scholarly journals Mechanisms of Action for Small Molecules Revealed by Structural Biology in Drug Discovery

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (15) ◽  
pp. 5262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingxin Li ◽  
CongBao Kang
Keyword(s):  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Small Molecules ◽  
Structural Biology ◽  
Small Molecule ◽  
Molecular Interactions ◽  
Mechanisms Of Action ◽  
Rational Drug Design ◽  
Binding Modes ◽  
Small Molecule Drugs ◽  
Rational Drug

Small-molecule drugs are organic compounds affecting molecular pathways by targeting important proteins. These compounds have a low molecular weight, making them penetrate cells easily. Small-molecule drugs can be developed from leads derived from rational drug design or isolated from natural resources. A target-based drug discovery project usually includes target identification, target validation, hit identification, hit to lead and lead optimization. Understanding molecular interactions between small molecules and their targets is critical in drug discovery. Although many biophysical and biochemical methods are able to elucidate molecular interactions of small molecules with their targets, structural biology is the most powerful tool to determine the mechanisms of action for both targets and the developed compounds. Herein, we reviewed the application of structural biology to investigate binding modes of orthosteric and allosteric inhibitors. It is exemplified that structural biology provides a clear view of the binding modes of protease inhibitors and phosphatase inhibitors. We also demonstrate that structural biology provides insights into the function of a target and identifies a druggable site for rational drug design.

Antimalarial Drug Discovery: In Silico Structural Biology and Rational Drug Design

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 304-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
TAP de Beer ◽  
GA Wells ◽  
PB Burger ◽  
F. Joubert ◽  
E. Marechal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Drug Design ◽  
Structural Biology ◽  
Antimalarial Drug ◽  
In Silico ◽  
Rational Drug Design ◽  
Rational Drug

scholarly journals Evidence for distinct mechanisms of small molecule inhibitors of filovirus entry

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. e1009312
Author(s):  
Adam Schafer ◽  
Rui Xiong ◽  
Laura Cooper ◽  
Raghad Nowar ◽  
Hyun Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Small Molecules ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Small Molecule ◽  
Drug Exposure ◽  
Mechanisms Of Action ◽  
Marburg Virus ◽  
Rational Drug Design ◽  
Viral Inhibition ◽  
Entry Inhibitors ◽  
Loop Region

Many small molecules have been identified as entry inhibitors of filoviruses. However, a lack of understanding of the mechanism of action for these molecules limits further their development as anti-filoviral agents. Here we provide evidence that toremifene and other small molecule entry inhibitors have at least three distinctive mechanisms of action and lay the groundwork for future development of anti-filoviral agents. The three mechanisms identified here include: (1) direct binding to the internal fusion loop region of Ebola virus glycoprotein (GP); (2) the HR2 domain is likely the main binding site for Marburg virus GP inhibitors and a secondary binding site for some EBOV GP inhibitors; (3) lysosome trapping of GP inhibitors increases drug exposure in the lysosome and further improves the viral inhibition. Importantly, small molecules targeting different domains on GP are synergistic in inhibiting EBOV entry suggesting these two mechanisms of action are distinct. Our findings provide important mechanistic insights into filovirus entry and rational drug design for future antiviral development.

scholarly journals Discovery and Optimization of Selective Inhibitors of Meprin α (Part II)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Wang ◽  
Juan Diez ◽  
Hajeung Park ◽  
Christoph Becker-Pauly ◽  
Gregg B. Fields ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Small Molecules ◽  
Small Molecule ◽  
Hydroxamic Acid ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Preceding Paper ◽  
Close Relative ◽  
Specific Inhibition ◽  
Selective Inhibitors

Meprin α is a zinc metalloproteinase (metzincin) that has been implicated in multiple diseases, including fibrosis and cancers. It has proven difficult to find small molecules that are capable of selectively inhibiting meprin α, or its close relative meprin β, over numerous other metzincins which, if inhibited, would elicit unwanted effects. We recently identified possible molecular starting points for meprin α-specific inhibition through an HTS effort (see part I, preceding paper). In part II we report the optimization of a potent and selective hydroxamic acid meprin α inhibitor probe which may help define the therapeutic potential for small molecule meprin α inhibition and spur further drug discovery efforts in the area of zinc metalloproteinase inhibition.

scholarly journals A New Big-Data Paradigm for Target Identification and Drug Discovery

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neel S. Madhukar ◽  
Prashant K. Khade ◽  
Linda Huang ◽  
Kaitlyn Gayvert ◽  
Giuseppe Galletti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Small Molecules ◽  
Clinical Application ◽  
Small Molecule ◽  
Target Identification ◽  
Clinical Development ◽  
Data Types ◽  
Public Data ◽  
Drug Target Identification ◽  
Approved Drugs

AbstractDrug target identification is one of the most important aspects of pre-clinical development yet it is also among the most complex, labor-intensive, and costly. This represents a major issue, as lack of proper target identification can be detrimental in determining the clinical application of a bioactive small molecule. To improve target identification, we developed BANDIT, a novel paradigm that integrates multiple data types within a Bayesian machine-learning framework to predict the targets and mechanisms for small molecules with unprecedented accuracy and versatility. Using only public data BANDIT achieved an accuracy of approximately 90% over 2000 different small molecules – substantially better than any other published target identification platform. We applied BANDIT to a library of small molecules with no known targets and generated ∼4,000 novel molecule-target predictions. From this set we identified and experimentally validated a set of novel microtubule inhibitors, including three with activity on cancer cells resistant to clinically used anti-microtubule therapies. We next applied BANDIT to ONC201 – an active anti- cancer small molecule in clinical development – whose target has remained elusive since its discovery in 2009. BANDIT identified dopamine receptor 2 as the unexpected target of ONC201, a prediction that we experimentally validated. Not only does this open the door for clinical trials focused on target-based selection of patient populations, but it also represents a novel way to target GPCRs in cancer. Additionally, BANDIT identified previously undocumented connections between approved drugs with disparate indications, shedding light onto previously unexplained clinical observations and suggesting new uses of marketed drugs. Overall, BANDIT represents an efficient and highly accurate platform that can be used as a resource to accelerate drug discovery and direct the clinical application of small molecule therapeutics with improved precision.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Docking Server: a meta server for docking small molecules, peptides and antibodies against potential targets of COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (20) ◽  
pp. 5109-5111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ren Kong ◽  
Guangbo Yang ◽  
Rui Xue ◽  
Ming Liu ◽  
Feng Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Small Molecules ◽  
Web Server ◽  
Supplementary Information ◽  
Binding Modes ◽  
Supplementary Data ◽  
Virus Life Cycle ◽  
Ligand Interactions ◽  
New Type

Abstract Motivation The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by a new type of coronavirus has been emerging from China and led to thousands of death globally since December 2019. Despite many groups have engaged in studying the newly emerged virus and searching for the treatment of COVID-19, the understanding of the COVID-19 target–ligand interactions represents a key challenge. Herein, we introduce COVID-19 Docking Server, a web server that predicts the binding modes between COVID-19 targets and the ligands including small molecules, peptides and antibodies. Results Structures of proteins involved in the virus life cycle were collected or constructed based on the homologs of coronavirus, and prepared ready for docking. The meta-platform provides a free and interactive tool for the prediction of COVID-19 target–ligand interactions and following drug discovery for COVID-19. Availability and implementation http://ncov.schanglab.org.cn. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

scholarly journals Perspective: The promises of a holistic view of proteins—impact on antibody engineering and drug discovery

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ser-Xian Phua ◽  
Kwok-Fong Chan ◽  
Chinh Tran-To Su ◽  
Jun-Jie Poh ◽  
Samuel Ken-En Gan
Keyword(s):  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Drug Design ◽  
Antibody Engineering ◽  
Rational Drug Design ◽  
Biomedical Science ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Rational Drug ◽  
Big Picture ◽  
Reductionist Approach

AbstractThe reductionist approach is prevalent in biomedical science. However, increasing evidence now shows that biological systems cannot be simply considered as the sum of its parts. With experimental, technological, and computational advances, we can now do more than view parts in isolation, thus we propose that an increasing holistic view (where a protein is investigated as much as a whole as possible) is now timely. To further advocate this, we review and discuss several studies and applications involving allostery, where distant protein regions can cross-talk to influence functionality. Therefore, we believe that an increasing big picture approach holds great promise, particularly in the areas of antibody engineering and drug discovery in rational drug design.

scholarly journals Molecular Recognition of the Hybrid-Type G-Quadruplexes in Human Telomeres

Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 1578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guanhui Wu ◽  
Luying Chen ◽  
Wenting Liu ◽  
Danzhou Yang
Keyword(s):  
Small Molecule ◽  
Solution Structure ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Rational Drug Design ◽  
Hybrid Type ◽  
G4 Dna ◽  
Rational Drug ◽  
G Quadruplex ◽  
Molecule Recognition ◽  
Dna Secondary Structures

G-quadruplex (G4) DNA secondary structures formed in human telomeres have been shown to inhibit cancer-specific telomerase and alternative lengthening of telomere (ALT) pathways. Thus, human telomeric G-quadruplexes are considered attractive targets for anticancer drugs. Human telomeric G-quadruplexes are structurally polymorphic and predominantly form two hybrid-type G-quadruplexes, namely hybrid-1 and hybrid-2, under physiologically relevant solution conditions. To date, only a handful solution structures are available for drug complexes of human telomeric G-quadruplexes. In this review, we will describe two recent solution structural studies from our labs. We use NMR spectroscopy to elucidate the solution structure of a 1:1 complex between a small molecule epiberberine and the hybrid-2 telomeric G-quadruplex, and the structures of 1:1 and 4:2 complexes between a small molecule Pt-tripod and the hybrid-1 telomeric G-quadruplex. Structural information of small molecule complexes can provide important information for understanding small molecule recognition of human telomeric G-quadruplexes and for structure-based rational drug design targeting human telomeric G-quadruplexes.

In depth analysis of kinase cross screening data to identify chemical starting points for inhibition of the nek family of kinases

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrow I. Wells ◽  
Nirav R. Kapadia ◽  
Rafael M. Couñago ◽  
David H. Drewry
Keyword(s):  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Small Molecules ◽  
Small Molecule ◽  
Kinase Inhibitors ◽  
Biological Functions ◽  
Chemical Probes ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Number Of Citations ◽  
Shed Light

AbstractPotent, selective, and cell active small molecule kinase inhibitors are useful tools to help unravel the complexities of kinase signaling. As the biological functions of individual kinases become better understood, they can become targets of drug discovery efforts. The small molecules used to shed light on function can also then serve as chemical starting points in these drug discovery efforts. The Nek family of kinases has received very little attention, as judged by number of citations in PubMed, yet they appear to play many key roles and have been implicated in disease. Here we present our work to identify high quality chemical starting points that have emerged due to the increased incidence of broad kinome screening. We anticipate that this analysis will allow the community to progress towards the generation of chemical probes and eventually drugs that target members of the Nek family.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document