scholarly journals Analysis of drug binding pockets and repurposing opportunities for twelve essential enzymes of ESKAPE pathogens

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sadia Naz ◽  
Tony Ngo ◽  
Umar Farooq ◽  
Ruben Abagyan
Keyword(s):  
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Bacterial Pathogens ◽  
Metabolic Enzymes ◽  
Drug Binding ◽  
High Sequence Identity ◽  
Full Sequence ◽  
Sequence Identity ◽  
Binding Pockets ◽  
Eskape Pathogens

BackgroundThe rapid increase in antibiotic resistance by various bacterial pathogens underlies the significance of developing new therapies and exploring different drug targets. A fraction of bacterial pathogens abbreviated as ESKAPE by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control have been considered a major threat due to the rise in nosocomial infections. Here, we compared putative drug binding pockets of twelve essential and mostly conserved metabolic enzymes in numerous bacterial pathogens including those of the ESKAPE group andMycobacterium tuberculosis. The comparative analysis will provide guidelines for the likelihood of transferability of the inhibitors from one species to another.MethodsNine bacterial species including six ESKAPE pathogens,Mycobacterium tuberculosisalong withMycobacterium smegmatisandEschershia coli, two non-pathogenic bacteria, have been selected for drug binding pocket analysis of twelve essential enzymes. The amino acid sequences were obtained from Uniprot, aligned using ICM v3.8-4a and matched against the Pocketome encyclopedia. We used known co-crystal structures of selected target enzyme orthologs to evaluate the location of their active sites and binding pockets and to calculate a matrix of pairwise sequence identities across each target enzyme across the different species. This was used to generate sequence maps.ResultsHigh sequence identity of enzyme binding pockets, derived from experimentally determined co-crystallized structures, was observed among various species. Comparison at both full sequence level and for drug binding pockets of key metabolic enzymes showed that binding pockets are highly conserved (sequence similarity up to 100%) among various ESKAPE pathogens as well asMycobacterium tuberculosis. Enzymes orthologs having conserved binding sites may have potential to interact with inhibitors in similar way and might be helpful for design of similar class of inhibitors for a particular species. The derived pocket alignments and distance-based maps provide guidelines for drug discovery and repurposing. In addition they also provide recommendations for the relevant model bacteria that may be used for initial drug testing.DiscussionComparing ligand binding sites through sequence identity calculation could be an effective approach to identify conserved orthologs as drug binding pockets have shown higher level of conservation among various species. By using this approach we could avoid the problems associated with full sequence comparison. We identified essential metabolic enzymes among ESKAPE pathogens that share high sequence identity in their putative drug binding pockets (up to 100%), of which known inhibitors can potentially antagonize these identical pockets in the various species in a similar manner.

scholarly journals Structure-Based Survey of the Human Proteome for Opportunities in Proximity Pharmacology

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evianne Rovers ◽  
Matthieu Schapira
Keyword(s):  
Binding Sites ◽  
Drug Binding ◽  
Human Proteome ◽  
Target Protein ◽  
Therapeutic Modality ◽  
Post Translational Modifications ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Subsequent Degradation ◽  
Binding Pockets

Proximity pharmacology (ProxPharm) is a novel paradigm in drug discovery where a small molecule brings two proteins in close proximity to elicit a signal, generally from one protein onto another. The potential of ProxPharm compounds as a new therapeutic modality is firmly established by proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) that bring an E3 ubiquitin ligase in proximity to a target protein to induce ubiquitination and subsequent degradation of the target protein. The concept can be expanded to induce other post-translational modifications via the recruitment of different types of protein-modifying enzymes. To survey the human proteome for opportunities in proximity pharmacology, we systematically mapped non-catalytic drug binding pockets on the structure of protein-modifying enzymes available from the Protein Databank. In addition to binding sites exploited by previously reported ProxPharm compounds, we identified putative ligandable non-catalytic pockets in 188 kinases, 42 phosphatases, 26 deubiquitinases, 9 methyltransferases, 7 acetyltransferases, 7 glycosyltransferases, 4 deacetylases, 3 demethylases and 2 glycosidases, including cavities occupied by chemical matter that may serve as starting points for future ProxPharm compounds. This systematic survey confirms that proximity pharmacology is a versatile modality with largely unexplored and promising potential, and reveals novel opportunities to pharmacologically rewire molecular circuitries.

scholarly journals Finding Druggable Sites in Proteins using TACTICS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Evans ◽  
Remy A. Yovanno ◽  
Sanim Rahman ◽  
David W. Cao ◽  
Morgan Q. Beckett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Binding Sites ◽  
Learning Algorithm ◽  
Drug Binding ◽  
Molecular Structures ◽  
Dynamics Simulation ◽  
Conformational Heterogeneity ◽  
Main Protease ◽  
Binding Pockets ◽  
Drug Binding Sites ◽  
Fragment Docking

AbstractStructure-based drug discovery efforts require knowledge of where drug-binding sites are located on target proteins. To address the challenge of finding druggable sites, we developed a machine-learning algorithm called TACTICS (Trajectory-based Analysis of Conformations To Identify Cryptic Sites), which uses an ensemble of molecular structures (such as molecular dynamics simulation data) as input. First, TACTICS uses k-means clustering to select a small number of conformations that represent the overall conformational heterogeneity of the data. Then, TACTICS uses a random forest model to identify potentially bindable residues in each selected conformation, based on protein motion and geometry. Lastly, residues in possible binding pockets are scored using fragment docking. As proof-of-principle, TACTICS was applied to the analysis of simulations of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease and methyltransferase and the Yersinia pestis aryl carrier protein. Our approach recapitulates known small-molecule binding sites and predicts the locations of sites not previously observed in experimentally determined structures. The TACTICS code is available at https://github.com/Albert-Lau-Lab/tactics_protein_analysis.

Molecular principle of the cyclin-dependent kinase selectivity of 4-(thiazol-5-yl)-2-(phenylamino) pyrimidine-5-carbonitrile derivatives revealed by molecular modeling studies

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 2034-2046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaotian Kong ◽  
Huiyong Sun ◽  
Peichen Pan ◽  
Sheng Tian ◽  
Dan Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Modeling ◽  
Cyclin Dependent Kinase ◽  
Selective Inhibitors ◽  
High Sequence Identity ◽  
Cyclin Dependent Kinases ◽  
Sequence Identity ◽  
Modeling Studies ◽  
Binding Pockets ◽  
Molecular Modeling Studies

Due to the high sequence identity of the binding pockets of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), designing highly selective inhibitors towards a specific CDK member remains a big challenge.

scholarly journals Subunit stoichiometry and arrangement in a heteromeric glutamate-gated chloride channel

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (5) ◽  
pp. E644-E653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurit Degani-Katzav ◽  
Revital Gortler ◽  
Lilach Gorodetzki ◽  
Yoav Paas
Keyword(s):  
Binding Site ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Parasitic Diseases ◽  
Β Subunit ◽  
River Blindness ◽  
Subunit Stoichiometry ◽  
Binding Pockets ◽  
Extracellular Side ◽  
Electrophysiological Characterization

The invertebrate glutamate-gated chloride-selective receptors (GluClRs) are ion channels serving as targets for ivermectin (IVM), a broad-spectrum anthelmintic drug used to treat human parasitic diseases like river blindness and lymphatic filariasis. The native GluClR is a heteropentamer consisting of α and β subunit types, with yet unknown subunit stoichiometry and arrangement. Based on the recent crystal structure of a homomeric GluClαR, we introduced mutations at the intersubunit interfaces where Glu (the neurotransmitter) binds. By electrophysiological characterization of these mutants, we found heteromeric assemblies with two equivalent Glu-binding sites at β/α intersubunit interfaces, where the GluClβ and GluClα subunits, respectively, contribute the “principal” and “complementary” components of the putative Glu-binding pockets. We identified a mutation in the IVM-binding site (far away from the Glu-binding sites), which significantly increased the sensitivity of the heteromeric mutant receptor to both Glu and IVM, and improved the receptor subunits’ cooperativity. We further characterized this heteromeric GluClR mutant as a receptor having a third Glu-binding site at an α/α intersubunit interface. Altogether, our data unveil heteromeric GluClR assemblies having three α and two β subunits arranged in a counterclockwise β-α-β-α-α fashion, as viewed from the extracellular side, with either two or three Glu-binding site interfaces.

scholarly journals Photocontrollable PROTAC molecules: Structure and mechanism of action

2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-176
Author(s):  
Mladen Koravović ◽  
Gordana Tasić ◽  
Milena Rmandić ◽  
Bojan Marković
Keyword(s):  
Protein Degradation ◽  
Ubiquitin Ligase ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
E3 Ubiquitin Ligase ◽  
Drug Binding ◽  
Post Translational Modification ◽  
Protein Activity ◽  
Target Drug ◽  
Traditional Drug

Traditional drug discovery strategies are usually focused on occupancy of binding sites that directly affect functions of proteins. Hence, proteins that lack such binding sites are generally considered pharmacologically intractable. Modulators of protein activity, especially inhibitors, must be applied in appropriate dosage regimens that often lead to high systemic drug exposures in order to maintain sufficient protein inhibition in vivo. Consequently, there is a risk of undesirable off-target drug binding and side effects. Recently, PROteolysis TArgeting Chimera (PROTAC) technology has emerged as a new pharmacological modality that exploits PROTAC molecules for induced protein degradation. PROTAC molecule is a heterobifunctional structure consisting of a ligand that binds a protein of interest (POI), a ligand for recruiting an E3 ubiquitin ligase (an enzyme involved in the POI ubiquitination) and a linker that connects these two. After POI-PROTAC-E3 ubiquitin ligase ternary complex formation, the POI undergoes ubiquitination (an enzymatic post-translational modification in which ubiquitin is attached to the POI) and degradation. By merging the principles of photopharmacology and PROTAC technology, photocontrollable PROTACs for spatiotemporal control of induced protein degradation have recently emerged. The main advantage of photocontrollable over conventional PROTACs is the possible prevention of off-target toxicity thanks to local photoactivation.

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