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Cheuka PM, Njaria P, Mayoka G, Funjika E. Emerging Drug Targets for Antimalarial Drug Discovery: Validation and Insights into Molecular Mechanisms of Function. J Med Chem 2024; 67:838-863. [PMID: 38198596 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c01828] [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: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
Approximately 619,000 malaria deaths were reported in 2021, and resistance to recommended drugs, including artemisinin-combination therapies (ACTs), threatens malaria control. Treatment failure with ACTs has been found to be as high as 93% in northeastern Thailand, and parasite mutations responsible for artemisinin resistance have already been reported in some African countries. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify alternative treatments with novel targets. In this Perspective, we discuss some promising antimalarial drug targets, including enzymes involved in proteolysis, DNA and RNA metabolism, protein synthesis, and isoprenoid metabolism. Other targets discussed are transporters, Plasmodium falciparum acetyl-coenzyme A synthetase, N-myristoyltransferase, and the cyclic guanosine monophosphate-dependent protein kinase G. We have outlined mechanistic details, where these are understood, underpinning the biological roles and hence druggability of such targets. We believe that having a clear understanding of the underlying chemical interactions is valuable to medicinal chemists in their quest to design appropriate inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Mubanga Cheuka
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, University of Zambia, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka 10101, Zambia
| | - Paul Njaria
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Kenyatta University, P.O. Box 14548-00400, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
| | - Godfrey Mayoka
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, P.O. Box 62000-00200, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
| | - Evelyn Funjika
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, University of Zambia, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka 10101, Zambia
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Ditte M, Barborini M, Medrano Sandonas L, Tkatchenko A. Molecules in Environments: Toward Systematic Quantum Embedding of Electrons and Drude Oscillators. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023; 131:228001. [PMID: 38101380 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.131.228001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
We develop a quantum embedding method that enables accurate and efficient treatment of interactions between molecules and an environment, while explicitly including many-body correlations. The molecule is composed of classical nuclei and quantum electrons, whereas the environment is modeled via charged quantum harmonic oscillators. We construct a general Hamiltonian and introduce a variational Ansatz for the correlated ground state of the fully interacting molecule-environment system. This wave function is optimized via the variational Monte Carlo method and the ground state energy is subsequently estimated through the diffusion Monte Carlo method. The proposed scheme allows an explicit many-body treatment of electrostatic, polarization, and dispersion interactions between the molecule and the environment. We study solvation energies and excitation energies of benzene derivatives, obtaining excellent agreement with explicit ab initio calculations and experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matej Ditte
- Department of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg, L-1511 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
| | - Matteo Barborini
- Department of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg, L-1511 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
| | - Leonardo Medrano Sandonas
- Department of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg, L-1511 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
| | - Alexandre Tkatchenko
- Department of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg, L-1511 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
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Jones LO, Mosquera MA, Schatz GC, Ratner MA. Embedding Methods for Quantum Chemistry: Applications from Materials to Life Sciences. J Am Chem Soc 2020; 142:3281-3295. [PMID: 31986877 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.9b10780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Quantum mechanical embedding methods hold the promise to transform not just the way calculations are performed, but to significantly reduce computational costs and improve scaling for macro-molecular systems containing hundreds if not thousands of atoms. The field of embedding has grown increasingly broad with many approaches of different intersecting flavors. In this perspective, we lay out the methods into two streams: QM:MM and QM:QM, showcasing the advantages and disadvantages of both. We provide a review of the literature, the underpinning theories including our contributions, and we highlight current applications with select examples spanning both materials and life sciences. We conclude with prospects and future outlook on embedding, and our view on the use of universal test case scenarios for cross-comparisons of the many available (and future) embedding theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leighton O Jones
- Department of Chemistry , Northwestern University , Evanston , Illinois 60208 , United States
| | - Martín A Mosquera
- Department of Chemistry , Northwestern University , Evanston , Illinois 60208 , United States
| | - George C Schatz
- Department of Chemistry , Northwestern University , Evanston , Illinois 60208 , United States
| | - Mark A Ratner
- Department of Chemistry , Northwestern University , Evanston , Illinois 60208 , United States
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Pereira PRM, Araújo JDO, Silva JRA, Alves CN, Lameira J, Lima AH. Exploring Chloride Selectivity and Halogenase Regioselectivity of the SalL Enzyme through Quantum Mechanical/Molecular Mechanical Modeling. J Chem Inf Model 2020; 60:738-746. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.9b01079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Paulo R. M. Pereira
- Laboratório de Planejamento e Desenvolvimento de Fármacos, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Pará, 66075-110, Belém, PA, Brasil
| | - Jéssica de O. Araújo
- Laboratório de Planejamento e Desenvolvimento de Fármacos, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Pará, 66075-110, Belém, PA, Brasil
| | - José Rogério A. Silva
- Laboratório de Planejamento e Desenvolvimento de Fármacos, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Pará, 66075-110, Belém, PA, Brasil
| | - Cláudio N. Alves
- Laboratório de Planejamento e Desenvolvimento de Fármacos, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Pará, 66075-110, Belém, PA, Brasil
| | - Jerônimo Lameira
- Laboratório de Planejamento e Desenvolvimento de Fármacos, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Pará, 66075-110, Belém, PA, Brasil
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, 66075-110, Belém, PA, Brasil
| | - Anderson H. Lima
- Laboratório de Planejamento e Desenvolvimento de Fármacos, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Pará, 66075-110, Belém, PA, Brasil
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Menni C, McCallum L, Pietzner M, Zierer J, Aman A, Suhre K, Mohney RP, Mangino M, Friedrich N, Spector TD, Padmanabhan S. Metabolomic profiling identifies novel associations with Electrolyte and Acid-Base Homeostatic patterns. Sci Rep 2019; 9:15088. [PMID: 31636301 PMCID: PMC6803625 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51492-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 10/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Electrolytes have a crucial role in maintaining health and their serum levels are homeostatically maintained within a narrow range by multiple pathways involving the kidneys. Here we use metabolomics profiling (592 fasting serum metabolites) to identify molecular markers and pathways associated with serum electrolyte levels in two independent population-based cohorts. We included 1523 adults from TwinsUK not on blood pressure-lowering therapy and without renal impairment to look for metabolites associated with chloride, sodium, potassium and bicarbonate by running linear mixed models adjusting for covariates and multiple comparisons. For each electrolyte, we further performed pathway enrichment analysis (PAGE algorithm). Results were replicated in an independent cohort. Chloride, potassium, bicarbonate and sodium associated with 10, 58, 36 and 17 metabolites respectively (each P < 2.1 × 10-5), mainly lipids. Of all the electrolytes, serum potassium showed the most significant associations with individual fatty acid metabolites and specific enrichment of fatty acid pathways. In contrast, serum sodium and bicarbonate showed associations predominantly with amino-acid related species. In the first study to examine systematically associations between serum electrolytes and small circulating molecules, we identified novel metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with serum electrolyte levels. The role of these metabolic pathways on electrolyte homeostasis merits further studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Menni
- Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London, UK.
| | - Linsay McCallum
- Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Maik Pietzner
- Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Jonas Zierer
- Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Education City, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Alisha Aman
- Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | | | | | - Massimo Mangino
- Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Nele Friedrich
- Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Tim D Spector
- Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Sandosh Padmanabhan
- Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
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Shi N, Zheng QC, Zhang HX. QM/MM calculations and MD simulations on acetate CoA-transferase to reveal its catalytic mechanism and illuminate the role of residue Asn347. MOLECULAR CATALYSIS 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mcat.2018.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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