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Comparative evaluation of several docking tools for docking small molecule ligands to DC-SIGN

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Abstract

Five docking tools, namely AutoDock, FRED, CDOCKER, FlexX and GOLD, have been critically examined, with the aim of selecting those most appropriate for use as docking tools for docking molecules to the lectin dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule-3-grabbing non-integrin (DC-SIGN). This lectin has been selected for its rather non-druggable binding site, which enables complex interactions that guide the binding of the core monosaccharide. Since optimal orientation is crucial for forming coordination bonds, it was important to assess whether the selected docking tools could reproduce the optimal binding conformation for several oligosaccharides that are known to bind DC-SIGN. Our results show that even widely used docking programs have certain limitations when faced with a rather shallow and featureless binding site, as is the case of DC-SIGN. The FRED docking software (OpenEye Scientific Software, Inc.) was found to score as the best tool for docking ligands to DC-SIGN. The performance of FRED was further assessed on another lectin, Langerin. We have demonstrated that this validated docking protocol could be used for docking to other lectins similar to DC-SIGN.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank OpenEye Scientific Software, Inc. for free academic licenses for their software. The authors thank Professor Roger Pain for proofreading the manuscript.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Slovenian Research Agency (Grant No. P1-0208).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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  1. Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva 7, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Gregor Jug, Marko Anderluh & Tihomir Tomašič

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  1. Gregor Jug
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  2. Marko Anderluh
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Correspondence to Tihomir Tomašič.

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Jug, G., Anderluh, M. & Tomašič, T. Comparative evaluation of several docking tools for docking small molecule ligands to DC-SIGN. J Mol Model 21, 164 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00894-015-2713-2

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