scholarly journals Structure-based drug design: aiming for a perfect fit

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 431-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob L.M. van Montfort ◽  
Paul Workman

Knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of therapeutically relevant targets has informed drug discovery since the first protein structures were determined using X-ray crystallography in the 1950s and 1960s. In this editorial we provide a brief overview of the powerful impact of structure-based drug design (SBDD), which has its roots in computational and structural biology, with major contributions from both academia and industry. We describe advances in the application of SBDD for integral membrane protein targets that have traditionally proved very challenging. We emphasize the major progress made in fragment-based approaches for which success has been exemplified by over 30 clinical drug candidates and importantly three FDA-approved drugs in oncology. We summarize the articles in this issue that provide an excellent snapshot of the current state of the field of SBDD and fragment-based drug design and which offer key insights into exciting new developments, such as the X-ray free-electron laser technology, cryo-electron microscopy, open science approaches and targeted protein degradation. We stress the value of SBDD in the design of high-quality chemical tools that are used to interrogate biology and disease pathology, and to inform target validation. We emphasize the need to maintain the scientific rigour that has been traditionally associated with structural biology and extend this to other methods used in drug discovery. This is particularly important because the quality and robustness of any form of contributory data determines its usefulness in accelerating drug design, and therefore ultimately in providing patient benefit.

Author(s):  
S. Deshpande ◽  
S. K. Basu ◽  
X. Li ◽  
X. Chen

Smart and intelligent computational methods are essential nowadays for designing, manufacturing and optimizing new drugs. New and innovative computational tools and algorithms are consistently developed and applied for the development of novel therapeutic compounds in many research projects. Rapid developments in the architecture of computers have also provided complex calculations to be performed in a smart, intelligent and timely manner for desired quality outputs. Research groups worldwide are developing drug discovery platforms and innovative tools following smart manufacturing ideas using highly advanced biophysical, statistical and mathematical methods for accelerated discovery and analysis of smaller molecules. This chapter discusses novel innovative applications in drug discovery involving use of structure-based drug design which utilizes geometrical knowledge of the three-dimensional protein structures. It discusses statistical and physics based methods such as quantum mechanics and classical molecular dynamics which can also play a major role in improving the performance and in prediction of computational drug discovery. Lastly, the authors provide insights on recent developments in cloud computing with significant increase in smart and intelligent computational power thus allowing larger data sets to be analyzed simultaneously on multi processor cloud systems. Future directions for the research are outlined.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 3401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashutosh Srivastava ◽  
Tetsuro Nagai ◽  
Arpita Srivastava ◽  
Osamu Miyashita ◽  
Florence Tama

Protein structural biology came a long way since the determination of the first three-dimensional structure of myoglobin about six decades ago. Across this period, X-ray crystallography was the most important experimental method for gaining atomic-resolution insight into protein structures. However, as the role of dynamics gained importance in the function of proteins, the limitations of X-ray crystallography in not being able to capture dynamics came to the forefront. Computational methods proved to be immensely successful in understanding protein dynamics in solution, and they continue to improve in terms of both the scale and the types of systems that can be studied. In this review, we briefly discuss the limitations of X-ray crystallography in studying protein dynamics, and then provide an overview of different computational methods that are instrumental in understanding the dynamics of proteins and biomacromolecular complexes.


2017 ◽  
pp. 1175-1191
Author(s):  
S. Deshpande ◽  
S. K. Basu ◽  
X. Li ◽  
X. Chen

Smart and intelligent computational methods are essential nowadays for designing, manufacturing and optimizing new drugs. New and innovative computational tools and algorithms are consistently developed and applied for the development of novel therapeutic compounds in many research projects. Rapid developments in the architecture of computers have also provided complex calculations to be performed in a smart, intelligent and timely manner for desired quality outputs. Research groups worldwide are developing drug discovery platforms and innovative tools following smart manufacturing ideas using highly advanced biophysical, statistical and mathematical methods for accelerated discovery and analysis of smaller molecules. This chapter discusses novel innovative applications in drug discovery involving use of structure-based drug design which utilizes geometrical knowledge of the three-dimensional protein structures. It discusses statistical and physics based methods such as quantum mechanics and classical molecular dynamics which can also play a major role in improving the performance and in prediction of computational drug discovery. Lastly, the authors provide insights on recent developments in cloud computing with significant increase in smart and intelligent computational power thus allowing larger data sets to be analyzed simultaneously on multi processor cloud systems. Future directions for the research are outlined.


2021 ◽  
Vol 219 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Wang ◽  
Michael A. Crackower ◽  
Hao Wu

Inflammasome proteins play an important role in many diseases of high unmet need, making them attractive drug targets. However, drug discovery for inflammasome proteins has been challenging in part due to the difficulty in solving high-resolution structures using cryo-EM or crystallography. Recent advances in the structural biology of NLRP3 and NLRP1 have provided the first set of data that proves a promise for structure-based drug design for this important family of targets.


2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 34-35
Author(s):  
Clare Sansom

Researchers from industry and academia mingled at AstraZeneca's impressive research and development facilities at Charnwood, near Loughborough, in February for a Biochemical Society Focused Meeting that was concerned with the place of metabolism and metabolic pathways in structure-based drug design.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (39) ◽  
pp. 5279-5290
Author(s):  
R.M. Johnson ◽  
S. Rawson ◽  
M.J. McPhillie ◽  
C.W.G. Fishwick ◽  
S.P. Muench

Background: Parasite diseases are a huge burden on human health causing significant morbidity and mortality. However, parasite structure based drug discovery programmes have been hindered by a lack of high resolution structural information from parasite derived proteins and have often relied upon homology models from mammalian systems. The recent renaissance in electron microscopy (EM) has caused a dramatic rise in the number of structures being determined at high resolution and subsequently enabled it to be thought of as a tool in drug discovery. Results: In this review, we discuss the challenges associated with the structural determination of parasite proteins including the difficulties in obtaining sufficient quantities of protein. We then discuss the reasons behind the resurgence in EM, how it may overcome some of these challenges and provide examples of EM derived parasite protein structures. Finally, we discuss the challenges which EM needs to overcome before it is used as a mainstream technique in anti-parasite drug discovery. Conclusions: This review reports the progress that has been made in obtaining sufficient quantities of proteins for structural studies and the role EM may play in future structure based drug design programs. The outlook for future structure based drug design programs against some of the most devastating parasite diseases looks promising.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 998-1006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Wang ◽  
Ke Song ◽  
Li Li ◽  
Lijiang Chen

Over the past ten years, the number of three-dimensional protein structures identified by advanced science and technology increases, and the gene information becomes more available than ever before as well. The development of computing science becomes another driving force which makes it possible to use computational methods effectively in various phases of the drug design and research. Now Structure-Based Drug Design (SBDD) tools are widely used to help researchers to predict the position of small molecules within a three-dimensional representation of the protein structure and estimate the affinity of ligands to target protein with considerable accuracy and efficiency. They also accelerate discovery speed of potent drug and reduce the cost and times for drug research. Here we present an overview of SBDD used in drug discovery and highlight its recent successes and major challenges to current SBDD methodologies.


2006 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 27-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence D. Barron

The core techniques of structural biology, namely X-ray crystallography and multidimensional NMR, are often not applicable to many important samples due to fundamental experimental problems, such as the lack of suitable crystals in the X-ray case or excessive size or flexibility for NMR. Carbohydrates and glycoproteins are especially challenging in this respect. The novel technique of vibrational ROA (Raman optical activity), which combines the advantages of vibrational spectroscopy with the extra sensitivity to three-dimensional structure of chiroptical methods such as CD (circular dichroism), has much promise for studying a large range of biomolecules, from the smallest to the largest, in aqueous solution. Among other things, it is capable of providing structural information about both the polypeptide and the carbohydrate structure of intact glycoproteins and should become an indispensable spectroscopy tool for glycobiology.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 2505-2524
Author(s):  
Tristan O. C. Kwan ◽  
Danny Axford ◽  
Isabel Moraes

The aim of structural biology has been always the study of biological macromolecules structures and their mechanistic behaviour at molecular level. To achieve its goal, multiple biophysical methods and approaches have become part of the structural biology toolbox. Considered as one of the pillars of structural biology, X-ray crystallography has been the most successful method for solving three-dimensional protein structures at atomic level to date. It is however limited by the success in obtaining well-ordered protein crystals that diffract at high resolution. This is especially true for challenging targets such as membrane proteins (MPs). Understanding structure-function relationships of MPs at the biochemical level is vital for medicine and drug discovery as they play critical roles in many cellular processes. Though difficult, structure determination of MPs by X-ray crystallography has significantly improved in the last two decades, mainly due to many relevant technological and methodological developments. Today, numerous MP crystal structures have been solved, revealing many of their mechanisms of action. Yet the field of structural biology has also been through significant technological breakthroughs in recent years, particularly in the fields of single particle electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs). Here we summarise the most important advancements in the field of MP crystallography and the significance of these developments in the present era of modern structural biology.


Author(s):  
David G. Brown ◽  
Elizabeth J. Shotton

Structure-based drug design has become a key tool for the development of novel drugs. The process involves elucidating the three-dimensional structure of the potential drug molecule bound to the target protein that has been identified as playing a key role in the disease state. Using this three-dimensional information facilitates the process of making improvements to the potential drug molecule by highlighting existing and possible new interactions within the binding site. This knowledge is used to inform increases in potency and selectivity of the molecules as well as to help improve other drug-like properties. The speed and numbers of samples that can be studied, combined with the improved resolution of the structures that can be obtained using synchrotron radiation, have had a significant impact on the utilization of crystallography in the drug discovery process.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document