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Medina-Franco JL, López-López E. What is the plausibility that all drugs will be designed by computers by the end of the decade? Expert Opin Drug Discov 2024; 19:507-510. [PMID: 38501288 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2024.2331734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- José L Medina-Franco
- DIFACQUIM Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, School of Chemistry, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, Mexico
| | - Edgar López-López
- DIFACQUIM Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, School of Chemistry, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, Mexico
- Department of Chemistry and Graduate Program in Pharmacology, Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico, Mexico
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Mousavi H, Rimaz M, Zeynizadeh B. Practical Three-Component Regioselective Synthesis of Drug-Like 3-Aryl(or heteroaryl)-5,6-dihydrobenzo[ h]cinnolines as Potential Non-Covalent Multi-Targeting Inhibitors To Combat Neurodegenerative Diseases. ACS Chem Neurosci 2024; 15:1828-1881. [PMID: 38647433 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.4c00055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are one of the prominent health challenges facing contemporary society, and many efforts have been made to overcome and (or) control it. In this research paper, we described a practical one-pot two-step three-component reaction between 3,4-dihydronaphthalen-1(2H)-one (1), aryl(or heteroaryl)glyoxal monohydrates (2a-h), and hydrazine monohydrate (NH2NH2•H2O) for the regioselective preparation of some 3-aryl(or heteroaryl)-5,6-dihydrobenzo[h]cinnoline derivatives (3a-h). After synthesis and characterization of the mentioned cinnolines (3a-h), the in silico multi-targeting inhibitory properties of these heterocyclic scaffolds have been investigated upon various Homo sapiens-type enzymes, including hMAO-A, hMAO-B, hAChE, hBChE, hBACE-1, hBACE-2, hNQO-1, hNQO-2, hnNOS, hiNOS, hPARP-1, hPARP-2, hLRRK-2(G2019S), hGSK-3β, hp38α MAPK, hJNK-3, hOGA, hNMDA receptor, hnSMase-2, hIDO-1, hCOMT, hLIMK-1, hLIMK-2, hRIPK-1, hUCH-L1, hPARK-7, and hDHODH, which have confirmed their functions and roles in the neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), based on molecular docking studies, and the obtained results were compared with a wide range of approved drugs and well-known (with IC50, EC50, etc.) compounds. In addition, in silico ADMET prediction analysis was performed to examine the prospective drug properties of the synthesized heterocyclic compounds (3a-h). The obtained results from the molecular docking studies and ADMET-related data demonstrated that these series of 3-aryl(or heteroaryl)-5,6-dihydrobenzo[h]cinnolines (3a-h), especially hit ones, can really be turned into the potent core of new drugs for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), and/or due to the having some reactionable locations, they are able to have further organic reactions (such as cross-coupling reactions), and expansion of these compounds (for example, with using other types of aryl(or heteroaryl)glyoxal monohydrates) makes a new avenue for designing novel and efficient drugs for this purpose.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hossein Mousavi
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Urmia University, Urmia 5756151818, Iran
| | - Mehdi Rimaz
- Department of Chemistry, Payame Noor University, P.O. Box 19395-3697, Tehran 19395-3697, Iran
| | - Behzad Zeynizadeh
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Urmia University, Urmia 5756151818, Iran
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Chen K, Xu R, Hu X, Li D, Hou T, Kang Y. Recent advances in the development of DprE1 inhibitors using AI/CADD approaches. Drug Discov Today 2024:103987. [PMID: 38670256 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2024.103987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) is a global lethal disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). The flavoenzyme decaprenylphosphoryl-β-d-ribose 2'-oxidase (DprE1) plays a crucial part in the biosynthesis of lipoarabinomannan and arabinogalactan for the cell wall of Mtb and represents a promising target for anti-TB drug development. Therefore, there is an urgent need to discover DprE1 inhibitors with novel scaffolds, improved bioactivity and high drug-likeness. Recent studies have shown that artificial intelligence/computer-aided drug design (AI/CADD) techniques are powerful tools in the discovery of novel DprE1 inhibitors. This review provides an overview of the discovery of DprE1 inhibitors and their underlying mechanism of action and highlights recent advances in the discovery and optimization of DprE1 inhibitors using AI/CADD approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kepeng Chen
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Ruolan Xu
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Xueping Hu
- Institute of Molecular Sciences and Engineering, Institute of Frontier and Interdisciplinary Science, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong 266237, China
| | - Dan Li
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Tingjun Hou
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
| | - Yu Kang
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
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4
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Canales CSC, Pavan AR, Dos Santos JL, Pavan FR. In silico drug design strategies for discovering novel tuberculosis therapeutics. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2024; 19:471-491. [PMID: 38374606 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2024.2319042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Tuberculosis remains a significant concern in global public health due to its intricate biology and propensity for developing antibiotic resistance. Discovering new drugs is a protracted and expensive endeavor, often spanning over a decade and incurring costs in the billions. However, computer-aided drug design (CADD) has surfaced as a nimbler and more cost-effective alternative. CADD tools enable us to decipher the interactions between therapeutic targets and novel drugs, making them invaluable in the quest for new tuberculosis treatments. AREAS COVERED In this review, the authors explore recent advancements in tuberculosis drug discovery enabled by in silico tools. The main objectives of this review article are to highlight emerging drug candidates identified through in silico methods and to provide an update on the therapeutic targets associated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. EXPERT OPINION These in silico methods have not only streamlined the drug discovery process but also opened up new horizons for finding novel drug candidates and repositioning existing ones. The continued advancements in these fields hold great promise for more efficient, ethical, and successful drug development in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian S Carnero Canales
- School of Pharmaceutical Science, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, Brazil
- School of Pharmacy, biochemistry and biotechnology, Santa Maria Catholic University, Arequipa, Perú
| | - Aline Renata Pavan
- School of Pharmaceutical Science, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, Brazil
| | | | - Fernando Rogério Pavan
- School of Pharmaceutical Science, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, Brazil
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Erdogan T, Oguz Erdogan F. DFT, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation studies on some recent natural products revealing their EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibition potential. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024; 42:2942-2956. [PMID: 37144731 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2209193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Phytochemicals are important chemical compounds in pharmaceutical chemistry. These natural compounds have interesting biological activities, including anticancer, as well as many other functions. EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) tyrosine kinase inhibition is emerging as one of the accepted methods in the treatment of cancer. On the other hand, computer-aided drug design has become an increasingly important field of study due to its many important advantages such as efficient use of time and other resources. In this study, fourteen phytochemicals which have triterpenoid structure and have recently entered the literature were investigated computationally for their potential as EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. In the study, DFT (density functional theory) calculations, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, binding free energy calculations with the use of MM-PBSA (molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann Surface Area) method, and ADMET predictions were performed. The obtained results were compared to the results obtained for reference drug Gefitinib. Results showed that the investigated natural compounds are promising structures for EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibition.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taner Erdogan
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Processing Technologies, Kocaeli Vocational School, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey
| | - Fatma Oguz Erdogan
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Processing Technologies, Kocaeli Vocational School, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey
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Valenzuela-Hormazabal P, Sepúlveda RV, Alegría-Arcos M, Valdés-Muñoz E, Rojas-Pérez V, González-Bonet I, Suardíaz R, Galarza C, Morales N, Leddermann V, Castro RI, Benso B, Urra G, Hernández-Rodríguez EW, Bustos D. Unveiling Novel Urease Inhibitors for Helicobacter pylori: A Multi-Methodological Approach from Virtual Screening and ADME to Molecular Dynamics Simulations. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1968. [PMID: 38396647 PMCID: PMC10888695 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25041968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2023] [Revised: 01/20/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infections pose a global health challenge demanding innovative therapeutic strategies by which to eradicate them. Urease, a key Hp virulence factor hydrolyzes urea, facilitating bacterial survival in the acidic gastric environment. In this study, a multi-methodological approach combining pharmacophore- and structure-based virtual screening, molecular dynamics simulations, and MM-GBSA calculations was employed to identify novel inhibitors for Hp urease (HpU). A refined dataset of 8,271,505 small molecules from the ZINC15 database underwent pharmacokinetic and physicochemical filtering, resulting in 16% of compounds for pharmacophore-based virtual screening. Molecular docking simulations were performed in successive stages, utilizing HTVS, SP, and XP algorithms. Subsequent energetic re-scoring with MM-GBSA identified promising candidates interacting with distinct urease variants. Lys219, a residue critical for urea catalysis at the urease binding site, can manifest in two forms, neutral (LYN) or carbamylated (KCX). Notably, the evaluated molecules demonstrated different interaction and energetic patterns in both protein variants. Further evaluation through ADMET predictions highlighted compounds with favorable pharmacological profiles, leading to the identification of 15 candidates. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed comparable structural stability to the control DJM, with candidates 5, 8 and 12 (CA5, CA8, and CA12, respectively) exhibiting the lowest binding free energies. These inhibitors suggest a chelating capacity that is crucial for urease inhibition. The analysis underscores the potential of CA5, CA8, and CA12 as novel HpU inhibitors. Finally, we compare our candidates with the chemical space of urease inhibitors finding physicochemical similarities with potent agents such as thiourea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulina Valenzuela-Hormazabal
- Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile;
| | - Romina V. Sepúlveda
- Center for Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andres Bello, Av. República 330, Santiago 8370146, Chile;
| | - Melissa Alegría-Arcos
- Núcleo de Investigación en Data Science, Facultad de Ingeniería y Negocios, Universidad de las Américas, Santiago 7500000, Chile;
| | - Elizabeth Valdés-Muñoz
- Doctorado en Biotecnología Traslacional, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3480094, Chile; (E.V.-M.); (V.R.-P.)
| | - Víctor Rojas-Pérez
- Doctorado en Biotecnología Traslacional, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3480094, Chile; (E.V.-M.); (V.R.-P.)
| | - Ileana González-Bonet
- Biomedical Research Labs, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3480094, Chile;
| | - Reynier Suardíaz
- Departamento de Química Física, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain;
| | - Christian Galarza
- Departamento de Matemáticas, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matemáticas, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, Guayaquil 090112, Ecuador;
| | - Natalia Morales
- Magíster en Ciencias de la Computación, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3460000, Chile; (N.M.); (V.L.)
| | - Verónica Leddermann
- Magíster en Ciencias de la Computación, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3460000, Chile; (N.M.); (V.L.)
| | - Ricardo I. Castro
- Multidisciplinary Agroindustry Research Laboratory, Instituto de Ciencias Aplicadas, Facultad de Arquitectura, Construcción y Medio Ambiente, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Cinco Pte. N°1670, Talca 3467987, Chile;
| | - Bruna Benso
- School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 7810000, Chile;
| | - Gabriela Urra
- Laboratorio de Bioinformática y Química Computacional, Departamento de Medicina Traslacional, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3480094, Chile;
| | - Erix W. Hernández-Rodríguez
- Laboratorio de Bioinformática y Química Computacional, Departamento de Medicina Traslacional, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3480094, Chile;
- Unidad de Bioinformática Clínica, Centro Oncológico, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3480094, Chile
| | - Daniel Bustos
- Laboratorio de Bioinformática y Química Computacional, Departamento de Medicina Traslacional, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3480094, Chile;
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Han D, Lu J, Fan B, Lu W, Xue Y, Wang M, Liu T, Cui S, Gao Q, Duan Y, Xu Y. Lysine-Specific Demethylase 1 Inhibitors: A Comprehensive Review Utilizing Computer-Aided Drug Design Technologies. Molecules 2024; 29:550. [PMID: 38276629 PMCID: PMC10821146 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29020550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 12/31/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1/KDM1A) has emerged as a promising therapeutic target for treating various cancers (such as breast cancer, liver cancer, etc.) and other diseases (blood diseases, cardiovascular diseases, etc.), owing to its observed overexpression, thereby presenting significant opportunities in drug development. Since its discovery in 2004, extensive research has been conducted on LSD1 inhibitors, with notable contributions from computational approaches. This review systematically summarizes LSD1 inhibitors investigated through computer-aided drug design (CADD) technologies since 2010, showcasing a diverse range of chemical scaffolds, including phenelzine derivatives, tranylcypromine (abbreviated as TCP or 2-PCPA) derivatives, nitrogen-containing heterocyclic (pyridine, pyrimidine, azole, thieno[3,2-b]pyrrole, indole, quinoline and benzoxazole) derivatives, natural products (including sanguinarine, phenolic compounds and resveratrol derivatives, flavonoids and other natural products) and others (including thiourea compounds, Fenoldopam and Raloxifene, (4-cyanophenyl)glycine derivatives, propargylamine and benzohydrazide derivatives and inhibitors discovered through AI techniques). Computational techniques, such as virtual screening, molecular docking and 3D-QSAR models, have played a pivotal role in elucidating the interactions between these inhibitors and LSD1. Moreover, the integration of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence holds promise in facilitating the discovery of novel LSD1 inhibitors. The comprehensive insights presented in this review aim to provide valuable information for advancing further research on LSD1 inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Di Han
- School of Medical Engineering, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China; (D.H.); (J.L.)
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Neural Information Analysis and Drug Intelligent Design, Xinxiang 453003, China
- Xinxiang Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Research, Xinxiang 453003, China
| | - Jiarui Lu
- School of Medical Engineering, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China; (D.H.); (J.L.)
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Neural Information Analysis and Drug Intelligent Design, Xinxiang 453003, China
- Xinxiang Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Research, Xinxiang 453003, China
| | - Baoyi Fan
- School of Medical Engineering, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China; (D.H.); (J.L.)
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Neural Information Analysis and Drug Intelligent Design, Xinxiang 453003, China
- Xinxiang Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Research, Xinxiang 453003, China
| | - Wenfeng Lu
- School of Medical Engineering, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China; (D.H.); (J.L.)
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Neural Information Analysis and Drug Intelligent Design, Xinxiang 453003, China
- Xinxiang Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Research, Xinxiang 453003, China
| | - Yiwei Xue
- School of Medical Engineering, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China; (D.H.); (J.L.)
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Neural Information Analysis and Drug Intelligent Design, Xinxiang 453003, China
- Xinxiang Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Research, Xinxiang 453003, China
| | - Meiting Wang
- School of Medical Engineering, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China; (D.H.); (J.L.)
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Neural Information Analysis and Drug Intelligent Design, Xinxiang 453003, China
- Xinxiang Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Research, Xinxiang 453003, China
| | - Taigang Liu
- School of Medical Engineering, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China; (D.H.); (J.L.)
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Neural Information Analysis and Drug Intelligent Design, Xinxiang 453003, China
- Xinxiang Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Research, Xinxiang 453003, China
| | - Shaoli Cui
- School of Forensic, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China
| | - Qinghe Gao
- School of Pharmacy, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China
| | - Yingchao Duan
- School of Pharmacy, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China
| | - Yongtao Xu
- School of Medical Engineering, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China; (D.H.); (J.L.)
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Neural Information Analysis and Drug Intelligent Design, Xinxiang 453003, China
- Xinxiang Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Research, Xinxiang 453003, China
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Suresh R, Ramadoss R, Doble M, Ramalingam K, Sundar S, Panneer Selvam S. Targeted Drug Designing for Treating Masticatory Myofascial Pain Dysfunction Syndrome: An In Silico Simulation Study. Cureus 2024; 16:e51661. [PMID: 38313945 PMCID: PMC10838143 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.51661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Masticatory Myofascial Pain Dysfunction Syndrome (MMPDS) is a musculoligamentous disorder that shares similarities with temporomandibular joint pain and odontogenic pain. It manifests as dull or aching pain in masticatory muscles, influenced by jaw movement. Computer-aided drug design (CADD) encompasses various theoretical and computational approaches used in modern drug discovery. Molecular docking is a prominent method in CADD that facilitates the understanding of drug-bimolecular interactions for rational drug design, mechanistic studies & the formation of stable complexes with increased specificity and potential efficacy. The docking technique provides valuable insights into binding energy, free energy, and complex stability predictions. Aim The aim of this study was to use the docking technique for myosin inhibitors. Materials and methods Four inhibitors of myosin were chosen from the literature. These compound structures were retrieved from the Zinc15 database. Myosin protein was chosen as the target and was optimized using the RCSB Protein Data Bank. After pharmacophore modeling, 20 novel compounds were found and the SwissDock was used to dock them with the target protein. We compared the binding energies of the newly discovered compounds to those of the previously published molecules with the target. Results The results indicated that among the 20 molecules ZINC035924607 and ZINC5110352 exhibited the highest binding energy and displayed superior properties compared to the other molecules. Conclusion The study concluded that ZINC035924607 and ZINC5110352 exhibited greater binding affinity than the reported inhibitors of myosin. Therefore, these two molecules can be used as a potential and promising lead for the treatment of MMPDS and could be employed in targeted drug therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramya Suresh
- Oral Biology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, IND
| | - Ramya Ramadoss
- Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, IND
| | - Mukesh Doble
- Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, IND
| | - Karthikeyan Ramalingam
- Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, IND
| | - Sandhya Sundar
- Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, IND
| | - Suganya Panneer Selvam
- Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, IND
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Vasilopoulos SN, Güner H, Uça Apaydın M, Pavlopoulou A, Georgakilas AG. Dual Targeting of DNA Damage Response Proteins Implicated in Cancer Radioresistance. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:2227. [PMID: 38137049 PMCID: PMC10742610 DOI: 10.3390/genes14122227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2023] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Ionizing radiation can induce different types of DNA lesions, leading to genomic instability and ultimately cell death. Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, a major modality in cancer treatment, harnesses the genotoxic potential of radiation to target and destroy cancer cells. Nevertheless, cancer cells have the capacity to develop resistance to radiation treatment (radioresistance), which poses a major obstacle in the effective management of cancer. It has been shown that administration of platinum-based drugs to cancer patients can increase tumor radiosensitivity, but despite this, it is associated with severe adverse effects. Several lines of evidence support that activation of the DNA damage response and repair machinery in the irradiated cancer cells enhances radioresistance and cellular survival through the efficient repair of DNA lesions. Therefore, targeting of key DNA damage repair factors would render cancer cells vulnerable to the irradiation effects, increase cancer cell killing, and reduce the risk of side effects on healthy tissue. Herein, we have employed a computer-aided drug design approach for generating ab initio a chemical compound with drug-like properties potentially targeting two proteins implicated in multiple DNA repair pathways. The findings of this study could be taken into consideration in clinical decision-making in terms of co-administering radiation with DNA damage repair factor-based drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Spyridon N. Vasilopoulos
- DNA Damage Laboratory, Physics Department, School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Zografou Campus, 15780 Athens, Greece;
- Department of Science and Mathematics, Deree-The American College of Greece, 6 Gravias Street, 15342 Athens, Greece
| | - Hüseyin Güner
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center (IBG), 35340 Izmir, Turkey; (H.G.); (M.U.A.)
- Izmir International Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylül University, 35340 Izmir, Turkey
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Life and Natural Science, Abdullah Gül University, 38080 Kayseri, Turkey
| | - Merve Uça Apaydın
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center (IBG), 35340 Izmir, Turkey; (H.G.); (M.U.A.)
- Izmir International Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylül University, 35340 Izmir, Turkey
| | - Athanasia Pavlopoulou
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center (IBG), 35340 Izmir, Turkey; (H.G.); (M.U.A.)
- Izmir International Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylül University, 35340 Izmir, Turkey
| | - Alexandros G. Georgakilas
- DNA Damage Laboratory, Physics Department, School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Zografou Campus, 15780 Athens, Greece;
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Pérez-Vargas J, Worrall LJ, Olmstead AD, Ton AT, Lee J, Villanueva I, Thompson CAH, Dudek S, Ennis S, Smith JR, Shapira T, De Guzman J, Gang S, Ban F, Vuckovic M, Bielecki M, Kovacic S, Kenward C, Hong CY, Gordon DG, Levett PN, Krajden M, Leduc R, Boudreault PL, Niikura M, Paetzel M, Young RN, Cherkasov A, Strynadka NCJ, Jean F. A novel class of broad-spectrum active-site-directed 3C-like protease inhibitors with nanomolar antiviral activity against highly immune-evasive SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants. Emerg Microbes Infect 2023; 12:2246594. [PMID: 37555275 PMCID: PMC10453993 DOI: 10.1080/22221751.2023.2246594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
Antivirals with broad coronavirus activity are important for treating high-risk individuals exposed to the constantly evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) as well as emerging drug-resistant variants. We developed and characterized a novel class of active-site-directed 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro) inhibitors (C2-C5a). Our lead direct-acting antiviral (DAA), C5a, is a non-covalent, non-peptide with a dissociation constant of 170 nM against recombinant SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro. The compounds C2-C5a exhibit broad-spectrum activity against Omicron subvariants (BA.5, BQ.1.1, and XBB.1.5) and seasonal human coronavirus-229E infection in human cells. Notably, C5a has median effective concentrations of 30-50 nM against BQ.1.1 and XBB.1.5 in two different human cell lines. X-ray crystallography has confirmed the unique binding modes of C2-C5a to the 3CLpro, which can limit virus cross-resistance to emerging Paxlovid-resistant variants. We tested the effect of C5a with two of our newly discovered host-directed antivirals (HDAs): N-0385, a TMPRSS2 inhibitor, and bafilomycin D (BafD), a human vacuolar H+-ATPase [V-ATPase] inhibitor. We demonstrated a synergistic action of C5a in combination with N-0385 and BafD against Omicron BA.5 infection in human Calu-3 lung cells. Our findings underscore that a SARS-CoV-2 multi-targeted treatment for circulating Omicron subvariants based on DAAs (C5a) and HDAs (N-0385 or BafD) can lead to therapeutic benefits by enhancing treatment efficacy. Furthermore, the high-resolution structures of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro in complex with C2-C5a will facilitate future rational optimization of our novel broad-spectrum active-site-directed 3C-like protease inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jimena Pérez-Vargas
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Liam J. Worrall
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Centre for Blood Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Andrea D. Olmstead
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Anh-Tien Ton
- Vancouver Prostate Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Jaeyong Lee
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Centre for Blood Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Ivan Villanueva
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Connor A. H. Thompson
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Svenja Dudek
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Siobhan Ennis
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Jason R. Smith
- Vancouver Prostate Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Tirosh Shapira
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Joshua De Guzman
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Shutong Gang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Fuqiang Ban
- Vancouver Prostate Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Marija Vuckovic
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Centre for Blood Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Michael Bielecki
- Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Suzana Kovacic
- Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Calem Kenward
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Centre for Blood Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Christopher Yee Hong
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Danielle G. Gordon
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Paul N. Levett
- British Columbia Centre for Disease Control Public Health Laboratory, Vancouver, Canada
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Mel Krajden
- British Columbia Centre for Disease Control Public Health Laboratory, Vancouver, Canada
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Richard Leduc
- Department of Pharmacology-Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada
| | - Pierre-Luc Boudreault
- Department of Pharmacology-Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada
| | - Masahiro Niikura
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Mark Paetzel
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Robert N. Young
- Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Artem Cherkasov
- Vancouver Prostate Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Natalie C. J. Strynadka
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Centre for Blood Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - François Jean
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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11
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Saldívar-González FI, Navarrete-Vázquez G, Medina-Franco JL. Design of a multi-target focused library for antidiabetic targets using a comprehensive set of chemical transformation rules. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1276444. [PMID: 38027021 PMCID: PMC10651762 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1276444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Virtual small molecule libraries are valuable resources for identifying bioactive compounds in virtual screening campaigns and improving the quality of libraries in terms of physicochemical properties, complexity, and structural diversity. In this context, the computational-aided design of libraries focused against antidiabetic targets can provide novel alternatives for treating type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In this work, we integrated the information generated to date on compounds with antidiabetic activity, advances in computational methods, and knowledge of chemical transformations available in the literature to design multi-target compound libraries focused on T2DM. We evaluated the novelty and diversity of the newly generated library by comparing it with antidiabetic compounds approved for clinical use, natural products, and multi-target compounds tested in vivo in experimental antidiabetic models. The designed libraries are freely available and are a valuable starting point for drug design, chemical synthesis, and biological evaluation or further computational filtering. Also, the compendium of 280 transformation rules identified in a medicinal chemistry context is made available in the linear notation SMIRKS for use in other chemical library enumeration or hit optimization approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernanda I. Saldívar-González
- Department of Pharmacy, DIFACQUIM Research Group, School of Chemistry, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | - José L. Medina-Franco
- Department of Pharmacy, DIFACQUIM Research Group, School of Chemistry, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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12
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Huang M, Du Y, Liu Y, Zhao Y, Guo Y, Liu D, Zhao L, Wang J. Computer-aided drug design course for pharmacy major students in Shenyang Pharmaceutical University following the COVID-19 pandemic: Challenges and opportunities. Biochem Mol Biol Educ 2023; 51:691-699. [PMID: 37622541 DOI: 10.1002/bmb.21772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Revised: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
The computer-aided drug design (CADD) course that spans biochemistry, computational chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and other cutting-edge sciences is considered an important course by pharmaceutical universities in China. The course teaches students how drugs bind to protein targets and exert their biological activities using computer tools, and covers the basic principles of drug development and optimization. Due to the lockdown and social distancing measures adopted during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the CADD course in Shenyang Pharmaceutical University was briefly suspended. Thereafter, it was taught in the online mode by adopting a novel blended teaching method. Through a questionnaire survey and final report assessment, we found that blended teaching might provide an opportunity to stimulate greater motivation and interest in students as well as improve teaching effectiveness and learning outcomes of the course. This study describes how we conducted the CADD course during the COVID-19 period with the intention of providing a reference for other teachers to conduct similar courses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Huang
- School of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Yue Du
- School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Yajing Liu
- School of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Yanfang Zhao
- School of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Yongxue Guo
- School of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Dan Liu
- School of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Linxiang Zhao
- School of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Jian Wang
- School of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
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13
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Benin BM, Hillyer T, Crugnale AS, Fulk A, Thomas CA, Crowder MW, Smith MA, Shin WS. Taxifolin as a Metallo-β-Lactamase Inhibitor in Combination with Augmentin against Verona Imipenemase 2 Expressing Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2653. [PMID: 38004664 PMCID: PMC10673258 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11112653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Among the various mechanisms that bacteria use to develop antibiotic resistance, the multiple expression of β-lactamases is particularly problematic, threatening public health and increasing patient mortality rates. Even if a combination therapy-in which a β-lactamase inhibitor is administered together with a β-lactam antibiotic-has proven effective against serine-β-lactamases, there are no currently approved metallo-β-lactamase inhibitors. Herein, we demonstrate that quercetin and its analogs are promising starting points for the further development of safe and effective metallo-β-lactamase inhibitors. Through a combined computational and in vitro approach, taxifolin was found to inhibit VIM-2 expressing P. aeruginosa cell proliferation at <4 μg/mL as part of a triple combination with amoxicillin and clavulanate. Furthermore, we tested this combination in mice with abrasive skin infections. Together, these results demonstrate that flavonol compounds, such as taxifolin, may be developed into effective metallo-β-lactamase inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bogdan M. Benin
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH 44272, USA; (B.M.B.); (T.H.); (A.F.); (M.A.S.)
| | - Trae Hillyer
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH 44272, USA; (B.M.B.); (T.H.); (A.F.); (M.A.S.)
| | - Aylin S. Crugnale
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH 44272, USA; (B.M.B.); (T.H.); (A.F.); (M.A.S.)
| | - Andrew Fulk
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH 44272, USA; (B.M.B.); (T.H.); (A.F.); (M.A.S.)
| | - Caitlyn A. Thomas
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA; (C.A.T.); (M.W.C.)
| | - Michael W. Crowder
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA; (C.A.T.); (M.W.C.)
| | - Matthew A. Smith
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH 44272, USA; (B.M.B.); (T.H.); (A.F.); (M.A.S.)
- Akron Children’s Hospital, Rebecca D. Considine Research Institute, Akron, OH 44302, USA
| | - Woo Shik Shin
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH 44272, USA; (B.M.B.); (T.H.); (A.F.); (M.A.S.)
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14
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Gao W, Zhang J, Zhang Y, Huang Y, Wang C, Liang Q, Yu Z, Fan R, Tang L, Fan Z. CoMFA Directed Molecular Design for Significantly Improving Fungicidal Activity of Novel [1,2,4]-Triazolo-[3,4- b][1,3,4]-thiadizoles. J Agric Food Chem 2023; 71:14125-14136. [PMID: 37750514 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.3c02444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
Target based molecular design via the aid of computation is one of the most efficient methods in the discovery of novel pesticides. Here, a combination of the comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) and molecular docking was applied for discovery of potent fungicidal [1,2,4]-triazolo-[3,4-b][1,3,4]-thiadiazoles. Bioassay results indicated that the synthesized target compounds 3a, 3b, and 3c exhibited good activity against Alternaria solani, Botrytis cinerea, Cercospora arachidicola, Fusarium graminearum, Physalospora piricola, Rhizoctonia solani, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum with an EC50 value falling between 0.64 and 16.10 μg/mL. Specially, 3c displayed excellent fungicidal activity against C. arachidicola and R. solani, which was 5 times more potent than the lead YZK-C22. The enzymatic inhibition assay and fluorescence quenching analysis with R. solani pyruvate kinase (RsPK) showed a weaker binding affinity between RsPK and 3a, 3b, or 3c. Transcriptomic analyses showed that 3c exerted its fungicidal activity by disrupting steroid biosynthesis and ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotes. These findings support that 3c is a promising fungicide candidate, and a fine modification from a lead may lead to a totally different mode of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
- Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, No. 94, Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
| | - Jin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
- Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, No. 94, Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
| | - Yue Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
- Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, No. 94, Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
| | - Yuting Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
- Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, No. 94, Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
| | - Conglin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
- Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, No. 94, Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
| | - Qiming Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
- Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, No. 94, Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
| | - Zecong Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
- Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, No. 94, Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
| | - Ruihang Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
- Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, No. 94, Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
| | - Liangfu Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
- Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, No. 94, Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
| | - Zhijin Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
- Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, No. 94, Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
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15
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Gao J, Shen Z, Xie Y, Lu J, Lu Y, Chen S, Bian Q, Guo Y, Shen L, Wu J, Zhou B, Hou T, He Q, Che J, Dong X. TransFoxMol: predicting molecular property with focused attention. Brief Bioinform 2023; 24:bbad306. [PMID: 37605947 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbad306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Predicting the biological properties of molecules is crucial in computer-aided drug development, yet it's often impeded by data scarcity and imbalance in many practical applications. Existing approaches are based on self-supervised learning or 3D data and using an increasing number of parameters to improve performance. These approaches may not take full advantage of established chemical knowledge and could inadvertently introduce noise into the respective model. In this study, we introduce a more elegant transformer-based framework with focused attention for molecular representation (TransFoxMol) to improve the understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) of molecular structure property relationships. TransFoxMol incorporates a multi-scale 2D molecular environment into a graph neural network + Transformer module and uses prior chemical maps to obtain a more focused attention landscape compared to that obtained using existing approaches. Experimental results show that TransFoxMol achieves state-of-the-art performance on MoleculeNet benchmarks and surpasses the performance of baselines that use self-supervised learning or geometry-enhanced strategies on small-scale datasets. Subsequent analyses indicate that TransFoxMol's predictions are highly interpretable and the clever use of chemical knowledge enables AI to perceive molecules in a simple but rational way, enhancing performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Gao
- Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, Institute of Drug Discovery and Design, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zheyuan Shen
- Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, Institute of Drug Discovery and Design, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yufeng Xie
- School of Software Technology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jialiang Lu
- Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, Institute of Drug Discovery and Design, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yang Lu
- Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, Institute of Drug Discovery and Design, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Sikang Chen
- Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, Institute of Drug Discovery and Design, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qingyu Bian
- Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, Institute of Drug Discovery and Design, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yue Guo
- Innovation Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Liteng Shen
- Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, Institute of Drug Discovery and Design, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jian Wu
- School of Software Technology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Binbin Zhou
- Department of Computer Science and Computing, Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou, China
| | - Tingjun Hou
- State Key Lab of CAD&CG, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, China
- Innovation Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qiaojun He
- Institute of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China
- Innovation Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Centre for Drug Safety Evaluation and Research of ZJU, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China
- Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jinxin Che
- Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, Institute of Drug Discovery and Design, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaowu Dong
- Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, Institute of Drug Discovery and Design, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Innovation Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Department of Pharmacy, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
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16
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Rehman ZU, Najmi A. Exploring EGFR inhibitors with the aid of virtual screening, docking, and dynamics simulation studies. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023:1-21. [PMID: 37707987 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2256887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
In humans, Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) is linked to small-cell lung cancer, breast cancer, and glioblastoma. Receptor kinase inhibitors against EGFR have become a standard treatment option for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), breast cancer patients, and even for those with EGFR mutations or resistance. About 2734 FDA-approved medication compounds were subjected to virtual screening for EGFR kinase inhibitory activity. The top 30 molecules were chosen based on the binding affinity scores and subjected to extra-precision docking and binding free energy analysis. The ADMET profile of the top three hit molecules was verified to confirm their druggability nature. Top three hits- compound 1047 (ZINC000001550477), 1302 (ZINC00003781952), and 2332 (ZINC000019632618) were identified on account of their MMGBSA binding affinity values. The top three hit compounds were subjected to molecular dynamics (MD) simulation for 100 ns. The dynamic nature of the ligand-protein complex was analyzed which corroborated the results of molecular docking and MMGBSA analysis studies. All the top three hits were further subjected to steered MD studies for testing the strength of these ligand-receptor binding in the presence of an external force. Compound 2332 (ZINC000019632618) was identified as the best hit molecule that can be used as a lead to develop newer derivatives of EGFR kinase inhibitors.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zia Ur Rehman
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia
| | - Asim Najmi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia
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17
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Millán-Pacheco C, Rios-Soto L, Corral-Rodríguez N, Sierra-Campos E, Valdez-Solana M, Téllez-Valencia A, Avitia-Domínguez C. Discovery of Potential Noncovalent Inhibitors of Dehydroquinate Dehydratase from Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus through Computational-Driven Drug Design. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:1148. [PMID: 37631063 PMCID: PMC10458038 DOI: 10.3390/ph16081148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacteria resistance to antibiotics is a concerning global health problem; in this context, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is considered as a high priority by the World Health Organization. Furthermore, patients with a positive result for COVID-19 received early antibiotic treatment, a fact that potentially encourages the increase in antibiotic resistance. Therefore, there is an urgency to develop new drugs with molecular mechanisms different from those of the actual treatments. In this context, enzymes from the shikimate pathway, a route absent in humans, such as dehydroquinate dehydratase (DHQD), are considered good targets. In this work, a computer-aided drug design strategy, which involved exhaustive virtual screening and molecular dynamics simulations with MM-PBSA analysis, as well as an in silico ADMETox characterization, was performed to find potential noncovalent inhibitors of DHQD from MRSA (SaDHQD). After filtering the 997 million compounds from the ZINC database, 6700 compounds were submitted to an exhaustive virtual screening protocol. From these data, four molecules were selected and characterized (ZINC000005753647 (1), ZINC000001720488 (2), ZINC000082049768 (3), and ZINC000644149506 (4)). The results indicate that the four potential inhibitors interacted with residues important for substrate binding and catalysis, with an estimated binding free energy like that of the enzyme's substrate. Their ADMETox-predicted properties suggest that all of them support the structural characteristics to be considered good candidates. Therefore, the four compounds reported here are excellent option to be considered for future in vitro studies to design new SaDHQD noncovalent inhibitors and contribute to the search for new drugs against MRSA.
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Affiliation(s)
- César Millán-Pacheco
- Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62209, Mexico;
| | - Lluvia Rios-Soto
- Facultad de Medicina y Nutrición, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Av. Universidad y Fanny Anitua S/N, Durango 34000, Mexico; (L.R.-S.); (N.C.-R.)
| | - Noé Corral-Rodríguez
- Facultad de Medicina y Nutrición, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Av. Universidad y Fanny Anitua S/N, Durango 34000, Mexico; (L.R.-S.); (N.C.-R.)
| | - Erick Sierra-Campos
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango Campus Gómez Palacio, Avenida Artículo 123 S/N, Fracc. Filadelfia, Gómez Palacio 35010, Mexico; (E.S.-C.); (M.V.-S.)
| | - Mónica Valdez-Solana
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango Campus Gómez Palacio, Avenida Artículo 123 S/N, Fracc. Filadelfia, Gómez Palacio 35010, Mexico; (E.S.-C.); (M.V.-S.)
| | - Alfredo Téllez-Valencia
- Facultad de Medicina y Nutrición, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Av. Universidad y Fanny Anitua S/N, Durango 34000, Mexico; (L.R.-S.); (N.C.-R.)
| | - Claudia Avitia-Domínguez
- Facultad de Medicina y Nutrición, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Av. Universidad y Fanny Anitua S/N, Durango 34000, Mexico; (L.R.-S.); (N.C.-R.)
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18
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Khan DA, Adhikary T, Sultana MT, Toukir IA. A comprehensive identification of potential molecular targets and small drugs candidate for melanoma cancer using bioinformatics and network-based screening approach. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023:1-21. [PMID: 37534476 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2240409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Melanoma is the third most common malignant skin tumor and has increased in morbidity and mortality over the previous decade due to its rapid spread into the bloodstream or lymphatic system. This study used integrated bioinformatics and network-based methodologies to reliably identify molecular targets and small molecular medicines that may be more successful for Melanoma diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. The statistical LIMMA approach utilized for bioinformatics analysis in this study found 246 common differentially expressed genes (cDEGs) between case and control samples from two microarray gene-expression datasets (GSE130244 and GSE15605). Protein-protein interaction network study revealed 15 cDEGs (PTK2, STAT1, PNO1, CXCR4, WASL, FN1, RUNX2, SOCS3, ITGA4, GNG2, CDK6, BRAF, AGO2, GTF2H1 and AR) to be critical in the development of melanoma (KGs). According to regulatory network analysis, the most important transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulators of DEGs and hub-DEGs are ten transcription factors and three miRNAs. We discovered the pathogenetic mechanisms of MC by studying DEGs' biological processes, molecular function, cellular components and KEGG pathways. We used molecular docking and dynamics modeling to select the four most expressed genes responsible for melanoma malignancy to identify therapeutic candidates. Then, utilizing the Connectivity Map (CMap) database, we analyzed the top 4-hub-DEGs-guided repurposable drugs. We validated four melanoma cancer drugs (Fisetin, Epicatechin Gallate, 1237586-97-8 and PF 431396) using molecular dynamics simulation with their target proteins. As a result, the results of this study may provide resources to researchers and medical professionals for the wet-lab validation of MC diagnosis, prognosis and treatments.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dhrubo Ahmed Khan
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, Bangladesh
| | - Tonmoy Adhikary
- Department of Mathematics, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, Bangladesh
| | - Mst Tania Sultana
- Department of Mathematics, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, Bangladesh
| | - Imran Ahamed Toukir
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, Bangladesh
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19
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Van Wieren A, Durrant JD, Majumdar S. Computational and experimental analyses of alanine racemase suggest new avenues for developing allosteric small-molecule antibiotics. Drug Dev Res 2023; 84:999-1007. [PMID: 37129190 PMCID: PMC10524904 DOI: 10.1002/ddr.22068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Revised: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Given the ever-present threat of antibacterial resistance, there is an urgent need to identify new antibacterial drugs and targets. One such target is alanine racemase (Alr), an enzyme required for bacterial cell-wall biosynthesis. Alr is an attractive drug target because it is essential for bacterial survival but is absent in humans. Existing drugs targeting Alr lack specificity and have severe side effects. We here investigate alternative mechanisms of Alr inhibition. Alr functions exclusively as an obligate homodimer, so we probed seven conserved interactions on the dimer interface, distant from the enzymatic active site, to identify possible allosteric influences on activity. Using the Alr from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MT) as a model, we found that the Lys261/Asp135 salt bridge is critical for catalytic activity. The Lys261Ala mutation completely inactivated the enzyme, and the Asp135Ala mutation reduced catalytic activity eight-fold. Further investigation suggested a potential drug-binding site near the Lys261/Asp135 salt bridge that may be useful for allosteric drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arie Van Wieren
- Madia Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics and Engineering, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA 15705
- Current address: The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205
| | - Jacob D Durrant
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260
| | - Sudipta Majumdar
- Madia Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics and Engineering, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA 15705
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20
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Floresta G, Zagni C, Patamia V, Rescifina A. How can artificial intelligence be utilized for de novo drug design against COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)? Expert Opin Drug Discov 2023; 18:1061-1064. [PMID: 37458097 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2023.2236930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Floresta
- Dipartimento di Scienze Del Farmaco E della Salute, Università di Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Chiara Zagni
- Dipartimento di Scienze Del Farmaco E della Salute, Università di Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Patamia
- Dipartimento di Scienze Del Farmaco E della Salute, Università di Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Antonio Rescifina
- Dipartimento di Scienze Del Farmaco E della Salute, Università di Catania, Catania, Italy
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21
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Acquah FA, Mooers BHM. Targeting RNA Structure to Inhibit Editing in Trypanosomes. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:10110. [PMID: 37373258 PMCID: PMC10298474 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241210110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Mitochondrial RNA editing in trypanosomes represents an attractive target for developing safer and more efficient drugs for treating infections with trypanosomes because this RNA editing pathway is not found in humans. Other workers have targeted several enzymes in this editing system, but not the RNA. Here, we target a universal domain of the RNA editing substrate, which is the U-helix formed between the oligo-U tail of the guide RNA and the target mRNA. We selected a part of the U-helix that is rich in G-U wobble base pairs as the target site for the virtual screening of 262,000 compounds. After chemoinformatic filtering of the top 5000 leads, we subjected 50 representative complexes to 50 nanoseconds of molecular dynamics simulations. We identified 15 compounds that retained stable interactions in the deep groove of the U-helix. The microscale thermophoresis binding experiments on these five compounds show low-micromolar to nanomolar binding affinities. The UV melting studies show an increase in the melting temperatures of the U-helix upon binding by each compound. These five compounds can serve as leads for drug development and as research tools to probe the role of the RNA structure in trypanosomal RNA editing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francis A. Acquah
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA;
| | - Blaine H. M. Mooers
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA;
- Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
- Laboratory of Biomolecular Structure and Function, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
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22
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Niu Y, Lin P. Advances of computer-aided drug design (CADD) in the development of anti-Azheimer's-disease drugs. Drug Discov Today 2023:103665. [PMID: 37302540 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2023.103665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a degenerative disease of the nervous system that progressively destroys memory and thinking skills. Currently there is no treatment to prevent or cure AD; targeting the direct cause of neuronal degeneration would constitute a rational strategy and hopefully offer better options for the treatment of AD. This paper first summarizes the physiological and pathological pathogenesis of AD and then discusses the representative drug candidates for targeted therapy of AD and their binding mode with their targets. Finally, the applications of computer-aided drug design in discovering anti-AD drugs are reviewed. Teaser.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuzhen Niu
- Weifang University of Science and Technology, Weifang, 262700, China
| | - Ping Lin
- Weifang University of Science and Technology, Weifang, 262700, China; Institute of modern physics, Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou 730000, China.
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23
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Maltarollo VG, da Silva EB, Kronenberger T, Sena Andrade MM, de Lima Marques GV, Cândido Oliveira NJ, Santos LH, Oliveira Rezende Júnior CD, Cassiano Martinho AC, Skinner D, Fajtová P, M Fernandes TH, Silveira Dos Santos ED, Rodrigues Gazolla PA, Martins de Souza AP, da Silva ML, Dos Santos FS, Lavorato SN, Oliveira Bretas AC, Carvalho DT, Franco LL, Luedtke S, Giardini MA, Poso A, Dias LC, Podust LM, Alves RJ, McKerrow J, Andrade SF, Teixeira RR, Siqueira-Neto JL, O'Donoghue A, de Oliveira RB, Ferreira RS. Structure-based discovery of thiosemicarbazones as SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors. Future Med Chem 2023; 15:959-985. [PMID: 37435731 DOI: 10.4155/fmc-2023-0034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Aim: Discovery of novel SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) inhibitors using a structure-based drug discovery strategy. Materials & methods: Virtual screening employing covalent and noncovalent docking was performed to discover Mpro inhibitors, which were subsequently evaluated in biochemical and cellular assays. Results: 91 virtual hits were selected for biochemical assays, and four were confirmed as reversible inhibitors of SARS CoV-2 Mpro with IC50 values of 0.4-3 μM. They were also shown to inhibit SARS-CoV-1 Mpro and human cathepsin L. Molecular dynamics simulations indicated the stability of the Mpro inhibitor complexes and the interaction of ligands at the subsites. Conclusion: This approach led to the discovery of novel thiosemicarbazones as potent SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinícius Gonçalves Maltarollo
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Elany Barbosa da Silva
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
| | - Thales Kronenberger
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) 'Image-Guided & Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies', University of Tübingen, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
- Tübingen Center for Academic Drug Discovery, Auf der Morgenstelle 8, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, 70211, Finland
| | - Marina Mol Sena Andrade
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Gabriel V de Lima Marques
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Nereu J Cândido Oliveira
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Lucianna H Santos
- Department of Biochemistry & Immunology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Celso de Oliveira Rezende Júnior
- Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, 38400-902, Brazil
- Instituto de Química, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, 13083-970, Brazil
| | - Ana C Cassiano Martinho
- Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, 38400-902, Brazil
| | - Danielle Skinner
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
| | - Pavla Fajtová
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
- Institute of Organic Chemistry & Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, 16610, Czech Republic
| | - Thaís H M Fernandes
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90160-093, Brazil
- Pharmaceutical Synthesis Group (PHARSG), Departamento de Produção de Matéria-Prima, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90160-093, Brazil
| | - Eduardo da Silveira Dos Santos
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90160-093, Brazil
- Pharmaceutical Synthesis Group (PHARSG), Departamento de Produção de Matéria-Prima, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90160-093, Brazil
| | - Poliana A Rodrigues Gazolla
- Grupo de Síntese e Pesquisa de Compostos Bioativos (GSPCB), Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Ana P Martins de Souza
- Grupo de Síntese e Pesquisa de Compostos Bioativos (GSPCB), Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Milene Lopes da Silva
- Grupo de Síntese e Pesquisa de Compostos Bioativos (GSPCB), Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Fabíola S Dos Santos
- Grupo de Síntese e Pesquisa de Compostos Bioativos (GSPCB), Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Stefânia N Lavorato
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
- Centro das Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Oeste da Bahia, Barreiras, Bahia, 47810-047, Brazil
| | - Ana C Oliveira Bretas
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Diogo Teixeira Carvalho
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Lucas Lopardi Franco
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Stephanie Luedtke
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
| | - Miriam A Giardini
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
| | - Antti Poso
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) 'Image-Guided & Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies', University of Tübingen, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
- Tübingen Center for Academic Drug Discovery, Auf der Morgenstelle 8, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, 70211, Finland
| | - Luiz C Dias
- Instituto de Química, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, 13083-970, Brazil
| | - Larissa M Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
| | - Ricardo J Alves
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - James McKerrow
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
| | - Saulo F Andrade
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90160-093, Brazil
- Pharmaceutical Synthesis Group (PHARSG), Departamento de Produção de Matéria-Prima, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90160-093, Brazil
| | - Róbson R Teixeira
- Grupo de Síntese e Pesquisa de Compostos Bioativos (GSPCB), Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Jair L Siqueira-Neto
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
| | - Anthony O'Donoghue
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0657, USA
| | - Renata B de Oliveira
- Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Rafaela S Ferreira
- Department of Biochemistry & Immunology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil
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24
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Wang YQ, Hu KF, Hu CJ. [Application and development of systems biology in computer-aided drug design]. Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi 2023; 48:2868-2875. [PMID: 37381949 DOI: 10.19540/j.cnki.cjcmm.20230227.601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
With the advances in medicine, people have deeply understood the complex pathogenesis of diseases. Revealing the mechanism of action and therapeutic effect of drugs from an overall perspective has become the top priority of drug design. However, the traditional drug design methods cannot meet the current needs. In recent years, with the rapid development of systems biology, a variety of new technologies including metabolomics, genomics, and proteomics have been used in drug research and development. As a bridge between traditional pharmaceutical theory and modern science, computer-aided drug design(CADD) can shorten the drug development cycle and improve the success rate of drug design. The application of systems biology and CADD provides a methodological basis and direction for revealing the mechanism and action of drugs from an overall perspective. This paper introduces the research and application of systems biology in CADD from different perspectives and proposes the development direction, providing reference for promoting the application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Qing Wang
- College of Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Nanjing 210023, China Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai 201210, China
| | - Kong-Fa Hu
- College of Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Chen-Jun Hu
- College of Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Nanjing 210023, China
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25
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Barazorda-Ccahuana HL, Goyzueta-Mamani LD, Candia Puma MA, Simões de Freitas C, de Sousa Vieria Tavares G, Pagliara Lage D, Ferraz Coelho EA, Chávez-Fumagalli MA. Computer-aided drug design approaches applied to screen natural product's structural analogs targeting arginase in Leishmania spp. F1000Res 2023; 12:93. [PMID: 37424744 PMCID: PMC10323282 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.129943.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Leishmaniasis is a disease with high mortality rates and approximately 1.5 million new cases each year. Despite the new approaches and advances to fight the disease, there are no effective therapies. Methods: Hence, this study aims to screen for natural products' structural analogs as new drug candidates against leishmaniasis. We applied Computer-aided drug design (CADD) approaches, such as virtual screening, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, molecular mechanics-generalized Born surface area (MM-GBSA) binding free estimation, and free energy perturbation (FEP) aiming to select structural analogs from natural products that have shown anti-leishmanial and anti-arginase activities and that could bind selectively against the Leishmania arginase enzyme. Results: The compounds 2H-1-benzopyran, 3,4-dihydro-2-(2-methylphenyl)-(9CI), echioidinin, and malvidin showed good results against arginase targets from three parasite species and negative results for potential toxicities. The echioidinin and malvidin ligands generated interactions in the active center at pH 2.0 conditions by MM-GBSA and FEP methods. Conclusions: This work suggests the potential anti-leishmanial activity of the compounds and thus can be further in vitro and in vivo experimentally validated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haruna Luz Barazorda-Ccahuana
- Computational Biology and Chemistry Research Group, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria de Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru
| | - Luis Daniel Goyzueta-Mamani
- Computational Biology and Chemistry Research Group, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria de Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru
- Sustainable Innovative Biomaterials Department, Le Qara Research Center, Arequipa, Peru
| | - Mayron Antonio Candia Puma
- Computational Biology and Chemistry Research Group, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria de Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru
- Universidad Católica de Santa María, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Bioquímicas y Biotecnológicas, Arequipa, Peru
| | - Camila Simões de Freitas
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde: Infectologia e Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Grasiele de Sousa Vieria Tavares
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde: Infectologia e Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Daniela Pagliara Lage
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde: Infectologia e Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Eduardo Antonio Ferraz Coelho
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde: Infectologia e Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Departamento de Patologia Clínica, COLTEC, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Miguel Angel Chávez-Fumagalli
- Computational Biology and Chemistry Research Group, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria de Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru
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26
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Qiao R, Fan X, Zhou L, Dong D, Liu Y, Liu D, Ma G, Tang N, Wang Y, Li XQ, Ren L, Cao W. The synthesis and effects of a novel TRPC6 inhibitor, BP3112, on hepatocellular carcinoma. Future Med Chem 2023; 15:629-646. [PMID: 37132400 DOI: 10.4155/fmc-2022-0313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Aims: Transient receptor potential canonical-6 (TRPC6) is a therapeutic target for hepatocellular carcinoma. The authors aimed to synthesize and determine whether indole-2-carboxamide derivatives have anti-hepatocellular carcinoma activities targeting TRPC6. Materials & methods: Molecular docking was carried out to design these derivatives. The top five compounds were synthesized for activity validation using microscale thermophoresis. Cell cytotoxicity, flow cytometry, western blotting and cell transfection were used to investigate the anti-hepatocellular carcinoma activities and mechanisms in vitro. Xenografts of nude mice were used for in vivo evaluation. Results: The indole-2-carboxamide derivative, BP3112, promoted apoptosis and G1-phase arrest in HCCs via inhibiting TRPC6, and dose-dependently inhibit tumor growth in vivo. Conclusion: BP3112 as a specific inhibitor of TRPC6 is a potential therapeutic agent for hepatocellular carcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruizhi Qiao
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products & Chemical Biology, School of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China
| | - Xin Fan
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products & Chemical Biology, School of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China
| | - Lei Zhou
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products & Chemical Biology, School of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China
| | - Dianchao Dong
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products & Chemical Biology, School of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China
| | - Yang Liu
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products & Chemical Biology, School of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China
| | - Detai Liu
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products & Chemical Biology, School of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China
| | - Guangyuan Ma
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products & Chemical Biology, School of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China
| | - Na Tang
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products & Chemical Biology, School of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China
| | - Yubo Wang
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products & Chemical Biology, School of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China
| | - Xiao-Qiang Li
- Department of Pharmacology & Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Pharmacology of Chinese Materia Medica of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
| | - Li Ren
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products & Chemical Biology, School of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China
| | - Wei Cao
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products & Chemical Biology, School of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China
- Department of Pharmacology & Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Pharmacology of Chinese Materia Medica of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
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Zhao M, Kognole AA, Jo S, Tao A, Hazel A, MacKerell AD. GPU-specific algorithms for improved solute sampling in grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations. J Comput Chem 2023. [PMID: 37093676 DOI: 10.1002/jcc.27121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
The Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) ensemble defined by the excess chemical potential, μex , volume, and temperature, in the context of molecular simulations allows for variations in the number of particles in the system. In practice, GCMC simulations have been widely applied for the sampling of rare gasses and water, but limited in the context of larger molecules. To overcome this limitation, the oscillating μex GCMC method was introduced and shown to be of utility for sampling small solutes, such as formamide, propane, and benzene, as well as for ionic species such as monocations, acetate, and methylammonium. However, the acceptance of GCMC insertions is low, and the method is computationally demanding. In the present study, we improved the sampling efficiency of the GCMC method using known cavity-bias and configurational-bias algorithms in the context of GPU architecture. Specifically, for GCMC simulations of aqueous solution systems, the configurational-bias algorithm was extended by applying system partitioning in conjunction with a random interval extraction algorithm, thereby improving the efficiency in a highly parallel computing environment. The method is parallelized on the GPU using CUDA and OpenCL, allowing for the code to run on both Nvidia and AMD GPUs, respectively. Notably, the method is particularly well suited for GPU computing as the large number of threads allows for simultaneous sampling of a large number of configurations during insertion attempts without additional computational overhead. In addition, the partitioning scheme allows for simultaneous insertion attempts for large systems, offering considerable efficiency. Calculations on the BK Channel, a transporter, including a lipid bilayer with over 760,000 atoms, show a speed up of ~53-fold through the use of system partitioning. The improved algorithm is then combined with an enhanced μex oscillation protocol and shown to be of utility in the context of the site-identification by ligand competitive saturation (SILCS) co-solvent sampling approach as illustrated through application to the protein CDK2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingtian Zhao
- Computer Aided Drug Design Center, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | | | | | | | - Anthony Hazel
- Computer Aided Drug Design Center, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Alexander D MacKerell
- Computer Aided Drug Design Center, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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Quintina Peters X, Poonan P, Salifu Yakubu E, Issa Alahmdi M, Abo-Dya NE, Soliman M. Exploring the Effects of Chirality of 5-methyl-5-[4-(4-oxo-3H-quinazolin-2-yl) phenyl]imidazolidine-2,4-dione and its Derivatives on the Oncological Target Tankyrase 2. Atomistic Insights. Curr Pharm Biotechnol 2023:CPB-EPUB-130491. [PMID: 37005548 DOI: 10.2174/1389201024666230330084017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Revised: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tankyrases (TNKS) are homomultimers existing in two forms, viz. TNKS1 and TNKS2. TNKS2 plays a pivotal role in carcinogenesis by activating the Wnt//β-catenin pathway. TNKS2 has been identified as a suitable target in oncology due to its crucial role in mediating tumour progression. The discovery of 5-methyl-5-[4-(4-oxo-3H-quinazolin-2-yl) phenyl] imidazolidine-2,4-dione, a hydantoin phenylquinazolinone derivative which exists as a racemic mixture and in its pure enantiomer forms, has reportedly exhibited inhibitory potency towards TNKS2. However, the molecular events surrounding its chirality towards TNKS2 remain unresolved. METHODS Herein, we employed in silico methods such as molecular dynamics simulation coupled with binding free energy estimations to explore the mechanistic activity of the racemic inhibitor and its enantiomer forms on TNK2 at a molecular level Results: Favourable binding free energies were noted for all three ligands propelled by electrostatic and van der Waals forces. The positive enantiomer demonstrated the highest total binding free energy (-38.15 kcal/mol), exhibiting a more potent binding affinity to TNKS2. Amino acids PHE1035, ALA1038, and HIS1048; PHE1035, HIS1048 and ILE1039; and TYR1060, SER1033 and ILE1059 were identified as key drivers of TNKS2 inhibition for all three inhibitors, characterized by the contribution of highest residual energies and the formation of crucial high-affinity interactions with the bound inhibitors. Further assessment of chirality by the inhibitors revealed a stabilizing effect of the complex systems of all three inhibitors on the TNKS2 structure. Concerning flexibility and mobility, the racemic inhibitor and negative enantiomer revealed a more rigid structure when bound to TNKS2, which could potentiate biological activity interference. The positive enantiomer, however, displayed much more elasticity and flexibility when bound to TNKS2. CONCLUSION Overall, 5-methyl-5-[4-(4-oxo-3H-quinazolin-2-yl) phenyl] imidazolidine-2,4-dione and its derivatives showed their inhibitory prowess when bound to the TNKS2 target via in silico assessment. Thus, results from this study offer insight into chirality and the possibility of adjustments of the enantiomer ratio to promote greater inhibitory results. These results could also offer insight into lead optimization to enhance inhibitory effects.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Preantha Poonan
- University of KwaZulu-Natal Molecular Bio-Computation & Drug Design Durban South Africa
| | | | | | - Nader E Abo-Dya
- University of Tabuk Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry Tabuk Saudi Arabia
| | - Mahmoud Soliman
- University of KwaZulu-Natal Pharmaceutical Sciences Durban South Africa
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29
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Tomarchio R, Patamia V, Zagni C, Crocetti L, Cilibrizzi A, Floresta G, Rescifina A. Steered Molecular Dynamics Simulations Study on FABP4 Inhibitors. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28062731. [PMID: 36985701 PMCID: PMC10058326 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28062731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Ordinary small molecule de novo drug design is time-consuming and expensive. Recently, computational tools were employed and proved their efficacy in accelerating the overall drug design process. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and a derivative of MD, steered molecular dynamics (SMD), turned out to be promising rational drug design tools. In this paper, we report the first application of SMD to evaluate the binding properties of small molecules toward FABP4, considering our recent interest in inhibiting fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4). FABP4 inhibitors (FABP4is) are small molecules of therapeutic interest, and ongoing clinical studies indicate that they are promising for treating cancer and other diseases such as metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosario Tomarchio
- Department of Drug and Health Sciences, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Patamia
- Department of Drug and Health Sciences, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy
| | - Chiara Zagni
- Department of Drug and Health Sciences, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy
| | - Letizia Crocetti
- Department Neurofarba, Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Section, via Ugo Schiff 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Agostino Cilibrizzi
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, King's College London, Stamford Street, London SE1 9NH, UK
- Centre for Therapeutic Innovation, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Giuseppe Floresta
- Department of Drug and Health Sciences, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy
| | - Antonio Rescifina
- Department of Drug and Health Sciences, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy
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30
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Lee S, Seok C, Park H. Benchmarking applicability of medium-resolution cryo-EM protein structures for structure-based drug design. J Comput Chem 2023; 44:1360-1368. [PMID: 36847771 DOI: 10.1002/jcc.27091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023]
Abstract
Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is gaining large attention for high-resolution protein structure determination in solutions. However, a very high percentage of cryo-EM structures correspond to resolutions of 3-5 Å, making the structures difficult to be used in in silico drug design. In this study, we analyze how useful cryo-EM protein structures are for in silico drug design by evaluating ligand docking accuracy. From realistic cross-docking scenarios using medium resolution (3-5 Å) cryo-EM structures and a popular docking tool Autodock-Vina, only 20% of docking succeeded, when the success rate doubles in the same kind of cross-docking but using high-resolution (<2 Å) crystal structures instead. We decipher the reason for failures by decomposing the contribution from resolution-dependent and independent factors. The heterogeneity in the protein side-chain and backbone conformations is identified as the major resolution-dependent factor causing docking difficulty from our analysis, while intrinsic receptor flexibility mainly comprises the resolution-independent factor. We demonstrate the flexibility implementation in current ligand docking tools is able to rescue only a portion of failures (10%), and the limited performance was majorly due to potential structural errors than conformational changes. Our work suggests the strong necessity of more robust method developments on ligand docking and EM modeling techniques in order to fully utilize cryo-EM structures for in silico drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seho Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Chaok Seok
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.,Galux Inc., Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hahnbeom Park
- Brain Science Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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31
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Hsieh CJ, Giannakoulias S, Petersson EJ, Mach RH. Computational Chemistry for the Identification of Lead Compounds for Radiotracer Development. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:317. [PMID: 37259459 PMCID: PMC9964981 DOI: 10.3390/ph16020317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The use of computer-aided drug design (CADD) for the identification of lead compounds in radiotracer development is steadily increasing. Traditional CADD methods, such as structure-based and ligand-based virtual screening and optimization, have been successfully utilized in many drug discovery programs and are highlighted throughout this review. First, we discuss the use of virtual screening for hit identification at the beginning of drug discovery programs. This is followed by an analysis of how the hits derived from virtual screening can be filtered and culled to highly probable candidates to test in in vitro assays. We then illustrate how CADD can be used to optimize the potency of experimentally validated hit compounds from virtual screening for use in positron emission tomography (PET). Finally, we conclude with a survey of the newest techniques in CADD employing machine learning (ML).
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Ju Hsieh
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Clinical Molecular Imaging, Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Sam Giannakoulias
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - E. James Petersson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Robert H. Mach
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Clinical Molecular Imaging, Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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32
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Pérez-Peña H, Abel AC, Shevelev M, Prota AE, Pieraccini S, Horvath D. Computational Approaches to the Rational Design of Tubulin-Targeting Agents. Biomolecules 2023; 13. [PMID: 36830654 DOI: 10.3390/biom13020285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Microtubules are highly dynamic polymers of α,β-tubulin dimers which play an essential role in numerous cellular processes such as cell proliferation and intracellular transport, making them an attractive target for cancer and neurodegeneration research. To date, a large number of known tubulin binders were derived from natural products, while only one was developed by rational structure-based drug design. Several of these tubulin binders show promising in vitro profiles while presenting unacceptable off-target effects when tested in patients. Therefore, there is a continuing demand for the discovery of safer and more efficient tubulin-targeting agents. Since tubulin structural data is readily available, the employment of computer-aided design techniques can be a key element to focus on the relevant chemical space and guide the design process. Due to the high diversity and quantity of structural data available, we compiled here a guide to the accessible tubulin-ligand structures. Furthermore, we review different ligand and structure-based methods recently used for the successful selection and design of new tubulin-targeting agents.
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Danel T, Łęski J, Podlewska S, Podolak IT. Docking-based generative approaches in the search for new drug candidates. Drug Discov Today 2023; 28:103439. [PMID: 36372330 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2022.103439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 10/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Despite the popularity of virtual screening (VS) of existing compound libraries, the search for new potential drug candidates also takes advantage of generative protocols, where new compound suggestions are enumerated using various algorithms. To increase the activity potency of generative approaches, they have recently been coupled with molecular docking, a leading methodology of structure-based drug design (SBDD). In this review, we summarize progress since docking-based generative models emerged. We propose a new taxonomy for these methods and discuss their importance for the field of computer-aided drug design (CADD). In addition, we discuss the most promising directions for the further development of generative protocols coupled with docking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomasz Danel
- Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Jagiellonian University, 6 Łojasiewicza Street, 30-348 Kraków, Poland.
| | - Jan Łęski
- Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Jagiellonian University, 6 Łojasiewicza Street, 30-348 Kraków, Poland
| | - Sabina Podlewska
- Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, 31-343 Kraków, Smętna Street 12, Poland
| | - Igor T Podolak
- Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Jagiellonian University, 6 Łojasiewicza Street, 30-348 Kraków, Poland
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34
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Dorahy G, Chen JZ, Balle T. Computer-Aided Drug Design towards New Psychotropic and Neurological Drugs. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28031324. [PMID: 36770990 PMCID: PMC9921936 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28031324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Central nervous system (CNS) disorders are a therapeutic area in drug discovery where demand for new treatments greatly exceeds approved treatment options. This is complicated by the high failure rate in late-stage clinical trials, resulting in exorbitant costs associated with bringing new CNS drugs to market. Computer-aided drug design (CADD) techniques minimise the time and cost burdens associated with drug research and development by ensuring an advantageous starting point for pre-clinical and clinical assessments. The key elements of CADD are divided into ligand-based and structure-based methods. Ligand-based methods encompass techniques including pharmacophore modelling and quantitative structure activity relationships (QSARs), which use the relationship between biological activity and chemical structure to ascertain suitable lead molecules. In contrast, structure-based methods use information about the binding site architecture from an established protein structure to select suitable molecules for further investigation. In recent years, deep learning techniques have been applied in drug design and present an exciting addition to CADD workflows. Despite the difficulties associated with CNS drug discovery, advances towards new pharmaceutical treatments continue to be made, and CADD has supported these findings. This review explores various CADD techniques and discusses applications in CNS drug discovery from 2018 to November 2022.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgia Dorahy
- Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia
| | - Jake Zheng Chen
- Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia
| | - Thomas Balle
- Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia
- Correspondence:
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35
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Chen W, He H, Wang J, Wang J, Chang CEA. Uncovering water effects in protein-ligand recognition: importance in the second hydration shell and binding kinetics. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:2098-2109. [PMID: 36562309 PMCID: PMC9970846 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp04584b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Developing a ligand with high affinity for a specific protein target is essential for drug design, and water molecules are well known to play a key role in protein-drug recognition. However, predicting the role of particularly ordered water molecules in drug binding remains challenging. Furthermore, hydration free energy contributed from the water network, including the second shell of water molecules, is far from being well studied. In this research we focused on these aspects to accurately and efficiently evaluate water effects in protein-ligand binding affinity. We developed a new strategy using a free-energy calculation method, VM2. We successfully predicted the stable ordered water molecules in a number of protein systems: PDE 10a, HSP90, tryptophan synthase (TRPS), CDK2 and Factor Xa. In some of these, the second shell of water molecules appeared to be critical in protein-ligand binding. We also applied the strategy to largely improve binding free energy calculation using the MM/PBSA method. When applying MM/PBSA alone for two systems, CDK2 and Factor Xa, the computed binding free energy resulted in poor to moderate R2 values with experimental data. However, including water free energy correction greatly improved the free energy calculation. Furthermore, our work helped to explain how xk263 is a 1000 times faster binder to HIVp than ritonavir, a potentially useful tool for investigating binding kinetics. Our studies reveal the importance of fully considering water effects in therapeutic developments in pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and for fundamental research in protein-ligand recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Chen
- School of Pharmacy, Fuzhou Medical College of NanChang University, Fuzhou, JiangXi 344000, P. R. China.
| | - Huan He
- School of Pharmacy, Fuzhou Medical College of NanChang University, Fuzhou, JiangXi 344000, P. R. China.
| | - Jing Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Fuzhou Medical College of NanChang University, Fuzhou, JiangXi 344000, P. R. China.
| | - Jiahui Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Fuzhou Medical College of NanChang University, Fuzhou, JiangXi 344000, P. R. China.
| | - Chia-en A. Chang
- Department of Chemistry, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA,Corresponding Authors Wei Chen: School of Pharmacy, Fuzhou Medical College of NanChang University, Fuzhou, JiangXi 344000, China. , Chia-en A. Chang: Department of Chemistry, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
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Scotti L, Patel JS, Hassanzadeh M, Scotti MT. Editorial: Hot trends in computer-aided drug design techniques. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1149994. [PMID: 37139493 PMCID: PMC10150331 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1149994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Luciana Scotti
- Postgraduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
- University Hospital, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
- *Correspondence: Luciana Scotti,
| | | | - Malihe Hassanzadeh
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology in Université de Sherbrooke, QC, Sherbrooke, Canada
| | - Marcus T. Scotti
- Postgraduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
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37
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Hasan GM, Shamsi A, Sohal SS, Alam M, Hassan MI. Structure-Based Identification of Natural Compounds as Potential RET-Kinase Inhibitors for Therapeutic Targeting of Neurodegenerative Diseases. J Alzheimers Dis 2023; 95:1519-1533. [PMID: 37718821 DOI: 10.3233/jad-230698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tyrosine-protein kinase receptor Ret (RET), a proto-oncogene, is considered as an attractive drug target for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). OBJECTIVE We aimed to identify potential inhibitors of RET kinase among natural compounds present in the ZINC database. METHODS A multistep structure-based virtual screening approach was used to identify potential RET kinase inhibitors based on their binding affinities, docking scores, and interactions with the biologically important residues of RET kinase. To further validate the potential of these compounds as therapeutic leads, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for 100 ns were carried out and subsequently evaluated the stability, conformational changes, and interaction mechanism of RET in-complex with the elucidated compounds. RESULTS Two natural compounds, ZINC02092851 and ZINC02726682, demonstrated high affinity, specificity for the ATP-binding pocket of RET and drug-likeness properties. The MD simulation outputs indicated that the binding of both compounds stabilizes the RET structure and leads to fewer conformational changes. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that ZINC02092851 and ZINC02726682 may be potential inhibitors for RET, offering valuable leads for drug development against RET-associated diseases. Our study provides a promising avenue for developing new therapeutic strategies against complex diseases, including AD. Identifying natural compounds with high affinity and specificity for RET provides a valuable starting point for developing novel drugs that could help combat these debilitating diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gulam Mustafa Hasan
- Department of Biochemistry College of Medicine Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia
| | - Anas Shamsi
- Centre of Medical and Bio-Allied Health Sciences Research Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
| | - Sukhwinder Singh Sohal
- Respiratory Translational Research Group Department of Laboratory Medicine School of Health Sciences College of Health and Medicine University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Manzar Alam
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
| | - Md Imtaiyaz Hassan
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
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Del Carmen Quintal Bojórquez N, Campos MRS. Traditional and Novel Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD) Approaches in the Anticancer Drug Discovery Process. Curr Cancer Drug Targets 2023; 23:333-345. [PMID: 35792126 DOI: 10.2174/1568009622666220705104249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In the last decade, cancer has been a leading cause of death worldwide. Despite the impressive progress in cancer therapy, firsthand treatments are not selective to cancer cells and cause serious toxicity. Thus, the design and development of selective and innovative small molecule drugs is of great interest, particularly through in silico tools. OBJECTIVE The aim of this review is to analyze different subsections of computer-aided drug design (CADD) in the process of discovering anticancer drugs. METHODS Articles from the 2008-2021 timeframe were analyzed and based on the relevance of the information and the JCR of its journal of precedence, were selected to be included in this review. RESULTS The information collected in this study highlights the main traditional and novel CADD approaches used in anticancer drug discovery, its sub-segments, and some applied examples. Throughout this review, the potential use of CADD in drug research and discovery, particularly in the field of oncology, is evident due to the many advantages it presents. CONCLUSION CADD approaches play a significant role in the drug development process since they allow a better administration of resources with successful results and a promising future market and clinical wise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nidia Del Carmen Quintal Bojórquez
- Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Periférico Norte Km. 33.5, Tablaje Catastral 13615, Colonia Chuburna de Hidalgo Inn. Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. C.P. 97203, Mexico
| | - Maira Rubi Segura Campos
- Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Periférico Norte Km. 33.5, Tablaje Catastral 13615, Colonia Chuburna de Hidalgo Inn. Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. C.P. 97203, Mexico
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Holcomb M, Chang Y, Goodsell DS, Forli S. Evaluation of AlphaFold2 structures as docking targets. Protein Sci 2023; 32:e4530. [PMID: 36479776 PMCID: PMC9794023 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
AlphaFold2 is a promising new tool for researchers to predict protein structures and generate high-quality models, with low backbone and global root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) when compared with experimental structures. However, it is unclear if the structures predicted by AlphaFold2 will be valuable targets of docking. To address this question, we redocked ligands in the PDBbind datasets against the experimental co-crystallized receptor structures and against the AlphaFold2 structures using AutoDock-GPU. We find that the quality measure provided during structure prediction is not a good predictor of docking performance, despite accurately reflecting the quality of the alpha carbon alignment with experimental structures. Removing low-confidence regions of the predicted structure and making side chains flexible improves the docking outcomes. Overall, despite high-quality prediction of backbone conformation, fine structural details limit the naive application of AlphaFold2 models as docking targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Holcomb
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational BiologyThe Scripps Research InstituteLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
| | - Ya‐Ting Chang
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational BiologyThe Scripps Research InstituteLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
| | - David S. Goodsell
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational BiologyThe Scripps Research InstituteLa JollaCaliforniaUSA,Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank, RutgersThe State University of New JerseyPiscatawayNew JerseyUSA,Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, RutgersThe State University of New JerseyPiscatawayNew JerseyUSA,Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, RutgersThe State University of New JerseyNew BrunswickNew JerseyUSA
| | - Stefano Forli
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational BiologyThe Scripps Research InstituteLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
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Giancotti G, Nannetti G, Padalino G, Landini M, Santos-Ferreira N, Van Dycke J, Naccarato V, Patel U, Silvestri R, Neyts J, Gozalbo-Rovira R, Rodríguez-Díaz J, Rocha-Pereira J, Brancale A, Ferla S, Bassetto M. Structural Investigations on Novel Non-Nucleoside Inhibitors of Human Norovirus Polymerase. Viruses 2022; 15:74. [PMID: 36680114 PMCID: PMC9864251 DOI: 10.3390/v15010074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Human norovirus is the first cause of foodborne disease worldwide, leading to extensive outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis, and causing around 200,000 children to die annually in developing countries. No specific vaccines or antiviral agents are currently available, with therapeutic options limited to supportive care to prevent dehydration. The infection can become severe and lead to life-threatening complications in young children, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals, leading to a clear need for antiviral agents, to be used as treatments and as prophylactic measures in case of outbreaks. Due to the key role played by the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) in the virus life cycle, this enzyme is a promising target for antiviral drug discovery. In previous studies, following in silico investigations, we identified different small-molecule inhibitors of this enzyme. In this study, we rationally modified five identified scaffolds, to further explore structure-activity relationships, and to enhance binding to the RdRp. The newly designed compounds were synthesized according to multiple-step synthetic routes and evaluated for their inhibition of the enzyme in vitro. New inhibitors with low micromolar inhibitory activity of the RdRp were identified, which provide a promising basis for further hit-to-lead optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilda Giancotti
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3NB, UK
| | - Giulio Nannetti
- Medical School, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Gilda Padalino
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3NB, UK
| | - Martina Landini
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3NB, UK
| | - Nanci Santos-Ferreira
- KU Leuven—Rega Institute, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jana Van Dycke
- KU Leuven—Rega Institute, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Valentina Naccarato
- Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Usheer Patel
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3NB, UK
| | - Romano Silvestri
- Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Johan Neyts
- KU Leuven—Rega Institute, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Roberto Gozalbo-Rovira
- Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - Jésus Rodríguez-Díaz
- Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - Joana Rocha-Pereira
- KU Leuven—Rega Institute, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Andrea Brancale
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3NB, UK
- Vysoká Škola Chemiko-Technologiká v Praze, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Salvatore Ferla
- Medical School, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Marcella Bassetto
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
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Chang Y, Hawkins BA, Du JJ, Groundwater PW, Hibbs DE, Lai F. A Guide to In Silico Drug Design. Pharmaceutics 2022; 15:pharmaceutics15010049. [PMID: 36678678 PMCID: PMC9867171 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15010049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The drug discovery process is a rocky path that is full of challenges, with the result that very few candidates progress from hit compound to a commercially available product, often due to factors, such as poor binding affinity, off-target effects, or physicochemical properties, such as solubility or stability. This process is further complicated by high research and development costs and time requirements. It is thus important to optimise every step of the process in order to maximise the chances of success. As a result of the recent advancements in computer power and technology, computer-aided drug design (CADD) has become an integral part of modern drug discovery to guide and accelerate the process. In this review, we present an overview of the important CADD methods and applications, such as in silico structure prediction, refinement, modelling and target validation, that are commonly used in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqun Chang
- Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Bryson A. Hawkins
- Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Jonathan J. Du
- Department of Biochemistry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Paul W. Groundwater
- Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - David E. Hibbs
- Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Felcia Lai
- Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
- Correspondence:
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Zhang B, Zhao M, Tian J, Lei L, Huang R. Novel antimicrobial agents targeting the Streptococcus mutans biofilms discovery through computer technology. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:1065235. [PMID: 36530419 PMCID: PMC9751416 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1065235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Dental caries is one of the most prevalent and costly biofilm-associated infectious diseases worldwide. Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) is well recognized as the major causative factor of dental caries due to its acidogenicity, aciduricity and extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) synthesis ability. The EPSs have been considered as a virulent factor of cariogenic biofilm, which enhance biofilms resistance to antimicrobial agents and virulence compared with planktonic bacterial cells. The traditional anti-caries therapies, such as chlorhexidine and antibiotics are characterized by side-effects and drug resistance. With the development of computer technology, several novel approaches are being used to synthesize or discover antimicrobial agents. In this mini review, we summarized the novel antimicrobial agents targeting the S. mutans biofilms discovery through computer technology. Drug repurposing of small molecules expands the original medical indications and lowers drug development costs and risks. The computer-aided drug design (CADD) has been used for identifying compounds with optimal interactions with the target via silico screening and computational methods. The synthetic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) based on the rational design, computational design or high-throughput screening have shown increased selectivity for both single- and multi-species biofilms. These methods provide potential therapeutic agents to promote targeted control of the oral microbial biofilms in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Shaanxi Province for Craniofacial Precision Medicine Research, College of Stomatology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China,Clinical Research Center of Shaanxi Province for Dental and Maxillofacial Diseases, Center of Oral Public Health, College of Stomatology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Min Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Shaanxi Province for Craniofacial Precision Medicine Research, College of Stomatology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China,Clinical Research Center of Shaanxi Province for Dental and Maxillofacial Diseases, Center of Oral Public Health, College of Stomatology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Jiangang Tian
- Key Laboratory of Shaanxi Province for Craniofacial Precision Medicine Research, College of Stomatology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China,Clinical Research Center of Shaanxi Province for Dental and Maxillofacial Diseases, Center of Oral Public Health, College of Stomatology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Lei Lei
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, Department of Preventive Dentistry, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China,*Correspondence: Lei Lei, ; Ruizhe Huang,
| | - Ruizhe Huang
- Key Laboratory of Shaanxi Province for Craniofacial Precision Medicine Research, College of Stomatology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China,Clinical Research Center of Shaanxi Province for Dental and Maxillofacial Diseases, Center of Oral Public Health, College of Stomatology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China,*Correspondence: Lei Lei, ; Ruizhe Huang,
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43
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Siddique R, Abideen SA, Nabi G, Awan FM, Noor Khan S, Ullah F, Khan S, Xue M. Fibroblast growth factor 2 is a druggable target against glioblastoma: A computational investigation. Front Chem 2022; 10:1071929. [PMID: 36505741 PMCID: PMC9732544 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2022.1071929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) is a key player in cancer and tissue homeostasis and regulates renewal of several stem cell types. The FGF2 role in malignant glioma is proven and tagged FGF2, a novel druggable target, is used for developing potent drugs against glioblastoma. In this study, Asinex 51412372, Asinex 51217461, and Asinex 51216586 were filtered to show the best binding affinity for FGF2 with binding energy scores of -8.3 kcal/mol, -8.2 kcal/mol, and -7.8 kcal/mol, respectively. The compounds showed chemical interactions with several vital residues of FGF2 along the compound length. The noticeable residues that interacted with the compounds were Arg15, Asp23, Arg63, and Gln105. In dynamic investigation in solution, the FGF2 reported unstable dynamics in the first 100 ns and gained structural equilibrium in the second phase of 100 ns. The maximum root mean square deviation (RMSD) value touched by the systems is 3 Å. Similarly, the residue flexibility of FGF2 in the presence of compounds was within a stable range and is compact along the simulation time length. The compounds showed robust atomic-level stable energies with FGF2, which are dominated by both van der Waals and electrostatic interactions. The net binding energy of systems varies between -40 kcal/mol and -86 kcal/mol, suggesting the formation of strong intermolecular docked complexes. The drug-likeness and pharmacokinetic properties also pointed toward good structures that are not toxic, have high gastric absorption, showed good distribution, and readily excreted from the body. In summary, the predicted compounds in this study might be ideal hits that might be further optimized for structure and activity during experimental studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rabeea Siddique
- Department of Cerebrovascular Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou Uiversity, Zhengzhou, China,Henan Medical Key Laboratory of Translational Cerebrovascular Diseases, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Syed Ainul Abideen
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ghulam Nabi
- Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, KraKow, Poland
| | - Faryal Mehwish Awan
- Department of Medial Lab Technology, The University of Haripur, Haripur, Pakistan
| | - Sadiq Noor Khan
- Department of Medial Lab Technology, The University of Haripur, Haripur, Pakistan
| | - Fawad Ullah
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China,Centre of Biotechnology and Microbiology, University of Peshawar, Haripur, Pakistan
| | - Suliman Khan
- Department of Cerebrovascular Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou Uiversity, Zhengzhou, China,School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China,Department of Medial Lab Technology, The University of Haripur, Haripur, Pakistan,*Correspondence: Suliman Khan, , ; Mengzhou Xue,
| | - Mengzhou Xue
- Department of Cerebrovascular Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou Uiversity, Zhengzhou, China,Henan Medical Key Laboratory of Translational Cerebrovascular Diseases, Zhengzhou, China,*Correspondence: Suliman Khan, , ; Mengzhou Xue,
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44
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Díaz-Eufracio BI, Medina-Franco JL. Machine Learning Models to Predict Protein-Protein Interaction Inhibitors. Molecules 2022; 27. [PMID: 36432086 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27227986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Revised: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Protein-protein interaction (PPI) inhibitors have an increasing role in drug discovery. It is hypothesized that machine learning (ML) algorithms can classify or identify PPI inhibitors. This work describes the performance of different algorithms and molecular fingerprints used in chemoinformatics to develop a classification model to identify PPI inhibitors making the codes freely available to the community, particularly the medicinal chemistry research groups working with PPI inhibitors. We found that classification algorithms have different performances according to various features employed in the training process. Random forest (RF) models with the extended connectivity fingerprint radius 2 (ECFP4) had the best classification abilities compared to those models trained with ECFP6 o MACCS keys (166-bits). In general, logistic regression (LR) models had lower performance metrics than RF models, but ECFP4 was the representation most appropriate for LR. ECFP4 also generated models with high-performance metrics with support vector machines (SVM). We also constructed ensemble models based on the top-performing models. As part of this work and to help non-computational experts, we developed a pipeline code freely available.
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45
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Heo L, Feig M. Multi-state modeling of G-protein coupled receptors at experimental accuracy. Proteins 2022; 90:1873-1885. [PMID: 35510704 PMCID: PMC9561049 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Revised: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The family of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) is one of the largest protein families in the human genome. GPCRs transduct chemical signals from extracellular to intracellular regions via a conformational switch between active and inactive states upon ligand binding. While experimental structures of GPCRs remain limited, high-accuracy computational predictions are now possible with AlphaFold2. However, AlphaFold2 only predicts one state and is biased toward either the active or inactive conformation depending on the GPCR class. Here, a multi-state prediction protocol is introduced that extends AlphaFold2 to predict either active or inactive states at very high accuracy using state-annotated templated GPCR databases. The predicted models accurately capture the main structural changes upon activation of the GPCR at the atomic level. For most of the benchmarked GPCRs (10 out of 15), models in the active and inactive states were closer to their corresponding activation state structures. Median RMSDs of the transmembrane regions were 1.12 Å and 1.41 Å for the active and inactive state models, respectively. The models were more suitable for protein-ligand docking than the original AlphaFold2 models and template-based models. Finally, our prediction protocol predicted accurate GPCR structures and GPCR-peptide complex structures in GPCR Dock 2021, a blind GPCR-ligand complex modeling competition. We expect that high accuracy GPCR models in both activation states will promote understanding in GPCR activation mechanisms and drug discovery for GPCRs. At the time, the new protocol paves the way towards capturing the dynamics of proteins at high-accuracy via machine-learning methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lim Heo
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMichiganUSA
| | - Michael Feig
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMichiganUSA
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46
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Kognole AA, Hazel A, MacKerell AD. SILCS-RNA: Toward a Structure-Based Drug Design Approach for Targeting RNAs with Small Molecules. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:5672-5691. [PMID: 35913731 PMCID: PMC9474704 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c00381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
RNA molecules can act as potential drug targets in different diseases, as their dysregulated expression or misfolding can alter various cellular processes. Noncoding RNAs account for ∼70% of the human genome, and these molecules can have complex tertiary structures that present a great opportunity for targeting by small molecules. In the present study, the site identification by ligand competitive saturation (SILCS) computational approach is extended to target RNA, termed SILCS-RNA. Extensions to the method include an enhanced oscillating excess chemical potential protocol for the grand canonical Monte Carlo calculations and individual simulations of the neutral and charged solutes from which the SILCS functional group affinity maps (FragMaps) are calculated for subsequent binding site identification and docking calculations. The method is developed and evaluated against seven RNA targets and their reported small molecule ligands. SILCS-RNA provides a detailed characterization of the functional group affinity pattern in the small molecule binding sites, recapitulating the types of functional groups present in the ligands. The developed method is also shown to be useful for identification of new potential binding sites and identifying ligand moieties that contribute to binding, granular information that can facilitate ligand design. However, limitations in the method are evident including the ability to map the regions of binding sites occupied by ligand phosphate moieties and to fully account for the wide range of conformational heterogeneity in RNA associated with binding of different small molecules, emphasizing inherent challenges associated with applying computer-aided drug design methods to RNA. While limitations are present, the current study indicates how the SILCS-RNA approach may enhance drug discovery efforts targeting RNAs with small molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhishek A Kognole
- Computer Aided Drug Design Center, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
| | - Anthony Hazel
- Computer Aided Drug Design Center, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, 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
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Wang G, Bai Y, Cui J, Zong Z, Gao Y, Zheng Z. Computer-Aided Drug Design Boosts RAS Inhibitor Discovery. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27175710. [PMID: 36080477 PMCID: PMC9457765 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27175710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2022] [Revised: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The Rat Sarcoma (RAS) family (NRAS, HRAS, and KRAS) is endowed with GTPase activity to regulate various signaling pathways in ubiquitous animal cells. As proto-oncogenes, RAS mutations can maintain activation, leading to the growth and proliferation of abnormal cells and the development of a variety of human cancers. For the fight against tumors, the discovery of RAS-targeted drugs is of high significance. On the one hand, the structural properties of the RAS protein make it difficult to find inhibitors specifically targeted to it. On the other hand, targeting other molecules in the RAS signaling pathway often leads to severe tissue toxicities due to the lack of disease specificity. However, computer-aided drug design (CADD) can help solve the above problems. As an interdisciplinary approach that combines computational biology with medicinal chemistry, CADD has brought a variety of advances and numerous benefits to drug design, such as the rapid identification of new targets and discovery of new drugs. Based on an overview of RAS features and the history of inhibitor discovery, this review provides insight into the application of mainstream CADD methods to RAS drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ge Wang
- Medicinal Chemistry and Bioinformatics Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
- College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200120, China
| | - Yuhao Bai
- Medicinal Chemistry and Bioinformatics Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
- College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200120, China
| | - Jiarui Cui
- Medicinal Chemistry and Bioinformatics Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
- College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200120, China
| | - Zirui Zong
- Medicinal Chemistry and Bioinformatics Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
- College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200120, China
| | - Yuan Gao
- Medicinal Chemistry and Bioinformatics Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
- College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200120, China
| | - Zhen Zheng
- Medicinal Chemistry and Bioinformatics Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
- Correspondence:
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Meqbil YJ, van Rijn RM. Opportunities and Challenges for In Silico Drug Discovery at Delta Opioid Receptors. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 15:ph15070873. [PMID: 35890173 PMCID: PMC9324648 DOI: 10.3390/ph15070873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The delta opioid receptor is a Gi-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) with a broad expression pattern both in the central nervous system and the body. The receptor has been investigated as a potential target for a multitude of significant diseases including migraine, alcohol use disorder, ischemia, and neurodegenerative diseases. Despite multiple attempts, delta opioid receptor-selective molecules have not been translated into the clinic. Yet, the therapeutic promise of the delta opioid receptor remains and thus there is a need to identify novel delta opioid receptor ligands to be optimized and selected for clinical trials. Here, we highlight recent developments involving the delta opioid receptor, the closely related mu and kappa opioid receptors, and in the broader area of the GPCR drug discovery research. We focus on the validity and utility of the available delta opioid receptor structures. We also discuss the increased ability to perform ultra-large-scale docking studies on GPCRs, the rise in high-resolution cryo-EM structures, and the increased prevalence of machine learning and artificial intelligence in drug discovery. Overall, we pose that there are multiple opportunities to enable in silico drug discovery at the delta opioid receptor to identify novel delta opioid modulators potentially with unique pharmacological properties, such as biased signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yazan J. Meqbil
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Computational Interdisciplinary Graduate Program, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA;
| | - Richard M. van Rijn
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery, Purdue Institute for Neuroscience, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
- Septerna Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-765-494-6461
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49
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Zhu Z, Deng Z, Wang Q, Wang Y, Zhang D, Xu R, Guo L, Wen H. Simulation and Machine Learning Methods for Ion-Channel Structure Determination, Mechanistic Studies and Drug Design. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:939555. [PMID: 35837274 PMCID: PMC9275593 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.939555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Ion channels are expressed in almost all living cells, controlling the in-and-out communications, making them ideal drug targets, especially for central nervous system diseases. However, owing to their dynamic nature and the presence of a membrane environment, ion channels remain difficult targets for the past decades. Recent advancement in cryo-electron microscopy and computational methods has shed light on this issue. An explosion in high-resolution ion channel structures paved way for structure-based rational drug design and the state-of-the-art simulation and machine learning techniques dramatically improved the efficiency and effectiveness of computer-aided drug design. Here we present an overview of how simulation and machine learning-based methods fundamentally changed the ion channel-related drug design at different levels, as well as the emerging trends in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengdan Zhu
- Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Institute of Big Data Research, Beijing, China
| | - Zhenfeng Deng
- DP Technology, Beijing, China
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | | | | | - Duo Zhang
- Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
- DP Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Ruihan Xu
- DP Technology, Beijing, China
- National Engineering Research Center of Visual Technology, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | | | - Han Wen
- DP Technology, Beijing, China
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Proj M, De Jonghe S, Van Loy T, Jukič M, Meden A, Ciber L, Podlipnik Č, Grošelj U, Konc J, Schols D, Gobec S. A Set of Experimentally Validated Decoys for the Human CC Chemokine Receptor 7 (CCR7) Obtained by Virtual Screening. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:855653. [PMID: 35370691 PMCID: PMC8972196 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.855653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
We present a state-of-the-art virtual screening workflow aiming at the identification of novel CC chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) antagonists. Although CCR7 is associated with a variety of human diseases, such as immunological disorders, inflammatory diseases, and cancer, this target is underexplored in drug discovery and there are no potent and selective CCR7 small molecule antagonists available today. Therefore, computer-aided ligand-based, structure-based, and joint virtual screening campaigns were performed. Hits from these virtual screenings were tested in a CCL19-induced calcium signaling assay. After careful evaluation, none of the in silico hits were confirmed to have an antagonistic effect on CCR7. Hence, we report here a valuable set of 287 inactive compounds that can be used as experimentally validated decoys.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matic Proj
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Steven De Jonghe
- Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Tom Van Loy
- Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Marko Jukič
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Chemical Thermodynamics, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia.,Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, Koper, Slovenia
| | - Anže Meden
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Luka Ciber
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Črtomir Podlipnik
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Uroš Grošelj
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Janez Konc
- National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Dominique Schols
- Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Stanislav Gobec
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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