scholarly journals Structure-Based Virtual Screening and De Novo Design of PIM1 Inhibitors with Anticancer Activity from Natural Products

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 275
Author(s):  
Hwangseo Park ◽  
Jinwon Jeon ◽  
Kewon Kim ◽  
Soyeon Choi ◽  
Sungwoo Hong
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Virtual Screening ◽  
Kinase Inhibitors ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
De Novo Design ◽  
Breast Cancer Cell Lines ◽  
Free Energy Function ◽  
Pim1 Kinase ◽  
Starting Point

Background: the proviral insertion site of Moloney murine leukemia (PIM) 1 kinase has served as a therapeutic target for various human cancers due to the enhancement of cell proliferation and the inhibition of apoptosis. Methods: to identify effective PIM1 kinase inhibitors, structure-based virtual screening of natural products of plant origin and de novo design were carried out using the protein–ligand binding free energy function improved by introducing an adequate dehydration energy term. Results: as a consequence of subsequent enzyme inhibition assays, four classes of PIM1 kinase inhibitors were discovered, with the biochemical potency ranging from low-micromolar to sub-micromolar levels. The results of extensive docking simulations showed that the inhibitory activity stemmed from the formation of multiple hydrogen bonds in combination with hydrophobic interactions in the ATP-binding site. Optimization of the biochemical potency by chemical modifications of the 2-benzylidenebenzofuran-3(2H)-one scaffold led to the discovery of several nanomolar inhibitors with antiproliferative activities against human breast cancer cell lines. Conclusions: these new PIM1 kinase inhibitors are anticipated to serve as a new starting point for the development of anticancer medicine.

scholarly journals Scaffold hopping from synthetic RXR modulators by virtual screening and de novo design

MedChemComm ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1289-1292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Merk ◽  
Francesca Grisoni ◽  
Lukas Friedrich ◽  
Elena Gelzinyte ◽  
Gisbert Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Virtual Screening ◽  
De Novo ◽  
De Novo Design ◽  
Scaffold Hopping ◽  
Bioactive Natural Products

The concept of virtual screening and automated de novo design has been corroborated as a viable strategy for scaffold hopping from bioactive natural products to isofunctional, synthetically accessible mimetics.

scholarly journals High Throughput Virtual Screening to Discover Inhibitors of the Main Protease of the Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (14) ◽  
pp. 3193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olujide O. Olubiyi ◽  
Maryam Olagunju ◽  
Monika Keutmann ◽  
Jennifer Loschwitz ◽  
Birgit Strodel
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Kinase Inhibitors ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
Enzyme Dynamics ◽  
Hydrogen Bond Formation ◽  
Protease Enzyme ◽  
Main Protease ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Approved Drugs

We use state-of-the-art computer-aided drug design (CADD) techniques to identify prospective inhibitors of the main protease enzyme, 3CLpro of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing COVID-19. From our screening of over one million compounds including approved drugs, investigational drugs, natural products, and organic compounds, and a rescreening protocol incorporating enzyme dynamics via ensemble docking, we have been able to identify a range of prospective 3CLpro inhibitors. Importantly, some of the identified compounds had previously been reported to exhibit inhibitory activities against the 3CLpro enzyme of the closely related SARS-CoV virus. The top-ranking compounds are characterized by the presence of multiple bi- and monocyclic rings, many of them being heterocycles and aromatic, which are flexibly linked allowing the ligands to adapt to the geometry of the 3CLpro substrate site and involve a high amount of functional groups enabling hydrogen bond formation with surrounding amino acid residues, including the catalytic dyad residues H41 and C145. Among the top binding compounds we identified several tyrosine kinase inhibitors, which include a bioflavonoid, the group of natural products that binds best to 3CLpro. Another class of compounds that decently binds to the SARS-CoV-2 main protease are steroid hormones, which thus may be endogenous inhibitors and might provide an explanation for the age-dependent severity of COVID-19. Many of the compounds identified by our work show a considerably stronger binding than found for reference compounds with in vitro demonstrated 3CLpro inhibition and anticoronavirus activity. The compounds determined in this work thus represent a good starting point for the design of inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 replication.

scholarly journals In Silico De Novo Curcuminoid Derivatives From the Compound Library of Natural Products Research Laboratories Inhibit COVID-19 3CLpro Activity

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1934578X2095326
Author(s):  
Jai-Sing Yang ◽  
Jo-Hua Chiang ◽  
Shih‑Chang Tsai ◽  
Yuan-Man Hsu ◽  
Da-Tian Bau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Virtual Screening ◽  
Binding Affinity ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
In Silico ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Compound Library ◽  
Therapeutic Success ◽  
High Throughput Virtual Screening

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) outbreak caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCOV) is becoming increasingly serious. In March 2019, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated remdesivir for compassionate use to treat COVID-19. Thus, the development of novel antiviral agents, antibodies, and vaccines against COVID-19 is an urgent research subject. Many laboratories and research organizations are actively investing in the development of new compounds for COVID-19. Through in silico high-throughput virtual screening, we have recently identified compounds from the compound library of Natural Products Research Laboratories (NPRL) that can bind to COVID-19 3Lpro polyprotein and block COVID-19 3Lpro activity through in silico high-throughput virtual screening. Curcuminoid derivatives (including NPRL334, NPRL339, NPRL342, NPRL346, NPRL407, NPRL415, NPRL420, NPRL472, and NPRL473) display strong binding affinity to COVID-19 3Lpro polyprotein. The binding site of curcuminoid derivatives to COVID-19 3Lpro polyprotein is the same as that of the FDA-approved human immunodeficiency virus protease inhibitor (lopinavir) to COVID-19 3Lpro polyprotein. The binding affinity of curcuminoid derivatives to COVID-19 3Lpro is stronger than that of lopinavir and curcumin. Among curcuminoid derivatives, NPRL-334 revealed the strongest binding affinity to COVID-19 3Lpro polyprotein and is speculated to have an anti-COVID-19 effect. In vitro and in vivo ongoing experiments are currently underway to confirm the present findings. This study sheds light on the drug design for COVID-19 3Lpro polyprotein. Basing on lead compound development, we provide new insights on inhibiting COVID-19 attachment to cells, reducing COVID-19 infection rate and drug side effects, and increasing therapeutic success rate.

Virtual Screening for Bioactive Molecules by Evolutionary De Novo Design

2000 ◽  
Vol 39 (22) ◽  
pp. 4130-4133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisbert Schneider ◽  
Odile Clément-Chomienne ◽  
Laurence Hilfiger ◽  
Petra Schneider ◽  
Stefan Kirsch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Screening ◽  
De Novo ◽  
De Novo Design ◽  
Bioactive Molecules

scholarly journals Discovery of Two Brominated Oxindole Alkaloids as Staphylococcal DNA Gyrase and Pyruvate Kinase Inhibitors via Inverse Virtual Screening

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. Sayed ◽  
Hani A. Alhadrami ◽  
Seham S. El-Hawary ◽  
Rabab Mohammed ◽  
Hossam M. Hassan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Virtual Screening ◽  
Pyruvate Kinase ◽  
Inhibitory Activity ◽  
In Silico ◽  
Kinase Inhibitors ◽  
Enzyme Inhibitor ◽  
Dna Gyrase ◽  
Binding Mode

In the present study, a small marine-derived natural products library was assessed for antibacterial potential. Among 36 isolated compounds, a number of bis-indole derivatives exhibited growth-inhibitory activity towards Gram-positive strains (Bacillus subtilis and multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). 5- and 6-trisindoline (5-Tris and 6-Tris) were the most active derivatives (minimum inhibitory concentration, MIC, 4–8 µM) that were subsequently selected for anti-biofilm activity evaluation. Only 5-Tris was able to inhibit the staphylococcal biofilm formation starting at a 5 µM concentration. In order to investigate their possible molecular targets, both natural products were subjected to in silico inverse virtual screening. Among 20 target proteins, DNA gyrase and pyruvate kinase were the most likely to be involved in the observed antibacterial and anti-biofilm activities of both selected natural products. The in vitro validation and in silico binding mode studies revealed that 5-Tris could act as a dual enzyme inhibitor (IC50 11.4 ± 0.03 and 6.6 ± 0.05 µM, respectively), while 6-Tris was a low micromolar gyrase-B inhibitor (IC50 2.1 ± 0.08 µM), indicating that the bromine position plays a crucial role in the determination of the antibacterial lead compound inhibitory activity.

scholarly journals AutoDesigner, a De Novo Design Algorithm for Rapidly Exploring Large Chemical Space for Lead Optimization: Application to the Design and Synthesis of D-Amino Acid Oxidase Inhibitors

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieter H Bos ◽  
Evelyne M. Houang ◽  
Fabio Ranalli ◽  
Abba E. Leffler ◽  
Nicholas A. Boyles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Drug Discovery ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Chemical Space ◽  
De Novo Design ◽  
Lead Optimization ◽  
Acid Oxidase ◽  
Amino Acid Oxidase ◽  
Design Algorithm ◽  
Starting Point

The lead optimization stage of a drug discovery program generally involves the design, synthesis and assaying of hundreds to thousands of compounds. The design phase is usually carried out via traditional medicinal chemistry approaches and/or structure based drug design (SBDD) when suitable structural information is available. Two of the major limitations of this approach are (1) difficulty in rapidly designing potent molecules that adhere to myriad project criteria, or the multiparameter optimization (MPO) problem, and (2) the relatively small number of molecules explored compared to the vast size of chemical space. To address these limitations we have developed AutoDesigner, a de novo design algorithm. AutoDesigner employs a cloud-native, multi-stage search algorithm to carry out successive rounds of chemical space exploration and filtering. Millions to billions of virtual molecules are explored and optimized while adhering to a customizable set of project criteria such as physicochemical properties and potency. Additionally, the algorithm only requires a single ligand with measurable affinity and a putative binding model as a starting point, making it amenable to the early stages of a SBDD project where limited data is available. To assess the effectiveness of AutoDesigner, we applied it to the design of novel inhibitors of D-amino acid oxidase (DAO), a target for the treatment of schizophrenia. AutoDesigner was able to generate and efficiently explore over 1 billion molecules to successfully address a variety of project goals. The compounds generated by AutoDesigner that were synthesized and assayed (1) simultaneously met not only physicochemical criteria, clearance and central nervous system (CNS) penetration (Kp,uu) cutoffs, but also potency thresholds; (2) fully utilize structural data to discover and explore novel interactions and a previously unexplored subpocket in the DAO active site. The reported data demonstrate that AutoDesigner can play a key role in accelerating the discovery of novel, potent chemical matter within the constraints of a given drug discovery lead optimization campaign.

scholarly journals High Throughput Virtual Screening to Discover Inhibitors of the Main Protease of the Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olujide O. Olubiyi ◽  
Maryam Olagunju ◽  
Monika Keutmann ◽  
Jennifer Loschwitz ◽  
Birgit Strodel
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Kinase Inhibitors ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
Enzyme Dynamics ◽  
Hydrogen Bond Formation ◽  
Protease Enzyme ◽  
Main Protease ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Approved Drugs

We use state-of-the-art computer-aided drug design (CADD) techniques to identify prospective inhibitors of the main protease enzyme, 3CLpro of the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing COVID-19. From our screening of over one million compounds including approved drugs, investigational drugs, natural products, and organic compounds, and a rescreening protocol incorporating enzyme dynamics via ensemble docking, we have been able to identify a range of prospective 3CLpro inhibitors. Importantly, some of the identified compounds had previously been reported to exhibit inhibitory activities against the 3CLpro enzyme of the closely related SARS-CoV virus. The top- ranking compounds are characterized by the presence of multiple bi- and monocyclic rings, many of them being heterocycles and aromatic, which are flexibly linked allowing the ligands to adapt to the geometry of the 3CLpro substrate site and involve a high amount of functional groups enabling hydrogen bond formation with surrounding amino acid residues, including the catalytic dyad residues H41 and C145. Among the top binding compounds we identified several tyrosine kinase inhibitors, which include a bioflavonoid, the group of natural products that binds best to 3CLpro. Another class of compounds that decently binds to the SARS-CoV-2 main protease are steroid hormones, which thus may be endogenous inhibitors and might provide an explanation for the age-dependent severity of COVID-19. Many of the compounds identified by our work show a considerably stronger binding than found for reference compounds with in vitro demonstrated 3CLpro inhibition and anticoronavirus activity. The compounds determined in this work thus represent a good starting point for the design of inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 replication.

scholarly journals De Novo Design of Potent, Insecticidal Synthetic Mimics of the Spinosyn Macrolide Natural Products

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary D. Crouse ◽  
David A. Demeter ◽  
Geno Samaritoni ◽  
Casandra L. McLeod ◽  
Thomas C. Sparks
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
De Novo ◽  
De Novo Design
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