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Novak J, Pathak P, Grishina MA, Potemkin VA. The design of compounds with desirable properties - The anti-HIV case study. J Comput Chem 2023; 44:1016-1030. [PMID: 36533526 DOI: 10.1002/jcc.27061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Efficacy and safety are among the most desirable characteristics of an ideal drug. The tremendous increase in computing power and the entry of artificial intelligence into the field of computational drug design are accelerating the process of identifying, developing, and optimizing potential drugs. Here, we present novel approach to design new molecules with desired properties. We combined various neural networks and linear regression algorithms to build models for cytotoxicity and anti-HIV activity based on Continual Molecular Interior analysis (CoMIn) and Cinderella's Shoe (CiS) derived molecular descriptors. After validating the reliability of the models, a genetic algorithm was coupled with the Des-Pot Grid algorithm to generate new molecules from a predefined pool of molecular fragments and predict their bioactivity and cytotoxicity. This combination led to the proposal of 16 hit molecules with high anti-HIV activity and low cytotoxicity. The anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of the hits was predicted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jurica Novak
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
- Center for Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
- Scientific and Educational Center "Biomedical Technologies", Higher Medical & Biological School, South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, Russia
| | - Prateek Pathak
- Laboratory of Computational Modelling of Drugs, Higher Medical & Biological School, South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, Russia
| | - Maria A Grishina
- Laboratory of Computational Modelling of Drugs, Higher Medical & Biological School, South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, Russia
| | - Vladimir A Potemkin
- Laboratory of Computational Modelling of Drugs, Higher Medical & Biological School, South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, Russia
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2
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Deepa P, Thirumeignanam D. Understanding the impact of halogen functional group (Br, Cl, F, OH) in amprenavir ligand of the HIV protease. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:12157-12170. [PMID: 36645135 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2166121] [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: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
We focused our attention towards the most dreadful disease that threatens the mankind of 20th century - Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), caused through the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and a sexually transmitted infection (STI). In this study, our foremost interest was to identify the potency and stability of HIV ligand- Amprenavir (APV) and its modelled functional group (Br, Cl, F, CF3, CH3, NH2) ligands through halogen and hydrogen bond contact, which will have a clear portrait on the structure activity of protein ligand interactions. This will assist chemist in synthesizing novel APV ligands, which are expected to inhibit the activity of HIV-1 protease enzyme. The binding strength of Amprenavir ligand with interacting hinge region amino acid side chains: Isoleucine (ILE 147, 150, 184), Valine (VAL 82), Alanine (ALA 28), Aspartic acid (25, 30, 125, 130) and Glycine (GLY 127, 149) were understood through interaction energy calculations at HF, B3LYP, M052X, MP2 level of theories for different basis set (6-311 G**, LANL2DZ). The present work will reveal an understandable picture about the halogen and hydrogen bond interaction that grip the contact of ligand and amino acids in the hinge region. Overall the Halogen atom (Br, Cl, F) functional groups improved the binding strength of APV in HIV protease; which provide a new novel path for the functional group preference on the ligand that enclose perfectly with the amino acid in the hinge region.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Palanisamy Deepa
- Department of Physics, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli, India
| | - Duraisamy Thirumeignanam
- Department of Animal Nutrition, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Tirunelveli, India
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3
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Tunc H, Dogan B, Darendeli Kiraz BN, Sari M, Durdagi S, Kotil S. Prediction of HIV-1 protease resistance using genotypic, phenotypic, and molecular information with artificial neural networks. PeerJ 2023; 11:e14987. [PMID: 36967989 PMCID: PMC10038082 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/12/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Drug resistance is a primary barrier to effective treatments of HIV/AIDS. Calculating quantitative relations between genotype and phenotype observations for each inhibitor with cell-based assays requires time and money-consuming experiments. Machine learning models are good options for tackling these problems by generalizing the available data with suitable linear or nonlinear mappings. The main aim of this study is to construct drug isolate fold (DIF) change-based artificial neural network (ANN) models for estimating the resistance potential of molecules inhibiting the HIV-1 protease (PR) enzyme. Throughout the study, seven of eight protease inhibitors (PIs) have been included in the training set and the remaining ones in the test set. We have obtained 11,803 genotype-phenotype data points for eight PIs from Stanford HIV drug resistance database. Using the leave-one-out (LVO) procedure, eight ANN models have been produced to measure the learning capacity of models from the descriptors of the inhibitors. Mean R2 value of eight ANN models for unseen inhibitors is 0.716, and the 95% confidence interval (CI) is [0.592-0.840]. Predicting the fold change resistance for hundreds of isolates allowed a robust comparison of drug pairs. These eight models have predicted the drug resistance tendencies of each inhibitor pair with the mean 2D correlation coefficient of 0.933 and 95% CI [0.930-0.938]. A classification problem has been created to predict the ordered relationship of the PIs, and the mean accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) values are calculated as 0.954, 0.791, 0.791, and 0.688, respectively. Furthermore, we have created an external test dataset consisting of 51 unique known HIV-1 PR inhibitors and 87 genotype-phenotype relations. Our developed ANN model has accuracy and area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.749 and 0.818 to predict the ordered relationships of molecules on the same strain for the external dataset. The currently derived ANN models can accurately predict the drug resistance tendencies of PI pairs. This observation could help test new inhibitors with various isolates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huseyin Tunc
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, School of Medicine, Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Berna Dogan
- Department of Medicinal Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Büşra Nur Darendeli Kiraz
- Department of Biophysics, School of Medicine, Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Department of Bioengineering, Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Murat Sari
- Department of Mathematics Engineering, Faculty of Science and Letters, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Serdar Durdagi
- Computational Biology and Molecular Simulations Laboratory, Department of Biophysics, School of Medicine, Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Seyfullah Kotil
- Department of Biophysics, School of Medicine, Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey
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4
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Khan T, Raza S. Exploration of Computational Aids for Effective Drug Designing and Management of Viral Diseases: A Comprehensive Review. Curr Top Med Chem 2023; 23:1640-1663. [PMID: 36725827 DOI: 10.2174/1568026623666230201144522] [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: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Microbial diseases, specifically originating from viruses are the major cause of human mortality all over the world. The current COVID-19 pandemic is a case in point, where the dynamics of the viral-human interactions are still not completely understood, making its treatment a case of trial and error. Scientists are struggling to devise a strategy to contain the pandemic for over a year and this brings to light the lack of understanding of how the virus grows and multiplies in the human body. METHODS This paper presents the perspective of the authors on the applicability of computational tools for deep learning and understanding of host-microbe interaction, disease progression and management, drug resistance and immune modulation through in silico methodologies which can aid in effective and selective drug development. The paper has summarized advances in the last five years. The studies published and indexed in leading databases have been included in the review. RESULTS Computational systems biology works on an interface of biology and mathematics and intends to unravel the complex mechanisms between the biological systems and the inter and intra species dynamics using computational tools, and high-throughput technologies developed on algorithms, networks and complex connections to simulate cellular biological processes. CONCLUSION Computational strategies and modelling integrate and prioritize microbial-host interactions and may predict the conditions in which the fine-tuning attenuates. These microbial-host interactions and working mechanisms are important from the aspect of effective drug designing and fine- tuning the therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tahmeena Khan
- Department of Chemistry, Integral University, Lucknow, 226026, U.P., India
| | - Saman Raza
- Department of Chemistry, Isabella Thoburn College, Lucknow, 226007, U.P., India
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5
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Puch-Giner I, Molina A, Municoy M, Pérez C, Guallar V. Recent PELE Developments and Applications in Drug Discovery Campaigns. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232416090. [PMID: 36555731 PMCID: PMC9788188 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232416090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Computer simulation techniques are gaining a central role in molecular pharmacology. Due to several factors, including the significant improvements of traditional molecular modelling, the irruption of machine learning methods, the massive data generation, or the unlimited computational resources through cloud computing, the future of pharmacology seems to go hand in hand with in silico predictions. In this review, we summarize our recent efforts in such a direction, centered on the unconventional Monte Carlo PELE software and on its coupling with machine learning techniques. We also provide new data on combining two recent new techniques, aquaPELE capable of exhaustive water sampling and fragPELE, for fragment growing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignasi Puch-Giner
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Plaça d’Eusebi Güell, 1-3, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alexis Molina
- Nostrum Biodiscovery S.L., Av. de Josep Tarradellas, 8-10, 3-2, 08029 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Martí Municoy
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Plaça d’Eusebi Güell, 1-3, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
- Nostrum Biodiscovery S.L., Av. de Josep Tarradellas, 8-10, 3-2, 08029 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carles Pérez
- Nostrum Biodiscovery S.L., Av. de Josep Tarradellas, 8-10, 3-2, 08029 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Victor Guallar
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Plaça d’Eusebi Güell, 1-3, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
- Nostrum Biodiscovery S.L., Av. de Josep Tarradellas, 8-10, 3-2, 08029 Barcelona, Spain
- Correspondence:
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Prediction and molecular field view of drug resistance in HIV-1 protease mutants. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2913. [PMID: 35190671 PMCID: PMC8861105 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-07012-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Conquering the mutational drug resistance is a great challenge in anti-HIV drug development and therapy. Quantitatively predicting the mutational drug resistance in molecular level and elucidating the three dimensional structure-resistance relationships for anti-HIV drug targets will help to improve the understanding of the drug resistance mechanism and aid the design of resistance evading inhibitors. Here the MB-QSAR (Mutation-dependent Biomacromolecular Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship) method was employed to predict the molecular drug resistance of HIV-1 protease mutants towards six drugs, and to depict the structure resistance relationships in HIV-1 protease mutants. MB-QSAR models were constructed based on a published data set of Ki values for HIV-1 protease mutants against drugs. Reliable MB-QSAR models were achieved and these models display both well internal and external prediction abilities. Interpreting the MB-QSAR models supplied structural information related to the drug resistance as well as the guidance for the design of resistance evading drugs. This work showed that MB-QSAR method can be employed to predict the resistance of HIV-1 protease caused by polymorphic mutations, which offer a fast and accurate method for the prediction of other drug target within the context of 3D structures.
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Municoy M, Roda S, Soler D, Soutullo A, Guallar V. aquaPELE: A Monte Carlo-Based Algorithm to Sample the Effects of Buried Water Molecules in Proteins. J Chem Theory Comput 2020; 16:7655-7670. [PMID: 33201691 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.0c00925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Water is frequently found inside proteins, carrying out important roles in catalytic reactions or molecular recognition tasks. Therefore, computational models that aim to study protein-ligand interactions usually have to include water effects through explicit or implicit approaches to obtain reliable results. While full explicit models might be too computationally daunting for some applications, implicit models are normally faster but omit some of the most important contributions of water. This is the case of our in-house software, called protein energy landscape exploration (PELE), which uses implicit models to speed up conformational explorations as much as possible; the lack of explicit water sampling, however, limits its model. In this work, we confront this problem with the development of aquaPELE. It is a new algorithm that extends the exploration capabilities while keeping efficiency as it employs a mixed implicit/explicit approach to also take into account the effects of buried water molecules. With an additional Monte Carlo (MC) routine, a set of explicit water molecules is perturbed inside protein cavities and their effects are dynamically adjusted to the current state of the system. As a result, this implementation can be used to predict the principal hydration sites or the rearrangement and displacement of conserved water molecules upon the binding of a ligand. We benchmarked this new tool focusing on estimating ligand binding modes and hydration sites in cavities with important interfacial water molecules, according to crystallographic structures. Results suggest that aquaPELE sets a fast and reliable alternative for molecular recognition studies in systems with a strong water-dependency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martí Municoy
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Jordi Girona 29, E-08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sergi Roda
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Jordi Girona 29, E-08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Daniel Soler
- Nostrum Biodiscovery, Jordi Girona 29, Nexus II D128, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alberto Soutullo
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Jordi Girona 29, E-08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Victor Guallar
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Jordi Girona 29, E-08034 Barcelona, Spain.,ICREA, Passeig Lluís Companys 23, E-08010 Barcelona, Spain
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8
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Predicting Antibody Neutralization Efficacy in Hypermutated Epitopes Using Monte Carlo Simulations. Polymers (Basel) 2020; 12:polym12102392. [PMID: 33080783 PMCID: PMC7602999 DOI: 10.3390/polym12102392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Revised: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 (HIV-1) evades adaptive immunity by means of its extremely high mutation rate, which allows the HIV envelope glycoprotein to continuously escape from the action of antibodies. However, some broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) targeting specific viral regions show the ability to block the infectivity of a large number of viral variants. The discovery of these antibodies opens new avenues in anti-HIV therapy; however, they are still suboptimal tools as their amplitude of action ranges between 50% and 90% of viral variants. In this context, being able to discriminate between sensitive and resistant strains to an antibody would be of great interest for the design of optimal clinical antibody treatments and to engineer potent bNAbs for clinical use. Here, we describe a hierarchical procedure to predict the antibody neutralization efficacy of multiple viral isolates to three well-known anti-CD4bs bNAbs: VRC01, NIH45-46 and 3BNC117. Our method consists of simulating the three-dimensional binding process between the gp120 and the antibody by using Protein Energy Landscape Exploration (PELE), a Monte Carlo stochastic approach. Our results clearly indicate that the binding profiles of sensitive and resistant strains to a bNAb behave differently, showing the latter’s weaker binding profiles, that can be exploited for predicting antibody neutralization efficacy in hypermutated HIV-1 strains.
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9
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Bastys T, Gapsys V, Walter H, Heger E, Doncheva NT, Kaiser R, de Groot BL, Kalinina OV. Non-active site mutants of HIV-1 protease influence resistance and sensitisation towards protease inhibitors. Retrovirology 2020; 17:13. [PMID: 32430025 PMCID: PMC7236880 DOI: 10.1186/s12977-020-00520-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background HIV-1 can develop resistance to antiretroviral drugs, mainly through mutations within the target regions of the drugs. In HIV-1 protease, a majority of resistance-associated mutations that develop in response to therapy with protease inhibitors are found in the protease’s active site that serves also as a binding pocket for the protease inhibitors, thus directly impacting the protease-inhibitor interactions. Some resistance-associated mutations, however, are found in more distant regions, and the exact mechanisms how these mutations affect protease-inhibitor interactions are unclear. Furthermore, some of these mutations, e.g. N88S and L76V, do not only induce resistance to the currently administered drugs, but contrarily induce sensitivity towards other drugs. In this study, mutations N88S and L76V, along with three other resistance-associated mutations, M46I, I50L, and I84V, are analysed by means of molecular dynamics simulations to investigate their role in complexes of the protease with different inhibitors and in different background sequence contexts. Results Using these simulations for alchemical calculations to estimate the effects of mutations M46I, I50L, I84V, N88S, and L76V on binding free energies shows they are in general in line with the mutations’ effect on \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$IC_{50}$$\end{document}IC50 values. For the primary mutation L76V, however, the presence of a background mutation M46I in our analysis influences whether the unfavourable effect of L76V on inhibitor binding is sufficient to outweigh the accompanying reduction in catalytic activity of the protease. Finally, we show that L76V and N88S changes the hydrogen bond stability of these residues with residues D30/K45 and D30/T31/T74, respectively. Conclusions We demonstrate that estimating the effect of both binding pocket and distant mutations on inhibitor binding free energy using alchemical calculations can reproduce their effect on the experimentally measured \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$IC_{50}$$\end{document}IC50 values. We show that distant site mutations L76V and N88S affect the hydrogen bond network in the protease’s active site, which offers an explanation for the indirect effect of these mutations on inhibitor binding. This work thus provides valuable insights on interplay between primary and background mutations and mechanisms how they affect inhibitor binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomas Bastys
- Department for Computational Biology and Applied Algorithmics, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, 66123, Saarbrücken, Germany.,Saarbrücken Graduate School of Computer Science, University of Saarland, 66123, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Vytautas Gapsys
- Computational Biomolecular Dynamics Group, Department of Theoretical and Computational Biophysics, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Hauke Walter
- Medizinisches Labor Stendal, 39576, Stendal, Germany
| | - Eva Heger
- Institute of Virology, University of Cologne, 50935, Cologne, Germany
| | - Nadezhda T Doncheva
- Department for Computational Biology and Applied Algorithmics, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, 66123, Saarbrücken, Germany.,Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Rolf Kaiser
- Institute of Virology, University of Cologne, 50935, Cologne, Germany
| | - Bert L de Groot
- Computational Biomolecular Dynamics Group, Department of Theoretical and Computational Biophysics, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Olga V Kalinina
- Department for Computational Biology and Applied Algorithmics, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, 66123, Saarbrücken, Germany. .,Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), 66123, Saarbrücken, Germany. .,Faculty of Medicine, Saarland University, 66421, Homburg, Germany.
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10
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Díaz L, Soler D, Tresadern G, Buyck C, Perez-Benito L, Saen-Oon S, Guallar V, Soliva R. Monte Carlo simulations using PELE to identify a protein-protein inhibitor binding site and pose. RSC Adv 2020; 10:7058-7064. [PMID: 35493910 PMCID: PMC9049779 DOI: 10.1039/d0ra01127d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 02/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In silico binding site location and pose prediction for a molecule targeted at a large protein surface is a challenging task. We report a blind test with two peptidomimetic molecules that bind the flu virus hemagglutinin (HA) surface antigen, JNJ7918 and JNJ4796 (recently disclosed in van Dongen et al., Science, 2019, 363). Tests with a series of conventional approaches such as rigid (receptor) docking against available X-ray crystal structures or against an ensemble of structures generated by quick methodologies (NMA, homology modeling) gave mixed results, due to the shallowness and flexibility of the binding site and the sheer size of the target. However, tests with our Monte Carlo platform PELE in two protocols involving either exploration of the whole protein surface (global exploration), or the latter followed by refinement of best solutions (local exploration) yielded remarkably good results by locating the actual binding site and generating binding modes that recovered all native contacts found in the X-ray structures. Thus, the Monte Carlo scheme of PELE seems promising as a quick methodology to overcome the challenge of identifying entirely unknown binding sites and modes for protein–protein disruptors. PELE prospectively unveils the binding site and mode of a protein–protein disruptor.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucía Díaz
- Nostrum Biodiscovery Jordi Girona 29, Nexus II D128 08034 Barcelona Spain
| | - Daniel Soler
- Nostrum Biodiscovery Jordi Girona 29, Nexus II D128 08034 Barcelona Spain
| | - Gary Tresadern
- Computational Chemistry, Janssen Research & Development, Janssen Pharmaceutica N. V. Turnhoutseweg 30, B-2340 Beerse Belgium
| | - Christophe Buyck
- Computational Chemistry, Janssen Research & Development, Janssen Pharmaceutica N. V. Turnhoutseweg 30, B-2340 Beerse Belgium
| | - Laura Perez-Benito
- Computational Chemistry, Janssen Research & Development, Janssen Pharmaceutica N. V. Turnhoutseweg 30, B-2340 Beerse Belgium
| | - Suwipa Saen-Oon
- Nostrum Biodiscovery Jordi Girona 29, Nexus II D128 08034 Barcelona Spain
| | - Victor Guallar
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Join IRB-BSC Program in Computational Biology Spain.,ICREA Passeig Lluís Companys 23 E-08010 Barcelona Spain
| | - Robert Soliva
- Nostrum Biodiscovery Jordi Girona 29, Nexus II D128 08034 Barcelona Spain
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11
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Deeks HM, Walters RK, Hare SR, O’Connor MB, Mulholland AJ, Glowacki DR. Interactive molecular dynamics in virtual reality for accurate flexible protein-ligand docking. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0228461. [PMID: 32160194 PMCID: PMC7065745 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 01/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Simulating drug binding and unbinding is a challenge, as the rugged energy landscapes that separate bound and unbound states require extensive sampling that consumes significant computational resources. Here, we describe the use of interactive molecular dynamics in virtual reality (iMD-VR) as an accurate low-cost strategy for flexible protein-ligand docking. We outline an experimental protocol which enables expert iMD-VR users to guide ligands into and out of the binding pockets of trypsin, neuraminidase, and HIV-1 protease, and recreate their respective crystallographic protein-ligand binding poses within 5-10 minutes. Following a brief training phase, our studies shown that iMD-VR novices were able to generate unbinding and rebinding pathways on similar timescales as iMD-VR experts, with the majority able to recover binding poses within 2.15 Å RMSD of the crystallographic binding pose. These results indicate that iMD-VR affords sufficient control for users to carry out the detailed atomic manipulations required to dock flexible ligands into dynamic enzyme active sites and recover crystallographic poses, offering an interesting new approach for simulating drug docking and generating binding hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen M. Deeks
- Intangible Realities Laboratory, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
| | - Rebecca K. Walters
- Intangible Realities Laboratory, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
| | - Stephanie R. Hare
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
| | - Michael B. O’Connor
- Intangible Realities Laboratory, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
| | - Adrian J. Mulholland
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (AJM); (DRG)
| | - David R. Glowacki
- Intangible Realities Laboratory, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (AJM); (DRG)
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12
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Sheng Z, Sun Y, Yin Z, Tang K, Cao Z. Advances in computational approaches in identifying synergistic drug combinations. Brief Bioinform 2019; 19:1172-1182. [PMID: 28475767 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbx047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Accumulated empirical clinical experience, supported by animal or cell line models, has initiated efforts of predicting synergistic combinatorial drugs with more-than-additive effect compared with the sum of the individual agents. Aiming to construct better computational models, this review started from the latest updated data resources of combinatorial drugs, then summarized the reported mechanism of the known synergistic combinations from aspects of drug molecular and pharmacological patterns, target network properties and compound functional annotation. Based on above, we focused on the main in silico strategies recently published, covering methods of molecular modeling, mathematical simulation, optimization of combinatorial targets and pattern-based statistical/learning model. Future thoughts are also discussed related to the role of natural compounds, drug combination with immunotherapy and management of adverse effects. Overall, with particular emphasis on mechanism of action of drug synergy, this review may serve as a rapid reference to design improved models for combinational drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Sheng
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University
| | - Yi Sun
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University
| | - Zuojing Yin
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University
| | - Kailin Tang
- Advanced Institute of Translational Medicine, Tongji University
| | - Zhiwei Cao
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University
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13
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Li Y, Netherland MD, Zhang C, Hong H, Gong P. In silico identification of genetic mutations conferring resistance to acetohydroxyacid synthase inhibitors: A case study of Kochia scoparia. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0216116. [PMID: 31063467 PMCID: PMC6504096 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2018] [Accepted: 04/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Mutations that confer herbicide resistance are a primary concern for herbicide-based chemical control of invasive plants and are often under-characterized structurally and functionally. As the outcome of selection pressure, resistance mutations usually result from repeated long-term applications of herbicides with the same mode of action and are discovered through extensive field trials. Here we used acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS) of Kochia scoparia (KsAHAS) as an example to demonstrate that, given the sequence of a target protein, the impact of genetic mutations on ligand binding could be evaluated and resistance mutations could be identified using a biophysics-based computational approach. Briefly, the 3D structures of wild-type (WT) and mutated KsAHAS-herbicide complexes were constructed by homology modeling, docking and molecular dynamics simulation. The resistance profile of two AHAS-inhibiting herbicides, tribenuron methyl and thifensulfuron methyl, was obtained by estimating their binding affinity with 29 KsAHAS (1 WT and 28 mutated) using 6 molecular mechanical (MM) and 18 hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) methods in combination with three structure sampling strategies. By comparing predicted resistance with experimentally determined resistance in the 29 biotypes of K. scoparia field populations, we identified the best method (i.e., MM-PBSA with single structure) out of all tested methods for the herbicide-KsAHAS system, which exhibited the highest accuracy (up to 100%) in discerning mutations conferring resistance or susceptibility to the two AHAS inhibitors. Our results suggest that the in silico approach has the potential to be widely adopted for assessing mutation-endowed herbicide resistance on a case-by-case basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Li
- Bennett Aerospace, Inc., Cary, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Michael D. Netherland
- Environmental Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi, United States of America
| | - Chaoyang Zhang
- School of Computing Sciences and Computer Engineering, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States of America
| | - Huixiao Hong
- Division of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, Arkansas, United States of America
| | - Ping Gong
- Environmental Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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14
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Gilabert JF, Lecina D, Estrada J, Guallar V. Monte Carlo Techniques for Drug Design: The Success Case of PELE. BIOMOLECULAR SIMULATIONS IN STRUCTURE-BASED DRUG DISCOVERY 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/9783527806836.ch5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Joan F. Gilabert
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC); Life Science Department; Jordi Girona 29 08034 Barcelona Spain
| | - Daniel Lecina
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC); Life Science Department; Jordi Girona 29 08034 Barcelona Spain
| | - Jorge Estrada
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC); Life Science Department; Jordi Girona 29 08034 Barcelona Spain
| | - Victor Guallar
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC); Life Science Department; Jordi Girona 29 08034 Barcelona Spain
- ICREA; Passeig Lluís Companys 23 08010 Barcelona Spain
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15
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Kaserer T, Blagg J. Combining Mutational Signatures, Clonal Fitness, and Drug Affinity to Define Drug-Specific Resistance Mutations in Cancer. Cell Chem Biol 2018; 25:1359-1371.e2. [PMID: 30146241 PMCID: PMC6242700 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2018.07.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2018] [Revised: 06/12/2018] [Accepted: 07/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The emergence of mutations that confer resistance to molecularly targeted therapeutics is dependent upon the effect of each mutation on drug affinity for the target protein, the clonal fitness of cells harboring the mutation, and the probability that each variant can be generated by DNA codon base mutation. We present a computational workflow that combines these three factors to identify mutations likely to arise upon drug treatment in a particular tumor type. The Osprey-based workflow is validated using a comprehensive dataset of ERK2 mutations and is applied to small-molecule drugs and/or therapeutic antibodies targeting KIT, EGFR, Abl, and ALK. We identify major clinically observed drug-resistant mutations for drug-target pairs and highlight the potential to prospectively identify probable drug resistance mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Kaserer
- Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SM2 5NG, UK.
| | - Julian Blagg
- Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SM2 5NG, UK.
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16
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Kotev M, Pascual R, Almansa C, Guallar V, Soliva R. Pushing the Limits of Computational Structure-Based Drug Design with a Cryo-EM Structure: The Ca 2+ Channel α2δ-1 Subunit as a Test Case. J Chem Inf Model 2018; 58:1707-1715. [PMID: 30053380 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.8b00347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is emerging as a real alternative for structural elucidation. In spite of this, very few cryo-EM structures have been described so far as successful platforms for in silico drug design. Gabapentin and pregabalin are some of the most successful drugs in the treatment of epilepsy and neuropathic pain. Although both are in clinical use and are known to exert their effects by binding to the regulatory α2δ subunit of voltage gated calcium channels, their binding modes have never been characterized. We describe here the successful use of an exhaustive protein-ligand sampling algorithm on the α2δ-1 subunit of the recently published cryo-EM structure, with the goal of characterizing the ligand entry path and binding mode for gabapentin, pregabalin, and several other amino acidic α2δ-1 ligands. Our studies indicate that (i) all simulated drugs explore the same path for accessing the occluded binding site on the interior of the α2δ-1 subunit; (ii) they all roughly occupy the same pocket; (iii) the plasticity of the binding site allows the accommodation of a variety of amino acidic modulators, driven by the flexible "capping loop" delineated by residues Tyr426-Val435 and the floppy nature of Arg217; (iv) the predicted binding modes are in line with previously available mutagenesis data, confirming Arg217 as key for binding, with Asp428 and Asp467 highlighted as additional anchoring points for all amino acidic drugs. The study is one of the first proofs that latest-generation cryo-EM structures combined with exhaustive computational methods can be exploited in early drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Kotev
- Nostrum Biodiscovery , Jordi Girona 29, Nexus II D128 , 08034 Barcelona , Spain
| | - Rosalia Pascual
- Esteve Pharmaceuticals S.A., Drug Discovery and Preclinical Development , Carrer Baldiri Reixac, 4-8. Parc Científic de Barcelona , 08028 Barcelona , Spain
| | - Carmen Almansa
- Esteve Pharmaceuticals S.A., Drug Discovery and Preclinical Development , Carrer Baldiri Reixac, 4-8. Parc Científic de Barcelona , 08028 Barcelona , Spain
| | - Victor Guallar
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) , Jordi Girona 29 , E-08034 Barcelona , Spain.,ICREA , Passeig Lluís Companys 23 , E-08010 Barcelona , Spain
| | - Robert Soliva
- Nostrum Biodiscovery , Jordi Girona 29, Nexus II D128 , 08034 Barcelona , Spain
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17
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Iglesias J, Saen‐oon S, Soliva R, Guallar V. Computational structure‐based drug design: Predicting target flexibility. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR SCIENCE 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/wcms.1367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Victor Guallar
- Life Science DepartmentBarcelonaSpain
- ICREA, Passeig Lluís Companys 23BarcelonaSpain
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18
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Albanaz ATS, Rodrigues CHM, Pires DEV, Ascher DB. Combating mutations in genetic disease and drug resistance: understanding molecular mechanisms to guide drug design. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2017; 12:553-563. [PMID: 28490289 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2017.1322579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Mutations introduce diversity into genomes, leading to selective changes and driving evolution. These changes have contributed to the emergence of many of the current major health concerns of the 21st century, from the development of genetic diseases and cancers to the rise and spread of drug resistance. The experimental systematic testing of all mutations in a system of interest is impractical and not cost-effective, which has created interest in the development of computational tools to understand the molecular consequences of mutations to aid and guide rational experimentation. Areas covered: Here, the authors discuss the recent development of computational methods to understand the effects of coding mutations to protein function and interactions, particularly in the context of the 3D structure of the protein. Expert opinion: While significant progress has been made in terms of innovative tools to understand and quantify the different range of effects in which a mutation or a set of mutations can give rise to a phenotype, a great gap still exists when integrating these predictions and drawing causality conclusions linking variants. This often requires a detailed understanding of the system being perturbed. However, as part of the drug development process it can be used preemptively in a similar fashion to pharmacokinetics predictions, to guide development of therapeutics to help guide the design and analysis of clinical trials, patient treatment and public health policy strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda T S Albanaz
- a Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, FIOCRUZ , Belo Horizonte , MG , Brazil.,b Department of Biochemistry and Immunology , Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais , Belo Horizonte , Minas Gerais , Brazil
| | - Carlos H M Rodrigues
- a Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, FIOCRUZ , Belo Horizonte , MG , Brazil.,b Department of Biochemistry and Immunology , Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais , Belo Horizonte , Minas Gerais , Brazil
| | - Douglas E V Pires
- a Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, FIOCRUZ , Belo Horizonte , MG , Brazil
| | - David B Ascher
- a Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, FIOCRUZ , Belo Horizonte , MG , Brazil.,c Department of Biochemistry , University of Cambridge , Cambridge , Cambridgeshire , UK.,d Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , University of Melbourne , Melbourne , Victoria , Australia
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19
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Challenges of docking in large, flexible and promiscuous binding sites. Bioorg Med Chem 2016; 24:4961-4969. [PMID: 27545443 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2016.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2016] [Revised: 08/05/2016] [Accepted: 08/06/2016] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
After decades of work, the correct determination of the binding mode of a small molecule into a target protein is still a challenging problem, whose difficulty depends on: (i) the sizes of the binding site and the ligand; (ii) the flexibility of both interacting partners, and (iii) the differential solvation of bound and unbound partners. We have evaluated the performance of standard rigid(receptor)/flexible(ligand) docking approaches with respect to last-generation fully flexible docking methods to obtain reasonable poses in a very challenging case: soluble Epoxide Hydrolase (sEH), a flexible protein showing different binding sites. We found that full description of the flexibility of both protein and ligand and accurate description of solvation leads to significant improvement in the ability of docking to reproduce well known binding modes, and at the same time capture the intrinsic binding promiscuity of the protein.
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