Abstract
3-D ligand conformations are required for most ligand-based drug design methods, such as pharmacophore modeling, shape-based screening, and 3-D QSAR model building. Many studies of conformational search methods have focused on the reproduction of crystal structures (i.e. bioactive conformations); however, for ligand-based modeling the key question is how to generate a ligand alignment that produces the best results for a given query molecule. In this work, we study different conformation generation modes of ConfGen and the impact on virtual screening (Shape Screening and e-Pharmacophore) and QSAR predictions (atom-based and field-based). In addition, we develop a new search method, called common scaffold alignment, that automatically detects the maximum common scaffold between each screening molecule and the query to ensure identical coordinates of the common core, thereby minimizing the noise introduced by analogous parts of the molecules. In general, we find that virtual screening results are relatively insensitive to the conformational search protocol; hence, a conformational search method that generates fewer conformations could be considered “better” because it is more computationally efficient for screening. However, for 3-D QSAR modeling we find that more thorough conformational sampling tends to produce better QSAR predictions. In addition, significant improvements in QSAR predictions are obtained with the common scaffold alignment protocol developed in this work, which focuses conformational sampling on parts of the molecules that are not part of the common scaffold.
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Abbreviations
- QSAR:
-
Quantitative structure activity relationship
- LBDD:
-
Ligand-based drug design
- AQSAR:
-
Atom-based QSAR
- FQSAR:
-
Field-based QSAR
- NRB :
-
Average number of rotatable bonds
- NSR :
-
Average number of saturated rings
- MCMM/LMOD:
-
Monte Carlo molecular mechanics and low mode
- BEDROC:
-
Boltzmann-enhanced discrimination of the receiver operating characteristic
- EF:
-
Enrichment factor
- RMSD:
-
Root mean square deviation
- CSA:
-
Common scaffold alignment
- PLS:
-
Partial least-squares
- ACE:
-
Angiotensin-converting enzyme
- AChE:
-
Acetylcholinesterase
- ADA:
-
Adenosine deaminase
- ALR2:
-
Aldose reductase
- AmpC:
-
AmpC β-lactamase
- AR:
-
Androgen receptor
- CDK2:
-
Cyclin-dependent kinase 2
- COMT:
-
Catechol O-methyltransferase
- COX1:
-
Cyclooxygenase-1
- COX2:
-
Cyclooxygenase-2
- DHFR:
-
Dihydrofolate reductase
- EGFr:
-
Epidermal growth factor receptor
- ER:
-
Estrogen receptor
- FGFr1:
-
Fibroblast growth factor receptor kinase
- fXa:
-
Factor Xa
- GART:
-
Glycinamide ribonucleotide transformylase
- GPB:
-
Glycogen phosphorylase β
- GR:
-
Glucocorticoid receptor
- HIVpr:
-
HIV protease
- HIVrt:
-
HIV reverse transcriptase
- HMGR:
-
Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase
- HSP90:
-
Human heat shock protein 90
- InhA:
-
Enoyl ACP reductase
- MR:
-
Mineralocorticoid receptor
- NA:
-
Neuraminidase
- P38:
-
P38 mitogen activated protein
- PARP:
-
Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase
- PDE5:
-
Phosphodiesterase 5
- PDGFrb:
-
Platelet derived growth factor receptor kinase
- PNP:
-
Purine nucleoside phosphorylase
- PPAR:
-
Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ
- PR:
-
Progesterone receptor
- RXR:
-
Retinoic X receptor R
- SAHH:
-
S-adenosyl-homocysteine hydrolase
- Src:
-
Tyrosine kinase SRC
- TK:
-
Thymidine kinase
- VEGFr2:
-
Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor
- PTP1B:
-
Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B
- LCK:
-
Lymphocyte-specific tyrosine kinase
- JNK:
-
c-Jun N-terminal kinase
- ERK2:
-
Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2
- CHK1:
-
Checkpoint kinase 1
- EPHX2:
-
Cytoplasmic epoxide hydrolase 2
- UPA:
-
Urokinase-type plasminogin activator
- DPP4:
-
Dipeptidyl peptidase IV
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Daniel Cappel and Jianxin Duan have contributed equally to this work.
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Cappel, D., Dixon, S.L., Sherman, W. et al. Exploring conformational search protocols for ligand-based virtual screening and 3-D QSAR modeling. J Comput Aided Mol Des 29, 165–182 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10822-014-9813-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10822-014-9813-4