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Yang Z, Wang Y, Huang S, Geng Y, Yang Z, Yang Z. Identification of potential anti-tumor targets and mechanisms of HuaChanSu injection using network pharmacology and cytological experiments in Breast cancer. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0303650. [PMID: 38753638 PMCID: PMC11098324 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
HuaChanSu (HCS) or Cinobufacini injection is an aqueous extract of the dried skin of Bufo bufo gargarigans, and has anti-tumor effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible therapeutic effect of HCS against breast cancer (BRCA) using cytology, network pharmacology, and molecular biology approaches. The half-inhibitory concentration (IC50) of HCS in the BRCA cells was determined by cytotoxicity assay, and were accordingly treated with high and low doses HCS in the TUNEL and scratch assays. The potential targets of HCS in the BRCA cells were identified through functional enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, and verified by molecular docking. The expression levels of key signaling pathways-related proteins in HCS-treated BRCA cells by western blotting. HCS inhibited the proliferation and migration of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells, and induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, we screened 289 core HCS targets against BRCA, which were primarily enriched in the PI3K-AKT, MAPK chemokines, and other. signaling pathways. In addition, PIK3CA, PIK3CD, and MTOR were confirmed as HCS targets by molecular docking. Consistent with this, we observed a reduction in the expression levels of phosphorylated PI3K, AKT, and MTOR in the HCS-treated BRCA cells. Taken together, our findings suggest that HCS inhibits the growth of BRCA cells by targeting the PI3K-AKT pathway, and warrants further investigation as a therapeutic agent for treating patients with BRCA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zetian Yang
- The Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510130, China
| | - Yifan Wang
- The First School of Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405, China
| | - Shuicai Huang
- The Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510130, China
| | - Yi Geng
- The Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510130, China
| | - Zejuan Yang
- The Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510130, China
| | - Zhenhuai Yang
- The Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510130, China
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2
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Nevskaya AA, Purgatorio R, Borisova TN, Varlamov AV, Anikina LV, Obydennik AY, Nevskaya EY, Niso M, Colabufo NA, Carrieri A, Catto M, de Candia M, Voskressensky LG, Altomare CD. Nature-Inspired 1-Phenylpyrrolo[2,1- a]isoquinoline Scaffold for Novel Antiproliferative Agents Circumventing P-Glycoprotein-Dependent Multidrug Resistance. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2024; 17:539. [PMID: 38675499 PMCID: PMC11054433 DOI: 10.3390/ph17040539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2024] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that some lamellarin-resembling annelated azaheterocyclic carbaldehydes and related imino adducts, sharing the 1-phenyl-5,6-dihydropyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinoline (1-Ph-DHPIQ) scaffold, are cytotoxic in some tumor cells and may reverse multidrug resistance (MDR) mediated by P-glycoprotein (P-gp). Herein, several novel substituted 1-Ph-DHPIQ derivatives were synthesized which carry carboxylate groups (COOH, COOEt), nitrile (CN) and Mannich bases (namely, morpholinomethyl derivatives) in the C2 position, as replacements of the already reported aldehyde group. They were evaluated for antiproliferative activity in four tumor cell lines (RD, HCT116, HeLa, A549) and for the ability of selectively inhibiting P-gp-mediated MDR. Lipophilicity descriptors and molecular docking calculations helped us in rationalizing the structure-activity relationships in the P-gp inhibition potency of the investigated 1-Ph-DHPIQs. As a main outcome, a morpholinomethyl Mannich base (8c) was disclosed which proved to be cytotoxic to all the tested tumor cell lines in the low micromolar range (IC50 < 20 μM) and to inhibit in vitro the efflux pumps P-gp and MRP1 responsible for MDR, with IC50s of 0.45 and 12.1 μM, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alisa A. Nevskaya
- Organic Chemistry Department, RUDN University, 6 Miklukho-Maklaya St, Moscow 117198, Russia; (A.A.N.); (A.V.V.); (A.Y.O.); (L.G.V.)
| | - Rosa Purgatorio
- Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy; (R.P.); (M.N.); (N.A.C.); (A.C.); (M.d.C.)
| | - Tatiana N. Borisova
- Organic Chemistry Department, RUDN University, 6 Miklukho-Maklaya St, Moscow 117198, Russia; (A.A.N.); (A.V.V.); (A.Y.O.); (L.G.V.)
| | - Alexey V. Varlamov
- Organic Chemistry Department, RUDN University, 6 Miklukho-Maklaya St, Moscow 117198, Russia; (A.A.N.); (A.V.V.); (A.Y.O.); (L.G.V.)
| | - Lada V. Anikina
- Institute of Physiologically Active Compounds of the FSBIS of the Federal Research Center for Problems of Chemical Physics and Medicinal Chemistry of the RAS, 1 SevernyiProezd, Chernogolovk 142432, Russia;
| | - Arina Yu. Obydennik
- Organic Chemistry Department, RUDN University, 6 Miklukho-Maklaya St, Moscow 117198, Russia; (A.A.N.); (A.V.V.); (A.Y.O.); (L.G.V.)
| | - Elena Yu. Nevskaya
- General and Inorganic Chemistry Department, RUDN University, 6 Miklukho-Maklaya St, Moscow 117198, Russia;
| | - Mauro Niso
- Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy; (R.P.); (M.N.); (N.A.C.); (A.C.); (M.d.C.)
| | - Nicola A. Colabufo
- Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy; (R.P.); (M.N.); (N.A.C.); (A.C.); (M.d.C.)
| | - Antonio Carrieri
- Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy; (R.P.); (M.N.); (N.A.C.); (A.C.); (M.d.C.)
| | - Marco Catto
- Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy; (R.P.); (M.N.); (N.A.C.); (A.C.); (M.d.C.)
| | - Modesto de Candia
- Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy; (R.P.); (M.N.); (N.A.C.); (A.C.); (M.d.C.)
| | - Leonid G. Voskressensky
- Organic Chemistry Department, RUDN University, 6 Miklukho-Maklaya St, Moscow 117198, Russia; (A.A.N.); (A.V.V.); (A.Y.O.); (L.G.V.)
| | - Cosimo D. Altomare
- Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy; (R.P.); (M.N.); (N.A.C.); (A.C.); (M.d.C.)
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3
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Samarelli F, Purgatorio R, Lopopolo G, Deruvo C, Catto M, Andresini M, Carrieri A, Nicolotti O, De Palma A, Miniero DV, de Candia M, Altomare CD. Novel 6-alkyl-bridged 4-arylalkylpiperazin-1-yl derivatives of azepino[4,3-b]indol-1(2H)-one as potent BChE-selective inhibitors showing protective effects against neurodegenerative insults. Eur J Med Chem 2024; 270:116353. [PMID: 38579622 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2024.116353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2024] [Revised: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
Due to the putative role of butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) in regulation of acetylcholine levels and functions in the late stages of the Alzheimer's disease (AD), the potential of selective inhibitors (BChEIs) has been envisaged as an alternative to administration of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs). Starting from our recent findings, herein the synthesis and in vitro evaluation of cholinesterase (ChE) inhibition of a novel series of some twenty 3,4,5,6-tetrahydroazepino[4,3-b]indol-1(2H)-one derivatives, bearing at the indole nitrogen diverse alkyl-bridged 4-arylalkylpiperazin-1-yl chains, are reported. The length of the spacers, as well as the type of arylalkyl group affected the enzyme inhibition potency and BChE/AChE selectivity. Two compounds, namely 14c (IC50 = 163 nM) and 14d (IC50 = 65 nM), bearing at the nitrogen atom in position 6 a n-pentyl- or n-heptyl-bridged 4-phenethylpiperazin-1-yl chains, respectively, proved to be highly potent mixed-type inhibitors of both equine and human BChE isoforms, showing more than two order magnitude of selectivity over AChE. The study of binding kinetics through surface plasmon resonance (SPR) highlighted differences in their BChE residence times (8 and 47 s for 14c and 14d, respectively). Moreover, 14c and 14d proved to hit other mechanisms known to trigger neurodegeneration underlying AD and other CNS disorders. Unlike 14c, compound 14d proved also capable of inhibiting by more than 60% the in vitro self-induced aggregation of neurotoxic amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide at 100 μM concentration. On the other hand, 14c was slightly better than 14d in counteracting, at 1 and 10 μM concentration, glutamate excitotoxicity, due to over-excitation of NMDA receptors, and hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress assessed in neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y. This paper is dedicated to Prof. Marcello Ferappi, former dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Bari, in the occasion of his 90th birthday.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Samarelli
- Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Rosa Purgatorio
- Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Gianfranco Lopopolo
- Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Caterina Deruvo
- Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Marco Catto
- Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Michael Andresini
- Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Antonio Carrieri
- Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Orazio Nicolotti
- Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Annalisa De Palma
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Environment, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Daniela Valeria Miniero
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Environment, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Modesto de Candia
- Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy.
| | - Cosimo D Altomare
- Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
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4
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Cano-González L, Espinosa-Mendoza JD, Matadamas-Martínez F, Romero-Velásquez A, Flores-Ramos M, Colorado-Pablo LF, Cerbón-Cervantes MA, Castillo R, González-Sánchez I, Yépez-Mulia L, Hernández-Campos A, Aguayo-Ortiz R. Structure-Based Optimization of Carbendazim-Derived Tubulin Polymerization Inhibitors through Alchemical Free Energy Calculations. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:7228-7238. [PMID: 37947759 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c01379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Carbendazim derivatives, commonly used as antiparasitic drugs, have shown potential as anticancer agents due to their ability to induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human cancer cells by inhibiting tubulin polymerization. Crystallographic structures of α/β-tubulin multimers complexed with nocodazole and mebendazole, two carbendazim derivatives with potent anticancer activity, highlighted the possibility of designing compounds that occupy both benzimidazole- and colchicine-binding sites. In addition, previous studies have demonstrated that the incorporation of a phenoxy group at position 5/6 of carbendazim increases the antiproliferative activity in cancer cell lines. Despite the significant progress made in identifying new tubulin-targeting anticancer compounds, further modifications are needed to enhance their potency and safety. In this study, we explored the impact of modifying the phenoxy substitution pattern on antiproliferative activity. Alchemical free energy calculations were used to predict the binding free energy difference upon ligand modification and define the most viable path for structure optimization. Based on these calculations, seven compounds were synthesized and evaluated against lung and colon cancer cell lines. Our results showed that compound 5a, which incorporates an α-naphthyloxy substitution, exhibits the highest antiproliferative activity against both cancer lines (SK-LU-1 and SW620, IC50 < 100 nM) and induces morphological changes in the cells associated with mitotic arrest and mitotic catastrophe. Nevertheless, the tubulin polymerization assay showed that 5a has a lower inhibitory potency than nocodazole. Molecular dynamics simulations suggested that this low antitubulin activity could be associated with the loss of the key H-bond interaction with V236. This study provides insights into the design of novel carbendazim derivatives with anticancer activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucia Cano-González
- Departamento de Farmacia, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Johan D Espinosa-Mendoza
- Departamento de Farmacia, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Félix Matadamas-Martínez
- Unidad de Investigación Médica en Enfermedades Infecciosas y Parasitarias, UMAE Hospital de Pediatría, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City 06720, Mexico
| | - Ariana Romero-Velásquez
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Miguel Flores-Ramos
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Unidad Mérida, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Yucatán 97357, Mexico
| | - Luis Fernando Colorado-Pablo
- Departamento de Farmacia, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | | | - Rafael Castillo
- Departamento de Farmacia, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Ignacio González-Sánchez
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Lilián Yépez-Mulia
- Unidad de Investigación Médica en Enfermedades Infecciosas y Parasitarias, UMAE Hospital de Pediatría, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City 06720, Mexico
| | - Alicia Hernández-Campos
- Departamento de Farmacia, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Rodrigo Aguayo-Ortiz
- Departamento de Farmacia, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
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5
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Czarnota-Łydka K, Sudoł-Tałaj S, Kucwaj-Brysz K, Kurczab R, Satała G, de Candia M, Samarelli F, Altomare CD, Carocci A, Barbarossa A, Żesławska E, Głuch-Lutwin M, Mordyl B, Kubacka M, Wilczyńska-Zawal N, Jastrzębska-Więsek M, Partyka A, Khan N, Więcek M, Nitek W, Honkisz-Orzechowska E, Latacz G, Wesołowska A, Carrieri A, Handzlik J. Synthesis, computational and experimental pharmacological studies for (thio)ether-triazine 5-HT 6R ligands with noticeable action on AChE/BChE and chalcogen-dependent intrinsic activity in search for new class of drugs against Alzheimer's disease. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 259:115695. [PMID: 37567058 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease is becoming a growing problem increasing at a tremendous rate. Serotonin 5-HT6 receptors appear to be a particularly attractive target from a therapeutic perspective, due to their involvement not only in cognitive processes, but also in depression and psychosis. In this work, we present the synthesis and broad biological characterization of a new series of 18 compounds with a unique 1,3,5-triazine backbone, as potent 5-HT6 receptor ligands. The main aim of this research is to compare the biological activity of the newly synthesized sulfur derivatives with their oxygen analogues and their N-demethylated O- and S-metabolites obtained for the first time. Most of the new triazines displayed high affinity (Ki < 200 nM) and selectivity towards 5-HT6R, with respect to 5-HT2AR, 5-HT7R, and D2R, in the radioligand binding assays. For selected, active compounds crystallographic studies, functional bioassays, and ADME-Tox profile in vitro were performed. The exciting novelty is that the sulfur derivatives exhibit an agonistic mode of action contrary to all other compounds obtained to date in this chemical class herein and previously reported. Advanced computational studies indicated that this intriguing functional shift might be caused by presence of chalcogen bonds formed only by the sulfur atom. In addition, the N-demethylated derivatives have emerged highly potent antioxidants and, moreover, show a significant improvement in metabolic stability compared to the parent structures. The cholinesterase study present micromolar inhibitory AChE and BChE activity for both 5-HT6 agonist 19 and potent antagonist 5. Finally, the behavioral experiments of compound 19 demonstrated its antidepressant-like properties and slight ability to improve cognitive deficits, without inducing memory impairments by itself. Described pharmacological properties of both compounds (5 and 19) allow to give a design clue for the development of multitarget compounds with 5-HT6 (both agonist and antagonist)/AChE and/or BChE mechanism in the group of 1,3,5-triazine derivatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kinga Czarnota-Łydka
- Department of Technology and Biotechnology of Drugs, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688, Krakow, Poland; Doctoral School of Medical and Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, św. Łazarza 15, 31-530, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Sylwia Sudoł-Tałaj
- Department of Technology and Biotechnology of Drugs, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688, Krakow, Poland; Doctoral School of Medical and Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, św. Łazarza 15, 31-530, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Katarzyna Kucwaj-Brysz
- Department of Technology and Biotechnology of Drugs, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Rafał Kurczab
- Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Smętna 12, PL 31-343, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Grzegorz Satała
- Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Smętna 12, PL 31-343, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Modesto de Candia
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy.
| | - Francesco Samarelli
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy.
| | - Cosimo Damiano Altomare
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy.
| | - Alessia Carocci
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy.
| | - Alexia Barbarossa
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy.
| | - Ewa Żesławska
- Pedagogical University of Krakow, Institute of Biology and Earth Sciences, Podchorążych 2, PL 30-084, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Monika Głuch-Lutwin
- Department of Pharmacobiology, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Barbara Mordyl
- Department of Pharmacobiology, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Monika Kubacka
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Natalia Wilczyńska-Zawal
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688, Cracow, Poland.
| | - Magdalena Jastrzębska-Więsek
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688, Cracow, Poland.
| | - Anna Partyka
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688, Cracow, Poland.
| | - Nadia Khan
- Department of Technology and Biotechnology of Drugs, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688, Krakow, Poland; Doctoral School of Medical and Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, św. Łazarza 15, 31-530, Krakow, Poland; Department of Pathophysiology, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Czysta 18, PL 30-688, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Małgorzata Więcek
- Department of Technology and Biotechnology of Drugs, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Wojciech Nitek
- Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 2, PL 30-387, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Ewelina Honkisz-Orzechowska
- Department of Technology and Biotechnology of Drugs, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Gniewomir Latacz
- Department of Technology and Biotechnology of Drugs, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Anna Wesołowska
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688, Cracow, Poland.
| | - Antonio Carrieri
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy.
| | - Jadwiga Handzlik
- Department of Technology and Biotechnology of Drugs, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688, Krakow, Poland.
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6
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Lanka G, Begum D, Banerjee S, Adhikari N, P Y, Ghosh B. Pharmacophore-based virtual screening, 3D QSAR, Docking, ADMET, and MD simulation studies: An in silico perspective for the identification of new potential HDAC3 inhibitors. Comput Biol Med 2023; 166:107481. [PMID: 37741229 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2023.107481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 08/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/25/2023]
Abstract
Histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) is an epigenetic regulator that involves gene expression, apoptosis, and cell cycle progression, and the overexpression of HDAC3 is accountable for several cancers, neurodegeneracy, and many other diseases. Therefore, HDAC3 emerged as a promising drug target for the novel drug design. Here, we carried out the pharmacophore modeling using 50 benzamide-based HDAC3 selective inhibitors and utilized it for PHASE ligand screening to retrieve the hits with similar pharmacophore features. The dataset inhibitors of best hypotheses used to build the 3D QSAR model and the generated 3D QSAR model resulted in good PLS statistics with a regression coefficient (R2) of 0.89, predictive coefficient (Q2) of 0.88, and Pearson-R factor of 0.94 indicating its excellent predictive ability. The hits retrieved from pharmacophore-based virtual screening were subjected to docking against HDAC3 for the identification of potential inhibitors. A total of 10 hitsM1 to M10 were ranked using their scoring functions and further subject to lead optimization. The Prime MM/GBSA, AutoDock binding free energies, and ADMET studies were implemented for the selection of lead candidates. The four ligand molecules M1, M2, M3, and M4 were identified as potential leads against HDAC3 after lead optimization. The top two leads M1 and M2 were subjected to MD simulations for their stability evaluation with HDAC3. The newly designed leads M11 and M12 were identified as HDAC3 potential inhibitors from MD simulations studies. Therefore, the outcomes of the present study could provide insights into the discovery of new potential HDAC3 inhibitors with improved selectivity and activity against a variety of cancers and neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goverdhan Lanka
- Epigenetic Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, Shamirpet, Hyderabad, 500078, India
| | - Darakhshan Begum
- Epigenetic Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, Shamirpet, Hyderabad, 500078, India
| | - Suvankar Banerjee
- Natural Science Laboratory, Division of Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, P. O. Box 17020, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032, West Bengal, India
| | - Nilanjan Adhikari
- Natural Science Laboratory, Division of Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, P. O. Box 17020, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032, West Bengal, India
| | - Yogeeswari P
- Computer Aided Drug Design Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani Hyderabad Campus, Shamirpet, Hyderabad, 500078, India
| | - Balaram Ghosh
- Epigenetic Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, Shamirpet, Hyderabad, 500078, India.
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7
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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] [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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8
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Richmond V, Falcone BN, Maier MS, Arroyo Máñez P. Putting the Puzzle Together To Get the Whole Picture: Molecular Basis of the Affinity of Two Steroid Derivatives to Acetylcholinesterase. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:25610-25622. [PMID: 37483177 PMCID: PMC10357547 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c03749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that has no cure because its etiology is still unknown, and its main treatment is the administration of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors. The study of the mechanism of action of this family of compounds is critical for the design of new more potent and specific inhibitors. In this work, we study the molecular basis of an uncompetitive inhibitor (compound 1, 2β, 3α-dihydroxy-5α-cholestan-6-one disulfate), which we have proved to be a peripheral anionic site (PAS)-binding AChE inhibitor. The pipeline designed in this work is key to the development of other PAS inhibitors that not only inhibit the esterase action of the enzyme but could also modulate the non-cholinergic functions of AChE linked to the process of amylogenesis. Our studies showed that 1 inhibits the enzyme not simply by blocking the main gate but by an allosteric mechanism. A detailed and careful analysis of the ligand binding position and the protein dynamics, particularly regarding their secondary gates and active site, was necessary to conclude this. The same analysis was executed with an inactive analogue (compound 2, 2β, 3α-dihydroxy-5α-cholestan-6-one). Our first computational results showed no differences in affinity to AChE between both steroids, making further analysis necessary. This work highlights the variables to be considered and develops a refined methodology, for the successful design of new potent dual-action drugs for AD, particularly PAS inhibitors, an attractive strategy to combat AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Richmond
- Facultad
de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires C1428EGA, Argentina
- Unidad
de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos aplicados
a la Química Orgánica (UMYMFOR), CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón 2 de Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires C1428EGA, Argentina
| | - Bruno N. Falcone
- Facultad
de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires C1428EGA, Argentina
- Unidad
de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos aplicados
a la Química Orgánica (UMYMFOR), CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón 2 de Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires C1428EGA, Argentina
| | - Marta S. Maier
- Facultad
de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires C1428EGA, Argentina
- Unidad
de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos aplicados
a la Química Orgánica (UMYMFOR), CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón 2 de Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires C1428EGA, Argentina
| | - Pau Arroyo Máñez
- Instituto
Interuniversitario de Investigación de Reconocimiento Molecular
y Desarrollo Tecnológico (IDM), Universitat
Politècnica de València, Universitat de València, Doctor Moliner 50, Burjassot, Valencia 46100, Spain
- Departamento
de Química Orgánica, Universitat
de València, Doctor Moliner 50, Burjassot, Valencia 46100, Spain
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9
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Lima Silva WJ, Freitas de Freitas R. Assessing the performance of docking, FEP, and MM/GBSA methods on a series of KLK6 inhibitors. J Comput Aided Mol Des 2023:10.1007/s10822-023-00515-3. [PMID: 37378817 DOI: 10.1007/s10822-023-00515-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
Kallikrein 6 (KLK6) is an attractive drug target for the treatment of neurological diseases and for various cancers. Herein, we explore the accuracy and efficiency of different computational methods and protocols to predict the free energy of binding (ΔGbind) for a series of 49 inhibitors of KLK6. We found that the performance of the methods varied strongly with the tested system. For only one of the three KLK6 datasets, the docking scores obtained with rDock were in good agreement (R2 ≥ 0.5) with experimental values of ΔGbind. A similar result was obtained with MM/GBSA (using the ff14SB force field) calculations based on single minimized structures. Improved binding affinity predictions were obtained with the free energy perturbation (FEP) method, with an overall MUE and RMSE of 0.53 and 0.68 kcal/mol, respectively. Furthermore, in a simulation of a real-world drug discovery project, FEP was able to rank the most potent compounds at the top of the list. These results indicate that FEP can be a promising tool for the structure-based optimization of KLK6 inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wemenes José Lima Silva
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo, SP, Brazil
| | - Renato Freitas de Freitas
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo, SP, Brazil.
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10
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Ibrahim MT, Verkhivker GM, Misra J, Tao P. Novel Allosteric Effectors Targeting Human Transcription Factor TEAD. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:9009. [PMID: 37240355 PMCID: PMC10219411 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24109009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2023] [Revised: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The Hippo pathway is an evolutionary conserved signaling network involved in several cellular regulatory processes. Dephosphorylation and overexpression of Yes-associated proteins (YAPs) in the Hippo-off state are common in several types of solid tumors. YAP overexpression results in its nuclear translocation and interaction with transcriptional enhanced associate domain 1-4 (TEAD1-4) transcription factors. Covalent and non-covalent inhibitors have been developed to target several interaction sites between TEAD and YAP. The most targeted and effective site for these developed inhibitors is the palmitate-binding pocket in the TEAD1-4 proteins. Screening of a DNA-encoded library against the TEAD central pocket was performed experimentally to identify six new allosteric inhibitors. Inspired by the structure of the TED-347 inhibitor, chemical modification was performed on the original inhibitors by replacing secondary methyl amide with a chloromethyl ketone moiety. Various computational tools, including molecular dynamics, free energy perturbation, and Markov state model analysis, were employed to study the effect of ligand binding on the protein conformational space. Four of the six modified ligands were associated with enhanced allosteric communication between the TEAD4 and YAP1 domains indicated by the relative free energy perturbation to original molecules. Phe229, Thr332, Ile374, and Ile395 residues were revealed to be essential for the effective binding of the inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayar Tarek Ibrahim
- Department of Chemistry, Center for Research Computing, Center for Drug Discovery, Design, and Delivery (CD4), Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75205, USA; (M.T.I.); (P.T.)
| | - Gennady M. Verkhivker
- Graduate Program in Computational and Data Sciences, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chapman University School of Pharmacy, Irvine, CA 92618, USA
| | - Jyoti Misra
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA;
| | - Peng Tao
- Department of Chemistry, Center for Research Computing, Center for Drug Discovery, Design, and Delivery (CD4), Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75205, USA; (M.T.I.); (P.T.)
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11
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Mészáros B, Park E, Malinverni D, Sejdiu BI, Immadisetty K, Sandhu M, Lang B, Babu MM. Recent breakthroughs in computational structural biology harnessing the power of sequences and structures. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2023; 80:102608. [PMID: 37182396 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2023.102608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2023] [Revised: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances in computational approaches and their integration into structural biology enable tackling increasingly complex questions. Here, we discuss several key areas, highlighting breakthroughs and remaining challenges. Theoretical modeling has provided tools to accurately predict and design protein structures on a scale currently difficult to achieve using experimental approaches. Molecular Dynamics simulations have become faster and more precise, delivering actionable information inaccessible by current experimental methods. Virtual screening workflows allow a high-throughput approach to discover ligands that bind and modulate protein function, while Machine Learning methods enable the design of proteins with new functionalities. Integrative structural biology combines several of these approaches, pushing the frontiers of structural and functional characterization to ever larger systems, advancing towards a complete understanding of the living cell. These breakthroughs will accelerate and significantly impact diverse areas of science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bálint Mészáros
- Department of Structural Biology and Center of Excellence for Data Driven Discovery, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN, 38105, USA.
| | - Electa Park
- Department of Structural Biology and Center of Excellence for Data Driven Discovery, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN, 38105, USA.
| | - Duccio Malinverni
- Department of Structural Biology and Center of Excellence for Data Driven Discovery, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN, 38105, USA. https://twitter.com/DucMalinverni
| | - Besian I Sejdiu
- Department of Structural Biology and Center of Excellence for Data Driven Discovery, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN, 38105, USA. https://twitter.com/bisejdiu
| | - Kalyan Immadisetty
- Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation & Cellular Therapy, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN, 38105, USA. https://twitter.com/k_immadisetty
| | - Manbir Sandhu
- Department of Structural Biology and Center of Excellence for Data Driven Discovery, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN, 38105, USA. https://twitter.com/M5andhu
| | - Benjamin Lang
- Department of Structural Biology and Center of Excellence for Data Driven Discovery, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN, 38105, USA. https://twitter.com/langbnj
| | - M Madan Babu
- Department of Structural Biology and Center of Excellence for Data Driven Discovery, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN, 38105, USA.
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12
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Shanker S, Sanner MF. Predicting Protein-Peptide Interactions: Benchmarking Deep Learning Techniques and a Comparison with Focused Docking. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:3158-3170. [PMID: 37167566 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The accurate prediction of protein structures achieved by deep learning (DL) methods is a significant milestone and has deeply impacted structural biology. Shortly after its release, AlphaFold2 has been evaluated for predicting protein-peptide interactions and shown to significantly outperform RoseTTAfold as well as a conventional blind docking method: PIPER-FlexPepDock. Since then, new AlphaFold2 models, trained specifically to predict multimeric assemblies, have been released and a new ab initio folding model OmegaFold has become available. Here, we assess docking success rates for these new DL folding models and compare their performance with our state-of-the-art, focused peptide-docking software AutoDock CrankPep (ADCP). The evaluation is done using the same dataset and performance metric for all methods. We show that, for a set of 99 nonredundant protein-peptide complexes, the new AlphaFold2 model outperforms other Deep Learning approaches and achieves remarkable docking success rates for peptides. While the docking success rate of ADCP is more modest when considering the top-ranking solution only, it samples correct solutions for around 62% of the complexes. Interestingly, different methods succeed on different complexes, and we describe a consensus docking approach using ADCP and AlphaFold2, which achieves a remarkable 60% for the top-ranking results and 66% for the top 5 results for this set of 99 protein-peptide complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sudhanshu Shanker
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Michel F Sanner
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
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13
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Eberhardt J, Forli S. WaterKit: Thermodynamic Profiling of Protein Hydration Sites. J Chem Theory Comput 2023; 19:2535-2556. [PMID: 37094087 PMCID: PMC10732097 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c01087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Abstract
Water desolvation is one of the key components of the free energy of binding of small molecules to their receptors. Thus, understanding the energetic balance of solvation and desolvation resulting from individual water molecules can be crucial when estimating ligand binding, especially when evaluating different molecules and poses as done in High-Throughput Virtual Screening (HTVS). Over the most recent decades, several methods were developed to tackle this problem, ranging from fast approximate methods (usually empirical functions using either discrete atom-atom pairwise interactions or continuum solvent models) to more computationally expensive and accurate ones, mostly based on Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations, such as Grid Inhomogeneous Solvation Theory (GIST) or Double Decoupling. On one hand, MD-based methods are prohibitive to use in HTVS to estimate the role of waters on the fly for each ligand. On the other hand, fast and approximate methods show an unsatisfactory level of accuracy, with low agreement with results obtained with the more expensive methods. Here we introduce WaterKit, a new grid-based sampling method with explicit water molecules to calculate thermodynamic properties using the GIST method. Our results show that the discrete placement of water molecules is successful in reproducing the position of crystallographic waters with very high accuracy, as well as providing thermodynamic estimates with accuracy comparable to more expensive MD simulations. Unlike these methods, WaterKit can be used to analyze specific regions on the protein surface, (such as the binding site of a receptor), without having to hydrate and simulate the whole receptor structure. The results show the feasibility of a general and fast method to compute thermodynamic properties of water molecules, making it well-suited to be integrated in high-throughput pipelines such as molecular docking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerome Eberhardt
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Stefano Forli
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
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14
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Piplani S, Singh P, Petrovsky N, Winkler DA. Identifying SARS-CoV-2 Drugs Binding to the Spike Fatty Acid Binding Pocket Using In Silico Docking and Molecular Dynamics. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24044192. [PMID: 36835602 PMCID: PMC9966092 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24044192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2023] [Revised: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Drugs against novel targets are needed to treat COVID-19 patients, especially as SARS-CoV-2 is capable of rapid mutation. Structure-based de novo drug design and repurposing of drugs and natural products is a rational approach to discovering potentially effective therapies. These in silico simulations can quickly identify existing drugs with known safety profiles that can be repurposed for COVID-19 treatment. Here, we employ the newly identified spike protein free fatty acid binding pocket structure to identify repurposing candidates as potential SARS-CoV-2 therapies. Using a validated docking and molecular dynamics protocol effective at identifying repurposing candidates inhibiting other SARS-CoV-2 molecular targets, this study provides novel insights into the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and its potential regulation by endogenous hormones and drugs. Some of the predicted repurposing candidates have already been demonstrated experimentally to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 activity, but most of the candidate drugs have yet to be tested for activity against the virus. We also elucidated a rationale for the effects of steroid and sex hormones and some vitamins on SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sakshi Piplani
- College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Bedford Park 5046, Australia
- Vaxine Pty Ltd., 11 Walkley Avenue, Warradale 5046, Australia
| | - Puneet Singh
- College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Bedford Park 5046, Australia
- Vaxine Pty Ltd., 11 Walkley Avenue, Warradale 5046, Australia
| | - Nikolai Petrovsky
- College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Bedford Park 5046, Australia
- Vaxine Pty Ltd., 11 Walkley Avenue, Warradale 5046, Australia
- Correspondence:
| | - David A. Winkler
- Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne 3086, Australia
- Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville 3052, Australia
- School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
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15
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Breznik M, Ge Y, Bluck JP, Briem H, Hahn DF, Christ CD, Mortier J, Mobley DL, Meier K. Prioritizing Small Sets of Molecules for Synthesis through in-silico Tools: A Comparison of Common Ranking Methods. ChemMedChem 2023; 18:e202200425. [PMID: 36240514 PMCID: PMC9868080 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202200425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Revised: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Prioritizing molecules for synthesis is a key role of computational methods within medicinal chemistry. Multiple tools exist for ranking molecules, from the cheap and popular molecular docking methods to more computationally expensive molecular-dynamics (MD)-based methods. It is often questioned whether the accuracy of the more rigorous methods justifies the higher computational cost and associated calculation time. Here, we compared the performance on ranking the binding of small molecules for seven scoring functions from five docking programs, one end-point method (MM/GBSA), and two MD-based free energy methods (PMX, FEP+). We investigated 16 pharmaceutically relevant targets with a total of 423 known binders. The performance of docking methods for ligand ranking was strongly system dependent. We observed that MD-based methods predominantly outperformed docking algorithms and MM/GBSA calculations. Based on our results, we recommend the application of MD-based free energy methods for prioritization of molecules for synthesis in lead optimization, whenever feasible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marko Breznik
- Computational Molecular Design, Pharmaceuticals, R&D, Bayer AG, 13342 Berlin, Germany
| | - Yunhui Ge
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Joseph P. Bluck
- Computational Molecular Design, Pharmaceuticals, R&D, Bayer AG, 13342 Berlin, Germany
| | - Hans Briem
- Computational Molecular Design, Pharmaceuticals, R&D, Bayer AG, 13342 Berlin, Germany
| | - David F. Hahn
- Computational Chemistry, Janssen Research & Development, Turnhoutseweg 30, Beerse B-2340, Belgium
| | - Clara D. Christ
- Molecular Design, Pharmaceuticals, R&D, Bayer AG, 13342 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jérémie Mortier
- Computational Molecular Design, Pharmaceuticals, R&D, Bayer AG, 13342 Berlin, Germany
| | - David L. Mobley
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA,Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Katharina Meier
- Computational Life Science Technology Functions, Crop Science, R&D, Bayer AG, 40789 Monheim, Germany
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16
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Tuo Y, Tang Y, Yu Y, Luo M, Liang H, Wang Y. Structural optimization and binding energy prediction for globomycin analogs based on 3D-QSAR and molecular simulations. J Mol Struct 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2023.134981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
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17
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Grasso G, Di Gregorio A, Mavkov B, Piga D, Labate GFD, Danani A, Deriu MA. Fragmented blind docking: a novel protein-ligand binding prediction protocol. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022; 40:13472-13481. [PMID: 34641761 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2021.1988709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
In the present paper we propose a novel blind docking protocol based on Autodock-Vina. The developed docking protocol can provide binding site identification and binding pose prediction at the same time, by a systematical exploration of the protein volume performed with several preliminary docking calculations. In our opinion, this protocol can be successfully applied during the first steps of the virtual screening pipeline, because it provides binding site identification and binding pose prediction at the same time without visual evaluation of the binding site. After the binding pose prediction, MM/GBSA re-scoring rescoring procedures has been applied to improve the accuracy of the protein-ligand bound state. The FRAD protocol has been tested on 116 protein-ligand complexes of the Heat Shock Protein 90 - alpha, on 176 of Human Immunodeficiency virus protease 1, and on more than 100 protein-ligand system taken from the PDBbind dataset. Overall, the FRAD approach combined to MM/GBSA re-scoring can be considered as a powerful tool to increase the accuracy and efficiency with respect to other standard docking approaches when the ligand-binding site is unknown.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianvito Grasso
- Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence, IDSIA - USI/SUPSI, Lugano-Viganello, Switzerland
| | - Arianna Di Gregorio
- Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence, IDSIA - USI/SUPSI, Lugano-Viganello, Switzerland.,PolitoBIOMedLab, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
| | - Bojan Mavkov
- Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence, IDSIA - USI/SUPSI, Lugano-Viganello, Switzerland
| | - Dario Piga
- Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence, IDSIA - USI/SUPSI, Lugano-Viganello, Switzerland
| | | | - Andrea Danani
- Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence, IDSIA - USI/SUPSI, Lugano-Viganello, Switzerland
| | - Marco A Deriu
- PolitoBIOMedLab, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
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18
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Thirunavukkarasu MK, Karuppasamy R. Drug repurposing combined with MM/PBSA based validation strategies towards MEK inhibitors screening. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022; 40:12392-12403. [PMID: 34459701 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2021.1970629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Emergence of oncogenic mutations in the MAPK pathway gaining more impact in the recent years. Importantly, MEK is a core element of this pathway as it is easy to inhibit and is a gatekeeper of multiple malignancies. Therefore, we performed in-silico strategy to screen repurposed candidate for MEK protein using a library of 11,808 compounds from different clusters in the DrugBank database. Glide docking, Prime-MM/GBSA and QikProp analysis were implemented to retrieve the hits with high precision. The stability of the binding mode and binding affinity of the resultant hit were explored using molecular dynamic simulations and MM/PBSA approach. The results highlight that Nebivolol (DB04861) not only achieved a stable conformation in the MEK binding pocket but also displayed highest binding affinity than the other molecules investigated in our study. Taken together, we hypothesized that Nebivolol is an excellent candidate for the inhibition of MEK in NSCLC patients in future.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muthu Kumar Thirunavukkarasu
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Bio Sciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Ramanathan Karuppasamy
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Bio Sciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
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19
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Shah BA, Ganai SA, Koul AM, Mohan S, Amin A, Wani Z, Majeed U, Rajamanikandan S, Farooq F, Malik FA, Shah NN, Qadri RA. Exploring novel and potent molecules for disrupting DEPTOR-mTOR interaction through structure-steered screening, extra-exactitude molecular docking, prime binding free energy estimation and voguish molecular dynamics. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022; 40:12037-12047. [PMID: 34431457 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2021.1967785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Dep domain containing mTOR interacting protein (DEPTOR) has critical implications in the development and progression of human malignancies. Increased expression of DEPTOR promotes the growth of tumor cells by inhibiting the mTORC1, which alleviates the negative feedback inhibition by mTORC1 downstream target S6Ks on PI3K/AKT pathway thereby promotes cell survival and prevents apoptosis. This clearly suggests that targetting DEPTOR-mTOR interactions through small molecules may prove as an effective strategy for circumventing distinct cancers. In this study, we employed a top-down approach for finding three novel molecules which may prove effective in disrupting Deptor-mTOR interaction. Following DEPTOR modelling and validation we performed grid-directed structure-based screening by specifying the residues of DEPTOR known to interact with mTOR. A library of 10,000 protein-protein disrupting molecules was screened against the defined region of DEPTOR. From the screened molecules, 30 molecules with highest binding affinity were chosen for molecular docking. Thirty (30) extra-precision molecular docking experiments and 30 molecular mechanics generalized born surface area (MMGBSA) assays were performed. Following this top 10 molecules in terms of binding affinity were selected and the interaction profile of their corresponding docked files was generated. The top three molecules were finally selected after taking all the three parameters including docking score, binding energy value and interaction profile into consideration. For atomistic insights regarding DEPTOR-topmost hit interactions, molecular dynamics was performed for 100 ns. This molecule after further evaluation may prove as promising candidate for anticancer therapy.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Basit Amin Shah
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
| | - Shabir Ahmad Ganai
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
| | - Aabid M Koul
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
| | - Suma Mohan
- SCBT, Shanmuga Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Asif Amin
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
| | - Zubair Wani
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
| | - Umer Majeed
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
| | | | - Faizah Farooq
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
| | | | - Naveed Nazir Shah
- Department of Chest Medicine, Government Medical College, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
| | - Raies A Qadri
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
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20
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Lubeluzole Repositioning as Chemosensitizing Agent on Multidrug-Resistant Human Ovarian A2780/DX3 Cancer Cells. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27227870. [PMID: 36431971 PMCID: PMC9695310 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27227870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Revised: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In a previous paper, we demonstrated the synergistic action of the anti-ischemic lubeluzole (Lube S) on the cytotoxic activity of doxorubicin (Dox) and paclitaxel in human ovarian cancer A2780 and lung cancer A549 cells. In the present paper, we extended in vitro the study to the multi-drug-resistant A2780/DX3 cell line to verify the hypothesis that the Dox and Lube S drug association may potentiate the antitumor activity of this anticancer compound also in the context of drug resistance. We also evaluated some possible mechanisms underlying this activity. We analyzed the antiproliferative activity in different cancer cell lines. Furthermore, apoptosis, Dox accumulation, MDR1 downregulation, ROS, and NO production in A2780/DX3 cells were also evaluated. Our results confirm that Lube S improves Dox antiproliferative and apoptotic activities through different mechanisms of action, all of which may contribute to the final antitumor effect. Moderate stereoselectivity was found, with Lube S significantly more effective than its enantiomer (Lube R) and the corresponding racemate (Lube S/R). Docking simulation studies on the ABCB1 Cryo-EM structure supported the hypothesis that Lube S forms a stable MDR1-Dox-Lube S complex, which hampers the protein transmembrane domain flipping and blocks the efflux of Dox from resistant A2780/DX3 cells. In conclusion, our in vitro studies reinforce our previous hypothesis for repositioning the anti-ischemic Lube S as a potentiating agent in anticancer chemotherapy.
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21
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Carocci A, Barbarossa A, Leuci R, Carrieri A, Brunetti L, Laghezza A, Catto M, Limongelli F, Chaves S, Tortorella P, Altomare CD, Santos MA, Loiodice F, Piemontese L. Novel Phenothiazine/Donepezil-like Hybrids Endowed with Antioxidant Activity for a Multi-Target Approach to the Therapy of Alzheimer’s Disease. Antioxidants (Basel) 2022; 11:antiox11091631. [PMID: 36139705 PMCID: PMC9495854 DOI: 10.3390/antiox11091631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2022] [Revised: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a complex multi-factorial neurodegenerative disorder for which only few drugs (including donepezil, DPZ) are available as symptomatic treatments; thus, researchers are focusing on the development of innovative multi-target directed ligands (MTDLs), which could also alter the course of the disease. Among other pathological factors, oxidative stress has emerged as an important factor in AD that could affect several pathways involved in the onset and progression of the pathology. Herein, we propose a new series of hybrid molecules obtained by linking a phenothiazine moiety, known for its antioxidant properties, with N-benzylpiperidine or N-benzylpiperazine fragments, mimicking the core substructure of DPZ. The investigation of the resulting hybrids showed, in addition to their antioxidant properties, their activity against some AD-related targets, such as the inhibition of cholinesterases (both AChE and BChE) and in vitro Aβ1-40 aggregation, as well as the inhibition of the innovative target fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). Furthermore, the drug-likeness properties of these compounds were assessed using cheminformatic tools. Compounds 11d and 12d showed the most interesting multi-target profiles, with all the assayed activities in the low micromolar range. In silico docking calculations supported the obtained results. Compound 13, on the other hand, while inactive in the DPPH assay, showed the best results in the in vitro antioxidant cell assays conducted on both HepG2 and SHSY-5Y cell lines. These results, paired with the low or absent cytotoxicity of these compounds at tested concentrations, allow us to aim our future research at the study of novel and effective drugs and pro-drugs with similar structural characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessia Carocci
- Department of Pharmacy—Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
- Correspondence: (A.C.); (L.P.)
| | - Alexia Barbarossa
- Department of Pharmacy—Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Rosalba Leuci
- Department of Pharmacy—Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Antonio Carrieri
- Department of Pharmacy—Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Leonardo Brunetti
- Department of Pharmacy—Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Antonio Laghezza
- Department of Pharmacy—Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Marco Catto
- Department of Pharmacy—Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Francesco Limongelli
- Department of Pharmacy—Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Sílvia Chaves
- Centro de Química Estrutural, Institute of Molecular Sciences, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Paolo Tortorella
- Department of Pharmacy—Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Cosimo Damiano Altomare
- Department of Pharmacy—Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Maria Amélia Santos
- Centro de Química Estrutural, Institute of Molecular Sciences, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Fulvio Loiodice
- Department of Pharmacy—Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Luca Piemontese
- Department of Pharmacy—Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
- Correspondence: (A.C.); (L.P.)
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22
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Dual transcriptome based reconstruction of Salmonella-human integrated metabolic network to screen potential drug targets. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0268889. [PMID: 35609089 PMCID: PMC9129043 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) is a highly adaptive pathogenic bacteria with a serious public health concern due to its increasing resistance to antibiotics. Therefore, identification of novel drug targets for S. Typhimurium is crucial. Here, we first created a pathogen-host integrated genome-scale metabolic network by combining the metabolic models of human and S. Typhimurium, which we further tailored to the pathogenic state by the integration of dual transcriptome data. The integrated metabolic model enabled simultaneous investigation of metabolic alterations in human cells and S. Typhimurium during infection. Then, we used the tailored pathogen-host integrated genome-scale metabolic network to predict essential genes in the pathogen, which are candidate novel drug targets to inhibit infection. Drug target prioritization procedure was applied to these targets, and pabB was chosen as a putative drug target. It has an essential role in 4-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) synthesis, which is an essential biomolecule for many pathogens. A structure based virtual screening was applied through docking simulations to predict candidate compounds that eliminate S. Typhimurium infection by inhibiting pabB. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study for predicting drug targets and drug like molecules by using pathogen-host integrated genome-scale models, dual RNA-seq data and structure-based virtual screening protocols. This framework will be useful in proposing novel drug targets and drugs for antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
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23
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Yang C, Zhang Y. Delta Machine Learning to Improve Scoring-Ranking-Screening Performances of Protein-Ligand Scoring Functions. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:2696-2712. [PMID: 35579568 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Protein-ligand scoring functions are widely used in structure-based drug design for fast evaluation of protein-ligand interactions, and it is of strong interest to develop scoring functions with machine-learning approaches. In this work, by expanding the training set, developing physically meaningful features, employing our recently developed linear empirical scoring function Lin_F9 (Yang, C. J. Chem. Inf. Model. 2021, 61, 4630-4644) as the baseline, and applying extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) with Δ-machine learning, we have further improved the robustness and applicability of machine-learning scoring functions. Besides the top performances for scoring-ranking-screening power tests of the CASF-2016 benchmark, the new scoring function ΔLin_F9XGB also achieves superior scoring and ranking performances in different structure types that mimic real docking applications. The scoring powers of ΔLin_F9XGB for locally optimized poses, flexible redocked poses, and ensemble docked poses of the CASF-2016 core set achieve Pearson's correlation coefficient (R) values of 0.853, 0.839, and 0.813, respectively. In addition, the large-scale docking-based virtual screening test on the LIT-PCBA data set demonstrates the reliability and robustness of ΔLin_F9XGB in virtual screening application. The ΔLin_F9XGB scoring function and its code are freely available on the web at (https://yzhang.hpc.nyu.edu/Delta_LinF9_XGB).
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Yang
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Yingkai Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States.,NYU-ECNU Center for Computational Chemistry at NYU Shanghai, Shanghai 200062, China
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24
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Brunetti L, Leuci R, Carrieri A, Catto M, Occhineri S, Vinci G, Gambacorta L, Baltrukevich H, Chaves S, Laghezza A, Altomare CD, Tortorella P, Santos MA, Loiodice F, Piemontese L. Structure-based design of novel donepezil-like hybrids for a multi-target approach to the therapy of Alzheimer's disease. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 237:114358. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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25
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Mastromarino M, Favia M, Schepetkin IA, Kirpotina LN, Trojan E, Niso M, Carrieri A, Leśkiewicz M, Regulska M, Darida M, Rossignolo F, Fontana S, Quinn MT, Basta-Kaim A, Leopoldo M, Lacivita E. Design, Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, and Computational Studies of Novel Ureidopropanamides as Formyl Peptide Receptor 2 (FPR2) Agonists to Target the Resolution of Inflammation in Central Nervous System Disorders. J Med Chem 2022; 65:5004-5028. [PMID: 35257581 PMCID: PMC9942528 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c02203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Formyl peptide receptor 2 (FPR2) agonists can boost the resolution of inflammation and can offer alternative approaches for the treatment of pathologies with underlying chronic neuroinflammation, including neurodegenerative disorders. Starting from the FPR2 agonist 2 previously identified in our laboratory and through fine-tuning of FPR2 potency and metabolic stability, we have identified a new series of ureidopropanamide derivatives endowed with a balanced combination of such properties. Computational studies provided insights into the key interactions of the new compounds for FPR2 activation. In mouse microglial N9 cells and in rat primary microglial cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide, selected compounds inhibited the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, counterbalanced the changes in mitochondrial function, and inhibited caspase-3 activity. Among the new agonists, (S)-11l stands out also for the ability to permeate the blood-brain barrier and to accumulate in the mouse brain in vivo, thus representing a valuable pharmacological tool for studies in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margherita Mastromarino
- Dipartimento di Farmacia-Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, via Orabona, 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Maria Favia
- Dipartimento di Farmacia-Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, via Orabona, 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Igor A Schepetkin
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717, United States
| | - Lylia N Kirpotina
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717, United States
| | - Ewa Trojan
- Laboratory of Immunoendocrinology, Department of Experimental Neuroendocrinology, Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 12 Smȩtna St., 31-343 Kraków, Poland
| | - Mauro Niso
- Dipartimento di Farmacia-Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, via Orabona, 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Antonio Carrieri
- Dipartimento di Farmacia-Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, via Orabona, 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Monika Leśkiewicz
- Laboratory of Immunoendocrinology, Department of Experimental Neuroendocrinology, Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 12 Smȩtna St., 31-343 Kraków, Poland
| | - Magdalena Regulska
- Laboratory of Immunoendocrinology, Department of Experimental Neuroendocrinology, Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 12 Smȩtna St., 31-343 Kraków, Poland
| | | | | | - Stefano Fontana
- Aptuit Srl, an Evotec Company, Via A. Fleming, 4, 37135 Verona, Italy
| | - Mark T Quinn
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717, United States
| | - Agnieszka Basta-Kaim
- Laboratory of Immunoendocrinology, Department of Experimental Neuroendocrinology, Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 12 Smȩtna St., 31-343 Kraków, Poland
| | - Marcello Leopoldo
- Dipartimento di Farmacia-Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, via Orabona, 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Enza Lacivita
- Dipartimento di Farmacia-Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, via Orabona, 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
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26
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Solis-Vasquez L, Tillack AF, Santos-Martins D, Koch A, LeGrand S, Forli S. Benchmarking the Performance of Irregular Computations in AutoDock-GPU Molecular Docking. PARALLEL COMPUTING 2022; 109:102861. [PMID: 34898769 PMCID: PMC8654209 DOI: 10.1016/j.parco.2021.102861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Irregular applications can be found in different scientific fields. In computer-aided drug design, molecular docking simulations play an important role in finding promising drug candidates. AutoDock is a software application widely used for predicting molecular interactions at close distances. It is characterized by irregular computations and long execution runtimes. In recent years, a hardware-accelerated version of AutoDock, called AutoDock-GPU, has been under active development. This work benchmarks the recent code and algorithmic enhancements incorporated into AutoDock-GPU. Particularly, we analyze the impact on execution runtime of techniques based on early termination. These enable AutoDock-GPU to explore the molecular space as necessary, while safely avoiding redundant computations. Our results indicate that it is possible to achieve average runtime reductions of 50% by using these techniques. Furthermore, a comprehensive literature review is also provided, where our work is compared to relevant approaches leveraging hardware acceleration for molecular docking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Solis-Vasquez
- Embedded Systems and Applications Group. Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
- Hochschulstr. 10, D-64289, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Andreas F. Tillack
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology. The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Diogo Santos-Martins
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology. The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Andreas Koch
- Embedded Systems and Applications Group. Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | | | - Stefano Forli
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology. The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, United States
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27
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Leuci R, Brunetti L, Laghezza A, Piemontese L, Carrieri A, Pisani L, Tortorella P, Catto M, Loiodice F. A New Series of Aryloxyacetic Acids Endowed with Multi-Target Activity towards Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors (PPARs), Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase (FAAH), and Acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27030958. [PMID: 35164223 PMCID: PMC8839882 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27030958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
A new series of aryloxyacetic acids was prepared and tested as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) agonists and fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitors. Some compounds exhibited an interesting dual activity that has been recently proposed as a new potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD is a multifactorial pathology, hence multi-target agents are currently one of the main lines of research for the therapy and prevention of this disease. Given that cholinesterases represent one of the most common targets of recent research, we decided to also evaluate the effects of our compounds on the inhibition of these specific enzymes. Interestingly, two of these compounds, (S)-5 and 6, showed moderate activity against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and even some activity, although at high concentration, against Aβ peptide aggregation, thus demonstrating, in agreement with the preliminary dockings carried out on the different targets, the feasibility of a simultaneous multi-target activity towards PPARs, FAAH, and AChE. As far as we know, these are the first examples of molecules endowed with this pharmacological profile that might represent a promising line of research for the identification of novel candidates for the treatment of AD.
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28
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Zhao X, Zhang R, Yu X, Yu N, Shi Y, Shu M, Shen Y. Discovery of Novel Tubulin Polymerization Inhibitors by Utilizing 3D-QSAR, Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamics Simulation. NEW J CHEM 2022. [DOI: 10.1039/d2nj02773a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Tubulin is a potential therapeutic target for cancer. Compounds inhibit the polymerization of tubulin or promote the polymerization of tubulin to interfere with the mitotic process of cells, resulting in...
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29
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Abstract
Abstract
Macrocycles represent an important class of ligands, both in natural products and designed drugs. In drug design, macrocyclizations can impart specific ligand conformations and contribute to passive permeation by encouraging intramolecular H-bonds. AutoDock-GPU and Vina can model macrocyclic ligands flexibly, without requiring the enumeration of macrocyclic conformers before docking. Here, we characterize the performance of the method for handling macrocyclic compounds, which is implemented and the default behaviour for ligand preparation with our ligand preparation pipeline, Meeko. A pseudoatom is used to encode bond geometry and produce an anisotropic closure force for macrocyclic rings. This method is evaluated on a diverse set of small molecule and peptide macrocycles, ranging from 7- to 33-membered rings, showing little accuracy loss compared to rigid redocking of the X-ray macrocycle conformers. This suggests that for conformationally flexible macrocycles with unknown binding modes, this method can be effectively used to predict the macrocycle conformation.
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30
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Peng J, Wu A, Yu X, Zhong Q, Deng X, Zhu Y. Combined Network Pharmacology and Cytology Experiments to Identify Potential Anti-Breast Cancer Targets and Mechanisms of Delphinidin. Nutr Cancer 2021; 74:2591-2606. [PMID: 34875956 DOI: 10.1080/01635581.2021.2012582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Delphinidin is a type of anthocyanin monomer with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor effects. However, the biological mechanisms underlying its anti-breast cancer activity have not been thoroughly studied. We further studied the effect of delphinidin on breast cancer cells through comprehensive network pharmacology, cellular and molecular experiments. We acquired the know therapeutic targets of delphinidin and obtained differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of breast cancer using RTCGA. We used topological analysis to screen out the 106 core targets of delphinium anti-breast cancer and performed functional analysis. These genes were mainly enriched in the pathways in cancer, Progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation and cell cycle. Then, by taking the intersection of the three analyzed data sets, important core targets (EGFR, TOP2A and PTGS2) were obtained and molecular-docking was performed to validate the result. Additionally, In Vitro experiments, MCF-7 and BT-474 cell proliferation was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by delphinidin and the expressions of EGFR, TOP2A and PTGS were reduced. Moreover, delphinidin influenced cell cycle, the expressions of cdk1 and cyclin B1 were reduced. Furthermore, delphinidin induced apoptosis by activating the MAPK-Signaling pathway. Collectively, our findings suggested that delphinidin may offer effective approaches in breast cancer prevention and therapy.Supplemental data for this article is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01635581.2021.2012582.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiayuan Peng
- Department of Pathology, Leshan People's Hospital, Leshan, China.,Department of Basic Medical Science, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Ailin Wu
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiaoping Yu
- Department of Public Health, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Qian Zhong
- Department of Pharmacy, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiaoming Deng
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Yanfeng Zhu
- Department of Public Health, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
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31
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Milani G, Cavalluzzi MM, Altamura C, Santoro A, Perrone M, Muraglia M, Colabufo NA, Corbo F, Casalino E, Franchini C, Pisano I, Desaphy J, Carrieri A, Carocci A, Lentini G. Bioisosteric Modification of To042: Synthesis and Evaluation of Promising Use-Dependent Inhibitors of Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels. ChemMedChem 2021; 16:3588-3599. [PMID: 34519427 PMCID: PMC9293070 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202100496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Revised: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Three analogues of To042, a tocainide-related lead compound recently reported for the treatment of myotonia, were synthesized and evaluated in vitro as skeletal muscle sodium channel blockers possibly endowed with enhanced use-dependent behavior. Patch-clamp experiments on hNav1.4 expressed in HEK293 cells showed that N-[(naphthalen-1-yl)methyl]-4-[(2,6-dimethyl)phenoxy]butan-2-amine, the aryloxyalkyl bioisostere of To042, exerted a higher use-dependent block than To042 thus being able to preferentially block the channels in over-excited membranes while preserving healthy tissue function. It also showed the lowest active transport across BBB according to the results of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) interacting activity evaluation and the highest cytoprotective effect on HeLa cells. Quantum mechanical calculations and dockings gave insights on the most probable conformation of the aryloxyalkyl bioisostere of To042 in solution and the target residues involved in the binding, respectively. Both approaches indicated the conformations that might be adopted in both the unbound and bound state of the ligand. Overall, N-[(naphthalen-1-yl)methyl]-4-[(2,6-dimethyl)phenoxy]butan-2-amine exhibits an interesting toxico-pharmacological profile and deserves further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gualtiero Milani
- Department of Pharmacy – Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of Bari Aldo MoroVia E. Orabona 470125BariItaly
| | - Maria Maddalena Cavalluzzi
- Department of Pharmacy – Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of Bari Aldo MoroVia E. Orabona 470125BariItaly
| | - Concetta Altamura
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Human OncologySchool of MedicineUniversity of Bari Aldo Moro PoliclinicoPiazza Giulio Cesare70124BariItaly
| | - Antonella Santoro
- Department of Bioscience, Biotechnology and BiopharmaceuticsUniversity of Bari Aldo MoroVia Orabona 470125BariItaly
| | - Mariagrazia Perrone
- Department of Pharmacy – Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of Bari Aldo MoroVia E. Orabona 470125BariItaly
| | - Marilena Muraglia
- Department of Pharmacy – Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of Bari Aldo MoroVia E. Orabona 470125BariItaly
| | - Nicola Antonio Colabufo
- Department of Pharmacy – Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of Bari Aldo MoroVia E. Orabona 470125BariItaly
| | - Filomena Corbo
- Department of Pharmacy – Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of Bari Aldo MoroVia E. Orabona 470125BariItaly
| | - Elisabetta Casalino
- Department of Veterinary MedicineUniversity of Bari Aldo MoroVia E. Orabona 470125BariItaly
| | - Carlo Franchini
- Department of Pharmacy – Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of Bari Aldo MoroVia E. Orabona 470125BariItaly
| | - Isabella Pisano
- Department of Bioscience, Biotechnology and BiopharmaceuticsUniversity of Bari Aldo MoroVia Orabona 470125BariItaly
| | - Jean‐François Desaphy
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Human OncologySchool of MedicineUniversity of Bari Aldo Moro PoliclinicoPiazza Giulio Cesare70124BariItaly
| | - Antonio Carrieri
- Department of Pharmacy – Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of Bari Aldo MoroVia E. Orabona 470125BariItaly
| | - Alessia Carocci
- Department of Pharmacy – Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of Bari Aldo MoroVia E. Orabona 470125BariItaly
| | - Giovanni Lentini
- Department of Pharmacy – Pharmaceutical SciencesUniversity of Bari Aldo MoroVia E. Orabona 470125BariItaly
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Eberhardt J, Santos-Martins D, Tillack AF, Forli S. AutoDock Vina 1.2.0: New Docking Methods, Expanded Force Field, and Python Bindings. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:3891-3898. [PMID: 34278794 PMCID: PMC10683950 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1250] [Impact Index Per Article: 416.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
AutoDock Vina is arguably one of the fastest and most widely used open-source programs for molecular docking. However, compared to other programs in the AutoDock Suite, it lacks support for modeling specific features such as macrocycles or explicit water molecules. Here, we describe the implementation of this functionality in AutoDock Vina 1.2.0. Additionally, AutoDock Vina 1.2.0 supports the AutoDock4.2 scoring function, simultaneous docking of multiple ligands, and a batch mode for docking a large number of ligands. Furthermore, we implemented Python bindings to facilitate scripting and the development of docking workflows. This work is an effort toward the unification of the features of the AutoDock4 and AutoDock Vina programs. The source code is available at https://github.com/ccsb-scripps/AutoDock-Vina.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerome Eberhardt
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, 92037 California, United States
| | - Diogo Santos-Martins
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, 92037 California, United States
| | - Andreas F Tillack
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, 92037 California, United States
| | - Stefano Forli
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, 92037 California, United States
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Chitranshi N, Kumar A, Sheriff S, Gupta V, Godinez A, Saks D, Sarkar S, Shen T, Mirzaei M, Basavarajappa D, Abyadeh M, Singh SK, Dua K, Zhang KYJ, Graham SL, Gupta V. Identification of Novel Cathepsin B Inhibitors with Implications in Alzheimer's Disease: Computational Refining and Biochemical Evaluation. Cells 2021; 10:cells10081946. [PMID: 34440715 PMCID: PMC8391575 DOI: 10.3390/cells10081946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyloid precursor protein (APP), upon proteolytic degradation, forms aggregates of amyloid β (Aβ) and plaques in the brain, which are pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Cathepsin B is a cysteine protease enzyme that catalyzes the proteolytic degradation of APP in the brain. Thus, cathepsin B inhibition is a crucial therapeutic aspect for the discovery of new anti-Alzheimer’s drugs. In this study, we have employed mixed-feature ligand-based virtual screening (LBVS) by integrating pharmacophore mapping, docking, and molecular dynamics to detect small, potent molecules that act as cathepsin B inhibitors. The LBVS model was generated by using hydrophobic (HY), hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA), and hydrogen bond donor (HBD) features, using a dataset of 24 known cathepsin B inhibitors of both natural and synthetic origins. A validated eight-feature pharmacophore hypothesis (Hypo III) was utilized to screen the Maybridge chemical database. The docking score, MM-PBSA, and MM-GBSA methodology was applied to prioritize the lead compounds as virtual screening hits. These compounds share a common amide scaffold, and showed important interactions with Gln23, Cys29, His110, His111, Glu122, His199, and Trp221. The identified inhibitors were further evaluated for cathepsin-B-inhibitory activity. Our study suggests that pyridine, acetamide, and benzohydrazide compounds could be used as a starting point for the development of novel therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nitin Chitranshi
- Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, F10A, 2 Technology Place, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia; (S.S.); (A.G.); (D.S.); (S.S.); (T.S.); (M.M.); (D.B.); (S.L.G.)
- Correspondence: (N.C.); (V.G.); Tel.: +61-(02)-9850-2804 (N.C.)
| | - Ashutosh Kumar
- Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Laboratory for Structural Bioinformatics, RIKEN, 1-7-22 Suehiro, Tsurumi, Yokohama 230-0045, Kanagawa, Japan; (A.K.); (K.Y.J.Z.)
| | - Samran Sheriff
- Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, F10A, 2 Technology Place, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia; (S.S.); (A.G.); (D.S.); (S.S.); (T.S.); (M.M.); (D.B.); (S.L.G.)
| | - Veer Gupta
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia;
| | - Angela Godinez
- Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, F10A, 2 Technology Place, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia; (S.S.); (A.G.); (D.S.); (S.S.); (T.S.); (M.M.); (D.B.); (S.L.G.)
| | - Danit Saks
- Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, F10A, 2 Technology Place, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia; (S.S.); (A.G.); (D.S.); (S.S.); (T.S.); (M.M.); (D.B.); (S.L.G.)
| | - Soumalya Sarkar
- Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, F10A, 2 Technology Place, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia; (S.S.); (A.G.); (D.S.); (S.S.); (T.S.); (M.M.); (D.B.); (S.L.G.)
| | - Ting Shen
- Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, F10A, 2 Technology Place, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia; (S.S.); (A.G.); (D.S.); (S.S.); (T.S.); (M.M.); (D.B.); (S.L.G.)
| | - Mehdi Mirzaei
- Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, F10A, 2 Technology Place, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia; (S.S.); (A.G.); (D.S.); (S.S.); (T.S.); (M.M.); (D.B.); (S.L.G.)
| | - Devaraj Basavarajappa
- Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, F10A, 2 Technology Place, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia; (S.S.); (A.G.); (D.S.); (S.S.); (T.S.); (M.M.); (D.B.); (S.L.G.)
| | - Morteza Abyadeh
- Cell Science Research Center, Department of Molecular Systems Biology, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran 1665659911, Iran;
| | - Sachin K. Singh
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara 144411, Punjab, India;
| | - Kamal Dua
- Discipline of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia;
- Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - Kam Y. J. Zhang
- Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Laboratory for Structural Bioinformatics, RIKEN, 1-7-22 Suehiro, Tsurumi, Yokohama 230-0045, Kanagawa, Japan; (A.K.); (K.Y.J.Z.)
| | - Stuart L. Graham
- Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, F10A, 2 Technology Place, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia; (S.S.); (A.G.); (D.S.); (S.S.); (T.S.); (M.M.); (D.B.); (S.L.G.)
| | - Vivek Gupta
- Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, F10A, 2 Technology Place, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia; (S.S.); (A.G.); (D.S.); (S.S.); (T.S.); (M.M.); (D.B.); (S.L.G.)
- Correspondence: (N.C.); (V.G.); Tel.: +61-(02)-9850-2804 (N.C.)
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Shi L, Wu QG, Zhang JC, Yang GM, Liu W, Wang ZF. Mechanism of Shuang-Huang-Lian Oral Liquid for Treatment of Mycoplasmal Pneumonia in Children on Network Pharmacology. Comb Chem High Throughput Screen 2021; 23:955-971. [PMID: 32407262 DOI: 10.2174/1386207323666200514073428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Revised: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Mycoplasmal pneumonia (MP) can lead to inflammation, multiple system immune damage, and mixed infection in children. The pathogenesis is still unclear. Shuang-Huang-Lian (SHL) oral liquid can treat acute upper respiratory tract infection, acute bronchitis and light pneumonia. However, our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms supporting its clinical application still lags behind due to the lack of researches. It is difficult to understand the overall sensitization mechanism of SHL oral liquid. The purpose is to explain the mechanism of action of drugs in this study, which is useful to ensure the safety of medication for children. METHODS The therapeutic mechanism of SHL oral liquid was investigated by a system pharmacology approach integrating drug-likeness evaluation, oral bioavailability prediction, ADMET, protein-protein interaction worknet, Gene Ontology enrichment analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database pathway performance, C-T-P network construction and molecular docking. RESULTS A total of 18 active ingredients contained in SHL oral liquid and 53 major proteins were screened out as effective players in the treatment of M. pneumoniae disease through some related pathways and molecular docking. The majority of targets, hubs and pathways were highly related to anti-mycoplasma therapy, immunity and inflammation process. CONCLUSION This study shows that the anti-bacterial effect of SHL oral liquid has multicomponent, multi-target and multi-pathway phenomena. The proposed approach may provide a feasible tool to clarify the mechanism of traditional Chinese medicines and further develop their therapeutic potentials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling Shi
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Honghe University, Mengzi 661199, China
| | - Qi-Guo Wu
- Department of Pharmacy, Anqing Medical College, Anqing, China
| | - Ju-Cheng Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Honghe University, Mengzi 661199, China
| | - Guang-Ming Yang
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Honghe University, Mengzi 661199, China
| | - Wei Liu
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Honghe University, Mengzi 661199, China
| | - Ze-Feng Wang
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Honghe University, Mengzi 661199, China
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Poliseno V, Chaves S, Brunetti L, Loiodice F, Carrieri A, Laghezza A, Tortorella P, Magalhães JD, Cardoso SM, Santos MA, Piemontese L. Derivatives of Tenuazonic Acid as Potential New Multi-Target Anti-Alzheimer's Disease Agents. Biomolecules 2021; 11:111. [PMID: 33467709 PMCID: PMC7830597 DOI: 10.3390/biom11010111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Revised: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is generally recognized as a multifactorial neurodegenerative pathology with an increasing impact on society. Tenuazonic acid (TA) is a natural compound that was recently identified as a potential multitarget ligand with anti-cholinesterase, anti-amyloidogenic and antioxidant activities. Using its structure as a chemical scaffold, we synthesized and evaluated new derivatives (1-5), including tenuazonic-donepezil (TA-DNP) hybrids (4 and 5) due to the clinical importance of the anti-AD drug donepezil. These novel compounds all achieved activity in the micromolar range towards all selected targets and demonstrated to be potentially orally absorbed. Moreover, a selected compound (1) was further investigated as a chelating agent towards copper (II), zinc (II) and iron (III) and showed good chelating ability (pFe = 16.6, pCu = 11.6, pZn = 6.0 at pH 7.4). Therefore, the TA motif can be considered an interesting building block in the search for innovative multi-functional anti-neurodegenerative drugs, as exemplified by hybrid 5, a promising non-cytotoxic lead compound adequate for the early stages of AD, and capable of ameliorating the oxidative status of SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viviana Poliseno
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari “A. Moro”, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy; (V.P.); (L.B.); (F.L.); (A.C.); (A.L.); (P.T.)
- Centro de Química Estrutural and Departamento de Engenharia Química, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal;
| | - Sílvia Chaves
- Centro de Química Estrutural and Departamento de Engenharia Química, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal;
| | - Leonardo Brunetti
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari “A. Moro”, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy; (V.P.); (L.B.); (F.L.); (A.C.); (A.L.); (P.T.)
| | - Fulvio Loiodice
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari “A. Moro”, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy; (V.P.); (L.B.); (F.L.); (A.C.); (A.L.); (P.T.)
| | - Antonio Carrieri
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari “A. Moro”, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy; (V.P.); (L.B.); (F.L.); (A.C.); (A.L.); (P.T.)
| | - Antonio Laghezza
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari “A. Moro”, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy; (V.P.); (L.B.); (F.L.); (A.C.); (A.L.); (P.T.)
| | - Paolo Tortorella
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari “A. Moro”, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy; (V.P.); (L.B.); (F.L.); (A.C.); (A.L.); (P.T.)
| | - João D. Magalhães
- CNC—Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; (J.D.M.); (S.M.C.)
| | - Sandra M. Cardoso
- CNC—Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; (J.D.M.); (S.M.C.)
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - M. Amélia Santos
- Centro de Química Estrutural and Departamento de Engenharia Química, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal;
| | - Luca Piemontese
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari “A. Moro”, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy; (V.P.); (L.B.); (F.L.); (A.C.); (A.L.); (P.T.)
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Santos-Martins D, Solis-Vasquez L, Tillack AF, Sanner MF, Koch A, Forli S. Accelerating AutoDock4 with GPUs and Gradient-Based Local Search. J Chem Theory Comput 2021; 17:1060-1073. [PMID: 33403848 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.0c01006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
AutoDock4 is a widely used program for docking small molecules to macromolecular targets. It describes ligand-receptor interactions using a physics-inspired scoring function that has been proven useful in a variety of drug discovery projects. However, compared to more modern and recent software, AutoDock4 has longer execution times, limiting its applicability to large scale dockings. To address this problem, we describe an OpenCL implementation of AutoDock4, called AutoDock-GPU, that leverages the highly parallel architecture of GPU hardware to reduce docking runtime by up to 350-fold with respect to a single-threaded process. Moreover, we introduce the gradient-based local search method ADADELTA, as well as an improved version of the Solis-Wets random optimizer from AutoDock4. These efficient local search algorithms significantly reduce the number of calls to the scoring function that are needed to produce good results. The improvements reported here, both in terms of docking throughput and search efficiency, facilitate the use of the AutoDock4 scoring function in large scale virtual screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diogo Santos-Martins
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Leonardo Solis-Vasquez
- Embedded Systems and Applications Group, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt D-64289, Germany
| | - Andreas F Tillack
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Michel F Sanner
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Andreas Koch
- Embedded Systems and Applications Group, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt D-64289, Germany
| | - Stefano Forli
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
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37
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Acharya A, Agarwal R, Baker M, Baudry J, Bhowmik D, Boehm S, Byler KG, Chen S, Coates L, Cooper C, Demerdash O, Daidone I, Eblen J, Ellingson S, Forli S, Glaser J, Gumbart JC, Gunnels J, Hernandez O, Irle S, Kneller D, Kovalevsky A, Larkin J, Lawrence T, LeGrand S, Liu SH, Mitchell J, Park G, Parks J, Pavlova A, Petridis L, Poole D, Pouchard L, Ramanathan A, Rogers D, Santos-Martins D, Scheinberg A, Sedova A, Shen Y, Smith J, Smith M, Soto C, Tsaris A, Thavappiragasam M, Tillack A, Vermaas J, Vuong V, Yin J, Yoo S, Zahran M, Zanetti-Polzi L. Supercomputer-Based Ensemble Docking Drug Discovery Pipeline with Application to Covid-19. J Chem Inf Model 2020; 60:5832-5852. [PMID: 33326239 PMCID: PMC7754786 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.0c01010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
We present a supercomputer-driven pipeline for in silico drug discovery using enhanced sampling molecular dynamics (MD) and ensemble docking. Ensemble docking makes use of MD results by docking compound databases into representative protein binding-site conformations, thus taking into account the dynamic properties of the binding sites. We also describe preliminary results obtained for 24 systems involving eight proteins of the proteome of SARS-CoV-2. The MD involves temperature replica exchange enhanced sampling, making use of massively parallel supercomputing to quickly sample the configurational space of protein drug targets. Using the Summit supercomputer at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, more than 1 ms of enhanced sampling MD can be generated per day. We have ensemble docked repurposing databases to 10 configurations of each of the 24 SARS-CoV-2 systems using AutoDock Vina. Comparison to experiment demonstrates remarkably high hit rates for the top scoring tranches of compounds identified by our ensemble approach. We also demonstrate that, using Autodock-GPU on Summit, it is possible to perform exhaustive docking of one billion compounds in under 24 h. Finally, we discuss preliminary results and planned improvements to the pipeline, including the use of quantum mechanical (QM), machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) methods to cluster MD trajectories and rescore docking poses.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. Acharya
- School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - R. Agarwal
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830, USA
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, 309 Ken and Blaire Mossman Bldg. 1311 Cumberland Avenue Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
- Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - M. Baker
- Computer Science and Mathematics Division, Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
| | - J. Baudry
- The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Department of Biological Sciences. 301 Sparkman Drive, Huntsville, AL 35899, USA
| | - D. Bhowmik
- Computational Sciences and Engineering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - S. Boehm
- Computer Science and Mathematics Division, Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
| | - K. G. Byler
- The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Department of Biological Sciences. 301 Sparkman Drive, Huntsville, AL 35899, USA
| | - S.Y. Chen
- Computational Science Initiative, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - L. Coates
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - C.J. Cooper
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830, USA
- Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - O. Demerdash
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
| | - I. Daidone
- Department of Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, I-67010 L’Aquila, Italy
| | - J.D. Eblen
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830, USA
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, 309 Ken and Blaire Mossman Bldg. 1311 Cumberland Avenue Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - S. Ellingson
- University of Kentucky, Division of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, UK Medical Center MN 150, Lexington KY, 40536, USA
| | - S. Forli
- Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - J. Glaser
- National Center for Computational Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
| | - J. C. Gumbart
- School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - J. Gunnels
- HPC Engineering, Amazon Web Services, Seattle, WA 98121, USA
| | - O. Hernandez
- Computer Science and Mathematics Division, Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
| | - S. Irle
- Computational Sciences and Engineering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
- Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
- Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - D.W. Kneller
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - A. Kovalevsky
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - J. Larkin
- NVIDIA Corporation, Santa Clara, CA 95051, USA
| | - T.J. Lawrence
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
| | - S. LeGrand
- NVIDIA Corporation, Santa Clara, CA 95051, USA
| | - S.-H. Liu
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830, USA
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, 309 Ken and Blaire Mossman Bldg. 1311 Cumberland Avenue Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - J.C. Mitchell
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
| | - G. Park
- Computational Science Initiative, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - J.M. Parks
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830, USA
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, 309 Ken and Blaire Mossman Bldg. 1311 Cumberland Avenue Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
- Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - A. Pavlova
- School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - L. Petridis
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830, USA
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, 309 Ken and Blaire Mossman Bldg. 1311 Cumberland Avenue Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - D. Poole
- NVIDIA Corporation, Santa Clara, CA 95051, USA
| | - L. Pouchard
- Computational Science Initiative, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - A. Ramanathan
- Data Science and Learning Division, Argonne National Lab, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - D. Rogers
- National Center for Computational Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
| | | | | | - A. Sedova
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
| | - Y. Shen
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830, USA
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, 309 Ken and Blaire Mossman Bldg. 1311 Cumberland Avenue Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
- Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - J.C. Smith
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830, USA
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, 309 Ken and Blaire Mossman Bldg. 1311 Cumberland Avenue Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - M.D. Smith
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830, USA
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, 309 Ken and Blaire Mossman Bldg. 1311 Cumberland Avenue Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - C. Soto
- Computational Science Initiative, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - A. Tsaris
- National Center for Computational Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
| | | | | | - J.V. Vermaas
- National Center for Computational Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
| | - V.Q. Vuong
- Computational Sciences and Engineering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
- Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
- Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - J. Yin
- National Center for Computational Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
| | - S. Yoo
- Computational Science Initiative, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - M. Zahran
- Department of Biological Sciences, New York City College of Technology, The City University of New York (CUNY), Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA
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Guclu TF, Kocatug N, Atilgan AR, Atilgan C. N-Terminus of the Third PDZ Domain of PSD-95 Orchestrates Allosteric Communication for Selective Ligand Binding. J Chem Inf Model 2020; 61:347-357. [PMID: 33331776 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.0c01079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
PDZ domains constitute common models to study single-domain allostery without significant structural changes. The third PDZ domain of PSD-95 (PDZ3) is known to have selective structural features that confer unique modulatory roles to this unit. In this model system, two residues, H372 directly connected to the binding site and G330 holding an off-binding-site position, were designated to assess the effect of mutations on binding selectivity. It has been observed that the H372A and G330T-H372A mutations change ligand preferences from class I (T/S amino acid at position -2 of the ligand) to class II (hydrophobic amino acid at the same position). Alternatively, the G330T single mutation leads to the recognition of both ligand classes. We have performed a series of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for wild-type, H372A, and G330T single mutants and a double mutant of PDZ3 in the absence and presence of both types of ligands. With the combination of free-energy difference calculations and a detailed analysis of MD trajectories, "class switching" and "class bridging" behavior of PDZ3 mutants, as well as their effects on ligand selection and binding affinities are explained. We show that the dynamics of the charged N-terminus plays a fundamental role in determining the binding preferences in PDZ3 by altering the electrostatic energy. These findings are corroborated by simulations on N-terminus-truncated versions of these systems. The dynamical allostery orchestrated by the N-terminus offers a fresh perspective to the study of communication pathways in proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tandac F Guclu
- Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci University, 34956 Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Nazli Kocatug
- Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci University, 34956 Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Ali Rana Atilgan
- Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci University, 34956 Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Canan Atilgan
- Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci University, 34956 Istanbul, Turkey
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Purgatorio R, de Candia M, Catto M, Rullo M, Pisani L, Denora N, Carrieri A, Nevskaya AA, Voskressensky LG, Altomare CD. Evaluation of Water-Soluble Mannich Base Prodrugs of 2,3,4,5-Tetrahydroazepino[4,3-b]indol-1(6H)-one as Multitarget-Directed Agents for Alzheimer's Disease. ChemMedChem 2020; 16:589-598. [PMID: 33156950 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202000583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Revised: 10/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Different Mannich base derivatives have been studied with the aim of addressing the poor aqueous solubility of the recently disclosed 6-phenethyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydroazepino[4,3-b]indol-1(6H)-one (1), a human butyrylcholinesterase inhibitor (hBChE, IC50 13 nM) and protective agent in NMDA-induced neurotoxicity, in in vivo assays. The N-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)methyl derivative 2 c showed a 50-fold increase in solubility in pH 7.4-buffered solution, high stability in serum and (half-life >24 h) and rapid (<3 min) conversion to 1 at acidic pH. Although less active than 1, 2 c retained moderate hBChE inhibition (IC50 =3.35 μM) and a significant protective effect against NMDA-induced neurotoxicity at 0.1 μM. Moreover, 2 c resulted a weaker serum albumin binder than 1, could pass the blood-brain barrier, and exerted negligible cytotoxicity on HepG2 cells. These findings suggest that 2 c could be a water-soluble prodrug candidate of 1 for oral administration or a slow-release injectable derivative in in vivoAlzheimer's disease models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Purgatorio
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug-Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Modesto de Candia
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug-Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Marco Catto
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug-Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Mariagrazia Rullo
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug-Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Leonardo Pisani
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug-Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Nunzio Denora
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug-Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Antonio Carrieri
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug-Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Alisa A Nevskaya
- Organic Chemistry Department, RUDN University, Miklukho-Maklai St. 6, Moscow, 117198, Russia
| | - Leonid G Voskressensky
- Organic Chemistry Department, RUDN University, Miklukho-Maklai St. 6, Moscow, 117198, Russia
| | - Cosimo D Altomare
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug-Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
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Brunetti L, Carrieri A, Piemontese L, Tortorella P, Loiodice F, Laghezza A. Beyond the Canonical Endocannabinoid System. A Screening of PPAR Ligands as FAAH Inhibitors. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21197026. [PMID: 32987725 PMCID: PMC7582602 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21197026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Revised: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors (PPARs) have been connected to the endocannabinoid system. These nuclear receptors indeed mediate the effects of anandamide and similar substances such as oleoyl-ethanolamide and palmitoyl-ethanolamide. An increasing body of literature describing the interactions between the endocannabinoid system and PPARs has slowly but surely been accumulating over the past decade, and a multitarget approach involving these receptors and endocannabinoid degrading enzyme FAAH has been proposed for the treatment of inflammatory states, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. The lack of knowledge about compounds endowed with such an activity profile therefore led us to investigate a library of readily available, well-characterized PPAR agonists that we had synthesized over the years in order to find a plausible lead compound for further development. Moreover, we propose a rationalization of our results via a docking study, which sheds some light on the binding mode of these PPAR agonists to FAAH and opens the way for further research in this field.
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41
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Purgatorio R, Kulikova LN, Pisani L, Catto M, Candia M, Carrieri A, Cellamare S, De Palma A, Beloglazkin AA, Reza Raesi G, Voskressensky LG, Altomare CD. Scouting around 1,2,3,4‐Tetrahydrochromeno[3,2‐
c
]pyridin‐10‐ones for Single‐ and Multitarget Ligands Directed towards Relevant Alzheimer's Targets. ChemMedChem 2020; 15:1947-1955. [DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202000468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Purgatorio
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug Sciences University of Bari Aldo Moro Via E. Orabona 4 70125 Bari Italy
| | - Larisa N. Kulikova
- Organic Chemistry Department Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) 6 Miklukho-Maklaya St. Moscow 117198 Russia
| | - Leonardo Pisani
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug Sciences University of Bari Aldo Moro Via E. Orabona 4 70125 Bari Italy
| | - Marco Catto
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug Sciences University of Bari Aldo Moro Via E. Orabona 4 70125 Bari Italy
| | - Modesto Candia
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug Sciences University of Bari Aldo Moro Via E. Orabona 4 70125 Bari Italy
| | - Antonio Carrieri
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug Sciences University of Bari Aldo Moro Via E. Orabona 4 70125 Bari Italy
| | - Saverio Cellamare
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug Sciences University of Bari Aldo Moro Via E. Orabona 4 70125 Bari Italy
| | - Annalisa De Palma
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Biopharmaceutics University of Bari Aldo Moro Via E. Orabona 4 70125 Bari Italy
| | - Andrey A. Beloglazkin
- Organic Chemistry Department Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) 6 Miklukho-Maklaya St. Moscow 117198 Russia
| | - Ghulam Reza Raesi
- Organic Chemistry Department Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) 6 Miklukho-Maklaya St. Moscow 117198 Russia
| | - Leonid G. Voskressensky
- Organic Chemistry Department Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) 6 Miklukho-Maklaya St. Moscow 117198 Russia
| | - Cosimo D. Altomare
- Department of Pharmacy-Drug Sciences University of Bari Aldo Moro Via E. Orabona 4 70125 Bari Italy
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Benchmarking the performance of MM/PBSA in virtual screening enrichment using the GPCR-Bench dataset. J Comput Aided Mol Des 2020; 34:1133-1145. [PMID: 32851579 DOI: 10.1007/s10822-020-00339-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Recent breakthroughs in G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) crystallography and the subsequent increase in number of solved GPCR structures has allowed for the unprecedented opportunity to utilize their experimental structures for structure-based drug discovery applications. As virtual screening represents one of the primary computational methods used for the discovery of novel leads, the GPCR-Bench dataset was created to facilitate comparison among various virtual screening protocols. In this study, we have benchmarked the performance of Molecular Mechanics/Poisson-Boltzmann Surface Area (MM/PBSA) in improving virtual screening enrichment in comparison to docking with Glide, using the entire GPCR-Bench dataset of 24 GPCR targets and 254,646 actives and decoys. Reranking the top 10% of the docked dataset using MM/PBSA resulted in improvements for six targets at EF1% and nine targets at EF5%, with the gains in enrichment being more pronounced at the EF1% level. We additionally assessed the utility of rescoring the top ten poses from docking and the ability of short MD simulations to refine the binding poses prior to MM/PBSA calculations. There was no clear trend of the benefit observed in both cases, suggesting that utilizing a single energy minimized structure for MM/PBSA calculations may be the most computationally efficient approach in virtual screening. Overall, the performance of MM/PBSA rescoring in improving virtual screening enrichment obtained from docking of the GPCR-Bench dataset was found to be relatively modest and target-specific, highlighting the need for validation of MM/PBSA-based protocols prior to prospective use.
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Acharya A, Agarwal R, Baker M, Baudry J, Bhowmik D, Boehm S, Byler KG, Coates L, Chen SY, Cooper CJ, Demerdash O, Daidone I, Eblen JD, Ellingson S, Forli S, Glaser J, Gumbart JC, Gunnels J, Hernandez O, Irle S, Larkin J, Lawrence TJ, LeGrand S, Liu SH, Mitchell JC, Park G, Parks JM, Pavlova A, Petridis L, Poole D, Pouchard L, Ramanathan A, Rogers D, Santos-Martins D, Scheinberg A, Sedova A, Shen S, Smith JC, Smith MD, Soto C, Tsaris A, Thavappiragasam M, Tillack AF, Vermaas JV, Vuong VQ, Yin J, Yoo S, Zahran M, Zanetti-Polzi L. Supercomputer-Based Ensemble Docking Drug Discovery Pipeline with Application to Covid-19. CHEMRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR CHEMISTRY 2020:12725465. [PMID: 33200117 PMCID: PMC7668744 DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv.12725465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 07/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
We present a supercomputer-driven pipeline for in-silico drug discovery using enhanced sampling molecular dynamics (MD) and ensemble docking. We also describe preliminary results obtained for 23 systems involving eight protein targets of the proteome of SARS CoV-2. THe MD performed is temperature replica-exchange enhanced sampling, making use of the massively parallel supercomputing on the SUMMIT supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, with which more than 1ms of enhanced sampling MD can be generated per day. We have ensemble docked repurposing databases to ten configurations of each of the 23 SARS CoV-2 systems using AutoDock Vina. We also demonstrate that using Autodock-GPU on SUMMIT, it is possible to perform exhaustive docking of one billion compounds in under 24 hours. Finally, we discuss preliminary results and planned improvements to the pipeline, including the use of quantum mechanical (QM), machine learning, and AI methods to cluster MD trajectories and rescore docking poses.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Acharya
- School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332
| | - R Agarwal
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, 309 Ken and Blaire Mossman Bldg. 1311 Cumberland Avenue Knoxville, TN, 37996
- Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996
| | - M Baker
- Computer Science and Mathematics Division, Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
| | - J Baudry
- The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Department of Biological Sciences. 301 Sparkman Drive, Huntsville, AL 35899
| | - D Bhowmik
- Computational Sciences and Engineering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831
| | - S Boehm
- Computer Science and Mathematics Division, Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
| | - K G Byler
- The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Department of Biological Sciences. 301 Sparkman Drive, Huntsville, AL 35899
| | - L Coates
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831
| | - S Y Chen
- Computational Science Initiative, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973
| | - C J Cooper
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830
- Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996
| | - O Demerdash
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
| | - I Daidone
- Department of Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, I-67010 L'Aquila, Italy
| | - J D Eblen
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, 309 Ken and Blaire Mossman Bldg. 1311 Cumberland Avenue Knoxville, TN, 37996
| | - S Ellingson
- University of Kentucky, Division of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, UK Medical Center MN 150, Lexington KY, 40536
| | - S Forli
- Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, 92037
| | - J Glaser
- National Center for Computational Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
| | - J C Gumbart
- School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332
| | - J Gunnels
- HPC Engineering, Amazon Web Services, Seattle, WA 98121
| | - O Hernandez
- Computer Science and Mathematics Division, Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
| | - S Irle
- Computational Sciences and Engineering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831
- Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831
- Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996
| | - J Larkin
- NVIDIA Corporation, Santa Clara, CA 95051
| | - T J Lawrence
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
| | - S LeGrand
- NVIDIA Corporation, Santa Clara, CA 95051
| | - S-H Liu
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, 309 Ken and Blaire Mossman Bldg. 1311 Cumberland Avenue Knoxville, TN, 37996
| | - J C Mitchell
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
| | - G Park
- Computational Science Initiative, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973
| | - J M Parks
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, 309 Ken and Blaire Mossman Bldg. 1311 Cumberland Avenue Knoxville, TN, 37996
- Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996
| | - A Pavlova
- School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332
| | - L Petridis
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, 309 Ken and Blaire Mossman Bldg. 1311 Cumberland Avenue Knoxville, TN, 37996
| | - D Poole
- NVIDIA Corporation, Santa Clara, CA 95051
| | - L Pouchard
- Computational Science Initiative, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973
| | - A Ramanathan
- Data Science and Learning Division, Argonne National Lab, Lemont, IL 60439
| | - D Rogers
- National Center for Computational Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
| | | | | | - A Sedova
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
| | - S Shen
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, 309 Ken and Blaire Mossman Bldg. 1311 Cumberland Avenue Knoxville, TN, 37996
- Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996
| | - J C Smith
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, 309 Ken and Blaire Mossman Bldg. 1311 Cumberland Avenue Knoxville, TN, 37996
| | - M D Smith
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, 37830
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, 309 Ken and Blaire Mossman Bldg. 1311 Cumberland Avenue Knoxville, TN, 37996
| | - C Soto
- Computational Science Initiative, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973
| | - A Tsaris
- National Center for Computational Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
| | | | | | - J V Vermaas
- National Center for Computational Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
| | - V Q Vuong
- Computational Sciences and Engineering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831
- Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831
- Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996
| | - J Yin
- National Center for Computational Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
| | - S Yoo
- Computational Science Initiative, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973
| | - M Zahran
- Department of Biological Sciences, New York City College of Technology, The City University of New York (CUNY), Brooklyn, NY 11201
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Sasmal S, El Khoury L, Mobley DL. D3R Grand Challenge 4: ligand similarity and MM-GBSA-based pose prediction and affinity ranking for BACE-1 inhibitors. J Comput Aided Mol Des 2020; 34:163-177. [PMID: 31781990 PMCID: PMC8208075 DOI: 10.1007/s10822-019-00249-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Accepted: 11/06/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
The Drug Design Data Resource (D3R) Grand Challenges present an opportunity to assess, in the context of a blind predictive challenge, the accuracy and the limits of tools and methodologies designed to help guide pharmaceutical drug discovery projects. Here, we report the results of our participation in the D3R Grand Challenge 4 (GC4), which focused on predicting the binding poses and affinity ranking for compounds targeting the [Formula: see text]-amyloid precursor protein (BACE-1). Our ligand similarity-based protocol using HYBRID (OpenEye Scientific Software) successfully identified poses close to the native binding mode for most of the ligands with less than 2 Å RMSD accuracy. Furthermore, we compared the performance of our HYBRID-based approach to that of AutoDock Vina and DOCK 6 and found that using a reference ligand to guide the docking process is a better strategy for pose prediction and helped HYBRID to perform better here. We also conducted end-point free energy estimates on molecules dynamics based ensembles of protein-ligand complexes using molecular mechanics combined with generalized Born surface area method (MM-GBSA). We found that the binding affinity ranking based on MM-GBSA scores have poor correlation with the experimental values. Finally, the main lessons from our participation in D3R GC4 are: (i) the generation of the macrocyclic conformers is a key step for successful pose prediction, (ii) the protonation states of the BACE-1 binding site should be treated carefully, (iii) the MM-GBSA method could not discriminate well between different predicted binding poses, and (iv) the MM-GBSA method does not perform well at predicting protein-ligand binding affinities here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sukanya Sasmal
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Léa El Khoury
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - David L Mobley
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
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