1
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Kong L, Park SJ, Im W. CHARMM-GUI PDB Reader and Manipulator: Covalent Ligand Modeling and Simulation. J Mol Biol 2024; 436:168554. [PMID: 39237201 PMCID: PMC11377865 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2024.168554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 09/07/2024]
Abstract
Molecular modeling and simulation serve an important role in exploring biological functions of proteins at the molecular level, which is complementary to experiments. CHARMM-GUI (https://www.charmm-gui.org) is a web-based graphical user interface that generates complex molecular simulation systems and input files, and we have been continuously developing and expanding its functionalities to facilitate various complex molecular modeling and make molecular dynamics simulations more accessible to the scientific community. Currently, covalent drug discovery emerges as a popular and important field. Covalent drug forms a chemical bond with specific residues on the target protein, and it has advantages in potency for its prolonged inhibition effects. Even though there are higher demands in modeling PDB protein structures with various covalent ligand types, proper modeling of covalent ligands remains challenging. This work presents a new functionality in CHARMM-GUI PDB Reader & Manipulator that can handle a diversity of ligand-amino acid linkage types, which is validated by a careful benchmark study using over 1,000 covalent ligand structures in RCSB PDB. We hope that this new functionality can boost the modeling and simulation study of covalent ligands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingyang Kong
- Departments of Biological Sciences, Bioengineering, and Computer Science and Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA
| | - Sang-Jun Park
- Departments of Biological Sciences, Bioengineering, and Computer Science and Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA
| | - Wonpil Im
- Departments of Biological Sciences, Bioengineering, and Computer Science and Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA.
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2
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Liu R, Clayton J, Shen M, Bhatnagar S, Shen J. Machine Learning Models to Interrogate Proteome-Wide Covalent Ligandabilities Directed at Cysteines. JACS AU 2024; 4:1374-1384. [PMID: 38665640 PMCID: PMC11040703 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.3c00749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Machine learning (ML) identification of covalently ligandable sites may accelerate targeted covalent inhibitor design and help expand the druggable proteome space. Here, we report the rigorous development and validation of the tree-based models and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) trained on a newly curated database (LigCys3D) of over 1000 liganded cysteines in nearly 800 proteins represented by over 10,000 three-dimensional structures in the protein data bank. The unseen tests yielded 94 and 93% area under the receiver operating characteristic curves for the tree models and CNNs, respectively. Based on the AlphaFold2 predicted structures, the ML models recapitulated the newly liganded cysteines in the PDB with over 90% recall values. To assist the community of covalent drug discoveries, we report the predicted ligandable cysteines in 392 human kinases and their locations in the sequence-aligned kinase structure, including the PH and SH2 domains. Furthermore, we disseminate a searchable online database LigCys3D (https://ligcys.computchem.org/) and a web prediction server DeepCys (https://deepcys.computchem.org/), both of which will be continuously updated and improved by including newly published experimental data. The present work represents an important step toward the ML-led integration of big genome data and structure models to annotate the human proteome space for the next-generation covalent drug discoveries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruibin Liu
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
| | - Joseph Clayton
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
- Division
of Applied Regulatory Science, Office of Clinical Pharmacology, Center
for Drug Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food
and Drug Administration, Silver
Spring, Maryland 20993, United States
| | - Mingzhe Shen
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
| | - Shubham Bhatnagar
- Department
of Computer Science, University of Maryland
at College Park, College
Park, Maryland 20742, United States
| | - Jana Shen
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
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3
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Gu Z, Yan Y, Liu H, Wu D, Yao H, Lin K, Li X. Discovery of Covalent Lead Compounds Targeting 3CL Protease with a Lateral Interactions Spiking Neural Network. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:3047-3058. [PMID: 38520328 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c01900] [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: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
Covalent drugs exhibit advantages in that noncovalent drugs cannot match, and covalent docking is an important method for screening covalent lead compounds. However, it is difficult for covalent docking to screen covalent compounds on a large scale because covalent docking requires determination of the covalent reaction type of the compound. Here, we propose to use deep learning of a lateral interactions spiking neural network to construct a covalent lead compound screening model to quickly screen covalent lead compounds. We used the 3CL protease (3CL Pro) of SARS-CoV-2 as the screen target and constructed two classification models based on LISNN to predict the covalent binding and inhibitory activity of compounds. The two classification models were trained on the covalent complex data set targeting cysteine (Cys) and the compound inhibitory activity data set targeting 3CL Pro, respected, with good prediction accuracy (ACC > 0.9). We then screened the screening compound library with 6 covalent binding screening models and 12 inhibitory activity screening models. We tested the inhibitory activity of the 32 compounds, and the best compound inhibited SARS-CoV-2 3CL Pro with an IC50 value of 369.5 nM. Further assay implied that dithiothreitol can affect the inhibitory activity of the compound to 3CL Pro, indicating that the compound may covalently bind 3CL Pro. The selectivity test showed that the compound had good target selectivity to 3CL Pro over cathepsin L. These correlation assays can prove the rationality of the covalent lead compound screening model. Finally, covalent docking was performed to demonstrate the binding conformation of the compound with 3CL Pro. The source code can be obtained from the GitHub repository (https://github.com/guzh970630/Screen_Covalent_Compound_by_LISNN).
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihao Gu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
- Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies and School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China
| | - Yong Yan
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Hanwen Liu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Di Wu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Hequan Yao
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Kejiang Lin
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Xuanyi Li
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
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4
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Wan C, Yang D, Song C, Liang M, An Y, Lian C, Dai C, Ye Y, Yin F, Wang R, Li Z. A pyridinium-based strategy for lysine-selective protein modification and chemoproteomic profiling in live cells. Chem Sci 2024; 15:5340-5348. [PMID: 38577373 PMCID: PMC10988577 DOI: 10.1039/d3sc05766f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Protein active states are dynamically regulated by various modifications; thus, endogenous protein modification is an important tool for understanding protein functions and networks in complicated biological systems. Here we developed a new pyridinium-based approach to label lysine residues under physiological conditions that is low-toxicity, efficient, and lysine-selective. Furthermore, we performed a large-scale analysis of the ∼70% lysine-selective proteome in MCF-7 cells using activity-based protein profiling (ABPP). We quantifically assessed 1216 lysine-labeled peptides in cell lysates and identified 386 modified lysine sites including 43 mitochondrial-localized proteins in live MCF-7 cells. Labeled proteins significantly preferred the mitochondria. This pyridinium-based methodology demonstrates the importance of analyzing endogenous proteins under native conditions and provides a robust chemical strategy utilizing either lysine-selective protein labeling or spatiotemporal profiling in a living system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuan Wan
- College of Health Science and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen Technology University Shenzhen 518118 P. R. China
| | - Dongyan Yang
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering Guangzhou 510225 P. R. China
| | - Chunli Song
- Pingshan Translational Medicine Center, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory Shenzhen 518118 P. R. China
| | - Mingchan Liang
- Pingshan Translational Medicine Center, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory Shenzhen 518118 P. R. China
| | - Yuhao An
- Pingshan Translational Medicine Center, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory Shenzhen 518118 P. R. China
| | - Chenshan Lian
- Pingshan Translational Medicine Center, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory Shenzhen 518118 P. R. China
| | - Chuan Dai
- Pingshan Translational Medicine Center, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory Shenzhen 518118 P. R. China
| | - Yuxin Ye
- Pingshan Translational Medicine Center, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory Shenzhen 518118 P. R. China
| | - Feng Yin
- Pingshan Translational Medicine Center, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory Shenzhen 518118 P. R. China
| | - Rui Wang
- Pingshan Translational Medicine Center, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory Shenzhen 518118 P. R. China
| | - Zigang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School Shenzhen 518055 P. R. China
- Pingshan Translational Medicine Center, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory Shenzhen 518118 P. R. China
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5
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Xu X, Han W, Ning X, Zang C, Xu C, Zeng C, Pu C, Zhang Y, Chen Y, Liu H. Constructing Innovative Covalent and Noncovalent Compound Libraries: Insights from 3D Protein-Ligand Interactions. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:1543-1559. [PMID: 38381562 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c01689] [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: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
Noncovalent interactions between small-molecule drugs and protein targets assume a pivotal role in drug design. Moreover, the design of covalent inhibitors, forming covalent bonds with amino acid residues, requires rational reactivity for their covalent warheads, presenting a key challenge as well. Understanding the intricacies of these interactions provides a more comprehensive understanding of molecular binding mechanisms, thereby guiding the rational design of potent inhibitors. In this study, we adopted the fragment-based drug design approach, introducing a novel methodology to extract noncovalent and covalent fragments according to distinct three-dimensional (3D) interaction modes from noncovalent and covalent compound libraries. Additionally, we systematically replaced existing ligands with rational fragment substitutions, based on the spatial orientation of fragments in 3D space. Furthermore, we adopted a molecular generation approach to create innovative covalent inhibitors. This process resulted in the recombination of a noncovalent compound library and several covalent compound libraries, constructed by two commonly encountered covalent amino acids: cysteine and serine. We utilized noncovalent ligands in KLIFS and covalent ligands in CovBinderInPDB as examples to recombine noncovalent and covalent libraries. These recombined compound libraries cover a substantial portion of the chemical space present in the original compound libraries and exhibit superior performance in terms of molecular scaffold diversity compared to the original compound libraries and other 11 commercial libraries. We also recombined BTK-focused libraries, and 23 compounds within our libraries have been validated by former researchers to possess potential biological activity. The establishment of these compound libraries provides valuable resources for virtual screening of covalent and noncovalent drugs targeting similar molecular targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohe Xu
- Laboratory of Molecular Design and Drug Discovery, School of Science, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Avenue, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Weijie Han
- Laboratory of Molecular Design and Drug Discovery, School of Science, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Avenue, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Xiangzhen Ning
- Laboratory of Molecular Design and Drug Discovery, School of Science, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Avenue, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Chengdong Zang
- Laboratory of Molecular Design and Drug Discovery, School of Science, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Avenue, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Chengcheng Xu
- Laboratory of Molecular Design and Drug Discovery, School of Science, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Avenue, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Chen Zeng
- Laboratory of Molecular Design and Drug Discovery, School of Science, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Avenue, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Chengtao Pu
- Laboratory of Molecular Design and Drug Discovery, School of Science, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Avenue, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Yanmin Zhang
- Laboratory of Molecular Design and Drug Discovery, School of Science, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Avenue, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Yadong Chen
- Laboratory of Molecular Design and Drug Discovery, School of Science, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Avenue, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Haichun Liu
- Laboratory of Molecular Design and Drug Discovery, School of Science, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Avenue, Nanjing 211198, China
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6
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Compain G, Monsarrat C, Blagojevic J, Brillet K, Dumas P, Hammann P, Kuhn L, Martiel I, Engilberge S, Oliéric V, Wolff P, Burnouf DY, Wagner J, Guichard G. Peptide-Based Covalent Inhibitors Bearing Mild Electrophiles to Target a Conserved His Residue of the Bacterial Sliding Clamp. JACS AU 2024; 4:432-440. [PMID: 38425897 PMCID: PMC10900491 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.3c00572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Peptide-based covalent inhibitors targeted to nucleophilic protein residues have recently emerged as new modalities to target protein-protein interactions (PPIs) as they may provide some benefits over more classic competitive inhibitors. Covalent inhibitors are generally targeted to cysteine, the most intrinsically reactive amino acid residue, and to lysine, which is more abundant at the surface of proteins but much less frequently to histidine. Herein, we report the structure-guided design of targeted covalent inhibitors (TCIs) able to bind covalently and selectively to the bacterial sliding clamp (SC), by reacting with a well-conserved histidine residue located on the edge of the peptide-binding pocket. SC is an essential component of the bacterial DNA replication machinery, identified as a promising target for the development of new antibacterial compounds. Thermodynamic and kinetic analyses of ligands bearing different mild electrophilic warheads confirmed the higher efficiency of the chloroacetamide compared to Michael acceptors. Two high-resolution X-ray structures of covalent inhibitor-SC adducts were obtained, revealing the canonical orientation of the ligand and details of covalent bond formation with histidine. Proteomic studies were consistent with a selective SC engagement by the chloroacetamide-based TCI. Finally, the TCI of SC was substantially more active than the parent noncovalent inhibitor in an in vitro SC-dependent DNA synthesis assay, validating the potential of the approach to design covalent inhibitors of protein-protein interactions targeted to histidine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Compain
- Univ.
Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, CBMN, UMR 5248, IECB, 2 Rue Robert Escarpit, F-33607 Pessac, France
| | - Clément Monsarrat
- Univ.
Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, CBMN, UMR 5248, IECB, 2 Rue Robert Escarpit, F-33607 Pessac, France
| | - Julie Blagojevic
- Université
de Strasbourg, CNRS, FR1589, Plateforme Protéomique Strasbourg
Esplanade, 2 Allée K. Roentgen, 67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Karl Brillet
- Université
de Strasbourg, CNRS, Architecture et Réactivité de l’ARN,
UPR 9002, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du
CNRS, 2 Allée
K. Roentgen, 67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Philippe Dumas
- Department
of Integrative Structural Biology, IGBMC, Strasbourg University, ESBS, 1 Rue Laurent Fries, 67404 Illkirch, Cedex, France
| | - Philippe Hammann
- Université
de Strasbourg, CNRS, FR1589, Plateforme Protéomique Strasbourg
Esplanade, 2 Allée K. Roentgen, 67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Lauriane Kuhn
- Université
de Strasbourg, CNRS, FR1589, Plateforme Protéomique Strasbourg
Esplanade, 2 Allée K. Roentgen, 67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Isabelle Martiel
- Swiss
Light Source (SLS), Paul Scherrer Institute
(PSI), 5232 Villigen-PSI, Switzerland
| | - Sylvain Engilberge
- Swiss
Light Source (SLS), Paul Scherrer Institute
(PSI), 5232 Villigen-PSI, Switzerland
| | - Vincent Oliéric
- Swiss
Light Source (SLS), Paul Scherrer Institute
(PSI), 5232 Villigen-PSI, Switzerland
| | - Philippe Wolff
- Université
de Strasbourg, CNRS, Architecture et Réactivité de l’ARN,
UPR 9002, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du
CNRS, 2 Allée
K. Roentgen, 67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Dominique Y. Burnouf
- Université
de Strasbourg, CNRS, Architecture et Réactivité de l’ARN,
UPR 9002, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du
CNRS, 2 Allée
K. Roentgen, 67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Jérôme Wagner
- Université
de Strasbourg, CNRS, Architecture et Réactivité de l’ARN,
UPR 9002, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du
CNRS, 2 Allée
K. Roentgen, 67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Gilles Guichard
- Univ.
Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, CBMN, UMR 5248, IECB, 2 Rue Robert Escarpit, F-33607 Pessac, France
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7
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Liu R, Clayton J, Shen M, Bhatnagar S, Shen J. Machine Learning Models to Interrogate Proteomewide Covalent Ligandabilities Directed at Cysteines. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.08.17.553742. [PMID: 37662346 PMCID: PMC10473668 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.17.553742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
Machine learning (ML) identification of covalently ligandable sites may accelerate targeted covalent inhibitor design and help expand the druggable proteome space. Here we report the rigorous development and validation of the tree-based models and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) trained on a newly curated database (LigCys3D) of over 1,000 liganded cysteines in nearly 800 proteins represented by over 10,000 three-dimensional structures in the protein data bank. The unseen tests yielded 94% and 93% AUCs (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve) for the tree models and CNNs, respectively. Based on the AlphaFold2 predicted structures, the ML models recapitulated the newly liganded cysteines in the PDB with over 90% recall values. To assist the community of covalent drug discoveries, we report the predicted ligandable cysteines in 392 human kinases and their locations in the sequence-aligned kinase structure including the PH and SH2 domains. Furthermore, we disseminate a searchable online database LigCys3D (https://ligcys.computchem.org/) and a web prediction server DeepCys (https://deepcys.computchem.org/), both of which will be continuously updated and improved by including newly published experimental data. The present work represents a first step towards the ML-led integration of big genome data and structure models to annotate the human proteome space for the next-generation covalent drug discoveries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruibin Liu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Joseph Clayton
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
- Division of Applied Regulatory Science, Office of Clinical Pharmacology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
| | - Mingzhe Shen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Shubham Bhatnagar
- Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Jana Shen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
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8
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Goullieux M, Zoete V, Röhrig UF. Two-Step Covalent Docking with Attracting Cavities. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:7847-7859. [PMID: 38049143 PMCID: PMC10751798 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c01055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023]
Abstract
Due to their various advantages, interest in the development of covalent drugs has been renewed in the past few years. It is therefore important to accurately describe and predict their interactions with biological targets by computer-aided drug design tools such as docking algorithms. Here, we report a covalent docking procedure for our in-house docking code Attracting Cavities (AC), which mimics the two-step mechanism of covalent ligand binding. Ligand binding to the protein cavity is driven by nonbonded interactions, followed by the formation of a covalent bond between the ligand and the protein through a chemical reaction. To test the performance of this method, we developed a diverse, high-quality, openly accessible re-docking benchmark set of 95 covalent complexes bound by 8 chemical reactions to 5 different reactive amino acids. Combination with structures from previous studies resulted in a set of 304 complexes, on which AC obtained a success rate (rmsd ≤ 2 Å) of 78%, outperforming two state-of-the-art covalent docking codes, genetic optimization for ligand docking (GOLD (66%)) and AutoDock (AD (35%)). Using a more stringent success criterion (rmsd ≤ 1.5 Å), AC reached a success rate of 71 vs 55% for GOLD and 26% for AD. We additionally assessed the cross-docking performance of AC on a set of 76 covalent complexes of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease. On this challenging test set of mainly small and highly solvent-exposed ligands, AC yielded success rates of 58 and 28% for re-docking and cross-docking, respectively, compared to 45 and 17% for GOLD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde Goullieux
- SIB
Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Molecular Modeling Group, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Vincent Zoete
- SIB
Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Molecular Modeling Group, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department
of Oncology UNIL-CHUV, Lausanne University, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
Lausanne Branch, CH-1066 Epalinges, Switzerland
| | - Ute F. Röhrig
- SIB
Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Molecular Modeling Group, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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9
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Mehta NV, Degani MS. The expanding repertoire of covalent warheads for drug discovery. Drug Discov Today 2023; 28:103799. [PMID: 37839776 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2023.103799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
The reactive functionalities of drugs that engage in covalent interactions with the enzyme/receptor residue in either a reversible or an irreversible manner are called 'warheads'. Covalent warheads that were previously neglected because of safety concerns have recently gained center stage as a result of their various advantages over noncovalent drugs, including increased selectivity, increased residence time, and higher potency. With the approval of several covalent inhibitors over the past decade, research in this area has accelerated. Various strategies are being continuously developed to tune the characteristics of warheads to improve their potency and mitigate toxicity. Here, we review research progress in warhead discovery over the past 5 years to provide valuable insights for future drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Namrashee V Mehta
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Nathalal Parekh Marg, Matunga, Mumbai 400019, Maharashtra, India.
| | - Mariam S Degani
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Nathalal Parekh Marg, Matunga, Mumbai 400019, Maharashtra, India.
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10
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Huang YQ, Wang S, Gong DH, Kumar V, Dong YW, Hao GF. In silico resources help combat cancer drug resistance mediated by target mutations. Drug Discov Today 2023; 28:103686. [PMID: 37379904 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2023.103686] [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: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
Drug resistance causes catastrophic cancer treatment failures. Mutations in target proteins with altered drug binding indicate a main mechanism of cancer drug resistance (CDR). Global research has generated considerable CDR-related data and well-established knowledge bases and predictive tools. Unfortunately, these resources are fragmented and underutilized. Here, we examine computational resources for exploring CDR caused by target mutations, analyzing these tools based on their functional characteristics, data capacity, data sources, methodologies and performance. We also discuss their disadvantages and provide examples of how potential inhibitors of CDR have been discovered using these resources. This toolkit is designed to help specialists explore resistance occurrence effectively and to explain resistance prediction to non-specialists easily.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan-Qin Huang
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Shuang Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Dao-Hong Gong
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Vinit Kumar
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Ya-Wen Dong
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Ge-Fei Hao
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China.
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11
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Oyedele AQK, Ogunlana AT, Boyenle ID, Adeyemi AO, Rita TO, Adelusi TI, Abdul-Hammed M, Elegbeleye OE, Odunitan TT. Docking covalent targets for drug discovery: stimulating the computer-aided drug design community of possible pitfalls and erroneous practices. Mol Divers 2023; 27:1879-1903. [PMID: 36057867 PMCID: PMC9441019 DOI: 10.1007/s11030-022-10523-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The continuous approval of covalent drugs in recent years for the treatment of diseases has led to an increased search for covalent agents by medicinal chemists and computational scientists worldwide. In the computational parlance, molecular docking which is a popular tool to investigate the interaction of a ligand and a protein target, does not account for the formation of covalent bond, and the increasing application of these conventional programs to covalent targets in early drug discovery practice is a matter of utmost concern. Thus, in this comprehensive review, we sought to educate the docking community about the realization of covalent docking and the existence of suitable programs to make their future virtual-screening events on covalent targets worthwhile and scientifically rational. More interestingly, we went beyond the classical description of the functionality of covalent-docking programs down to selecting the 'best' program to consult with during a virtual-screening campaign based on receptor class and covalent warhead chemistry. In addition, we made a highlight on how covalent docking could be achieved using random conventional docking software. And lastly, we raised an alert on the growing erroneous molecular docking practices with covalent targets. Our aim is to guide scientists in the rational docking pursuit when dealing with covalent targets, as this will reduce false-positive results and also increase the reliability of their work for translational research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdul-Quddus Kehinde Oyedele
- Computational Biology/Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria
- Department of Chemistry, University of New Haven, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - Abdeen Tunde Ogunlana
- Computational Biology/Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria
| | - Ibrahim Damilare Boyenle
- Computational Biology/Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria.
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemsitry, University of Maryland, Maryland, USA.
- College of Health Sciences, Crescent University, Abeokuta, Nigeria.
| | | | - Temionu Oluwakemi Rita
- Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Lagos State College of Health, Lagos, Nigeria
| | - Temitope Isaac Adelusi
- Computational Biology/Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria
| | - Misbaudeen Abdul-Hammed
- Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria
| | - Oluwabamise Emmanuel Elegbeleye
- Computational Biology/Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria
| | - Tope Tunji Odunitan
- Department of Biochemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria
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12
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Yu W, Weber DJ, MacKerell AD. Integrated Covalent Drug Design Workflow Using Site Identification by Ligand Competitive Saturation. J Chem Theory Comput 2023; 19:3007-3021. [PMID: 37115781 PMCID: PMC10205696 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c00232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Covalent drug design is an important component in drug discovery. Traditional drugs interact with their target in a reversible equilibrium, while irreversible covalent drugs increase the drug-target interaction duration by forming a covalent bond with targeted residues and thus may offer a more effective therapeutic approach. To facilitate the design of this class of ligands, computational methods can be used to help identify reactive nucleophilic residues, frequently cysteines, on a target protein for covalent binding, to test various warhead groups for their potential reactivities, and to predict noncovalent contributions to binding that can facilitate drug-target interactions that are important for binding specificity. To further aid covalent drug design, we extended a functional group mapping approach based on explicit solvent all-atom molecular simulations (SILCS: site identification by ligand competitive saturation) that intrinsically considers protein flexibility, functional group, and protein desolvation along with functional group-protein interactions. Through docking of a library of representative warhead fragments using SILCS-Monte Carlo (SILCS-MC), reactive cysteines can be correctly identified for proteins being tested. Furthermore, a machine learning model was trained to quantify the effectiveness of various warhead groups for proteins using metrics from SILCS-MC as well as experimental model compound warhead reactivity data. The ability to rank covalent molecular binders with similar warheads using SILCS ligand grid free energy (LGFE) ranking was also tested for several proteins. Based on these tools, an integrated SILCS-based workflow was developed, named SILCS-Covalent, which can both qualitatively and quantitatively inform covalent drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenbo Yu
- Computer-Aided Drug Design Center, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR), Rockville, Maryland 20850, United States
- Center for Biomolecular Therapeutics (CBT), School of Medicine, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
| | - David J. Weber
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR), Rockville, Maryland 20850, United States
- Center for Biomolecular Therapeutics (CBT), School of Medicine, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
| | - Alexander D. MacKerell
- Computer-Aided Drug Design Center, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR), Rockville, Maryland 20850, United States
- Center for Biomolecular Therapeutics (CBT), School of Medicine, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
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13
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Mons E, Kim RQ, Mulder MPC. Technologies for Direct Detection of Covalent Protein-Drug Adducts. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:547. [PMID: 37111304 PMCID: PMC10146396 DOI: 10.3390/ph16040547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In the past two decades, drug candidates with a covalent binding mode have gained the interest of medicinal chemists, as several covalent anticancer drugs have successfully reached the clinic. As a covalent binding mode changes the relevant parameters to rank inhibitor potency and investigate structure-activity relationship (SAR), it is important to gather experimental evidence on the existence of a covalent protein-drug adduct. In this work, we review established methods and technologies for the direct detection of a covalent protein-drug adduct, illustrated with examples from (recent) drug development endeavors. These technologies include subjecting covalent drug candidates to mass spectrometric (MS) analysis, protein crystallography, or monitoring intrinsic spectroscopic properties of the ligand upon covalent adduct formation. Alternatively, chemical modification of the covalent ligand is required to detect covalent adducts by NMR analysis or activity-based protein profiling (ABPP). Some techniques are more informative than others and can also elucidate the modified amino acid residue or bond layout. We will discuss the compatibility of these techniques with reversible covalent binding modes and the possibilities to evaluate reversibility or obtain kinetic parameters. Finally, we expand upon current challenges and future applications. Overall, these analytical techniques present an integral part of covalent drug development in this exciting new era of drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elma Mons
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands; (E.M.)
- Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, 2333 BE Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Robbert Q. Kim
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands; (E.M.)
| | - Monique P. C. Mulder
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands; (E.M.)
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Gao M, Günther S. HyperCys: A Structure- and Sequence-Based Predictor of Hyper-Reactive Druggable Cysteines. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24065960. [PMID: 36983037 PMCID: PMC10054327 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24065960] [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: 02/13/2023] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The cysteine side chain has a free thiol group, making it the amino acid residue most often covalently modified by small molecules possessing weakly electrophilic warheads, thereby prolonging on-target residence time and reducing the risk of idiosyncratic drug toxicity. However, not all cysteines are equally reactive or accessible. Hence, to identify targetable cysteines, we propose a novel ensemble stacked machine learning (ML) model to predict hyper-reactive druggable cysteines, named HyperCys. First, the pocket, conservation, structural and energy profiles, and physicochemical properties of (non)covalently bound cysteines were collected from both protein sequences and 3D structures of protein-ligand complexes. Then, we established the HyperCys ensemble stacked model by integrating six different ML models, including K-nearest neighbors, support vector machine, light gradient boost machine, multi-layer perceptron classifier, random forest, and the meta-classifier model logistic regression. Finally, based on the hyper-reactive cysteines' classification accuracy and other metrics, the results for different feature group combinations were compared. The results show that the accuracy, F1 score, recall score, and ROC AUC values of HyperCys are 0.784, 0.754, 0.742, and 0.824, respectively, after performing 10-fold CV with the best window size. Compared to traditional ML models with only sequenced-based features or only 3D structural features, HyperCys is more accurate at predicting hyper-reactive druggable cysteines. It is anticipated that HyperCys will be an effective tool for discovering new potential reactive cysteines in a wide range of nucleophilic proteins and will provide an important contribution to the design of targeted covalent inhibitors with high potency and selectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingjie Gao
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Straße 9, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Günther
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Straße 9, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
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15
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Vivek-Ananth R, Mohanraj K, Sahoo AK, Samal A. IMPPAT 2.0: An Enhanced and Expanded Phytochemical Atlas of Indian Medicinal Plants. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:8827-8845. [PMID: 36910986 PMCID: PMC9996785 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c00156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Compilation, curation, digitization, and exploration of the phytochemical space of Indian medicinal plants can expedite ongoing efforts toward natural product and traditional knowledge based drug discovery. To this end, we present IMPPAT 2.0, an enhanced and expanded database compiling manually curated information on 4010 Indian medicinal plants, 17,967 phytochemicals, and 1095 therapeutic uses. Notably, IMPPAT 2.0 compiles associations at the level of plant parts and provides a FAIR-compliant nonredundant in silico stereo-aware library of 17,967 phytochemicals from Indian medicinal plants. The phytochemical library has been annotated with several useful properties to enable easier exploration of the chemical space. We have also filtered a subset of 1335 drug-like phytochemicals of which majority have no similarity to existing approved drugs. Using cheminformatics, we have characterized the molecular complexity and molecular scaffold based structural diversity of the phytochemical space of Indian medicinal plants and performed a comparative analysis with other chemical libraries. Altogether, IMPPAT 2.0 is a manually curated extensive phytochemical atlas of Indian medicinal plants that is accessible at https://cb.imsc.res.in/imppat/.
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Affiliation(s)
- R.P. Vivek-Ananth
- The
Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc), Chennai 600113, India
- Homi
Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Mumbai 400094, India
| | | | - Ajaya Kumar Sahoo
- The
Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc), Chennai 600113, India
- Homi
Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Mumbai 400094, India
| | - Areejit Samal
- The
Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc), Chennai 600113, India
- Homi
Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Mumbai 400094, India
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16
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Moumbock AFA, Tran HTT, Lamy E, Günther S. BC-11 is a covalent TMPRSS2 fragment inhibitor that impedes SARS-CoV-2 host cell entry. Arch Pharm (Weinheim) 2023; 356:e2200371. [PMID: 36316225 PMCID: PMC9874818 DOI: 10.1002/ardp.202200371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Host cell entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is facilitated via priming of its spike glycoprotein by the human transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2). Although camostat and nafamostat are two highly potent covalent TMPRSS2 inhibitors, they nevertheless did not hold promise in COVID-19 clinical trials, presumably due to their short plasma half-lives. Herein, we report an integrative chemogenomics approach based on computational modeling and in vitro enzymatic assays, for repurposing serine-targeted covalent inhibitors. This led to the identification of BC-11 as a covalent TMPRSS2 inhibitor displaying a unique selectivity profile for serine proteases, ascribable to its boronic acid warhead. BC-11 showed modest inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 (omicron variant) spike pseudotyped particles in a cell-based entry assay, and a combination of BC-11 and AHN 1-055 (a spike glycoprotein inhibitor) demonstrated better viral entry inhibition than either compound alone. Given its low molecular weight and good activity against TMPRSS2, BC-11 qualifies as a good starting point for further structural optimizations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurélien F. A. Moumbock
- Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Institute of Pharmaceutical SciencesAlbert‐Ludwigs‐Universität FreiburgFreiburgGermany
| | - Hoai T. T. Tran
- Molecular Preventive Medicine, Faculty of MedicineUniversity Medical Center, Albert‐Ludwigs‐Universität FreiburgFreiburgGermany
| | - Evelyn Lamy
- Molecular Preventive Medicine, Faculty of MedicineUniversity Medical Center, Albert‐Ludwigs‐Universität FreiburgFreiburgGermany
| | - Stefan Günther
- Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Institute of Pharmaceutical SciencesAlbert‐Ludwigs‐Universität FreiburgFreiburgGermany
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17
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Schuurs ZP, McDonald JP, Croft LV, Richard DJ, Woodgate R, Gandhi NS. Integration of molecular modelling and in vitro studies to inhibit LexA proteolysis. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1051602. [PMID: 36936756 PMCID: PMC10020695 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1051602] [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: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction As antibiotic resistance has become more prevalent, the social and economic impacts are increasingly pressing. Indeed, bacteria have developed the SOS response which facilitates the evolution of resistance under genotoxic stress. The transcriptional repressor, LexA, plays a key role in this response. Mutation of LexA to a non-cleavable form that prevents the induction of the SOS response sensitizes bacteria to antibiotics. Achieving the same inhibition of proteolysis with small molecules also increases antibiotic susceptibility and reduces drug resistance acquisition. The availability of multiple LexA crystal structures, and the unique Ser-119 and Lys-156 catalytic dyad in the protein enables the rational design of inhibitors. Methods We pursued a binary approach to inhibit proteolysis; we first investigated β-turn mimetics, and in the second approach we tested covalent warheads targeting the Ser-119 residue. We found that the cleavage site region (CSR) of the LexA protein is a classical Type II β-turn, and that published 1,2,3-triazole compounds mimic the β-turn. Generic covalent molecule libraries and a β-turn mimetic library were docked to the LexA C-terminal domain using molecular modelling methods in FlexX and CovDock respectively. The 133 highest-scoring molecules were screened for their ability to inhibit LexA cleavage under alkaline conditions. The top molecules were then tested using a RecA-mediated cleavage assay. Results The β-turn library screen did not produce any hit compounds that inhibited RecA-mediated cleavage. The covalent screen discovered an electrophilic serine warhead that can inhibit LexA proteolysis, reacting with Ser-119 via a nitrile moiety. Discussion This research presents a starting point for hit-to-lead optimisation, which could lead to inhibition of the SOS response and prevent the acquisition of antibiotic resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachariah P. Schuurs
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Translational Research Institute (TRI), Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- School of Chemistry and Physics, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - John P. McDonald
- Laboratory of Genomic Integrity, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Laura V. Croft
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Translational Research Institute (TRI), Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Derek J. Richard
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Translational Research Institute (TRI), Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Roger Woodgate
- Laboratory of Genomic Integrity, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
- *Correspondence: Neha S. Gandhi, ; Roger Woodgate,
| | - Neha S. Gandhi
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Translational Research Institute (TRI), Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- School of Chemistry and Physics, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- *Correspondence: Neha S. Gandhi, ; Roger Woodgate,
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18
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Abstract
Covalent inhibition has emerged as a promising orthogonal approach for drug discovery, despite the significant challenge in achieving target specificity. To facilitate the structure-based rational design of target-specific covalent modulators, we developed an integrated computational protocol to curate covalent binders from the RCSB Protein Data Bank (PDB). Starting from the macromolecular crystallographic information files (mmCIF) in the PDB archive, covalent bond records, which indicate the side chain modification of amino acid residue by a covalent binder, were collected and cleaned. Then, residue-binder adducts, which are products of chemical reactions between targeted residues and covalent binders, were recovered with the help of the Chemical Component Dictionary in PDB. Finally, several strategies were employed to curate the pre-reaction forms of covalent binders from the adducts. Our curated CovBinderInPDB database contains 7375 covalent modifications in which 2189 unique covalent binders target nine types of amino acid residues (Cys, Lys, Ser, Asp, Glu, His, Met, Thr, and Tyr) from 3555 complex structures of 1170 unique protein chains. This database would set a solid foundation for developing and benchmarking computational strategies for covalent modulator design and is freely accessible at https://yzhang.hpc.nyu.edu/CovBinderInPDB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Kang Guo
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Yingkai Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States, Simons Center for Computational Physical Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States, NYU-ECNU Center for Computational Chemistry at NYU Shanghai, Shanghai 200062, China,
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19
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Jia Y, Wang K, Wang H, Zhang B, Yang K, Zhang Z, Dong H, Wang J. Discovery of selective covalent cathepsin K inhibitors containing novel 4-cyanopyrimidine warhead based on quantum chemical calculations and binding mode analysis. Bioorg Med Chem 2022; 74:117053. [PMID: 36270112 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2022.117053] [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: 08/11/2022] [Revised: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Cathepsin K (Cat K), mainly expressed by osteoclasts, plays an important role in bone resorption. Covalent Cat K inhibitors will show great potential in the future treatment of osteoporosis. It has been reported that the selectivity of covalent cathepsin K inhibitors was related to the drug's safety. The type of warhead has a crucial influence on the enzyme bioactivity and selectivity of covalent inhibitors. In order to develop novel covalent inhibitors with the selective new warhead, quantum chemical calculations were performed to estimate the reactivity of the nitrile warheads. Moreover, binding mode analysis between ligands and high homology Cat K, S and B revealed differences in non-covalent interactions. Novel covalent Cat K inhibitors containing 4-cyanopyrimidine warhead (11) were determined for the first time. Among them, compound 34 significantly inhibited Cat K (IC50 = 61.9 nM) with excellent selectivity compared to Cat S (>810-fold) and Cat B (>1620-fold), respectively. Binding mode analysis of Cat K-34 complex provided the basis for further optimization. Compound 34 could be a valuable lead compound for further research on safe and effective Cat K inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yihe Jia
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Ke Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Huifang Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Botao Zhang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Kan Yang
- Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Quality Control of Hebei Province, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
| | - Zhilan Zhang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Haijuan Dong
- The Public Laboratory Platform, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Jinxin Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China.
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20
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Péczka N, Orgován Z, Ábrányi-Balogh P, Keserű GM. Electrophilic warheads in covalent drug discovery: an overview. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2022; 17:413-422. [PMID: 35129005 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2022.2034783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Covalent drugs have been used for more than hundred years, but gathered larger interest in the last two decades. There are currently over a 100 different electrophilic warheads used in covalent ligands, and there are several considerations tailoring their reactivity against the target of interest, which is still a challenging task. AREAS COVERED This review aims to give an overview of electrophilic warheads used for protein labeling in chemical biology and medicinal chemistry. The warheads are discussed by targeted residues, mechanism and selectivity, and analyzed through three different datasets including our collection of warheads, the CovPDB database, and the FDA approved covalent drugs. Moreover, the authors summarize general practices that facilitate the selection of the appropriate warhead for the target of interest. EXPERT OPINION In spite of the numerous electrophilic warheads, only a fraction of them is used in current drug discovery projects. Recent studies identified new tractable residues by applying a wider array of warhead chemistries. However, versatile, selective warheads are not available for all targetable amino acids, hence discovery of new warheads for these residues is needed. Broadening the toolbox of the warheads could result in novel inhibitors even for challenging targets developing with significant therapeutic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolett Péczka
- Medicinal Chemistry Research Group, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Zoltán Orgován
- Medicinal Chemistry Research Group, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Péter Ábrányi-Balogh
- Medicinal Chemistry Research Group, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - György Miklós Keserű
- Medicinal Chemistry Research Group, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
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21
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Li J, Moumbock AFA, Qaseem A, Xu Q, Feng Y, Wang D, Günther S. AroCageDB: A Web-Based Resource for Aromatic Cage Binding Sites and Their Intrinsic Ligands. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:5327-5330. [PMID: 34738791 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
While aromatic cages have extensively been investigated in the context of structural biology, molecular recognition, and drug discovery, there exist to date no comprehensive resource for proteins sharing this conserved structural motif. To this end, we parsed the Protein Data Bank and thus constructed the Aromatic Cage Database (AroCageDB), a database for investigating the binding pocket descriptors and ligand binding space of aromatic-cage-containing proteins (ACCPs). AroCageDB contains 487 unique ACCPs bound to 890 unique ligands, for a total of 1636 complexes. This web-accessible database provides a user-friendly interface for the interactive visualization of ligand-bound ACCP structures, with a variety of search options that will open up opportunities for structural analyses and drug discovery campaigns. AroCageDB is freely available at http://www.pharmbioinf.uni-freiburg.de/arocagedb/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianyu Li
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Straße 9, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Aurélien F A Moumbock
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Straße 9, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ammar Qaseem
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Straße 9, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Qianqing Xu
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Straße 9, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Yue Feng
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Straße 9, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Dan Wang
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Straße 9, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Günther
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Straße 9, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
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