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Nguyen ATN, Nguyen DTN, Koh HY, Toskov J, MacLean W, Xu A, Zhang D, Webb GI, May LT, Halls ML. The application of artificial intelligence to accelerate G protein-coupled receptor drug discovery. Br J Pharmacol 2024; 181:2371-2384. [PMID: 37161878 DOI: 10.1111/bph.16140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The application of artificial intelligence (AI) approaches to drug discovery for G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) is a rapidly expanding area. Artificial intelligence can be used at multiple stages during the drug discovery process, from aiding our understanding of the fundamental actions of GPCRs to the discovery of new ligand-GPCR interactions or the prediction of clinical responses. Here, we provide an overview of the concepts behind artificial intelligence, including the subfields of machine learning and deep learning. We summarise the published applications of artificial intelligence to different stages of the GPCR drug discovery process. Finally, we reflect on the benefits and limitations of artificial intelligence and share our vision for the exciting potential for further development of applications to aid GPCR drug discovery. In addition to making the drug discovery process "faster, smarter and cheaper," we anticipate that the application of artificial intelligence will create exciting new opportunities for GPCR drug discovery. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed issue Therapeutic Targeting of G Protein-Coupled Receptors: hot topics from the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists 2021 Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v181.14/issuetoc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anh T N Nguyen
- Drug Discovery Biology Theme, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Diep T N Nguyen
- Department of Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Vietnam National University, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Huan Yee Koh
- Drug Discovery Biology Theme, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
- Monash Data Futures Institute and Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jason Toskov
- Monash DeepNeuron, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - William MacLean
- Monash DeepNeuron, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Andrew Xu
- Monash DeepNeuron, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Daokun Zhang
- Drug Discovery Biology Theme, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
- Monash Data Futures Institute and Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Geoffrey I Webb
- Monash Data Futures Institute and Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Lauren T May
- Drug Discovery Biology Theme, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Michelle L Halls
- Drug Discovery Biology Theme, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
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2
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Arora C, Matic M, Bisceglia L, Di Chiaro P, De Oliveira Rosa N, Carli F, Clubb L, Nemati Fard LA, Kargas G, Diaferia GR, Vukotic R, Licata L, Wu G, Natoli G, Gutkind JS, Raimondi F. The landscape of cancer-rewired GPCR signaling axes. CELL GENOMICS 2024; 4:100557. [PMID: 38723607 PMCID: PMC11099383 DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2024.100557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2023] [Revised: 02/17/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/15/2024]
Abstract
We explored the dysregulation of G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) ligand systems in cancer transcriptomics datasets to uncover new therapeutics opportunities in oncology. We derived an interaction network of receptors with ligands and their biosynthetic enzymes. Multiple GPCRs are differentially regulated together with their upstream partners across cancer subtypes and are associated to specific transcriptional programs and to patient survival patterns. The expression of both receptor-ligand (or enzymes) partners improved patient stratification, suggesting a synergistic role for the activation of GPCR networks in modulating cancer phenotypes. Remarkably, we identified many such axes across several cancer molecular subtypes, including many involving receptor-biosynthetic enzymes for neurotransmitters. We found that GPCRs from these actionable axes, including, e.g., muscarinic, adenosine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and chemokine receptors, are the targets of multiple drugs displaying anti-growth effects in large-scale, cancer cell drug screens, which we further validated. We have made the results generated in this study freely available through a webapp (gpcrcanceraxes.bioinfolab.sns.it).
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Affiliation(s)
- Chakit Arora
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Marin Matic
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Luisa Bisceglia
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Pierluigi Di Chiaro
- Department of Experimental Oncology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Natalia De Oliveira Rosa
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Francesco Carli
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Lauren Clubb
- Department of Pharmacology and Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Lorenzo Amir Nemati Fard
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Giorgos Kargas
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Giuseppe R Diaferia
- Department of Experimental Oncology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Ranka Vukotic
- Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana, Via Roma, 67, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Luana Licata
- Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Guanming Wu
- Division of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Gioacchino Natoli
- Department of Experimental Oncology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - J Silvio Gutkind
- Department of Pharmacology and Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
| | - Francesco Raimondi
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy; Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
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3
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Gorostiola González M, Rakers PRJ, Jespers W, IJzerman AP, Heitman LH, van Westen GJP. Computational Characterization of Membrane Proteins as Anticancer Targets: Current Challenges and Opportunities. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:3698. [PMID: 38612509 PMCID: PMC11011372 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25073698] [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: 02/21/2024] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Cancer remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide and calls for novel therapeutic targets. Membrane proteins are key players in various cancer types but present unique challenges compared to soluble proteins. The advent of computational drug discovery tools offers a promising approach to address these challenges, allowing for the prioritization of "wet-lab" experiments. In this review, we explore the applications of computational approaches in membrane protein oncological characterization, particularly focusing on three prominent membrane protein families: receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), and solute carrier proteins (SLCs). We chose these families due to their varying levels of understanding and research data availability, which leads to distinct challenges and opportunities for computational analysis. We discuss the utilization of multi-omics data, machine learning, and structure-based methods to investigate aberrant protein functionalities associated with cancer progression within each family. Moreover, we highlight the importance of considering the broader cellular context and, in particular, cross-talk between proteins. Despite existing challenges, computational tools hold promise in dissecting membrane protein dysregulation in cancer. With advancing computational capabilities and data resources, these tools are poised to play a pivotal role in identifying and prioritizing membrane proteins as personalized anticancer targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Gorostiola González
- Leiden Academic Centre of Drug Research, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands; (M.G.G.); (P.R.J.R.); (W.J.); (A.P.I.); (L.H.H.)
- Oncode Institute, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Pepijn R. J. Rakers
- Leiden Academic Centre of Drug Research, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands; (M.G.G.); (P.R.J.R.); (W.J.); (A.P.I.); (L.H.H.)
| | - Willem Jespers
- Leiden Academic Centre of Drug Research, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands; (M.G.G.); (P.R.J.R.); (W.J.); (A.P.I.); (L.H.H.)
| | - Adriaan P. IJzerman
- Leiden Academic Centre of Drug Research, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands; (M.G.G.); (P.R.J.R.); (W.J.); (A.P.I.); (L.H.H.)
| | - Laura H. Heitman
- Leiden Academic Centre of Drug Research, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands; (M.G.G.); (P.R.J.R.); (W.J.); (A.P.I.); (L.H.H.)
- Oncode Institute, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Gerard J. P. van Westen
- Leiden Academic Centre of Drug Research, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands; (M.G.G.); (P.R.J.R.); (W.J.); (A.P.I.); (L.H.H.)
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4
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Velloso JPL, Kovacs AS, Pires DEV, Ascher DB. AI-driven GPCR analysis, engineering, and targeting. Curr Opin Pharmacol 2024; 74:102427. [PMID: 38219398 DOI: 10.1016/j.coph.2023.102427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
This article investigates the role of recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to revolutionise the study of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). AI has been applied to many areas of GPCR research, including the application of machine learning (ML) in GPCR classification, prediction of GPCR activation levels, modelling GPCR 3D structures and interactions, understanding G-protein selectivity, aiding elucidation of GPCRs structures, and drug design. Despite progress, challenges in predicting GPCR structures and addressing the complex nature of GPCRs remain, providing avenues for future research and development.
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Affiliation(s)
- João P L Velloso
- Structural Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Systems and Computational Biology, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Computational Biology and Clinical Informatics, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Aaron S Kovacs
- Computational Biology and Clinical Informatics, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Douglas E V Pires
- Structural Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Systems and Computational Biology, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Computational Biology and Clinical Informatics, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; School of Computing and Information Systems, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
| | - David B Ascher
- Structural Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Systems and Computational Biology, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Computational Biology and Clinical Informatics, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
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5
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Arora C, Matic M, DiChiaro P, Rosa NDO, Carli F, Clubb L, Fard LAN, Kargas G, Diaferia G, Vukotic R, Licata L, Wu G, Natoli G, Gutkind JS, Raimondi F. The landscape of cancer rewired GPCR signaling axes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.13.532291. [PMID: 37398064 PMCID: PMC10312480 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.13.532291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
We explored the dysregulation of GPCR ligand signaling systems in cancer transcriptomics datasets to uncover new therapeutics opportunities in oncology. We derived an interaction network of receptors with ligands and their biosynthetic enzymes, which revealed that multiple GPCRs are differentially regulated together with their upstream partners across cancer subtypes. We showed that biosynthetic pathway enrichment from enzyme expression recapitulated pathway activity signatures from metabolomics datasets, providing valuable surrogate information for GPCRs responding to organic ligands. We found that several GPCRs signaling components were significantly associated with patient survival in a cancer type-specific fashion. The expression of both receptor-ligand (or enzymes) partners improved patient stratification, suggesting a synergistic role for the activation of GPCR networks in modulating cancer phenotypes. Remarkably, we identified many such axes across several cancer molecular subtypes, including many pairs involving receptor-biosynthetic enzymes for neurotransmitters. We found that GPCRs from these actionable axes, including e.g., muscarinic, adenosine, 5-hydroxytryptamine and chemokine receptors, are the targets of multiple drugs displaying anti-growth effects in large-scale, cancer cell drug screens. We have made the results generated in this study freely available through a webapp (gpcrcanceraxes.bioinfolab.sns.it).
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Affiliation(s)
- Chakit Arora
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126, Pisa, Italy
| | - Marin Matic
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126, Pisa, Italy
| | - Pierluigi DiChiaro
- Department of Experimental Oncology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Natalia De Oliveira Rosa
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126, Pisa, Italy
| | - Francesco Carli
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126, Pisa, Italy
| | - Lauren Clubb
- Department of Pharmacology and Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Lorenzo Amir Nemati Fard
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giorgos Kargas
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Diaferia
- Department of Experimental Oncology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Ranka Vukotic
- Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana, Via Roma, 67, 56126 Pisa
| | - Luana Licata
- Department of Biology, University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’, Rome 00133, Italy
| | - Guanming Wu
- Division of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
| | - Gioacchino Natoli
- Department of Experimental Oncology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - J. Silvio Gutkind
- Department of Pharmacology and Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Francesco Raimondi
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126, Pisa, Italy
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6
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Matic M, Miglionico P, Tatsumi M, Inoue A, Raimondi F. GPCRome-wide analysis of G-protein-coupling diversity using a computational biology approach. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4361. [PMID: 37468476 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40045-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023] Open
Abstract
GPCRs are master regulators of cell signaling by transducing extracellular stimuli into the cell via selective coupling to intracellular G-proteins. Here we present a computational analysis of the structural determinants of G-protein-coupling repertoire of experimental and predicted 3D GPCR-G-protein complexes. Interface contact analysis recapitulates structural hallmarks associated with G-protein-coupling specificity, including TM5, TM6 and ICLs. We employ interface contacts as fingerprints to cluster Gs vs Gi complexes in an unsupervised fashion, suggesting that interface residues contribute to selective coupling. We experimentally confirm on a promiscuous receptor (CCKAR) that mutations of some of these specificity-determining positions bias the coupling selectivity. Interestingly, Gs-GPCR complexes have more conserved interfaces, while Gi/o proteins adopt a wider number of alternative docking poses, as assessed via structural alignments of representative 3D complexes. Binding energy calculations demonstrate that distinct structural properties of the complexes are associated to higher stability of Gs than Gi/o complexes. AlphaFold2 predictions of experimental binary complexes confirm several of these structural features and allow us to augment the structural coverage of poorly characterized complexes such as G12/13.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marin Matic
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, 56126, Italy
| | - Pasquale Miglionico
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, 56126, Italy
| | - Manae Tatsumi
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Asuka Inoue
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan.
| | - Francesco Raimondi
- Laboratorio di Biologia Bio@SNS, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, 56126, Italy.
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David A, Sternberg MJE. Protein structure-based evaluation of missense variants: Resources, challenges and future directions. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2023; 80:102600. [PMID: 37126977 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2023.102600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
We provide an overview of the methods that can be used for protein structure-based evaluation of missense variants. The algorithms can be broadly divided into those that calculate the difference in free energy (ΔΔG) between the wild type and variant structures and those that use structural features to predict the damaging effect of a variant without providing a ΔΔG. A wide range of machine learning approaches have been employed to develop those algorithms. We also discuss challenges and opportunities for variant interpretation in view of the recent breakthrough in three-dimensional structural modelling using deep learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessia David
- Centre for Integrative Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
| | - Michael J E Sternberg
- Centre for Integrative Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
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