SAR study of small molecule inhibitors of the programmed cell death‐1/programmed cell death‐ligand 1 interaction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seiji Kawashita ◽  
Koichi Aoyagi ◽  
Kyoko Fukushima ◽  
Rie Hantani ◽  
Shiori Naruoka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Programmed Cell Death ◽  
Small Molecule ◽  
Small Molecule Inhibitors ◽  
Programmed Cell Death 1 ◽  
Sar Study

scholarly journals PD-1-Targeted Discovery of Peptide Inhibitors by Virtual Screening, Molecular Dynamics Simulation, and Surface Plasmon Resonance

Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (20) ◽  
pp. 3784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanqiang Wang ◽  
Haiqiong Guo ◽  
Zhiwei Feng ◽  
Siyi Wang ◽  
Yuxuan Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Cell Death ◽  
Surface Plasmon Resonance ◽  
Virtual Screening ◽  
Programmed Cell Death ◽  
Surface Plasmon ◽  
Small Molecule ◽  
Plasmon Resonance ◽  
Small Molecule Inhibitors ◽  
Dynamics Simulation

The blockade of the programmed cell death protein 1/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) pathway plays a critical role in cancer immunotherapy by reducing the immune escape. Five monoclonal antibodies that antagonized PD-1/PD-L1 interaction have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and marketed as immunotherapy for cancer treatment. However, some weaknesses of antibodies, such as high cost, low stability, poor amenability for oral administration, and immunogenicity, should not be overlooked. To overcome these disadvantages, small-molecule inhibitors targeting PD-L1 were developed. In the present work, we applied in silico and in vitro approaches to develop short peptides targeting PD-1 as chemical probes for the inhibition of PD-1–PD-L1 interaction. We first predicted the potential binding pocket on PD-1/PD-L1 protein–protein interface (PPI). Sequentially, we carried out virtual screening against our in-house peptide library to identify potential ligands. WANG-003, WANG-004, and WANG-005, three of our in-house peptides, were predicted to bind to PD-1 with promising docking scores. Next, we conducted molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation for the further analysis of interactions between our peptides and PD-1. Finally, we evaluated the affinity between peptides and PD-1 by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) binding technology. The present study provides a new perspective for the development of PD-1 inhibitors that disrupt PD-1–PD-L1 interactions. These promising peptides have the potential to be utilized as a novel chemical probe for further studies, as well as providing a foundation for further designs of potent small-molecule inhibitors targeting PD-1.

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