Targeted genome mining for microbial antitumor agents acting through DNA intercalation

New drug discovery and development from natural products: Advances and strategies

Natural products (NPs) have a long history as sources for drug discovery, more than half of approved drugs are related to NPs, which also exhibit multifaceted advantages in the clinical treatment of complex diseases. However, bioactivity screening of NPs, target identification, and design optimization require continuously improved strategies, the complexity of drug mechanism of action and the limitations of technological strategies pose numerous challenges to the development of new drugs. This review begins with an overview of bioactivity- and target-based drug development patterns for NPs, advances in NP screening and derivatization, and the advantages and problems of major targets such as genes and proteins. Then, target-based drugs as well as identification and validation methods are further discussed to elucidate their mechanism of action. Subsequently, the current status and development trend of the application of traditional and emerging technologies in drug discovery and development of NPs are systematically described. Finally, the collaborative strategy of multi-technology integration and multi-disciplinary intersection is emphasized for the challenges faced in the identification, optimization, activity evaluation, and clinical application of NPs. It is hoped to provide a systematic overview and inspiration for exploring new drugs from natural resources in the future.

Interactions between DNA and the acridine intercalator: A computational study

Cancer is a global public health problem characterized by deviations in the mechanisms that control cell proliferation, resulting in mutations and variations in the structure of DNA. The mechanisms of action of chemotherapeutic drugs are related to their interactions and binding with DNA; consequently, the development of antineoplastic agents that target DNA has extensively focused on use of acridine, a heterocyclic molecule that binds to deoxyribonucleic acid via intercalation, a process that modifies DNA and makes replication impossible. In this context, this study aimed to computationally investigate how acridine intercalators interact with DNA by evaluating the mechanism of interactions, binding, and interaction energies using quantum mechanics calculations. Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) analysis revealed that acridine has well- distributed negative charges in the center of the molecule, indicative of a dominant electron-rich region. Acridine exhibits well-defined π orbitals (HOMO and LUMO) on the aromatic rings, suggesting that charge transfer occurs within the molecule and may be responsible for the pharmacological activity of the compound. Structural analysis revealed that acridine interacts with DNA mainly through hydrogen bonds between HAcridine… ODNA with bond lengths ranging from 2.370 Å to 3.472 Å. The Binding energy (ΔEBind) showed that acridine interacts with DNA effectively for all complexes and the electronic energy results (E+ZPE) for complexes revealed that the complexes are more stable when the DNA-centered acridine molecule. The Laplacian-analysis topological QTAIM parameter (∇2ρ(r)) and total energy (H(r)) categorized the interactions as being non-covalent in nature. The RGD peak distribution in the NCI analysis reveals the presence of van der Waals interactions, predominantly between the intercalator and DNA. Accordingly, we confirm that acridine/DNA interactions are relevant for understanding how the intercalator acts within nucleic acids.