Su H, Yan J, Xu J, Fan XZ, Sun XL, Chen KY. Stepwise high-throughput virtual screening of Rho kinase inhibitors from natural product library and potential therapeutics for pulmonary hypertension.
PHARMACEUTICAL BIOLOGY 2015;
53:1201-1206. [PMID:
25853972 DOI:
10.3109/13880209.2014.970287]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
CONTEXT
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a devastating disease characterized by progressive elevation of pulmonary arterial pressure and vascular resistance due to pulmonary vasoconstriction and vessel remodeling. The activation of RhoA/Rho-kinase (ROCK) pathway plays a central role in the pathologic progression of PH and thus the Rho kinase, an essential effector of the ROCK pathway, is considered as a potential therapeutic target to attenuate PH.
OBJECTIVE
In the current study, a synthetic pipeline is used to discover new potent Rho inhibitors from various natural products.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
In the pipeline, the stepwise high-throughput virtual screening, quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR)-based rescoring, and kinase assay were integrated. The screening was performed against a structurally diverse, drug-like natural product library, from which six identified compounds were tested to determine their inhibitory potencies agonist Rho by using a standard kinase assay protocol.
RESULTS
With this scheme, we successfully identified two potent Rho inhibitors, namely phloretin and baicalein, with activity values of IC50 = 0.22 and 0.95 μM, respectively.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
Structural examination suggested that complicated networks of non-bonded interactions such as hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic forces, and van der Waals contacts across the complex interfaces of Rho kinase are formed with the screened compounds.
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