in complex with M2(22-46) WT in DMPC, DPPC, POPC. We observed that both methods with all lipids show a very good correlation between the experimental and calculated relative binding free energies (r = 0.77-0.87, mue = 0.36-0.92 kcal mol-1) with the highest performance achieved with TI/MBAR and lowest performance with FEP/BAR in DMPC bilayers. When antiviral potencies are used instead of the Kd values for computing the experimental binding free energies we obtained also good performance with both FEP/BAR (r = 0.83, mue = 0.75 kcal mol-1) and TI/MBAR (r = 0.69, mue = 0.77 kcal mol-1).
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyriakos Georgiou
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Panepistimiopolis-Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece
| | - Athina Konstantinidi
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Panepistimiopolis-Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece
| | - Johanna Hutterer
- Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Eberhard-Karls-Universität, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Kathrin Freudenberger
- Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Eberhard-Karls-Universität, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Felix Kolarov
- Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Eberhard-Karls-Universität, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany; Roche, Penzberg, Bavaria, Germany
| | - George Lambrinidis
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Panepistimiopolis-Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece
| | - Ioannis Stylianakis
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Panepistimiopolis-Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece
| | - Margarita Stampelou
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Panepistimiopolis-Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece
| | - Günter Gauglitz
- Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Eberhard-Karls-Universität, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Antonios Kolocouris
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Panepistimiopolis-Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece.
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4
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Herz AM, Kellici T, Morao I, Michel J. Alchemical Free Energy Workflows for the Computation of Protein-Ligand Binding Affinities. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2716:241-264. [PMID: 37702943 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3449-3_11] [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] [Indexed: 09/14/2023]
Abstract
Alchemical free energy methods can be used for the efficient computation of relative binding free energies during preclinical drug discovery stages. In recent years, this has been facilitated further by the implementation of workflows that enable non-experts to quickly and consistently set up the required simulations. Given the correct input structures, workflows handle the difficult aspects of setting up perturbations, including consistently defining the perturbable molecule, its atom mapping and topology generation, perturbation network generation, running of the simulations via different sampling methods, and analysis of the results. Different academic and commercial workflows are discussed, including FEW, FESetup, FEPrepare, CHARMM-GUI, Transformato, PMX, QLigFEP, TIES, ProFESSA, PyAutoFEP, BioSimSpace, FEP+, Flare, and Orion. These workflows differ in various aspects, such as mapping algorithms or enhanced sampling methods. Some workflows can accommodate more than one molecular dynamics (MD) engine and use external libraries for tasks. Differences between workflows can present advantages for different use cases, however a lack of interoperability of the workflows' components hinders systematic comparisons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna M Herz
- EaStChem School of Chemistry, Joseph Black Building, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Tahsin Kellici
- Evotec (UK) Ltd., In Silico Research and Development, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK
- Merck & Co., Inc., Modelling and Informatics, West Point, PA, USA
| | - Inaki Morao
- Evotec (UK) Ltd., In Silico Research and Development, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK
| | - Julien Michel
- EaStChem School of Chemistry, Joseph Black Building, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
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5
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Fu H, Chipot C, Shao X, Cai W. Standard Binding Free-Energy Calculations: How Far Are We from Automation? J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:10459-10468. [PMID: 37824848 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c04370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
Recent success stories suggest that in silico protein-ligand binding free-energy calculations are approaching chemical accuracy. However, their widespread application remains limited by the extensive human intervention required, posing challenges for the neophyte. As such, it is critical to develop automated workflows for estimating protein-ligand binding affinities with minimum personal involvement. Key human efforts include setting up and tuning enhanced-sampling or alchemical-transformation algorithms as a preamble to computational binding free-energy estimations. Additionally, preparing input files, bookkeeping, and postprocessing represent nontrivial tasks. In this Perspective, we discuss recent progress in automating standard binding free-energy calculations, featuring the development of adaptive or parameter-free algorithms, standardization of binding free-energy calculation workflows, and the implementation of user-friendly software. We also assess the current state of automated standard binding free-energy calculations and evaluate the limitations of existing methods. Last, we outline the requirements for future algorithms and workflows to facilitate automated free-energy calculations for diverse protein-ligand complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haohao Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biosensing and Molecular Recognition, Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
- Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations, Tianjin 300192, China
| | - Christophe Chipot
- Laboratoire International Associé CNRS and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, UMR no. 7019, Université de Lorraine, BP 70239, F-54506 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France
- Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1110 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago, 5735 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Hawai'i at Ma̅noa, 2545 McCarthy Mall, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
| | - Xueguang Shao
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biosensing and Molecular Recognition, Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
- Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations, Tianjin 300192, China
| | - Wensheng Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biosensing and Molecular Recognition, Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
- Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations, Tianjin 300192, China
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6
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Papadourakis M, Sinenka H, Matricon P, Hénin J, Brannigan G, Pérez-Benito L, Pande V, van Vlijmen H, de Graaf C, Deflorian F, Tresadern G, Cecchini M, Cournia Z. Alchemical Free Energy Calculations on Membrane-Associated Proteins. J Chem Theory Comput 2023; 19:7437-7458. [PMID: 37902715 PMCID: PMC11017255 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c00365] [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: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 10/31/2023]
Abstract
Membrane proteins have diverse functions within cells and are well-established drug targets. The advances in membrane protein structural biology have revealed drug and lipid binding sites on membrane proteins, while computational methods such as molecular simulations can resolve the thermodynamic basis of these interactions. Particularly, alchemical free energy calculations have shown promise in the calculation of reliable and reproducible binding free energies of protein-ligand and protein-lipid complexes in membrane-associated systems. In this review, we present an overview of representative alchemical free energy studies on G-protein-coupled receptors, ion channels, transporters as well as protein-lipid interactions, with emphasis on best practices and critical aspects of running these simulations. Additionally, we analyze challenges and successes when running alchemical free energy calculations on membrane-associated proteins. Finally, we highlight the value of alchemical free energy calculations calculations in drug discovery and their applicability in the pharmaceutical industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michail Papadourakis
- Biomedical
Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, 4 Soranou Ephessiou, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Hryhory Sinenka
- Institut
de Chimie de Strasbourg, UMR7177, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, F-67083 Strasbourg Cedex, France
| | - Pierre Matricon
- Sosei
Heptares, Steinmetz Building,
Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridge CB21 6DG, United
Kingdom
| | - Jérôme Hénin
- Laboratoire
de Biochimie Théorique UPR 9080, CNRS and Université Paris Cité, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Grace Brannigan
- Center
for Computational and Integrative Biology, Rutgers University−Camden, Camden, New Jersey 08103, United States of America
- Department
of Physics, Rutgers University−Camden, Camden, New Jersey 08102, United States
of America
| | - Laura Pérez-Benito
- CADD,
In Silico Discovery, Janssen Research &
Development, Turnhoutseweg 30, 2340 Beerse, Belgium
| | - Vineet Pande
- CADD,
In Silico Discovery, Janssen Research &
Development, Turnhoutseweg 30, 2340 Beerse, Belgium
| | - Herman van Vlijmen
- CADD,
In Silico Discovery, Janssen Research &
Development, Turnhoutseweg 30, 2340 Beerse, Belgium
| | - Chris de Graaf
- Sosei
Heptares, Steinmetz Building,
Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridge CB21 6DG, United
Kingdom
| | - Francesca Deflorian
- Sosei
Heptares, Steinmetz Building,
Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridge CB21 6DG, United
Kingdom
| | - Gary Tresadern
- CADD,
In Silico Discovery, Janssen Research &
Development, Turnhoutseweg 30, 2340 Beerse, Belgium
| | - Marco Cecchini
- Institut
de Chimie de Strasbourg, UMR7177, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, F-67083 Strasbourg Cedex, France
| | - Zoe Cournia
- Biomedical
Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, 4 Soranou Ephessiou, 11527 Athens, Greece
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7
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Çınaroğlu S, Biggin PC. Computed Protein-Protein Enthalpy Signatures as a Tool for Identifying Conformation Sampling Problems. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:6095-6108. [PMID: 37759363 PMCID: PMC10565830 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c01041] [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: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the thermodynamic signature of protein-peptide binding events is a major challenge in computational chemistry. The complexity generated by both components possessing many degrees of freedom poses a significant issue for methods that attempt to directly compute the enthalpic contribution to binding. Indeed, the prevailing assumption has been that the errors associated with such approaches would be too large for them to be meaningful. Nevertheless, we currently have no indication of how well the present methods would perform in terms of predicting the enthalpy of binding for protein-peptide complexes. To that end, we carefully assembled and curated a set of 11 protein-peptide complexes where there is structural and isothermal titration calorimetry data available and then computed the absolute enthalpy of binding. The initial "out of the box" calculations were, as expected, very modest in terms of agreement with the experiment. However, careful inspection of the outliers allows for the identification of key sampling problems such as distinct conformations of peptide termini not being sampled or suboptimal cofactor parameters. Additional simulations guided by these aspects can lead to a respectable correlation with isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) experiments (R2 of 0.88 and an RMSE of 1.48 kcal/mol overall). Although one cannot know prospectively whether computed ITC values will be correct or not, this work shows that if experimental ITC data are available, then this in conjunction with computed ITC, can be used as a tool to know if the ensemble being simulated is representative of the true ensemble or not. That is important for allowing the correct interpretation of the detailed dynamics of the system with respect to the measured enthalpy. The results also suggest that computational calorimetry is becoming increasingly feasible. We provide the data set as a resource for the community, which could be used as a benchmark to help further progress in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Philip C. Biggin
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, U.K.
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8
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Dong L, Shi S, Qu X, Luo D, Wang B. Ligand binding affinity prediction with fusion of graph neural networks and 3D structure-based complex graph. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:24110-24120. [PMID: 37655493 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp03651k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
Accurate prediction of protein-ligand binding affinity is pivotal for drug design and discovery. Here, we proposed a novel deep fusion graph neural networks framework named FGNN to learn the protein-ligand interactions from the 3D structures of protein-ligand complexes. Unlike 1D sequences for proteins or 2D graphs for ligands, the 3D graph of protein-ligand complex enables the more accurate representations of the protein-ligand interactions. Benchmark studies have shown that our fusion models FGNN can achieve more accurate prediction of binding affinity than any individual algorithm. The advantages of fusion strategies have been demonstrated in terms of expressive power of data, learning efficiency and model interpretability. Our fusion models show satisfactory performances on diverse data sets, demonstrating their generalization ability. Given the good performances in both binding affinity prediction and virtual screening, our fusion models are expected to be practically applied for drug screening and design. Our work highlights the potential of the fusion graph neural network algorithm in solving complex prediction problems in computational biology and chemistry. The fusion graph neural networks (FGNN) model is freely available in https://github.com/LinaDongXMU/FGNN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lina Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, iChEM, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
| | - Shuai Shi
- Department of Algorithm, TuringQ Co., Ltd., Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Xiaoyang Qu
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, iChEM, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
| | - Ding Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, iChEM, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
| | - Binju Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, iChEM, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
- Innovation Laboratory for Sciences and Technologies of Energy Materials of Fujian Province (IKKEM), Xiamen, 361005, China
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9
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Bieniek M, Wade AD, Bhati AP, Wan S, Coveney PV. TIES 2.0: A Dual-Topology Open Source Relative Binding Free Energy Builder with Web Portal. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:718-724. [PMID: 36719676 PMCID: PMC9930115 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c01596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Relative binding free energy (RBFE) calculations are widely used to aid the process of drug discovery. TIES, Thermodynamic Integration with Enhanced Sampling, is a dual-topology approach to RBFE calculations with support for NAMD and OpenMM molecular dynamics engines. The software has been thoroughly validated on publicly available datasets. Here we describe the open source software along with a web portal (https://ccs-ties.org) that enables users to perform such calculations correctly and rapidly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mateusz
K. Bieniek
- Centre
for Computational Science, Department of Chemistry, University College London, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom,School
of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle
University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, United
Kingdom
| | - Alexander D. Wade
- Centre
for Computational Science, Department of Chemistry, University College London, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Agastya P. Bhati
- Centre
for Computational Science, Department of Chemistry, University College London, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Shunzhou Wan
- Centre
for Computational Science, Department of Chemistry, University College London, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Peter V. Coveney
- Centre
for Computational Science, Department of Chemistry, University College London, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom,Advanced
Research Computing Centre, University College
London, London WC1H 0AJ, United
Kingdom,Institute
for Informatics, Faculty of Science, University
of Amsterdam, 1098XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands,E-mail:
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10
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Chang Y, Hawkins BA, Du JJ, Groundwater PW, Hibbs DE, Lai F. A Guide to In Silico Drug Design. Pharmaceutics 2022; 15:pharmaceutics15010049. [PMID: 36678678 PMCID: PMC9867171 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15010049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The drug discovery process is a rocky path that is full of challenges, with the result that very few candidates progress from hit compound to a commercially available product, often due to factors, such as poor binding affinity, off-target effects, or physicochemical properties, such as solubility or stability. This process is further complicated by high research and development costs and time requirements. It is thus important to optimise every step of the process in order to maximise the chances of success. As a result of the recent advancements in computer power and technology, computer-aided drug design (CADD) has become an integral part of modern drug discovery to guide and accelerate the process. In this review, we present an overview of the important CADD methods and applications, such as in silico structure prediction, refinement, modelling and target validation, that are commonly used in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqun Chang
- Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Bryson A. Hawkins
- Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Jonathan J. Du
- Department of Biochemistry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Paul W. Groundwater
- Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - David E. Hibbs
- Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Felcia Lai
- Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
- Correspondence:
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11
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Ganguly A, Tsai HC, Fernández-Pendás M, Lee TS, Giese TJ, York DM. AMBER Drug Discovery Boost Tools: Automated Workflow for Production Free-Energy Simulation Setup and Analysis (ProFESSA). J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:6069-6083. [PMID: 36450130 PMCID: PMC9881431 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
We report an automated workflow for production free-energy simulation setup and analysis (ProFESSA) using the GPU-accelerated AMBER free-energy engine with enhanced sampling features and analysis tools, part of the AMBER Drug Discovery Boost package that has been integrated into the AMBER22 release. The workflow establishes a flexible, end-to-end pipeline for performing alchemical free-energy simulations that brings to bear technologies, including new enhanced sampling features and analysis tools, to practical drug discovery problems. ProFESSA provides the user with top-level control of large sets of free-energy calculations and offers access to the following key functionalities: (1) automated setup of file infrastructure; (2) enhanced conformational and alchemical sampling with the ACES method; and (3) network-wide free-energy analysis with the optional imposition of cycle closure and experimental constraints. The workflow is applied to perform absolute and relative solvation free-energy and relative ligand-protein binding free-energy calculations using different atom-mapping procedures. Results demonstrate that the workflow is internally consistent and highly robust. Further, the application of a new network-wide Lagrange multiplier constraint analysis that imposes key experimental constraints substantially improves binding free-energy predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abir Ganguly
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Hsu-Chun Tsai
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Mario Fernández-Pendás
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA,Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), PK 1072, 20080 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
| | - Tai-Sung Lee
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Timothy J. Giese
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Darrin M. York
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA,
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Mavra A, Petrou CC, Vlasiou MC. Ligand and Structure-Based Virtual Screening in Combination, to Evaluate Small Organic Molecules as Inhibitors for the XIAP Anti-Apoptotic Protein: The Xanthohumol Hypothesis. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27154825. [PMID: 35956774 PMCID: PMC9369490 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27154825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Herein, we propose two chalcone molecules, (E)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-(p-tolyl) prop-2-en-1-one and (E)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1-(2,4,6-trihydroxyphenyl) prop-2-en-1-one, based on the anticancer bioactive molecule Xanthohumol, which are suitable for further in vitro and in vivo studies. Their ability to create stable complexes with the antiapoptotic X-linked IAP (XIAP) protein makes them promising anticancer agents. The calculations were based on ligand-based and structure-based virtual screening combined with the pharmacophore build. Additionally, the structures passed Lipinski’s rule for drug use, and their reactivity was confirmed using density functional theory studies. ADMET studies were also performed to reveal the pharmacokinetic potential of the compounds. The candidates were chosen from 10,639,400 compounds, and the docking protocols were evaluated using molecular dynamics simulations.
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The performance of ensemble-based free energy protocols in computing binding affinities to ROS1 kinase. Sci Rep 2022; 12:10433. [PMID: 35729177 PMCID: PMC9211793 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-13319-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Optimization of binding affinities for compounds to their target protein is a primary objective in drug discovery. Herein we report on a collaborative study that evaluates a set of compounds binding to ROS1 kinase. We use ESMACS (enhanced sampling of molecular dynamics with approximation of continuum solvent) and TIES (thermodynamic integration with enhanced sampling) protocols to rank the binding free energies. The predicted binding free energies from ESMACS simulations show good correlations with experimental data for subsets of the compounds. Consistent binding free energy differences are generated for TIES and ESMACS. Although an unexplained overestimation exists, we obtain excellent statistical rankings across the set of compounds from the TIES protocol, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.90 between calculated and experimental activities.
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Bhati A, Coveney PV. Large Scale Study of Ligand-Protein Relative Binding Free Energy Calculations: Actionable Predictions from Statistically Robust Protocols. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:2687-2702. [PMID: 35293737 PMCID: PMC9009079 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c01288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The accurate and reliable prediction of protein-ligand binding affinities can play a central role in the drug discovery process as well as in personalized medicine. Of considerable importance during lead optimization are the alchemical free energy methods that furnish an estimation of relative binding free energies (RBFE) of similar molecules. Recent advances in these methods have increased their speed, accuracy, and precision. This is evident from the increasing number of retrospective as well as prospective studies employing them. However, such methods still have limited applicability in real-world scenarios due to a number of important yet unresolved issues. Here, we report the findings from a large data set comprising over 500 ligand transformations spanning over 300 ligands binding to a diverse set of 14 different protein targets which furnish statistically robust results on the accuracy, precision, and reproducibility of RBFE calculations. We use ensemble-based methods which are the only way to provide reliable uncertainty quantification given that the underlying molecular dynamics is chaotic. These are implemented using TIES (Thermodynamic Integration with Enhanced Sampling). Results achieve chemical accuracy in all cases. Ensemble simulations also furnish information on the statistical distributions of the free energy calculations which exhibit non-normal behavior. We find that the "enhanced sampling" method known as replica exchange with solute tempering degrades RBFE predictions. We also report definitively on numerous associated alchemical factors including the choice of ligand charge method, flexibility in ligand structure, and the size of the alchemical region including the number of atoms involved in transforming one ligand into another. Our findings provide a key set of recommendations that should be adopted for the reliable application of RBFE methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agastya
P. Bhati
- Centre
for Computational Science, Department of Chemistry, University College London, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Peter V. Coveney
- Centre
for Computational Science, Department of Chemistry, University College London, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
- Informatics
Institute, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94323, 1090 GH Amsterdam, Netherlands
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