RESUMO
An approach for molecular similarity/substructure searching based on structural hierarchy matching is proposed. In this approach, small molecules are divided into two categories, acyclic and cyclic forms. The latter are further divided into three structural hierarchies, namely, framework, complicated-, and mono-rings. During searching, the similarity coefficients of a structural query and each retrieved molecule are calculated using the hierarchy of the query as the reference. A total of 13,911 chemicals were involved in this work, from which the minimal cyclic and acyclic substructures are extracted, and further processed into fuzzy structural fingerprints. Subsequently, the fingerprints are used as the searching indices for molecular similarity or substructure searching. The tests show that this approach can give user options to choose between one-substructure and multi-substructure searching with sorted results. Moreover, this algorithm has the potential to be developed for molecular similarity searching and substructure analysis.
Assuntos
Algoritmos , Bases de Dados de Compostos Químicos , Estrutura Molecular , Relação Estrutura-AtividadeRESUMO
Purpose: Bone metastasis (BoM) has been closely associated with increased morbidity and poor survival outcomes in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Given its significant implications, this study aimed to systematically compare the biological characteristics between advanced NSCLC patients with and without BoM. Methods: In this study, the genomic alterations from the tumor tissue DNA of 42 advanced NSCLC patients without BoM and 67 patients with BoM and were analyzed by a next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel. The serum concentrations of 18 heavy metals were detected by inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results: A total of 157 somatic mutations across 18 mutated genes and 105 somatic mutations spanning 16 mutant genes were identified in 61 out of 67 (91.05%) patients with BoM and 37 of 42 (88.10%) patients without BoM, respectively. Among these mutated genes, NTRK1, FGFR1, ERBB4, NTRK3, and FGFR2 stood out exclusively in patients with BoM, whereas BRAF, GNAS, and AKT1 manifested solely in those without BoM. Moreover, both co-occurring sets of genes and mutually exclusive sets of genes in patients with BoM were different from those in patients without BoM. In addition, the serum concentrations of Cu and Sr in patients with BoM were significantly higher than in patients without BoM. One of our aims was to explore how these heavy metals associated with BoM interacted with other heavy metals, and significant positive correlations were observed between Cu and Co, between Cu and Cr, between Sr and Ba, and between Sr and Ni in patients with BoM. Given the significant impacts of molecular characteristics on patients' prognosis, we also observed a noteworthy negative correlation between EGFR mutations and Co, alongside a significant positive correlation between TP53 mutations and Cd. Conclusions: The genomic alterations, somatic interactions, key signaling pathways, functional biological information, and accumulations of serum heavy metals were markedly different between advanced NSCLC patients with and without BoM, and certain heavy metals (e.g., Cu, Sr) might have potentials to identify high-risk patients with BoM.