Recent Advances in Fragment-Based QSAR and Multi-Dimensional QSAR Methods

This paper provides an overview of recently developed two dimensional (2D) fragment-based QSAR methods as well as other multi-dimensional approaches. In particular, we present recent fragment-based QSAR methods such as fragment-similarity-based QSAR (FS-QSAR), fragment-based QSAR (FB-QSAR), Hologram QSAR (HQSAR), and top priority fragment QSAR in addition to 3D- and nD-QSAR methods such as comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA), comparative molecular similarity analysis (CoMSIA), Topomer CoMFA, self-organizing molecular field analysis (SOMFA), comparative molecular moment analysis (COMMA), autocorrelation of molecular surfaces properties (AMSP), weighted holistic invariant molecular (WHIM) descriptor-based QSAR (WHIM), grid-independent descriptors (GRIND)-based QSAR, 4D-QSAR, 5D-QSAR and 6D-QSAR methods

Advances in the Development of Shape Similarity Methods and Their Application in Drug Discovery

Molecular similarity is a key concept in drug discovery. It is based on the assumption that structurally similar molecules frequently have similar properties. Assessment of similarity between small molecules has been highly effective in the discovery and development of various drugs. Especially, two-dimensional (2D) similarity approaches have been quite popular due to their simplicity, accuracy and efficiency. Recently, the focus has been shifted toward the development of methods involving the representation and comparison of three-dimensional (3D) conformation of small molecules. Among the 3D similarity methods, evaluation of shape similarity is now gaining attention for its application not only in virtual screening but also in molecular target prediction, drug repurposing and scaffold hopping. A wide range of methods have been developed to describe molecular shape and to determine the shape similarity between small molecules. The most widely used methods include atom distance-based methods, surface-based approaches such as spherical harmonics and 3D Zernike descriptors, atom-centered Gaussian overlay based representations. Several of these methods demonstrated excellent virtual screening performance not only retrospectively but also prospectively. In addition to methods assessing the similarity between small molecules, shape similarity approaches have been developed to compare shapes of protein structures and binding pockets. Additionally, shape comparisons between atomic models and 3D density maps allowed the fitting of atomic models into cryo-electron microscopy maps. This review aims to summarize the methodological advances in shape similarity assessment highlighting advantages, disadvantages and their application in drug discovery

Computational Approaches to Drug Profiling and Drug-Protein Interactions

Despite substantial increases in R&D spending within the pharmaceutical industry, denovo drug design has become a time-consuming endeavour. High attrition rates led to a long period of stagnation in drug approvals. Due to the extreme costs associated with introducing a drug to the market, locating and understanding the reasons for clinical failure is key to future productivity. As part of this PhD, three main contributions were made in this respect. First, the web platform, LigNFam enables users to interactively explore similarity relationships between ‘drug like’ molecules and the proteins they bind. Secondly, two deep-learning-based binding site comparison tools were developed, competing with the state-of-the-art over benchmark datasets. The models have the ability to predict offtarget interactions and potential candidates for target-based drug repurposing. Finally, the open-source ScaffoldGraph software was presented for the analysis of hierarchical scaffold relationships and has already been used in multiple projects, including integration into a virtual screening pipeline to increase the tractability of ultra-large screening experiments. Together, and with existing tools, the contributions made will aid in the understanding of drug-protein relationships, particularly in the fields of off-target prediction and drug repurposing, helping to design better drugs faster

Low-cost machine learning approach to the prediction of transition metal phosphor excited state properties

Photoactive iridium complexes are of broad interest due to their applications ranging from lighting to photocatalysis. However, the excited state property prediction of these complexes challenges ab initio methods such as time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) both from an accuracy and a computational cost perspective, complicating high throughput virtual screening (HTVS). We instead leverage low-cost machine learning (ML) models to predict the excited state properties of photoactive iridium complexes. We use experimental data of 1,380 iridium complexes to train and evaluate the ML models and identify the best-performing and most transferable models to be those trained on electronic structure features from low-cost density functional theory tight binding calculations. Using these models, we predict the three excited state properties considered, mean emission energy of phosphorescence, excited state lifetime, and emission spectral integral, with accuracy competitive with or superseding TDDFT. We conduct feature importance analysis to identify which iridium complex attributes govern excited state properties and we validate these trends with explicit examples. As a demonstration of how our ML models can be used for HTVS and the acceleration of chemical discovery, we curate a set of novel hypothetical iridium complexes and identify promising ligands for the design of new phosphors

Protein-protein docking using region-based 3D Zernike descriptors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Protein-protein interactions are a pivotal component of many biological processes and mediate a variety of functions. Knowing the tertiary structure of a protein complex is therefore essential for understanding the interaction mechanism. However, experimental techniques to solve the structure of the complex are often found to be difficult. To this end, computational protein-protein docking approaches can provide a useful alternative to address this issue. Prediction of docking conformations relies on methods that effectively capture shape features of the participating proteins while giving due consideration to conformational changes that may occur.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We present a novel protein docking algorithm based on the use of 3D Zernike descriptors as regional features of molecular shape. The key motivation of using these descriptors is their invariance to transformation, in addition to a compact representation of local surface shape characteristics. Docking decoys are generated using geometric hashing, which are then ranked by a scoring function that incorporates a buried surface area and a novel geometric complementarity term based on normals associated with the 3D Zernike shape description. Our docking algorithm was tested on both bound and unbound cases in the ZDOCK benchmark 2.0 dataset. In 74% of the bound docking predictions, our method was able to find a near-native solution (interface C-<it>α</it>RMSD ≤ 2.5 Å) within the top 1000 ranks. For unbound docking, among the 60 complexes for which our algorithm returned at least one hit, 60% of the cases were ranked within the top 2000. Comparison with existing shape-based docking algorithms shows that our method has a better performance than the others in unbound docking while remaining competitive for bound docking cases.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We show for the first time that the 3D Zernike descriptors are adept in capturing shape complementarity at the protein-protein interface and useful for protein docking prediction. Rigorous benchmark studies show that our docking approach has a superior performance compared to existing methods.</p