The use of quantum mechanical potentials in protein-ligand affinity prediction is becoming increasingly feasible with growing computational power. To move forward, validation of such potentials on real-world challenges is necessary. To this end, we have collated an extensive set of over a thousand galectin inhibitors with known affinities and docked them into galectin-3. The docked poses were then used to systematically evaluate several modern force fields and semiempirical quantum mechanical (SQM) methods up to the tight-binding level under consistent computational workflow. Implicit solvation models available with the tested methods were used to simulate solvation effects. Overall, the best methods in this study achieved a Pearson correlation of 0.7-0.8 between the computed and experimental affinities. There were differences between the tested methods in their ability to rank ligands across the entire ligand set as well as within subsets of structurally similar ligands. A major discrepancy was observed for a subset of ligands that bind to the protein via a halogen bond, which was clearly challenging for all the tested methods. The inclusion of an entropic term calculated by the rigid-rotor-harmonic-oscillator approximation at SQM level slightly worsened correlation with experiment but brought the calculated affinities closer to experimental values. We also found that the success of the prediction strongly depended on the solvation model. Furthermore, we provide an in-depth analysis of the individual energy terms and their effect on the overall prediction accuracy.

• MeSH
• galektiny * metabolismus   chemie   antagonisté a inhibitory   MeSH
• kvantová teorie * MeSH
• ligandy MeSH
• simulace molekulového dockingu MeSH
• vazba proteinů MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• galektiny * MeSH
• ligandy MeSH

Accurate estimation of protein-ligand binding affinity is the cornerstone of computer-aided drug design. We present a universal physics-based scoring function, named SQM2.20, addressing key terms of binding free energy using semiempirical quantum-mechanical computational methods. SQM2.20 incorporates the latest methodological advances while remaining computationally efficient even for systems with thousands of atoms. To validate it rigorously, we have compiled and made available the PL-REX benchmark dataset consisting of high-resolution crystal structures and reliable experimental affinities for ten diverse protein targets. Comparative assessments demonstrate that SQM2.20 outperforms other scoring methods and reaches a level of accuracy similar to much more expensive DFT calculations. In the PL-REX dataset, it achieves excellent correlation with experimental data (average R2 = 0.69) and exhibits consistent performance across all targets. In contrast to DFT, SQM2.20 provides affinity predictions in minutes, making it suitable for practical applications in hit identification or lead optimization.

• MeSH
• ligandy MeSH
• proteiny * metabolismus   MeSH
• racionální návrh léčiv * MeSH
• termodynamika MeSH
• vazba proteinů MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• ligandy MeSH
• proteiny * MeSH

Influenza A virus (IAV) encodes a polymerase composed of three subunits: PA, with endonuclease activity, PB1 with polymerase activity and PB2 with host RNA five-prime cap binding site. Their cooperation and stepwise activation include a process called cap-snatching, which is a crucial step in the IAV life cycle. Reproduction of IAV can be blocked by disrupting the interaction between the PB2 domain and the five-prime cap. An inhibitor of this interaction called pimodivir (VX-787) recently entered the third phase of clinical trial; however, several mutations in PB2 that cause resistance to pimodivir were observed. First major mutation, F404Y, causing resistance was identified during preclinical testing, next the mutation M431I was identified in patients during the second phase of clinical trials. The mutation H357N was identified during testing of IAV strains at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We set out to provide a structural and thermodynamic analysis of the interactions between cap-binding domain of PB2 wild-type and PB2 variants bearing these mutations and pimodivir. Here we present four crystal structures of PB2-WT, PB2-F404Y, PB2-M431I and PB2-H357N in complex with pimodivir. We have thermodynamically analysed all PB2 variants and proposed the effect of these mutations on thermodynamic parameters of these interactions and pimodivir resistance development. These data will contribute to understanding the effect of these missense mutations to the resistance development and help to design next generation inhibitors.

• Klíčová slova
• VX-787, antivirals, influenza A polymerase, pimodivir, resistance,
• MeSH
• krystalografie rentgenová MeSH
• kvantová teorie MeSH
• molekulární modely MeSH
• mutace genetika   MeSH
• mutantní proteiny metabolismus   MeSH
• podjednotky proteinů antagonisté a inhibitory   chemie   metabolismus   MeSH
• proteinové domény MeSH
• pyridiny chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• pyrimidiny chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• pyrroly chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• RNA-dependentní RNA-polymerasa antagonisté a inhibitory   chemie   metabolismus   MeSH
• termodynamika MeSH
• virová léková rezistence účinky léků   MeSH
• virové proteiny antagonisté a inhibitory   chemie   metabolismus   MeSH
• virus chřipky A účinky léků   enzymologie   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• mutantní proteiny MeSH
• PB2 protein, Influenzavirus A MeSH Prohlížeč
• pimodivir MeSH Prohlížeč
• podjednotky proteinů MeSH
• pyridiny MeSH
• pyrimidiny MeSH
• pyrroly MeSH
• RNA-dependentní RNA-polymerasa MeSH
• virové proteiny MeSH

Azapeptide nitriles are postulated to reversibly covalently react with the active-site cysteine residue of cysteine proteases and form isothiosemicarbazide adducts. We investigated the interaction of azadipeptide nitriles with the cathepsin B1 drug target (SmCB1) from Schistosoma mansoni, a pathogen that causes the global neglected disease schistosomiasis. Azadipeptide nitriles were superior inhibitors of SmCB1 over their parent carba analogs. We determined the crystal structure of SmCB1 in complex with an azadipeptide nitrile and analyzed the reaction mechanism using quantum chemical calculations. The data demonstrate that azadipeptide nitriles, in contrast to their carba counterparts, undergo a change from E- to Z-configuration upon binding, which gives rise to a highly favorable energy profile of noncovalent and covalent complex formation. Finally, azadipeptide nitriles were considerably more lethal than their carba analogs against the schistosome pathogen in culture, supporting the further development of this chemotype as a treatment for schistosomiasis.

• Klíčová slova
• azapeptide inhibitors, cysteine proteases, protein structures, schistosomiasis, structure−activity relationships,
• MeSH
• kathepsin B MeSH
• proteasy * MeSH
• Schistosoma mansoni * MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH
• Názvy látek
• kathepsin B MeSH
• proteasy * MeSH

The supramolecular recognition of closo,closo-[B21 H18 ]- by cyclodextrins (CDs) has been studied in aqueous solution by isothermal titration calorimetry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. These solution studies follow up on previous mass-spectrometric measurements and computations, which indicated the formation and stability of CD ⋅ B21 H18- complexes in the gas phase. The thermodynamic signature of solution-phase binding is exceptional, the association constant for the γ-CD complex with B21 H18- reaches 1.8×106 M-1 , which is on the same order of magnitude as the so far highest observed value for the complex between γ-CD and a metallacarborane. The nature of the intermolecular interaction is also examined by quantum-mechanical computational protocols. These suggest that the desolvation penalty, which is particularly low for the B21 H18- anion, is the decisive factor for its high binding strength. The results further suggest that the elliptical macropolyhedral boron hydride is another example of a CD binder, whose extraordinary binding affinity is driven by the chaotropic effect, which describes the intrinsic affinity of large polarizable and weakly solvated chaotropic anions to hydrophobic cavities and surfaces in aqueous solution.

• Klíčová slova
• anion binding, boron clusters, desolvation, host-guest chemistry, intermolecular interactions,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

General and reliable description of structures and energetics in protein-ligand (PL) binding using the docking/scoring methodology has until now been elusive. We address this urgent deficiency of scoring functions (SFs) by the systematic development of corrected semiempirical quantum mechanical (SQM) methods, which correctly describe all types of noncovalent interactions and are fast enough to treat systems of thousands of atoms. Two most accurate SQM methods, PM6-D3H4X and SCC-DFTB3-D3H4X, are coupled with the conductor-like screening model (COSMO) implicit solvation model in so-called "SQM/COSMO" SFs and have shown unique recognition of native ligand poses in cognate docking in four challenging PL systems, including metalloprotein. Here, we apply the two SQM/COSMO SFs to 17 diverse PL complexes and compare their performance with four widely used classical SFs (Glide XP, AutoDock4, AutoDock Vina, and UCSF Dock). We observe superior performance of the SQM/COSMO SFs and identify challenging systems. This method, due to its generality, comparability across the chemical space, and lack of need for any system-specific parameters, gives promise of becoming, after comprehensive large-scale testing in the near future, a useful computational tool in structure-based drug design and serving as a reference method for the development of other SFs.

• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Human aldo-keto reductase 1B15 (AKR1B15) is a newly discovered enzyme which shares 92% amino acid sequence identity with AKR1B10. While AKR1B10 is a well characterized enzyme with high retinaldehyde reductase activity, involved in the development of several cancer types, the enzymatic activity and physiological role of AKR1B15 are still poorly known. Here, the purified recombinant enzyme has been subjected to substrate specificity characterization, kinetic analysis and inhibitor screening, combined with structural modeling. AKR1B15 is active towards a variety of carbonyl substrates, including retinoids, with lower kcat and Km values than AKR1B10. In contrast to AKR1B10, which strongly prefers all-trans-retinaldehyde, AKR1B15 exhibits superior catalytic efficiency with 9-cis-retinaldehyde, the best substrate found for this enzyme. With ketone and dicarbonyl substrates, AKR1B15 also shows higher catalytic activity than AKR1B10. Several typical AKR inhibitors do not significantly affect AKR1B15 activity. Amino acid substitutions clustered in loops A and C result in a smaller, more hydrophobic and more rigid active site in AKR1B15 compared with the AKR1B10 pocket, consistent with distinct substrate specificity and narrower inhibitor selectivity for AKR1B15.

• MeSH
• aldehydreduktasa antagonisté a inhibitory   genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• aldo-keto reduktasy MeSH
• diterpeny MeSH
• inhibitory enzymů farmakologie   MeSH
• katalytická doména genetika   MeSH
• kinetika MeSH
• konformace proteinů MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• molekulární modely MeSH
• oxidoreduktasy působící na aldehydy nebo donory oxo-skupin antagonisté a inhibitory   genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• rekombinantní proteiny genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• retinaldehyd metabolismus   MeSH
• sekvence aminokyselin MeSH
• strukturní homologie proteinů MeSH
• substituce aminokyselin MeSH
• substrátová specifita MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• 9-cis-retinal MeSH Prohlížeč
• AKR1B10 protein, human MeSH Prohlížeč
• AKR1B15 protein, human MeSH Prohlížeč
• aldehydreduktasa MeSH
• aldo-keto reduktasy MeSH
• diterpeny MeSH
• inhibitory enzymů MeSH
• oxidoreduktasy působící na aldehydy nebo donory oxo-skupin MeSH
• rekombinantní proteiny MeSH
• retinaldehyd MeSH

Carborane-based compounds are promising lead structures for development of inhibitors of carbonic anhydrases (CAs). Here, we report structural and computational analysis applicable to structure-based design of carborane compounds with selectivity toward the cancer-specific CAIX isoenzyme. We determined the crystal structure of CAII in complex with 1-methylenesulfamide-1,2-dicarba-closo-dodecaborane at 1.0 Å resolution and used this structure to model the 1-methylenesulfamide-1,2-dicarba-closo-dodecaborane interactions with CAIX. A virtual glycine scan revealed the contributions of individual residues to the energy of binding of 1-methylenesulfamide-1,2-dicarba-closo-dodecaborane to CAII and CAIX, respectively.

• MeSH
• glycin chemie   MeSH
• inhibitory karboanhydras chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• karboanhydrasy chemie   MeSH
• katalytická doména MeSH
• krystalografie rentgenová MeSH
• kvantová teorie * MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• molekulární modely * MeSH
• sloučeniny boru chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• substrátová specifita účinky léků   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• dodecaborate MeSH Prohlížeč
• glycin MeSH
• inhibitory karboanhydras MeSH
• karboanhydrasy MeSH
• sloučeniny boru MeSH