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Paciotti R, Re N, Storchi L. Combining the Fragment Molecular Orbital and GRID Approaches for the Prediction of Ligand-Metalloenzyme Binding Affinity: The Case Study of hCA II Inhibitors. Molecules 2024; 29:3600. [PMID: 39125005 PMCID: PMC11313991 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29153600] [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: 06/27/2024] [Revised: 07/18/2024] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Polarization and charge-transfer interactions play an important role in ligand-receptor complexes containing metals, and only quantum mechanics methods can adequately describe their contribution to the binding energy. In this work, we selected a set of benzenesulfonamide ligands of human Carbonic Anhydrase II (hCA II)-an important druggable target containing a Zn2+ ion in the active site-as a case study to predict the binding free energy in metalloprotein-ligand complexes and designed specialized computational methods that combine the ab initio fragment molecular orbital (FMO) method and GRID approach. To reproduce the experimental binding free energy in these systems, we adopted a machine-learning approach, here named formula generator (FG), considering different FMO energy terms, the hydrophobic interaction energy (computed by GRID) and logP. The main advantage of the FG approach is that it can find nonlinear relations between the energy terms used to predict the binding free energy, explicitly showing their mathematical relation. This work showed the effectiveness of the FG approach, and therefore, it might represent an important tool for the development of new scoring functions. Indeed, our scoring function showed a high correlation with the experimental binding free energy (R2 = 0.76-0.95, RMSE = 0.34-0.18), revealing a nonlinear relation between energy terms and highlighting the relevant role played by hydrophobic contacts. These results, along with the FMO characterization of ligand-receptor interactions, represent important information to support the design of new and potent hCA II inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Paciotti
- Department of Pharmacy, Università “G. D’Annunzio” Di Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (N.R.); (L.S.)
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Amanat M, Ud Daula AFMS, Singh R. Potential Antidiabetic Activity of β-sitosterol from Zingiber roseum Rosc. via Modulation of Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor Gamma (PPARγ). Comb Chem High Throughput Screen 2024; 27:1676-1699. [PMID: 38305397 DOI: 10.2174/0113862073260323231120134826] [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: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
AIM To evaluate the antidiabetic potential of β-sitosterol from Zingiber roseum. BACKGROUND Diabetes mellitus is a cluster of metabolic disorders, and 90% of diabetic patients are affected with Type II diabetes (DM2). For the treatment of DM2, thiazolidinedione drugs (TZDs) were proposed, but recent studies have shown that TZDs have several detrimental effects, such as weight gain, kidney enlargement (hypertrophy), fluid retention, increased risk of bone fractures, and potential harm to the liver (hepatotoxicity). That is why a new molecule is needed to treat DM2. OBJECTIVE The current research aimed to assess the efficacy of β-Sitosterol from methanolic extract of Zingiber roseum in managing diabetes via PPARγ modulation. METHODS Zingiber roseum was extracted using methanol, and GC-MS was employed to analyze the extract. Through homology modeling, PPARγ structure was predicted. Molecular docking, MD simulation, free binding energies, QSAR, ADMET, and bioactivity and toxicity scores were all used during the in-depth computer-based research. RESULTS Clinically, agonists of synthetic thiazolidinedione (TZDs) have been used therapeutically to treat DM2, but these TZDs are associated with significant risks. Hence, GC-MS identified phytochemicals to search for a new PPAR-γ agonist. Based on the in-silico investigation, β-sitosterol was found to have a higher binding affinity (-8.9 kcal/mol) than standard drugs. MD simulations and MMGBSA analysis also demonstrated that β-sitosterol bound to the PPAR-γ active site stably. CONCLUSION It can be concluded that β-sitosterol from Z. roseum attenuates Type-II diabetes by modulating PPARγ activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammed Amanat
- Department of Pharmacology, Central University of Punjab, Ghudda, Bathinda-151401, India
| | - A F M Shahid Ud Daula
- Department of Pharmacy, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali, Sonapur-3814, Bangladesh
| | - Randhir Singh
- Department of Pharmacology, Central University of Punjab, Ghudda, Bathinda-151401, India
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3
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Szél V, Zsidó BZ, Jeszenői N, Hetényi C. Target-ligand binding affinity from single point enthalpy calculation and elemental composition. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:31714-31725. [PMID: 37964670 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp04483a] [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: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
Reliable target-ligand binding thermodynamics data are essential for successful drug design and molecular engineering projects. Besides experimental methods, a number of theoretical approaches have been introduced for the generation of binding thermodynamics data. However, available approaches often neglect electronic effects or explicit water molecules influencing target-ligand interactions. To handle electronic effects within a reasonable time frame, we introduce a fast calculator QMH-L using a single target-ligand complex structure pre-optimized at the molecular mechanics level. QMH-L is composed of the semi-empirical quantum mechanics calculation of binding enthalpy with predicted explicit water molecules at the complex interface, and a simple descriptor based on the elemental composition of the ligand. QMH-L estimates the target-ligand binding free energy with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.94 kcal mol-1. The calculations also provide binding enthalpy values and they were compared with experimental binding thermodynamics data collected from the most reliable isothermal titration calorimetry studies of systems including various protein targets and challenging, large peptide ligands with a molecular weight of up to 2-3 thousand. The single point enthalpy calculations of QMH-L require modest computational resources and are based on short runs with open source and/or free software like Gromacs, Mopac, MobyWat, and Fragmenter. QMH-L can be applied for fast, automated scoring of drug candidates during a virtual screen, enthalpic engineering of new ligands or thermodynamic explanation of complex interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viktor Szél
- Pharmacoinformatics Unit, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Medical School, University of Pécs, Szigeti út 12, 7624 Pécs, Hungary.
| | - Balázs Zoltán Zsidó
- Pharmacoinformatics Unit, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Medical School, University of Pécs, Szigeti út 12, 7624 Pécs, Hungary.
| | - Norbert Jeszenői
- Pharmacoinformatics Unit, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Medical School, University of Pécs, Szigeti út 12, 7624 Pécs, Hungary.
| | - Csaba Hetényi
- Pharmacoinformatics Unit, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Medical School, University of Pécs, Szigeti út 12, 7624 Pécs, Hungary.
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Ali A, Wani AB, Malla BA, Poyya J, Dar NJ, Ali F, Ahmad SB, Rehman MU, Nadeem A. Network Pharmacology Integrated Molecular Docking and Dynamics to Elucidate Saffron Compounds Targeting Human COX-2 Protein. MEDICINA (KAUNAS, LITHUANIA) 2023; 59:2058. [PMID: 38138161 PMCID: PMC10744988 DOI: 10.3390/medicina59122058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 11/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is mostly linked to inflammation and has been validated as a molecular target for treating inflammatory diseases. The present study aimed to identify novel compounds that could inhibit COX-2, which is associated with various diseases including inflammation, and in such a scenario, plant-derived biomolecules have been considered as attractive candidates. Materials and Methods: In the present study, physiochemical properties and toxicity of natural compounds/drugs were determined by SWISSADME and ProTox-II. In the present study, the molecular docking binding features of saffron derivatives (crocetin, picrocrocin, quercetin, safranal, crocin, rutin, and dimethylcrocetin) against human COX-2 protein were assessed. Moreover, protein-protein interactions, topographic properties, gene enrichment analysis and molecular dynamics simulation were also determined. Results: The present study revealed that picrocrocin showed the highest binding affinity of -8.1 kcal/mol when docked against the COX-2 protein. PROCHECK analysis revealed that 90.3% of the protein residues were found in the most favored region. Compartmentalized Protein-Protein Interaction identified 90 interactions with an average interaction score of 0.62, and the highest localization score of 0.99 found in secretory pathways. The Computed Atlas of Surface Topography of Proteins was used to identify binding pockets and important residues that could serve as drug targets. Use of WEBnmα revealed protein dynamics by using normal mode analysis. Ligand and Receptor Dynamics used the Molecular Generalized Born Surface Area approach to determine the binding free energy of the protein. Gene enrichment analysis revealed that ovarian steroidogenesis, was the most significant enrichment pathway. Molecular dynamic simulations were executed for the best docked (COX-2-picrocrocin) complex, and the results displayed conformational alterations with more pronounced surface residue fluctuations in COX-2 with loss of the intra-protein hydrogen bonding network. The direct interaction of picrocrocin with various crucial amino-acid residues like GLN203, TYR385, HIS386 and 388, ASN382, and TRP387 causes modifications in these residues, which ultimately attenuates the activity of COX-2 protein. Conclusions: The present study revealed that picrocrocin was the most effective biomolecule and could be repurposed via computational approaches. However, various in vivo and in vitro observations are still needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aarif Ali
- Division of Veterinary Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences & Animal Husbandry, SKUAST-K, Shuhama, Alusteng, Srinagar 190006, India
| | - Amir Bashir Wani
- Genome Engineering and Societal Biotechnology Lab., Division of Plant Biotechnology, SKUAST-K, Shalimar, Srinagar 190006, India;
| | - Bashir Ahmad Malla
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences, University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar 190006, India;
| | - Jagadeesha Poyya
- SDM Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Dharwad 580009, India
| | - Nawab John Dar
- SALK Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92037, USA;
| | - Fasil Ali
- Department of Studies and Research in Biochemistry, Mangalore University, Mangalore 571232, India
| | - Sheikh Bilal Ahmad
- Division of Veterinary Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences & Animal Husbandry, SKUAST-K, Shuhama, Alusteng, Srinagar 190006, India
| | - Muneeb U. Rehman
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Ahmed Nadeem
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
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5
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Islam F, Islam MS, Ahmed K, Amanat M. Unveiling the Anthelminthic Potential of Merremia vitifolia Stem through in Vitro and in Silico Approach. Chem Biodivers 2023; 20:e202300860. [PMID: 37715726 DOI: 10.1002/cbdv.202300860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/18/2023]
Abstract
This study aimed to assess the anthelmintic activity of methanol extracts from Merremia vitifolia stems using a combination approach encompassing experimental, in vitro, and in silico evaluations. Despite the well-recognized pharmacological properties of M. vitifolia, its potential as an anthelmintic agent remained unexplored. This plant's anthelmintic potential was assessed on adult earthworms (Pheretima posthuma), revealing a dose-dependent reduction in spontaneous motility leading to paralysis and eventual mortality. The most effective dose of M. vitifolia (200 mg/ml) for anthelmintic effects on Pheretima posthuma was identified. Complementary in silico investigations were also conducted, employing Autodock PyRx 0.8 for docking studies of reported M. vitifolia compounds. Notably, quercetin emerged as a promising candidate with superior binding energies against β-tubulin (-8.3 Kcal/mol). Moreover, this comprehensive research underlines the anthelmintic potential of Merremia vitifolia stem extract and highlights quercetin as a noteworthy compound for further investigation in the quest for novel anthelmintic agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fakhrul Islam
- M. Pharm, Department of Pharmacy, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Sonapur, Noakhali, 3814, Bangladesh
| | - Mohammad Shariful Islam
- M. Pharm, Department of Pharmacy, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Sonapur, Noakhali, 3814, Bangladesh
| | - Kawser Ahmed
- M. Pharm, Department of Pharmacy, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Sonapur, Noakhali, 3814, Bangladesh
| | - Muhammed Amanat
- PhD Scholar, Department of Pharmacology, Central University of Punjab, Ghudda, Bathinda, 151401, India
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Mohapatra PK, Chopdar KS, Dash GC, Mohanty AK, Raval MK. In silico screening and covalent binding of phytochemicals of Ocimum sanctum against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID 19) main protease. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:435-444. [PMID: 34821198 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2021.2007170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has compelled the scientific community to search for an effective drug that can cure or a vaccine that can prevent the disease. Alternatively, symptomatic treatment and traditional immunity boosters are prescribed. Holy Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) has been known as an ancient remedy for cure of common cold and respiratory ailment. Several reports have come on virtual screening of phytochemicals including those of Tulsi against various enzymes of the virus. We undertook in silico analysis of the ethanol extracted phytochemicals of Tulsi as inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 (2019-nCoV) main protease with an approach to look into the possibility of covalent ligand binding with the catalytic residue Cys145, which makes the report unique. The results suggest that the flavonoids and polyphenolic compounds of Tulsi, have potential to covalently bind to the catalytic residue Cys145 of main protease and irreversibly inhibit the viral enzyme. Luteolin-7-O-glucuronide is specially considered for its optimum properties, namely, low toxicity (LD50 5000 mg/kg body weight), high drug-likeness score (0.71), the active site binding free energy (ΔGbind) -19.19 kcal/mol by GBSA method and covalent binding energy -24.23 kcal/mol. Further experimental validations are required to establish the theoretical findings.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Abhay Kumar Mohanty
- AI/ML Centre of Excellence, Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, CV Raman Global University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Mukesh Kumar Raval
- School of Chemistry, Gangadhar Meher University, Sambalpur, Odisha, India
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7
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Řezáč J, Stewart JJP. How well do semiempirical QM methods describe the structure of proteins? J Chem Phys 2023; 158:044118. [PMID: 36725526 DOI: 10.1063/5.0135091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Semiempirical quantum-mechanical (QM) computational methods are an increasingly popular tool for the study of biomolecular systems. They were, however, developed and tested mostly on small model molecules. In this work, we explore one topic fundamental to these applications: the ability of the methods to describe the structure of proteins. In a set of 19 proteins for which a crystal structure with very high resolution is available, we analyze the properties of the protein geometries optimized using several semiempirical QM methods including PM6-D3H4, PM7, and GFN2-xTB. Some of the methods provide a very good description of the general structural features of the protein, yielding results better than or comparable to the AMBER ff03 force field. However, PM7 and PM6-D3H4 optimizations introduce artificial close contacts in the structure, which is partially remediated by reparameterization.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Řezáč
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, 16000 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - J J P Stewart
- Stewart Computational Chemistry, 15210 Paddington Circle, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921, USA
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8
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Cañellas F, Verma V, Kujawski J, Geertman R, Tajber L, Padrela L. Controlling the Polymorphism of Indomethacin with Poloxamer 407 in a Gas Antisolvent Crystallization Process. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:43945-43957. [PMID: 36506150 PMCID: PMC9730483 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c05259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The polymorphic control of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is a major challenge in the manufacture of medicines. Crystallization methods that use supercritical carbon dioxide as an antisolvent can create unique solid forms of APIs, with a particular tendency to generate metastable polymorphic forms. In this work, the effects of processing conditions within a gas antisolvent (GAS) crystallization method, such as pressure, stirring rate, and temperature, as well as the type of solvent used and the presence of an additive, on the polymorphism of indomethacin were studied. Consistent formation of the X-ray powder diffraction-pure α polymorphic form of indomethacin by GAS was only achieved when a polymer, poloxamer 407, was used as an additive. Using the GAS method in combination with poloxamer 407 as a molecular additive enabled full control over the polymorphic form of indomethacin, regardless of the processing conditions employed, such as pressure, temperature, stirring rate, and type of solvent. A detailed molecular modeling study provided insight into the role of poloxamer 407 in the polymorphic outcome of indomethacin and concluded that it favored the formation of the α polymorph.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fidel
Méndez Cañellas
- Department
of Chemical Sciences, Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, LimerickV94 T9PX, Ireland
- SSPC,
the SFI Research Centre for Pharmaceuticals, Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, LimerickV94 T9PX, Ireland
| | - Vivek Verma
- Department
of Chemical Sciences, Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, LimerickV94 T9PX, Ireland
| | - Jacek Kujawski
- Chair
and Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Grunwaldzka 6 street, Poznan60-780, Poland
| | | | - Lidia Tajber
- SSPC,
the SFI Research Centre for Pharmaceuticals, Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, LimerickV94 T9PX, Ireland
- School of
Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Trinity
College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2D02 PN40, Ireland
| | - Luis Padrela
- Department
of Chemical Sciences, Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, LimerickV94 T9PX, Ireland
- SSPC,
the SFI Research Centre for Pharmaceuticals, Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, LimerickV94 T9PX, Ireland
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9
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Zhang Y, Luo M, Wu P, Wu S, Lee TY, Bai C. Application of Computational Biology and Artificial Intelligence in Drug Design. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:13568. [PMID: 36362355 PMCID: PMC9658956 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232113568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2022] [Revised: 10/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 08/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Traditional drug design requires a great amount of research time and developmental expense. Booming computational approaches, including computational biology, computer-aided drug design, and artificial intelligence, have the potential to expedite the efficiency of drug discovery by minimizing the time and financial cost. In recent years, computational approaches are being widely used to improve the efficacy and effectiveness of drug discovery and pipeline, leading to the approval of plenty of new drugs for marketing. The present review emphasizes on the applications of these indispensable computational approaches in aiding target identification, lead discovery, and lead optimization. Some challenges of using these approaches for drug design are also discussed. Moreover, we propose a methodology for integrating various computational techniques into new drug discovery and design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Zhang
- School of Life and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen 518172, China
- School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
- Warshel Institute for Computational Biology, Shenzhen 518172, China
| | - Mengqi Luo
- School of Life and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen 518172, China
- South China Hospital, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518116, China
| | - Peng Wu
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Song Wu
- South China Hospital, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518116, China
| | - Tzong-Yi Lee
- School of Life and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen 518172, China
- Warshel Institute for Computational Biology, Shenzhen 518172, China
| | - Chen Bai
- School of Life and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen 518172, China
- Warshel Institute for Computational Biology, Shenzhen 518172, China
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10
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Dutkiewicz Z. Computational methods for calculation of protein-ligand binding affinities in structure-based drug design. PHYSICAL SCIENCES REVIEWS 2022. [DOI: 10.1515/psr-2020-0034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Drug design is an expensive and time-consuming process. Any method that allows reducing the time the costs of the drug development project can have great practical value for the pharmaceutical industry. In structure-based drug design, affinity prediction methods are of great importance. The majority of methods used to predict binding free energy in protein-ligand complexes use molecular mechanics methods. However, many limitations of these methods in describing interactions exist. An attempt to go beyond these limits is the application of quantum-mechanical description for all or only part of the analyzed system. However, the extensive use of quantum mechanical (QM) approaches in drug discovery is still a demanding challenge. This chapter briefly reviews selected methods used to calculate protein-ligand binding affinity applied in virtual screening (VS), rescoring of docked poses, and lead optimization stage, including QM methods based on molecular simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zbigniew Dutkiewicz
- Department of Chemical Technology of Drugs , Poznan University of Medical Sciences , ul. Grunwaldzka 6 , 60-780 Poznań , Poznan , 60-780, Poland
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11
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Abudayah A, Daoud S, Al-Sha'er M, Taha M. Pharmacophore Modeling of Targets Infested with Activity Cliffs via Molecular Dynamics Simulation Coupled with QSAR and Comparison with other Pharmacophore Generation Methods: KDR as Case Study. Mol Inform 2022; 41:e2200049. [PMID: 35973966 DOI: 10.1002/minf.202200049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Activity cliffs (ACs) are defined as pairs of structurally similar compounds with large difference in their potencies against certain biotarget. We recently proposed that potent AC members induce significant entropically-driven conformational modifications of the target that unveil additional binding interactions, while their weakly-potent counterparts are enthalpically-driven binders with little influence on the protein target. We herein propose to extract pharmacophores for ACs-infested target(s) from molecular dynamics (MD) frames of purely "enthalpic" potent binder(s) complexed within the particular target. Genetic function algorithm/machine learning (GFA/ML) can then be employed to search for the best possible combination of MD pharmacophore(s) capable of explaining bioactivity variations within a list of inhibitors. We compared the performance of this approach with established ligand-based and structure-based methods. Kinase inserts domain receptor (KDR) was used as a case study. KDR plays a crucial role in angiogenic signaling and its inhibitors have been approved in cancer treatment. Interestingly, GFA/ML selected, MD-based, pharmacophores were of comparable performances to ligand-based and structure-based pharmacophores. The resulting pharmacophores and QSAR models were used to capture hits from the national cancer institute list of compounds. The most active hit showed anti-KDR IC50 of 2.76 µM.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Mutasem Taha
- Faculty of pharmacy,University of jordan, JORDAN
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12
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Mir SA, Dash GC, Meher RK, Mohanta PP, Chopdar KS, Mohapatra PK, Baitharu I, Behera AK, Raval MK, Nayak B. In Silico and In Vitro Evaluations of Fluorophoric Thiazolo-[2,3-b]quinazolinones as Anti-cancer Agents Targeting EGFR-TKD. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 2022; 194:4292-4318. [PMID: 35366187 DOI: 10.1007/s12010-022-03893-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase domain (EGFR-TKD) plays a pivotal role in cellular signaling, growth, and metabolism. The EGFR-TKD is highly expressed in cancer cells and was endorsed as a therapeutic target for cancer management to overcome metastasis, cell proliferation, and angiogenesis. The novel thiazolo-[2,3-b]quinazolinones series were strategically developed by microwave-assisted organic synthesis and multi dominos reactions aimed to identify the potent thiazolo-[2,3-b]quinazolinone inhibitor against EGFR-TKD. This study explores the binding stability and binding strength of newly developed series via molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, and MM/PBSA and MM/GBSA calculations. The binding interaction was observed to be through the functional groups on aryl substituents at positions 3 and 5 of the thiazolo-[2, 3-b]quinazolinone scaffold. The methyl substituents at position 8 of the ligands had prominent hydrophobic interactions corroborating their bindings similar to the reference FDA-approved drug erlotinib in the active site. ADMET predictions reveal that derivatives 5ab, 5aq, and 5bq are drug-like and may be effective in in vitro study. Molecular dynamics simulation for 100 ns of docked complexes revealed their stability at the atomistic level. The ΔGbinding of thiazolo-[2,3-b]quinazolinone was found to be 5ab - 22.45, 5aq - 22.23, and 5bq - 20.76 similar to standard drug, and erlotinib - 24.11 kcal/mol was determined by MM/GBSA method. Furthermore, the anti-proliferative activity of leads of thiazolo-[2,3-b]quinazolinones (n = 3) was studied against breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) and non-small lung carcinoma cell line (H-1299). The highest inhibitions in cell proliferation were shown by 5bq derivatives, and the IC50 was found to be 6.5 ± 0.67 µM against MCF-7 and 14.8 µM against H-1299. The noscapine was also taken as a positive control and showed IC50 at higher concentrations 37 ± 1 against MCF-7 and 46.5 ± 1.2 against H-1299.
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Affiliation(s)
- Showkat Ahmad Mir
- School of Life Sciences, Sambalpur University, Jyoti Vihar, Burla, 768019, India
| | | | - Rajesh Kumar Meher
- Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Sambalpur University, Jyoti Vihar, Burla, 768019, India
| | | | | | - Pranab Kishor Mohapatra
- Department of Chemistry, C. V. Raman Global University, Bidyanagar, Mahura, Janla, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 752054, India.
| | - Iswar Baitharu
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Sambalpur University, Jyoti Vihar, Burla, 768019, India
| | - Ajaya Kumar Behera
- School of Chemistry, Sambalpur University, Jyoti Vihar, Burla, 768019, India
| | - Mukesh Kumar Raval
- School of Chemistry, Gangadhar Meher University, Sambalpur, Odisha, 768004, India.
| | - Binata Nayak
- School of Life Sciences, Sambalpur University, Jyoti Vihar, Burla, 768019, India.
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13
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Deng D, Chen X, Zhang R, Lei Z, Wang X, Zhou F. XGraphBoost: Extracting Graph Neural Network-Based Features for a Better Prediction of Molecular Properties. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:2697-2705. [PMID: 34009965 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.0c01489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Determining the properties of chemical molecules is essential for screening candidates similar to a specific drug. These candidate molecules are further evaluated for their target binding affinities, side effects, target missing probabilities, etc. Conventional machine learning algorithms demonstrated satisfying prediction accuracies of molecular properties. A molecule cannot be directly loaded into a machine learning model, and a set of engineered features needs to be designed and calculated from a molecule. Such hand-crafted features rely heavily on the experiences of the investigating researchers. The concept of graph neural networks (GNNs) was recently introduced to describe the chemical molecules. The features may be automatically and objectively extracted from the molecules through various types of GNNs, e.g., GCN (graph convolution network), GGNN (gated graph neural network), DMPNN (directed message passing neural network), etc. However, the training of a stable GNN model requires a huge number of training samples and a large amount of computing power, compared with the conventional machine learning strategies. This study proposed the integrated framework XGraphBoost to extract the features using a GNN and build an accurate prediction model of molecular properties using the classifier XGBoost. The proposed framework XGraphBoost fully inherits the merits of the GNN-based automatic molecular feature extraction and XGBoost-based accurate prediction performance. Both classification and regression problems were evaluated using the framework XGraphBoost. The experimental results strongly suggest that XGraphBoost may facilitate the efficient and accurate predictions of various molecular properties. The source code is freely available to academic users at https://github.com/chenxiaowei-vincent/XGraphBoost.git.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daiguo Deng
- Fermion Technology Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, Guangdong 510000, P.R. China
| | - Xiaowei Chen
- Fermion Technology Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, Guangdong 510000, P.R. China
| | - Ruochi Zhang
- Fermion Technology Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, Guangdong 510000, P.R. China.,College of Computer Science and Technology, and Key Laboratory of Symbolic Computation and Knowledge Engineering of Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130012, P.R. China
| | - Zengrong Lei
- Fermion Technology Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, Guangdong 510000, P.R. China
| | - Xiaojian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Functions of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100050, P.R. China
| | - Fengfeng Zhou
- College of Computer Science and Technology, and Key Laboratory of Symbolic Computation and Knowledge Engineering of Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130012, P.R. China
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14
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Borbulevych OY, Martin RI, Westerhoff LM. The critical role of QM/MM X-ray refinement and accurate tautomer/protomer determination in structure-based drug design. J Comput Aided Mol Des 2021; 35:433-451. [PMID: 33108589 PMCID: PMC8018927 DOI: 10.1007/s10822-020-00354-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Conventional protein:ligand crystallographic refinement uses stereochemistry restraints coupled with a rudimentary energy functional to ensure the correct geometry of the model of the macromolecule-along with any bound ligand(s)-within the context of the experimental, X-ray density. These methods generally lack explicit terms for electrostatics, polarization, dispersion, hydrogen bonds, and other key interactions, and instead they use pre-determined parameters (e.g. bond lengths, angles, and torsions) to drive structural refinement. In order to address this deficiency and obtain a more complete and ultimately more accurate structure, we have developed an automated approach for macromolecular refinement based on a two layer, QM/MM (ONIOM) scheme as implemented within our DivCon Discovery Suite and "plugged in" to two mainstream crystallographic packages: PHENIX and BUSTER. This implementation is able to use one or more region layer(s), which is(are) characterized using linear-scaling, semi-empirical quantum mechanics, followed by a system layer which includes the balance of the model and which is described using a molecular mechanics functional. In this work, we applied our Phenix/DivCon refinement method-coupled with our XModeScore method for experimental tautomer/protomer state determination-to the characterization of structure sets relevant to structure-based drug design (SBDD). We then use these newly refined structures to show the impact of QM/MM X-ray refined structure on our understanding of function by exploring the influence of these improved structures on protein:ligand binding affinity prediction (and we likewise show how we use post-refinement scoring outliers to inform subsequent X-ray crystallographic efforts). Through this endeavor, we demonstrate a computational chemistry ↔ structural biology (X-ray crystallography) "feedback loop" which has utility in industrial and academic pharmaceutical research as well as other allied fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleg Y Borbulevych
- QuantumBio Inc, 2790 West College Ave, Suite 900, State College, PA, 16801, USA
| | - Roger I Martin
- QuantumBio Inc, 2790 West College Ave, Suite 900, State College, PA, 16801, USA
| | - Lance M Westerhoff
- QuantumBio Inc, 2790 West College Ave, Suite 900, State College, PA, 16801, USA.
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15
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Current and Future Challenges in Modern Drug Discovery. METHODS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (CLIFTON, N.J.) 2021; 2114:1-17. [PMID: 32016883 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0282-9_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Drug discovery is an expensive, time-consuming, and risky business. To avoid late-stage failure, learnings from past projects and the development of new approaches are crucial. New modalities and emerging new target spaces allow the exploration of unprecedented indications or to address so far undrugable targets. Late-stage attrition is usually attributed to the lack of efficacy or to compound-related safety issues. Efficacy has been shown to be related to a strong genetic link to human disease, a better understanding of the target biology, and the availability of biomarkers to bridge from animals to humans. Compound safety can be improved by ligand optimization, which is becoming increasingly demanding for difficult targets. Therefore, new strategies include the design of allosteric ligands, covalent binders, and other modalities. Design methods currently heavily rely on artificial intelligence and advanced computational methods such as free energy calculations and quantum chemistry. Especially for quantum chemical methods, a more detailed overview is given in this chapter.
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16
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Adeoye AO, Oso BJ. Investigative studies on the inhibition of amyloid-like fibrils formation by the extracts of Vernonia amygdalina Del. leaf. ADVANCES IN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s13596-020-00535-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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17
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Sciortino G, Maréchal JD, Garribba E. Integrated experimental/computational approaches to characterize the systems formed by vanadium with proteins and enzymes. Inorg Chem Front 2021. [DOI: 10.1039/d0qi01507e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
An integrated instrumental/computational approach to characterize metallodrug–protein adducts at the molecular level is reviewed. A series of applications are described, focusing on potential vanadium drugs with a generalization to other metals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Sciortino
- Departament de Química
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
- Cerdanyola del Vallès
- Barcelona 08193
- Spain
| | - Jean-Didier Maréchal
- Departament de Química
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
- Cerdanyola del Vallès
- Barcelona 08193
- Spain
| | - Eugenio Garribba
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Farmacia
- Università di Sassari
- 07100 Sassari
- Italy
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18
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Robinson SG, Wu X, Jiang B, Sigman MS, Lin S. Mechanistic Studies Inform Design of Improved Ti(salen) Catalysts for Enantioselective [3 + 2] Cycloaddition. J Am Chem Soc 2020; 142:18471-18482. [PMID: 33064948 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c07128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Ti(salen) complexes catalyze the asymmetric [3 + 2] cycloaddition of cyclopropyl ketones with alkenes. While high enantioselectivities are achieved with electron-rich alkenes, electron-deficient alkenes are less selective. Herein, we describe mechanistic studies to understand the origins of catalyst and substrate trends in an effort to identify a more general catalyst. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the selectivity determining transition state revealed the origin of stereochemical control to be catalyst distortion, which is largely influenced by the chiral backbone and adamantyl groups on the salicylaldehyde moieties. While substitution of the adamantyl groups was detrimental to the enantioselectivity, mechanistic information guided the development of a set of eight new Ti(salen) catalysts with modified diamine backbones. These catalysts were evaluated with four electron-deficient alkenes to develop a three-parameter statistical model relating enantioselectivity to physical organic parameters. This statistical model is capable of quantitative prediction of enantioselectivity with structurally diverse alkenes. These mechanistic insights assisted the discovery of a new Ti(salen) catalyst, which substantially expanded the reaction scope and significantly improved the enantioselectivity of synthetically interesting building blocks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia G Robinson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, 315 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
| | - Xiangyu Wu
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Binyang Jiang
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Matthew S Sigman
- Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, 315 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
| | - Song Lin
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
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19
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Oso BJ, Adeoye AO, Olaoye IF. Pharmacoinformatics and hypothetical studies on allicin, curcumin, and gingerol as potential candidates against COVID-19-associated proteases. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2020; 40:389-400. [DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2020.1813630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Babatunde Joseph Oso
- Department of Biochemistry, McPherson University, Seriki Sotayo, Ogun State, Nigeria
| | | | - Ige Francis Olaoye
- Department of Biochemistry, McPherson University, Seriki Sotayo, Ogun State, Nigeria
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20
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Hassanzadeh P. Towards the quantum-enabled technologies for development of drugs or delivery systems. J Control Release 2020; 324:260-279. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2020.04.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2019] [Revised: 04/28/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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21
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Theoretical Investigations on Interactions of Arylsulphonyl Indazole Derivatives as Potential Ligands of VEGFR2 Kinase. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21134793. [PMID: 32645858 PMCID: PMC7369845 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21134793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Revised: 06/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) is a key receptor in the angiogenesis process. The VEGFR2 expression is upregulated in many cancers so this receptor is an important target for anticancer agents. In the present paper, we analyse interactions of several dimeric indazoles, previously investigated for anticancer activity, with the amino acids present in the VEGFR2 binding pocket. Using the docking method and MD simulations as well as theoretical computations (SAPT0, PIEDA, semi-empirical PM7), we confirmed that these azoles can efficiently bind into the kinase pocket and their poses can be stabilised by the formation of hydrogen bonds, π–π stacking, π–cation, and hybrid interactions with some amino acids of the kinase cavity like Ala866, Lys868, Glu885, Thr916, Glu917, and Phe918.
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22
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Pecina A, Eyrilmez SM, Köprülüoğlu C, Miriyala VM, Lepšík M, Fanfrlík J, Řezáč J, Hobza P. SQM/COSMO Scoring Function: Reliable Quantum-Mechanical Tool for Sampling and Ranking in Structure-Based Drug Design. Chempluschem 2020; 85:2362-2371. [PMID: 32609421 DOI: 10.1002/cplu.202000120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2020] [Revised: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Quantum mechanical (QM) methods have been gaining importance in structure-based drug design where a reliable description of protein-ligand interactions is of utmost significance. However, strategies i. e. QM/MM, fragmentation or semiempirical (SQM) methods had to be pursued to overcome the unfavorable scaling of QM methods. Various SQM-based approaches have significantly contributed to the accuracy of docking and improvement of lead compounds. Parametrizations of SQM and implicit solvent methods in our laboratory have been instrumental to obtain a reliable SQM-based scoring function. The experience gained in its application for activity ranking of ligands binding to tens of protein targets resulted in setting up a faster SQM/COSMO scoring approach, which outperforms standard scoring methods in native pose identification for two dozen protein targets with ten thousand poses. Recently, SQM/COSMO was effectively applied in a proof-of-concept study of enrichment in virtual screening. Due to its superior performance, feasibility and chemical generality, we propose the SQM/COSMO approach as an efficient tool in structure-based drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Pecina
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, and Biochemistry of Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo namesti 2, 166 10, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Saltuk M Eyrilmez
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, and Biochemistry of Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo namesti 2, 166 10, Prague, Czech Republic.,Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Palacky University, 771 46, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Cemal Köprülüoğlu
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, and Biochemistry of Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo namesti 2, 166 10, Prague, Czech Republic.,Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Palacky University, 771 46, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Vijay Madhav Miriyala
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, and Biochemistry of Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo namesti 2, 166 10, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Lepšík
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, and Biochemistry of Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo namesti 2, 166 10, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jindřich Fanfrlík
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, and Biochemistry of Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo namesti 2, 166 10, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Řezáč
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, and Biochemistry of Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo namesti 2, 166 10, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Hobza
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, and Biochemistry of Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo namesti 2, 166 10, Prague, Czech Republic.,Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Palacky University, 771 46, Olomouc, Czech Republic
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23
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Lin J, Zhou S, Xu JX, Yao WQ, Hao GF, Li YT. Design, Synthesis, and Structure-Activity Relationship of Economical Triazole Sulfonamide Aryl Derivatives with High Fungicidal Activity. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2020; 68:6792-6801. [PMID: 32442369 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.9b07887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Plant fungal diseases have caused great decreases in crop quality and yield. As one of the considerable agricultural diseases, cucumber downy mildew (CDM) caused by pseudoperonospora cubensis seriously influences the production of cucumber. Amisulbrom is a commercial agricultural fungicide developed by Nissan Chemical, Ltd., for the control of oomycetes diseases that is highly effective against CDM. However, the synthesis of amisulbrom has a high cost because of the introduction of the bromoindole ring. In addition, the continuous use of amisulbrom might increase the risk of resistance development. Hence, there is an imperative to develop active fungicides with new scaffolds but low cost against CDM. In this study, a series of 1,2,4-triazole-1,3-disulfonamide derivatives were designed, synthesized, and screened. Compound 1j showed a comparable fungicidal activity with amisulbrom, but it was low cost and ecofriendly. It has the potential to be developed as a new fungicide candidate against CDM. Further investigations of structure-activity relationship exhibited the structural requirements of 1,2,4-triazole-1,3-disulfonamide and appropriate modification in N-alkyl benzylamine groups with high fungicidal activity. This research will provide powerful guidance for the design of highly active lead compounds with a novel skeleton and low cost.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Lin
- Dongguan HEC Pesticides R&D Co., Ltd., Dongguan 523867, P. R. China
- College of Chemistry Biology and Environmental Engineering, Xiangnan University, Chenzhou 423000, P. R. China
| | - Si Zhou
- Dongguan HEC Pesticides R&D Co., Ltd., Dongguan 523867, P. R. China
| | - Jun-Xing Xu
- Dongguan HEC Pesticides R&D Co., Ltd., Dongguan 523867, P. R. China
| | - Wen-Qiang Yao
- Dongguan HEC Pesticides R&D Co., Ltd., Dongguan 523867, P. R. China
| | - Ge-Fei Hao
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Research and Development Center for Fine Chemicals, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, P. R. China
| | - Yi-Tao Li
- Dongguan HEC Pesticides R&D Co., Ltd., Dongguan 523867, P. R. China
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24
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Liu J, He X. Fragment-based quantum mechanical approach to biomolecules, molecular clusters, molecular crystals and liquids. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:12341-12367. [PMID: 32459230 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp01095b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
To study large molecular systems beyond the system size that the current state-of-the-art ab initio electronic structure methods could handle, fragment-based quantum mechanical (QM) approaches have been developed over the past years, and proved to be efficient in dealing with large molecular systems at various ab initio levels. According to the fragmentation approach, a large molecular system can be divided into subsystems (fragments), and subsequently the property of the whole system can be approximately obtained by taking a proper combination of the corresponding terms of individual fragments. Therefore, the standard QM calculation of a large system could be circumvented by carrying out a series of calculations on small fragments, which significantly promotes computational efficiency. The electrostatically embedded generalized molecular fractionation with conjugate caps (EE-GMFCC) method is one of the fragment-based QM approaches which has been developed by our research group in recent years. This Perspective presents the theoretical framework of this fragmentation method and its applications in biomolecules, molecular clusters, molecular crystals and liquids, including total energy calculation, protein-ligand/protein binding affinity prediction, geometry optimization, vibrational spectrum simulation, ab initio molecular dynamics simulation, and prediction of excited-state properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinfeng Liu
- Department of Basic Medicine and Clinical Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
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25
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Czaja K, Kujawski J, Kamel K, Bernard MK. Selected arylsulphonyl pyrazole derivatives as potential Chk1 kinase ligands-computational investigations. J Mol Model 2020; 26:144. [PMID: 32424505 PMCID: PMC7235069 DOI: 10.1007/s00894-020-04407-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Protein kinases control diversity of biochemical processes in human organism. Checkpoint 1 kinase (Chk1) is an important element of the checkpoint signalling pathways and is responsible for DNA damage repair. Hence, this kinase plays an essential role in cancer cells survival and has become an important target for anticancer agents. Our previous investigations showed that some arylsulphonyl indazole derivatives displayed anticancer effect in vitro. In the present study, in order to verify possibility of interactions of pyrazole and indazole derivatives with Chk1, we focused on the docking of selected tosyl derivatives of indazole and condensed pyrazole 1-7 to the Chk1 pocket, analysis of interactions involving optimized ligand-protein system using DFT formalism, and estimation of the interaction enthalpy of the ligand-protein complex by applying the PM7 method. The estimation of binding affinity seems to indicate that the indazole 5-substituted with 3,5-dimethylpyrazole 4 and condensed pyrazoloquinoline derivative 7 fit the best to the Chk1-binding pocket. The values of the energy of interaction, i.e. the enthalpy change (ΔHint), were between - 85.06 and - 124.04 kcal mol-1 for the optimized ligand-Chk1 complexes. The relaxation of the ligands within the complexes azole-protein as well as the distribution of hydrogen contacts between the ligands and kinase pocket amino acids was also analysed using molecular dynamics as a supporting method. Graphical Abstract Presentation of methods used to describe the interactions between arylsulphonyl pyrazole derivatives and Chk1 kinase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kornelia Czaja
- Chair and Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, ul. Grunwaldzka 6, 60-780, Poznan, Poland.
| | - Jacek Kujawski
- Chair and Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, ul. Grunwaldzka 6, 60-780, Poznan, Poland
| | - Karol Kamel
- Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Noskowskiego 12/14, 61-704, Poznan, Poland
| | - Marek K Bernard
- Chair and Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, ul. Grunwaldzka 6, 60-780, Poznan, Poland
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26
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Cavasotto CN, Aucar MG. High-Throughput Docking Using Quantum Mechanical Scoring. Front Chem 2020; 8:246. [PMID: 32373579 PMCID: PMC7186494 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2020.00246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Today high-throughput docking is one of the most commonly used computational tools in drug lead discovery. While there has been an impressive methodological improvement in docking accuracy, docking scoring still remains an open challenge. Most docking programs are rooted in classical molecular mechanics. However, to better characterize protein-ligand interactions, the use of a more accurate quantum mechanical (QM) description would be necessary. In this work, we introduce a QM-based docking scoring function for high-throughput docking and evaluate it on 10 protein systems belonging to diverse protein families, and with different binding site characteristics. Outstanding results were obtained, with our QM scoring function displaying much higher enrichment (screening power) than a traditional docking method. It is acknowledged that developments in quantum mechanics theory, algorithms and computer hardware throughout the upcoming years will allow semi-empirical (or low-cost) quantum mechanical methods to slowly replace force-field calculations. It is thus urgently needed to develop and validate novel quantum mechanical-based scoring functions for high-throughput docking toward more accurate methods for the identification and optimization of modulators of pharmaceutically relevant targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio N Cavasotto
- Computational Drug Design and Biomedical Informatics Laboratory, Translational Medicine Research Institute (IIMT), CONICET-Universidad Austral, Pilar, Argentina.,Facultad de Ciencias Biomédicas and Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Austral, Pilar, Argentina.,Austral Institute for Applied Artificial Intelligence, Universidad Austral, Pilar, Argentina
| | - M Gabriela Aucar
- Computational Drug Design and Biomedical Informatics Laboratory, Translational Medicine Research Institute (IIMT), CONICET-Universidad Austral, Pilar, Argentina
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27
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QM Implementation in Drug Design: Does It Really Help? Methods Mol Biol 2020. [PMID: 32016884 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0282-9_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/13/2023]
Abstract
Computational chemistry allows one to characterize the structure, dynamics, and energetics of protein-ligand interactions, which makes it a valuable tool in drug discovery in both academic research and pharmaceutical industry. Molecular mechanics (MM)-based approaches are widely utilized to assist the discovery of new drug candidates. However, the complexity of protein-ligand interactions challenges the accuracy and efficiency of the commonly used empirical methods. Aiming to provide better accuracy in the description of protein-ligand interactions, quantum mechanics (QM)-based approaches are becoming increasingly explored. In principle, QM calculation includes all contributions to the energy, accounting for terms usually missing in empirical force fields, and provides a greater degree of transferability. The usefulness of QM in drug design cannot be overemphasized. In this chapter, we present recent developments and applications of fragment-based QM method in studying the protein-ligand and protein-protein interactions. We critically discuss the performance of the fragment-based QM method at different ab initio levels while trying to answer a critical question: do QM-based methods really help in drug design?
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28
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Sulimov VB, Kutov DC, Sulimov AV. Advances in Docking. Curr Med Chem 2020; 26:7555-7580. [PMID: 30182836 DOI: 10.2174/0929867325666180904115000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2018] [Revised: 07/04/2018] [Accepted: 07/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Design of small molecules which are able to bind to the protein responsible for a disease is the key step of the entire process of the new medicine discovery. Atomistic computer modeling can significantly improve effectiveness of such design. The accurate calculation of the free energy of binding a small molecule (a ligand) to the target protein is the most important problem of such modeling. Docking is one of the most popular molecular modeling methods for finding ligand binding poses in the target protein and calculating the protein-ligand binding energy. This energy is used for finding the most active compounds for the given target protein. This short review aims to give a concise description of distinctive features of docking programs focusing on computation methods and approximations influencing their accuracy. METHODS This review is based on the peer-reviewed research literature including author's own publications. The main features of several representative docking programs are briefly described focusing on their characteristics influencing docking accuracy: force fields, energy calculations, solvent models, algorithms of the best ligand pose search, global and local optimizations, ligand and target protein flexibility, and the simplifications made for the docking accelerating. Apart from other recent reviews focused mainly on the performance of different docking programs, in this work, an attempt is made to extract the most important functional characteristics defining the docking accuracy. Also a roadmap for increasing the docking accuracy is proposed. This is based on the new generation of docking programs which have been realized recently. These programs and respective new global optimization algorithms are described shortly. RESULTS Several popular conventional docking programs are considered. Their search of the best ligand pose is based explicitly or implicitly on the global optimization problem. Several algorithms are used to solve this problem, and among them, the heuristic genetic algorithm is distinguished by its popularity and an elaborate design. All conventional docking programs for their acceleration use the preliminary calculated grids of protein-ligand interaction potentials or preferable points of protein and ligand conjugation. These approaches and commonly used fitting parameters restrict strongly the docking accuracy. Solvent is considered in exceedingly simplified approaches in the course of the global optimization and the search for the best ligand poses. More accurate approaches on the base of implicit solvent models are used frequently for more careful binding energy calculations after docking. The new generation of docking programs are developed recently. They find the spectrum of low energy minima of a protein-ligand complex including the global minimum. These programs should be more accurate because they do not use a preliminary calculated grid of protein-ligand interaction potentials and other simplifications, the energy of any conformation of the molecular system is calculated in the frame of a given force field and there are no fitting parameters. A new docking algorithm is developed and fulfilled specially for the new docking programs. This algorithm allows docking a flexible ligand into a flexible protein with several dozen mobile atoms on the base of the global energy minimum search. Such docking results in improving the accuracy of ligand positioning in the docking process. The adequate choice of the method of molecular energy calculations also results in the better docking positioning accuracy. An advancement in the application of quantum chemistry methods to docking and scoring is revealed. CONCLUSION The findings of this review confirm the great demand in docking programs for discovery of new medicine substances with the help of molecular modeling. New trends in docking programs design are revealed. These trends are focused on the increase of the docking accuracy at the expense of more accurate molecular energy calculations without any fitting parameters, including quantum-chemical methods and implicit solvent models, and by using new global optimization algorithms which make it possible to treat flexibility of ligands and mobility of protein atoms simultaneously. Finally, it is shown that all the necessary prerequisites for increasing the docking accuracy can be accomplished in practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir B Sulimov
- Dimonta, Ltd., Nagornaya Street 15, Building 8, 117186 Moscow, Russian Federation.,Research Computer Center, Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Building 4, 119991 Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Danil C Kutov
- Dimonta, Ltd., Nagornaya Street 15, Building 8, 117186 Moscow, Russian Federation.,Research Computer Center, Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Building 4, 119991 Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Alexey V Sulimov
- Dimonta, Ltd., Nagornaya Street 15, Building 8, 117186 Moscow, Russian Federation.,Research Computer Center, Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Building 4, 119991 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Limongelli V. Ligand binding free energy and kinetics calculation in 2020. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR SCIENCE 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/wcms.1455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Vittorio Limongelli
- Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Computational Science – Center for Computational Medicine in Cardiology Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) Lugano Switzerland
- Department of Pharmacy University of Naples “Federico II” Naples Italy
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30
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Horibe T, Katagiri K, Ishihara K. Radical‐Cation‐Induced Crossed [2+2] Cycloaddition of Electron‐Deficient Anetholes Initiated by Iron(III) Salt. Adv Synth Catal 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/adsc.201901337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Takahiro Horibe
- Graduate School of EngineeringNagoya University B2-3(611), Furo-cho, Chikusa Nagoya 464-8603 Japan
| | - Kei Katagiri
- Graduate School of EngineeringNagoya University B2-3(611), Furo-cho, Chikusa Nagoya 464-8603 Japan
| | - Kazuaki Ishihara
- Graduate School of EngineeringNagoya University B2-3(611), Furo-cho, Chikusa Nagoya 464-8603 Japan
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Cavasotto CN. Binding Free Energy Calculation Using Quantum Mechanics Aimed for Drug Lead Optimization. Methods Mol Biol 2020; 2114:257-268. [PMID: 32016898 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0282-9_16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The routine use of in silico tools is already established in drug lead design. Besides the use of molecular docking methods to screen large chemical libraries and thus prioritize compounds for purchase or synthesis, more accurate calculations of protein-ligand binding free energy has shown the potential to guide lead optimization, thus saving time and resources. Theoretical developments and advances in computing power have allowed quantum mechanical-based methods applied to calculations on biomacromolecules to be increasingly explored and used, with the purpose of providing a more accurate description of protein-ligand interactions and an enhanced level of accuracy in the calculation of binding affinities. It should be noted that the quantum mechanical formulation includes, in principle, all contributions to the energy, considering terms usually neglected in molecular mechanics force fields, such as electronic polarization, metal coordination, and covalent binding; moreover, quantum mechanical approaches are systematically improvable. By treating all elements and interactions on equal footing, and avoiding the need of system-dependent parameterizations, they provide a greater degree of transferability. In this review, we illustrate the increasing relevance of quantum mechanical methods for binding free energy calculation in the context of structure-based drug lead optimization, showing representative applications of the different approaches available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio N Cavasotto
- Computational Drug Design and Biomedical Informatics Laboratory, Translational Medicine Research Institute (IIMT), CONICET-Universidad Austral, Derqui-Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina. .,Austral Institute for Applied Artificial Intelligence, Universidad Austral, Derqui-Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina. .,Facultad de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Austral, Derqui-Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina. .,Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Austral, Derqui-Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Abstract
Computational methods are a powerful and consolidated tool in the early stage of the drug lead discovery process. Among these techniques, high-throughput molecular docking has proved to be extremely useful in identifying novel bioactive compounds within large chemical libraries. In the docking procedure, the predominant binding mode of each small molecule within a target binding site is assessed, and a docking score reflective of the likelihood of binding is assigned to them. These methods also shed light on how a given hit could be modified in order to improve protein-ligand interactions and are thus able to guide lead optimization. The possibility of reducing time and cost compared to experimental approaches made this technology highly appealing. Due to methodological developments and the increase of computational power, the application of quantum mechanical methods to study macromolecular systems has gained substantial attention in the last decade. A quantum mechanical description of the interactions involved in molecular association of biomolecules may lead to better accuracy compared to molecular mechanics, since there are many physical phenomena that cannot be correctly described within a classical framework, such as covalent bond formation, polarization effects, charge transfer, bond rearrangements, halogen bonding, and others, that require electrons to be explicitly accounted for. Considering the fact that quantum mechanics-based approaches in biomolecular simulation constitute an active and important field of research, we highlight in this work the recent developments of quantum mechanical-based molecular docking and high-throughput docking.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Gabriela Aucar
- Computational Drug Design and Biomedical Informatics Laboratory, Translational Medicine Research Institute (IIMT), CONICET-Universidad Austral, Derqui-Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Claudio N Cavasotto
- Computational Drug Design and Biomedical Informatics Laboratory, Translational Medicine Research Institute (IIMT), CONICET-Universidad Austral, Derqui-Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Austral Institute for Applied Artificial Intelligence, Universidad Austral, Derqui-Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Facultad de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Austral, Derqui-Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Austral, Derqui-Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Yang JF, Wang F, Chen YZ, Hao GF, Yang GF. LARMD: integration of bioinformatic resources to profile ligand-driven protein dynamics with a case on the activation of estrogen receptor. Brief Bioinform 2019; 21:2206-2218. [DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbz141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2019] [Revised: 10/12/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Protein dynamics is central to all biological processes, including signal transduction, cellular regulation and biological catalysis. Among them, in-depth exploration of ligand-driven protein dynamics contributes to an optimal understanding of protein function, which is particularly relevant to drug discovery. Hence, a wide range of computational tools have been designed to investigate the important dynamic information in proteins. However, performing and analyzing protein dynamics is still challenging due to the complicated operation steps, giving rise to great difficulty, especially for nonexperts. Moreover, there is a lack of web protocol to provide online facility to investigate and visualize ligand-driven protein dynamics. To this end, in this study, we integrated several bioinformatic tools to develop a protocol, named Ligand and Receptor Molecular Dynamics (LARMD, http://chemyang.ccnu.edu.cn/ccb/server/LARMD/ and http://agroda.gzu.edu.cn:9999/ccb/server/LARMD/), for profiling ligand-driven protein dynamics. To be specific, estrogen receptor (ER) was used as a case to reveal ERβ-selective mechanism, which plays a vital role in the treatment of inflammatory diseases and many types of cancers in clinical practice. Two different residues (Ile373/Met421 and Met336/Leu384) in the pocket of ERβ/ERα were the significant determinants for selectivity, especially Met336 of ERβ. The helix H8, helix H11 and H7-H8 loop influenced the migration of selective agonist (WAY-244). These computational results were consistent with the experimental results. Therefore, LARMD provides a user-friendly online protocol to study the dynamic property of protein and to design new ligand or site-directed mutagenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing-Fang Yang
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, P.R.China
- International Joint Research Center for Intelligent Biosensor Technology and Health, Central China Normal University,Wuhan, 430079, China
| | - Fan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, P.R.China
- International Joint Research Center for Intelligent Biosensor Technology and Health, Central China Normal University,Wuhan, 430079, China
| | - Yu-Zong Chen
- Department of Pharmacy, National University of Singapore, 18 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543
| | - Ge-Fei Hao
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, P.R.China
- International Joint Research Center for Intelligent Biosensor Technology and Health, Central China Normal University,Wuhan, 430079, China
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Research and Development Center for Fine Chemicals, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, P. R. China
| | - Guang-Fu Yang
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, P.R.China
- International Joint Research Center for Intelligent Biosensor Technology and Health, Central China Normal University,Wuhan, 430079, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tianjing 300072, P.R.China
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Ortiz-Mahecha CA, Bohórquez HJ, Agudelo WA, Patarroyo MA, Patarroyo ME, Suárez CF. Assessing Peptide Binding to MHC II: An Accurate Semiempirical Quantum Mechanics Based Proposal. J Chem Inf Model 2019; 59:5148-5160. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.9b00672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Hugo J. Bohórquez
- Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá D.C., Colombia
- Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales (UDCA), Bogotá D.C., Colombia
| | - William A. Agudelo
- Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá D.C., Colombia
| | - Manuel A. Patarroyo
- Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá D.C., Colombia
- School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá D.C., Colombia
| | - Manuel E. Patarroyo
- Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá D.C., Colombia
- Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá D.C., Colombia
| | - Carlos F. Suárez
- Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá D.C., Colombia
- School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá D.C., Colombia
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35
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Wang E, Sun H, Wang J, Wang Z, Liu H, Zhang JZH, Hou T. End-Point Binding Free Energy Calculation with MM/PBSA and MM/GBSA: Strategies and Applications in Drug Design. Chem Rev 2019; 119:9478-9508. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.9b00055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 578] [Impact Index Per Article: 115.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ercheng Wang
- Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Huiyong Sun
- Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Junmei Wang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Zhe Wang
- Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Hui Liu
- Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - John Z. H. Zhang
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics & New Drug Development, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Chemical Process, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
- NYU−ECNU Center for Computational Chemistry, NYU Shanghai, Shanghai 200122, China
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China
| | - Tingjun Hou
- Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
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Abstract
The models behind simple bonding theory and the origins of some components often proposed to be involved in weak intermolecular bonds are described with special reference to σ-hole bonding, of which halogen bonds are a subset. A protocol for the analysis of weak intermolecular interactions is proposed on the basis of sound physical principles. This protocol uses three different levels of interaction; "permanent" Coulomb interactions between unperturbed monomers, relaxed Coulomb interactions and dispersion. Of the three, only dispersion is not a real, measurable quantity. It is, however, included in order to describe interactions that cannot be treated entirely by the first two levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Clark
- Computer-Chemie-Centrum, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Nägelsbachstraße 25, 91052 Erlangen, Germany.
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37
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Wu FX, Wang F, Yang JF, Jiang W, Wang MY, Jia CY, Hao GF, Yang GF. AIMMS suite: a web server dedicated for prediction of drug resistance on protein mutation. Brief Bioinform 2018; 21:318-328. [PMID: 30496338 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bby113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2018] [Revised: 09/13/2018] [Accepted: 10/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Drug resistance is one of the most intractable issues for successful treatment in current clinical practice. Although many mutations contributing to drug resistance have been identified, the relationship between the mutations and the related pharmacological profile of drug candidates has yet to be fully elucidated, which is valuable both for the molecular dissection of drug resistance mechanisms and for suggestion of promising treatment strategies to counter resistant. Hence, effective prediction approach for estimating the sensitivity of mutations to agents is a new opportunity that counters drug resistance and creates a high interest in pharmaceutical research. However, this task is always hampered by limited known resistance training samples and accurately estimation of binding affinity. Upon this challenge, we successfully developed Auto In Silico Macromolecular Mutation Scanning (AIMMS), a web server for computer-aided de novo drug resistance prediction for any ligand-protein systems. AIMMS can qualitatively estimate the free energy consequences of any mutations through a fast mutagenesis scanning calculation based on a single molecular dynamics trajectory, which is differentiated with other web services by a statistical learning system. AIMMS suite is available at http://chemyang.ccnu.edu.cn/ccb/server/AIMMS/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng-Xu Wu
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, P.R. China
| | - Fan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, P.R. China
| | - Jing-Fang Yang
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, P.R. China
| | - Wen Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, P.R. China
| | - Meng-Yao Wang
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, P.R. China
| | - Chen-Yang Jia
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, P.R. China
| | - Ge-Fei Hao
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, P.R. China.,International Joint Research Center for Intelligent Biosensor Technology and Health, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, P.R. China
| | - Guang-Fu Yang
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, P.R. China.,International Joint Research Center for Intelligent Biosensor Technology and Health, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, P.R. China.,Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, P.R. China
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38
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Borbulevych O, Martin RI, Westerhoff LM. High-throughput quantum-mechanics/molecular-mechanics (ONIOM) macromolecular crystallographic refinement with PHENIX/DivCon: the impact of mixed Hamiltonian methods on ligand and protein structure. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2018; 74:1063-1077. [PMID: 30387765 PMCID: PMC6213575 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798318012913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2018] [Accepted: 09/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Conventional macromolecular crystallographic refinement relies on often dubious stereochemical restraints, the preparation of which often requires human validation for unusual species, and on rudimentary energy functionals that are devoid of nonbonding effects owing to electrostatics, polarization, charge transfer or even hydrogen bonding. While this approach has served the crystallographic community for decades, as structure-based drug design/discovery (SBDD) has grown in prominence it has become clear that these conventional methods are less rigorous than they need to be in order to produce properly predictive protein-ligand models, and that the human intervention that is required to successfully treat ligands and other unusual chemistries found in SBDD often precludes high-throughput, automated refinement. Recently, plugins to the Python-based Hierarchical ENvironment for Integrated Xtallography (PHENIX) crystallographic platform have been developed to augment conventional methods with the in situ use of quantum mechanics (QM) applied to ligand(s) along with the surrounding active site(s) at each step of refinement [Borbulevych et al. (2014), Acta Cryst D70, 1233-1247]. This method (Region-QM) significantly increases the accuracy of the X-ray refinement process, and this approach is now used, coupled with experimental density, to accurately determine protonation states, binding modes, ring-flip states, water positions and so on. In the present work, this approach is expanded to include a more rigorous treatment of the entire structure, including the ligand(s), the associated active site(s) and the entire protein, using a fully automated, mixed quantum-mechanics/molecular-mechanics (QM/MM) Hamiltonian recently implemented in the DivCon package. This approach was validated through the automatic treatment of a population of 80 protein-ligand structures chosen from the Astex Diverse Set. Across the entire population, this method results in an average 3.5-fold reduction in ligand strain and a 4.5-fold improvement in MolProbity clashscore, as well as improvements in Ramachandran and rotamer outlier analyses. Overall, these results demonstrate that the use of a structure-wide QM/MM Hamiltonian exhibits improvements in the local structural chemistry of the ligand similar to Region-QM refinement but with significant improvements in the overall structure beyond the active site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleg Borbulevych
- QuantumBio Inc., 2790 West College Avenue, State College, PA 16801, USA
| | - Roger I. Martin
- QuantumBio Inc., 2790 West College Avenue, State College, PA 16801, USA
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Thapa B, Beckett D, Erickson J, Raghavachari K. Theoretical Study of Protein–Ligand Interactions Using the Molecules-in-Molecules Fragmentation-Based Method. J Chem Theory Comput 2018; 14:5143-5155. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.8b00531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Bishnu Thapa
- Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, United States
| | - Daniel Beckett
- Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, United States
| | - Jon Erickson
- Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly & Co., Indianapolis, Indiana 47285, United States
| | - Krishnan Raghavachari
- Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, United States
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Guedes IA, Pereira FSS, Dardenne LE. Empirical Scoring Functions for Structure-Based Virtual Screening: Applications, Critical Aspects, and Challenges. Front Pharmacol 2018; 9:1089. [PMID: 30319422 PMCID: PMC6165880 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2018.01089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2018] [Accepted: 09/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Structure-based virtual screening (VS) is a widely used approach that employs the knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of the target of interest in the design of new lead compounds from large-scale molecular docking experiments. Through the prediction of the binding mode and affinity of a small molecule within the binding site of the target of interest, it is possible to understand important properties related to the binding process. Empirical scoring functions are widely used for pose and affinity prediction. Although pose prediction is performed with satisfactory accuracy, the correct prediction of binding affinity is still a challenging task and crucial for the success of structure-based VS experiments. There are several efforts in distinct fronts to develop even more sophisticated and accurate models for filtering and ranking large libraries of compounds. This paper will cover some recent successful applications and methodological advances, including strategies to explore the ligand entropy and solvent effects, training with sophisticated machine-learning techniques, and the use of quantum mechanics. Particular emphasis will be given to the discussion of critical aspects and further directions for the development of more accurate empirical scoring functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabella A Guedes
- Grupo de Modelagem Molecular em Sistemas Biológicos, Laboratório Nacional de Computação Científica, Petrópolis, Brazil
| | - Felipe S S Pereira
- Grupo de Modelagem Molecular em Sistemas Biológicos, Laboratório Nacional de Computação Científica, Petrópolis, Brazil
| | - Laurent E Dardenne
- Grupo de Modelagem Molecular em Sistemas Biológicos, Laboratório Nacional de Computação Científica, Petrópolis, Brazil
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41
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Kollar J, Frecer V. Diarylcyclopropane hydroxamic acid inhibitors of histone deacetylase 4 designed by combinatorial approach and QM/MM calculations. J Mol Graph Model 2018; 85:97-110. [PMID: 30145395 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmgm.2018.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2018] [Revised: 08/12/2018] [Accepted: 08/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Inhibitors of histone deacetylase superfamily (HDAC), which induce cell cycle arrest, trigger cell death and reduce angiogenesis appear as promising anti-cancer drugs targeting the epigenetic regulation of gene expression. Approved HDAC inhibitors were found effective against haematological and solid malignancies, other HDACIs are currently in clinical trials for the treatment of neurological diseases or immune disorders. Among those, diarylcyclopropane hydroxamic acids (DCHA) were found to be potent and selective inhibitors of the class IIa HDACs, specifically HDAC4, a pharmacological target for the treatment of Huntington's disease and muscular atrophy. Crystallographic analysis revealed that one of the aryl groups of the DCHA fills the lower specificity pocket of the HDAC4 catalytic site that is specific for the class IIa HDACs. We have used computer-assisted combinatorial chemistry, hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) with implicit solvation and QSAR models to optimize DCHA inhibitors and propose more potent DCHA analogues. The QM/MM approach has been selected since the process of inhibitor binding to the catalytic zinc and polar amino acid residues of the deacetylase active site induces considerable rearrangement of electron density of the inhibitor. Virtual combinatorial library consisting of 12180 DCHA analogues was focused by means of structure-based evaluation to form a small combinatorial subset enriched in potentially interesting inhibitor candidates. Two validated QSAR models making use of computed relative binding affinities of the DCHA inhibitors to the HDAC4 (ΔΔGcomQM/MM) were utilized to estimate the inhibitory potencies of the new analogues. The predicted half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50pre) of the designed analogues fall into the low nanomolar concentration range and their predicted ADME properties are also favourable. The best designed DCHA analogues contain indazole, phenylpiperidine, phenyloxazole or hydroxypyridine moieties and stabilize bound inhibitors by hydrogen bonds to the catalytic water molecule and backbone carbonyl groups of the deacetylase active site residues. This makes them more potent and more specific inhibitors towards the HDAC4 isoform than the known diarylcyclopropane hydroxamic acids. The analogues are recommended for synthesis and experimental verification of inhibitory potencies in medicinal chemistry laboratories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Kollar
- Department of Nuclear Physics and Biophysics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava SK-84215, Slovakia; Department of Physical Chemistry of Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava SK-83232, Slovakia
| | - Vladimir Frecer
- Department of Physical Chemistry of Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava SK-83232, Slovakia; International Centre for Applied Research and Sustainable Technology (ICARST n.o.), Bratislava SK-84104, Slovakia.
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Cavasotto CN, Adler NS, Aucar MG. Quantum Chemical Approaches in Structure-Based Virtual Screening and Lead Optimization. Front Chem 2018; 6:188. [PMID: 29896472 PMCID: PMC5986912 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2018.00188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Accepted: 05/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Today computational chemistry is a consolidated tool in drug lead discovery endeavors. Due to methodological developments and to the enormous advance in computer hardware, methods based on quantum mechanics (QM) have gained great attention in the last 10 years, and calculations on biomacromolecules are becoming increasingly explored, aiming to provide better accuracy in the description of protein-ligand interactions and the prediction of binding affinities. In principle, the QM formulation includes all contributions to the energy, accounting for terms usually missing in molecular mechanics force-fields, such as electronic polarization effects, metal coordination, and covalent binding; moreover, QM methods are systematically improvable, and provide a greater degree of transferability. In this mini-review we present recent applications of explicit QM-based methods in small-molecule docking and scoring, and in the calculation of binding free-energy in protein-ligand systems. Although the routine use of QM-based approaches in an industrial drug lead discovery setting remains a formidable challenging task, it is likely they will increasingly become active players within the drug discovery pipeline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio N. Cavasotto
- Laboratory of Computational Chemistry and Drug Design, Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Partner Institute of the Max Planck Society, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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43
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Huang H, Zhang G, Zhou Y, Lin C, Chen S, Lin Y, Mai S, Huang Z. Reverse Screening Methods to Search for the Protein Targets of Chemopreventive Compounds. Front Chem 2018; 6:138. [PMID: 29868550 PMCID: PMC5954125 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2018.00138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2018] [Accepted: 04/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This article is a systematic review of reverse screening methods used to search for the protein targets of chemopreventive compounds or drugs. Typical chemopreventive compounds include components of traditional Chinese medicine, natural compounds and Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs. Such compounds are somewhat selective but are predisposed to bind multiple protein targets distributed throughout diverse signaling pathways in human cells. In contrast to conventional virtual screening, which identifies the ligands of a targeted protein from a compound database, reverse screening is used to identify the potential targets or unintended targets of a given compound from a large number of receptors by examining their known ligands or crystal structures. This method, also known as in silico or computational target fishing, is highly valuable for discovering the target receptors of query molecules from terrestrial or marine natural products, exploring the molecular mechanisms of chemopreventive compounds, finding alternative indications of existing drugs by drug repositioning, and detecting adverse drug reactions and drug toxicity. Reverse screening can be divided into three major groups: shape screening, pharmacophore screening and reverse docking. Several large software packages, such as Schrödinger and Discovery Studio; typical software/network services such as ChemMapper, PharmMapper, idTarget, and INVDOCK; and practical databases of known target ligands and receptor crystal structures, such as ChEMBL, BindingDB, and the Protein Data Bank (PDB), are available for use in these computational methods. Different programs, online services and databases have different applications and constraints. Here, we conducted a systematic analysis and multilevel classification of the computational programs, online services and compound libraries available for shape screening, pharmacophore screening and reverse docking to enable non-specialist users to quickly learn and grasp the types of calculations used in protein target fishing. In addition, we review the main features of these methods, programs and databases and provide a variety of examples illustrating the application of one or a combination of reverse screening methods for accurate target prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongbin Huang
- Key Laboratory for Medical Molecular Diagnostics of Guangdong Province, Dongguan Scientific Research Center, Guangdong Medical University Dongguan, China.,The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Guangdong Medical University Dongguan, China
| | - Guigui Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Medical Molecular Diagnostics of Guangdong Province, Dongguan Scientific Research Center, Guangdong Medical University Dongguan, China.,School of Pharmacy, Guangdong Medical University Dongguan, China
| | - Yuquan Zhou
- Key Laboratory for Medical Molecular Diagnostics of Guangdong Province, Dongguan Scientific Research Center, Guangdong Medical University Dongguan, China.,The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Guangdong Medical University Dongguan, China
| | - Chenru Lin
- Key Laboratory for Medical Molecular Diagnostics of Guangdong Province, Dongguan Scientific Research Center, Guangdong Medical University Dongguan, China.,School of Pharmacy, Guangdong Medical University Dongguan, China
| | - Suling Chen
- Key Laboratory for Medical Molecular Diagnostics of Guangdong Province, Dongguan Scientific Research Center, Guangdong Medical University Dongguan, China.,The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Guangdong Medical University Dongguan, China
| | - Yutong Lin
- Key Laboratory for Medical Molecular Diagnostics of Guangdong Province, Dongguan Scientific Research Center, Guangdong Medical University Dongguan, China.,School of Pharmacy, Guangdong Medical University Dongguan, China
| | - Shangkang Mai
- Key Laboratory for Medical Molecular Diagnostics of Guangdong Province, Dongguan Scientific Research Center, Guangdong Medical University Dongguan, China.,The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Guangdong Medical University Dongguan, China
| | - Zunnan Huang
- Key Laboratory for Medical Molecular Diagnostics of Guangdong Province, Dongguan Scientific Research Center, Guangdong Medical University Dongguan, China.,School of Pharmacy, Guangdong Medical University Dongguan, China
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44
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Okimoto N, Otsuka T, Hirano Y, Taiji M. Use of the Multilayer Fragment Molecular Orbital Method to Predict the Rank Order of Protein-Ligand Binding Affinities: A Case Study Using Tankyrase 2 Inhibitors. ACS OMEGA 2018; 3:4475-4485. [PMID: 31458673 PMCID: PMC6641631 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.8b00175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2018] [Accepted: 03/23/2018] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
In computational drug discovery, ranking a series of compound analogues in the order that is consistent with the experimental binding affinities remains a challenge. Many of the computational methods available for evaluating binding affinities have adopted molecular mechanics (MM)-based force fields, although they cannot completely describe protein-ligand interactions. By contrast, quantum mechanics (QM) calculations play an important role in understanding the protein-ligand interactions; however, their huge computational costs hinder their application in drug discovery. In this study, we have evaluated the ability to rank the binding affinities of tankyrase 2 ligands by combining both MM and QM calculations. Our computational approach uses the protein-ligand binding energies obtained from a cost-effective multilayer fragment molecular orbital (MFMO) method combined with the solvation energy obtained from the MM-Poisson-Boltzmann/surface area (MM-PB/SA) method to predict the binding affinity. This approach enabled us to rank tankyrase 2 inhibitor analogues, outperforming several MM-based methods, including rescoring by molecular docking and the MM-PB/SA method alone. Our results show that this computational approach using the MFMO method is a promising tool for predicting the rank order of the binding affinities of inhibitor analogues.
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45
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Pecina A, Brynda J, Vrzal L, Gnanasekaran R, Hořejší M, Eyrilmez SM, Řezáč J, Lepšík M, Řezáčová P, Hobza P, Majer P, Veverka V, Fanfrlík J. Ranking Power of the SQM/COSMO Scoring Function on Carbonic Anhydrase II-Inhibitor Complexes. Chemphyschem 2018; 19:873-879. [PMID: 29316128 DOI: 10.1002/cphc.201701104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Accurate prediction of protein-ligand binding affinities is essential for hit-to-lead optimization and virtual screening. The reliability of scoring functions can be improved by including quantum effects. Here, we demonstrate the ranking power of the semiempirical quantum mechanics (SQM)/implicit solvent (COSMO) scoring function by using a challenging set of 10 inhibitors binding to carbonic anhydrase II through Zn2+ in the active site. This new dataset consists of the high-resolution (1.1-1.4 Å) crystal structures and experimentally determined inhibitory constant (Ki ) values. It allows for evaluation of the common approximations, such as representing the solvent implicitly or by using a single target conformation combined with a set of ligand docking poses. SQM/COSMO attained a good correlation of R2 of 0.56-0.77 with the experimental inhibitory activities, benefiting from careful handling of both noncovalent interactions (e.g. charge transfer) and solvation. This proof-of-concept study of SQM/COSMO ranking for metalloprotein-ligand systems demonstrates its potential for hit-to-lead applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Pecina
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Brynda
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic.,Institute of Molecular Genetics of, Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 14220, Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Lukáš Vrzal
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Ramachandran Gnanasekaran
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic.,Current address: Department of Chemistry, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, 605014, India
| | - Magdalena Hořejší
- Institute of Molecular Genetics of, Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 14220, Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Saltuk M Eyrilmez
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic.,Palacký University, 77146, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Řezáč
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Lepšík
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Pavlína Řezáčová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic.,Institute of Molecular Genetics of, Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 14220, Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Hobza
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic.,Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Palacký University, 77146, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Václav Veverka
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jindřich Fanfrlík
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
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46
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Kollar J, Frecer V. How accurate is the description of ligand–protein interactions by a hybrid QM/MM approach? J Mol Model 2017; 24:11. [DOI: 10.1007/s00894-017-3537-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2017] [Accepted: 11/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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47
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Malik V, Dhanjal JK, Kumari A, Radhakrishnan N, Singh K, Sundar D. Function and structure-based screening of compounds, peptides and proteins to identify drug candidates. Methods 2017; 131:10-21. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2017.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2017] [Revised: 08/21/2017] [Accepted: 08/21/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
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48
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Ajani H, Pecina A, Eyrilmez SM, Fanfrlík J, Haldar S, Řezáč J, Hobza P, Lepšík M. Superior Performance of the SQM/COSMO Scoring Functions in Native Pose Recognition of Diverse Protein-Ligand Complexes in Cognate Docking. ACS OMEGA 2017; 2:4022-4029. [PMID: 30023710 PMCID: PMC6044937 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.7b00503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2017] [Accepted: 07/18/2017] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
General and reliable description of structures and energetics in protein-ligand (PL) binding using the docking/scoring methodology has until now been elusive. We address this urgent deficiency of scoring functions (SFs) by the systematic development of corrected semiempirical quantum mechanical (SQM) methods, which correctly describe all types of noncovalent interactions and are fast enough to treat systems of thousands of atoms. Two most accurate SQM methods, PM6-D3H4X and SCC-DFTB3-D3H4X, are coupled with the conductor-like screening model (COSMO) implicit solvation model in so-called "SQM/COSMO" SFs and have shown unique recognition of native ligand poses in cognate docking in four challenging PL systems, including metalloprotein. Here, we apply the two SQM/COSMO SFs to 17 diverse PL complexes and compare their performance with four widely used classical SFs (Glide XP, AutoDock4, AutoDock Vina, and UCSF Dock). We observe superior performance of the SQM/COSMO SFs and identify challenging systems. This method, due to its generality, comparability across the chemical space, and lack of need for any system-specific parameters, gives promise of becoming, after comprehensive large-scale testing in the near future, a useful computational tool in structure-based drug design and serving as a reference method for the development of other SFs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haresh Ajani
- Department
of Computational Chemistry, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610 Praha 6, Czech Republic
- Department
of Physical Chemistry, Palacký University, tř. 17. listopadu 1192/12, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Adam Pecina
- Department
of Computational Chemistry, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610 Praha 6, Czech Republic
| | - Saltuk M. Eyrilmez
- Department
of Computational Chemistry, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610 Praha 6, Czech Republic
- Department
of Physical Chemistry, Palacký University, tř. 17. listopadu 1192/12, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Jindřich Fanfrlík
- Department
of Computational Chemistry, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610 Praha 6, Czech Republic
| | - Susanta Haldar
- Department
of Computational Chemistry, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610 Praha 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Řezáč
- Department
of Computational Chemistry, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610 Praha 6, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Hobza
- Department
of Computational Chemistry, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610 Praha 6, Czech Republic
- Department
of Physical Chemistry, Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and
Materials, Palacký University, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Lepšík
- Department
of Computational Chemistry, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610 Praha 6, Czech Republic
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49
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Adeniyi AA, Soliman MES. Implementing QM in docking calculations: is it a waste of computational time? Drug Discov Today 2017; 22:1216-1223. [PMID: 28689054 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2017.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2017] [Revised: 05/25/2017] [Accepted: 06/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The greatest challenge in molecular docking (MD) is the deficiency of scoring functions (SFs), which limits their reliability. SFs are too simplified to represent the true features of the complex free energy of protein-ligand interactions. Investigations of docking functions have traded accuracy for speed through the use of approximations and simplifications. Consequently, there has been an increase in the popularity of quantum-mechanical (QM)-based methods as reference points for the development of fast, reliable, valuable, yet inexpensive, tools. As we discuss here, one significant QM-based parameter used to predict docking is the accuracy of atomic partial charges, which is strongly related to the accuracy of the SF prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adebayo A Adeniyi
- School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, Durban 4001, South Africa.
| | - Mahmoud E S Soliman
- School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, Durban 4001, South Africa.
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50
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Pecina A, Haldar S, Fanfrlík J, Meier R, Řezáč J, Lepšík M, Hobza P. SQM/COSMO Scoring Function at the DFTB3-D3H4 Level: Unique Identification of Native Protein–Ligand Poses. J Chem Inf Model 2017; 57:127-132. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.6b00513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Adam Pecina
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Flemingovo nám. 2, 16610 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Susanta Haldar
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Flemingovo nám. 2, 16610 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jindřich Fanfrlík
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Flemingovo nám. 2, 16610 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - René Meier
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Weinberg 3, 06120 Halle, Germany
| | - Jan Řezáč
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Flemingovo nám. 2, 16610 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Lepšík
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Flemingovo nám. 2, 16610 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Hobza
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Flemingovo nám. 2, 16610 Prague 6, Czech Republic
- Regional
Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Palacký University, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic
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