scholarly journals Novel N-Arylsulfonylindoles Targeted as Ligands of the 5-HT6 Receptor. Insights on the Influence of C-5 Substitution on Ligand Affinity

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 528
Author(s):  
Loreto Arrieta-Rodríguez ◽  
Daniela Espinoza-Rosales ◽  
Gonzalo Vera ◽  
Young Hwa Cho ◽  
David Cabezas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Binding Mode ◽  
Physicochemical Characteristics ◽  
Receptor Affinity ◽  
Ligand Affinity ◽  
High Affinity ◽  
Highly Active ◽  
Active Ligand ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Shed Light

A new series of twenty-two C-5 substituted N-arylsulfonylindoles was prepared with the aim of exploring the influence of C-5 substitution on 5-HT6 receptor affinity. Eleven compounds showed moderate to high affinity at the receptor (Ki = 58–403 nM), with compound 4d being identified as the most potent ligand. However, regarding C-5 substitution, both methoxy and fluorine were detrimental for receptor affinity compared to our previously published unsubstituted compounds. In order to shed light on these observations, we performed docking and molecular dynamics simulations with the most potent compounds of each series (4d and 4l) and PUC-10, a highly active ligand previously reported by our group. The comparison brings about deeper insight about the influence of the C-5 substitution on the binding mode of the ligands, suggesting that these replacements are detrimental to the affinity due to precluding a ligand from reaching deeper inside the binding site. Additionally, CoMFA/CoMSIA studies were performed to systematize the information of the main structural and physicochemical characteristics of the ligands, which are responsible for their biological activity. The CoMFA and CoMSIA models presented high values of q2 (0.653; 0.692) and r2 (0.879; 0.970), respectively. Although the biological activity of the ligands can be explained in terms of the steric and electronic properties, it depends mainly on the electronic nature.

Exploring the binding mechanism of positive allosteric modulators in human metabotropic glutamate receptor 2 using molecular dynamics simulations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panpan Wang ◽  
Xiaonan Gao ◽  
Ke Zhang ◽  
Qinglan Pei ◽  
Xiaobo Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Glutamate Receptor ◽  
Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor ◽  
Binding Mode ◽  
Allosteric Modulators ◽  
Binding Mechanism ◽  
Metabotropic Glutamate ◽  
High Affinity ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
High Electronegativity

Based on the binding mode and electrostatics, the features of high affinity PAMs were the reduced hydrophobicity with low electronegativity of R1, increased hydrophobicity with low electronegativity of R2 and with high electronegativity of linker.

scholarly journals Molecular Mechanism of the Anti-Inflammatory Action of Heparin

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (19) ◽  
pp. 10730
Author(s):  
Leandar Litov ◽  
Peicho Petkov ◽  
Miroslav Rangelov ◽  
Nevena Ilieva ◽  
Elena Lilkova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Mechanism ◽  
Low Molecular Weight ◽  
Heparin Binding ◽  
High Affinity ◽  
Inflammatory Agent ◽  
Inflammatory Processes ◽  
Anti Inflammatory ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Inflammatory Action

Our objective is to reveal the molecular mechanism of the anti-inflammatory action of low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) based on its influence on the activity of two key cytokines, IFNγ and IL-6. The mechanism of heparin binding to IFNγ and IL-6 and the resulting inhibition of their activity were studied by means of extensive molecular-dynamics simulations. The effect of LMWH on IFNγ signalling inside stimulated WISH cells was investigated by measuring its antiproliferative activity and the translocation of phosphorylated STAT1 in the nucleus. We found that LMWH binds with high affinity to IFNγ and is able to fully inhibit the interaction with its cellular receptor. It also influences the biological activity of IL-6 by binding to either IL-6 or IL-6/IL-6Rα, thus preventing the formation of the IL-6/IL-6Rα/gp130 signalling complex. These findings shed light on the molecular mechanism of the anti-inflammatory action of LMWH and underpin its ability to influence favourably conditions characterised by overexpression of these two cytokines. Such conditions are not only associated with autoimmune diseases, but also with inflammatory processes, in particular with COVID-19. Our results put forward heparin as a promising means for the prevention and suppression of severe CRS and encourage further investigations on its applicability as an anti-inflammatory agent.

Discovery of a Highly Active Ligand of Human Pregnane X Receptor: A Case Study from Pharmacophore Modeling and Virtual Screening to “In Vivo” Biological Activity

2007 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 572-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Géraldine Lemaire ◽  
Cindy Benod ◽  
Virginie Nahoum ◽  
Arnaud Pillon ◽  
Anne-Marie Boussioux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Virtual Screening ◽  
Pregnane X Receptor ◽  
Pharmacophore Modeling ◽  
Highly Active ◽  
Active Ligand

scholarly journals The protonation state of Glu202 in acetylcholinesterase

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiye Wang ◽  
Suitian Lai ◽  
Yichao Kong ◽  
Weixuan Yao ◽  
Xiabin Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydrogen Bond ◽  
Catalytic Efficiency ◽  
Binding Mode ◽  
Catalytic Triad ◽  
Nucleophilic Attack ◽  
Hydrogen Bond Network ◽  
Ache Inhibitors ◽  
Highly Active ◽  
Bond Network ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is the crucial enzyme in the central nervous system. It is the target of various organophosphorus nerve agents and pesticides, and the inhibition of AChE is a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of various neurological-related diseases. The Glu202 is a key residue adjacent to the catalytic His447 and plays important role in catalysis. Although the Glu202 has long been considered as negatively charged in many studies, more and more evidences support a protonated Glu202. However, Glu202 is freely accessible by solvent, and thus it seems more reasonable for Glu202 to majorly take the deprotonated state. In the present work, we carried out a series of molecular dynamics simulations with the Glu202 adopting different protonation states. Our results show that the protonated Glu202 is important in maintaining the key hydrogen bond network that supports the catalytic triad, whereas the deprotonated Glu202 results in the collapse of the key hydrogen bond network which consequently destabilizes the catalytic His447. We also notice that different protonation states of Glu202 merely alters the binding mode of ACh. However, since the catalytic His447 is disrupted if Glu202 is deprotonated, His447 can not facilitate the nucleophilic attack performed by Ser203. Therefore, the catalytic efficiency of ACh hydrolysis should be remarkably decreased if Glu202 is deprotonated. Our findings suggest that, when designing and developing highly active AChE inhibitors or proposing mechanistic hypotheses for AChE-catalyzed reactions, the protonated state of Glu202 should be considered.

Clustering and Sampling of the c-Met Conformational Space: A Computational Drug Discovery Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 635-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Korosh Mashayekh ◽  
Shahrzad Sharifi ◽  
Tahereh Damghani ◽  
Maryam Elyasi ◽  
Mohammad S. Avestan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Binding Mode ◽  
Docking Studies ◽  
Conformational Space ◽  
Hydrogen Bond Interactions ◽  
Docking Program ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Computational Drug Discovery ◽  
Dynamic Ensembles

Background: c-Met kinase plays a critical role in a myriad of human cancers, and a massive scientific work was devoted to design more potent inhibitors. Objective: In this study, 16 molecular dynamics simulations of different complexes of potent c-Met inhibitors with U-shaped binding mode were carried out regarding the dynamic ensembles to design novel potent inhibitors. Methods: A cluster analysis was performed, and the most representative frame of each complex was subjected to the structure-based pharmacophore screening. The GOLD docking program investigated the interaction energy and pattern of output hits from the virtual screening. The most promising hits with the highest scoring values that showed critical interactions with c-Met were presented for ADME/Tox analysis. Results: The screening yielded 45,324 hits that all of them were subjected to the docking studies and 10 of them with the highest-scoring values having diverse structures were presented for ADME/Tox analyses. Conclusion: The results indicated that all the hits shared critical Pi-Pi stacked and hydrogen bond interactions with Tyr1230 and Met1160 respectively.

scholarly journals The Repurposed Drugs Suramin and Quinacrine Cooperatively Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro In Vitro

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 873
Author(s):  
Raphael J. Eberle ◽  
Danilo S. Olivier ◽  
Marcos S. Amaral ◽  
Ian Gering ◽  
Dieter Willbold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Binding Mode ◽  
Drug Candidates ◽  
Main Protease ◽  
Ic50 Values ◽  
Repurposed Drugs ◽  
Antiparasitic Drugs ◽  
Inhibitory Potential ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Micromolar Range

Since the first report of a new pneumonia disease in December 2019 (Wuhan, China) the WHO reported more than 148 million confirmed cases and 3.1 million losses globally up to now. The causative agent of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread worldwide, resulting in a pandemic of unprecedented magnitude. To date, several clinically safe and efficient vaccines (e.g., Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines) as well as drugs for emergency use have been approved. However, increasing numbers of SARS-Cov-2 variants make it imminent to identify an alternative way to treat SARS-CoV-2 infections. A well-known strategy to identify molecules with inhibitory potential against SARS-CoV-2 proteins is repurposing clinically developed drugs, e.g., antiparasitic drugs. The results described in this study demonstrated the inhibitory potential of quinacrine and suramin against SARS-CoV-2 main protease (3CLpro). Quinacrine and suramin molecules presented a competitive and noncompetitive inhibition mode, respectively, with IC50 values in the low micromolar range. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) experiments demonstrated that quinacrine and suramin alone possessed a moderate or weak affinity with SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro but suramin binding increased quinacrine interaction by around a factor of eight. Using docking and molecular dynamics simulations, we identified a possible binding mode and the amino acids involved in these interactions. Our results suggested that suramin, in combination with quinacrine, showed promising synergistic efficacy to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro. We suppose that the identification of effective, synergistic drug combinations could lead to the design of better treatments for the COVID-19 disease and repurposable drug candidates offer fast therapeutic breakthroughs, mainly in a pandemic moment.

scholarly journals Tripodal, Squaramide-Based Ion Pair Receptor for Effective Extraction of Sulfate Salt

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 2751
Author(s):  
Damian Jagleniec ◽  
Marcin Wilczek ◽  
Jan Romański
Keyword(s):  
Ion Pairs ◽  
Binding Mode ◽  
Selective Extraction ◽  
Ion Pair ◽  
Hofmeister Series ◽  
Sulfate Salt ◽  
Lower Affinity ◽  
High Affinity ◽  
Binding Domains ◽  
Hydrated Sulfate

Combining three features—the high affinity of squaramides toward anions, cooperation in ion pair binding and preorganization of the binding domains in the tripodal platform—led to the effective receptor 2. The lack of at least one of these key elements in the structures of reference receptors 3 and 4 caused a lower affinity towards ion pairs. Receptor 2 was found to form an intramolecular network in wet chloroform, which changed into inorganic–organic associates after contact with ions and allowed salts to be extracted from an aqueous to an organic phase. The disparity in the binding mode of 2 with sulfates and with other monovalent anions led to the selective extraction of extremely hydrated sulfate anions in the presence of more lipophilic salts, thus overcoming the Hofmeister series.

Mechanistic analysis of light-driven overcrowded alkene-based molecular motors by multiscale molecular simulations

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (14) ◽  
pp. 8525-8540
Author(s):  
Mudong Feng ◽  
Michael K. Gilson
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Excited State ◽  
Molecular Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Ground State ◽  
Molecular Motors ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Molecular Simulations ◽  
Mechanistic Analysis ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Shed Light

Ground-state and excited-state molecular dynamics simulations shed light on the rotation mechanism of small, light-driven molecular motors and predict motor performance. How fast can they rotate; how much torque and power can they generate?

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