MediatorWeb: a protein-protein interaction network database for the RNA polymerase II Mediator complex.

The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of the Mediator complex is very tightly regulated and depends on different developmental and environmental cues. Here, we present an interactive platform for comparative analysis of the Mediator subunits from humans, baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and model plant Arabidopsis thaliana in a user-friendly web-interface database called MediatorWeb. MediatorWeb provides an interface to visualize and analyze the PPI network of Mediator subunits. The database facilitates downloading the untargeted and unweighted network of Mediator complex, its submodules, and individual Mediator subunits to better visualize the importance of individual Mediator subunits or their submodules. Further, MediatorWeb offers network visualization of the Mediator complex and interacting proteins that are functionally annotated. This feature provides clues to understand functions of Mediator subunits in different processes. In an additional tab, MediatorWeb provides quick access to secondary and tertiary structures, as well as residue-level contact information for Mediator subunits in each of the three model organisms. Another useful feature of MediatorWeb is detection of interologs based on orthologous analyses, which can provide clues to understand the functions of Mediator complex in less explored kingdoms. Thus, MediatorWeb and its features can help the user to understand the role of Mediator complex and its subunits in the transcription regulation of gene expression.

Plasmodium falciparum cysteine protease Falcipain 3: A potential enzyme for proteolytic processing of histone acetyltransferase PfGCN5.

In spite of 150 years of studying malaria, the unique features of the malarial parasite, Plasmodium, still perplex researchers. One of the methods by which the parasite manages its gene expression is epigenetic regulation, the champion of which is PfGCN5, an essential enzyme responsible for acetylating histone proteins. PfGCN5 is a ∼170 kDa chromatin-remodeling enzyme that harbors the conserved bromodomain and acetyltransferase domain situated in its C-terminus domain. Although the PfGCN5 proteolytic processing is essential for its activity, the specific protease involved in this process still remains elusive. Identification of PfGCN5 interacting proteins through immunoprecipitation (IP) followed by LC-tandem mass spectrometry analysis revealed the presence of food vacuolar proteins, such as the cysteine protease Falcipain 3 (FP3), in addition to the typical members of the PfGCN5 complex. The direct interaction between FP3 and PfGCN5 was further validated by in vitro pull-down assay as well as IP assay. Subsequently, use of cysteine protease inhibitor E64d led to the inhibition of protease-specific processing of PfGCN5 with concomitant enrichment and co-localization of PfGCN5 and FP3 around the food vacuole as evidenced by confocal microscopy as well as electron microscopy. Remarkably, the proteolytic cleavage of the nuclear protein PfGCN5 by food vacuolar protease FP3 is exceptional and atypical in eukaryotic organisms. Targeting the proteolytic processing of GCN5 and the associated protease FP3 could provide a novel approach for drug development aimed at addressing the growing resistance of parasites to current antimalarial drugs.

In silico prediction of CD8+ and CD4+ T cell epitopes in Leishmania major proteome: Using immunoinformatics.

The leishmaniases are NDTs (neglected tropical diseases) that affect people all over the world. They are brought on by protozoans from the genus Leishmania and disseminated by phlebotomine flies that are afflicted with the disease. The best option to manage and lower the incidence of these diseases has been thought by the creation of a safe and effective vaccination. This research used an in silico based mining approach to look for high potential epitopes that might bind to MHC Class I and MHC Class II molecules (mainly; HLA-A*02:01 & HLA-DRB1*03:01) from human population in order to promote vaccine development. Based on the presence of signal peptides, GPI anchors, antigenicity predictions, and a subtractive proteomic technique, we have screened 17 putative antigenic proteins from the 8083 total proteins of L. major. After that thorough immunogenic epitope prediction were done using IEDB-AR tools. We isolated five immunogenic epitopes (three 9-mer & two 15-mer) from five antigenic proteins through docking and MD simulation analysis. Finally, these five anticipated epitopes, viz., TLPEIPVNV, ELMAPVFGL, TLAAAVALL, NSINIRLDGVTSAGF and NVPLVVDASSLFRVA have considerably stronger binding potential with their respective alleles and may trigger immunological responses. The goal of this work was to identify MHC restricted epitopes for CD8+ and CD4+ T cells activation using immunoinformatics in order to identify potential vaccine candidates against L. major parasites.

Reinvestigation of diphenylmethylpiperazine analogues of pyrazine as new class of Plasmodial cysteine protease inhibitors for the treatment of malaria.

Malaria eradication is still a global challenge due to the lack of a broadly effective vaccine and the emergence of drug resistance to most of the currently available drugs as part of the mainline artemisinin-based combination therapy. A variety of experimental approaches are quite successful in identifying and synthesizing new promising pharmacophore hybrids with distinct mechanisms of action. Based on our recent findings, the current study demonstrates the reinvestigation of a series of diphenylmethylpiperazine and pyrazine-derived molecular hybrids. Pyrazine-derived molecular hybrids were screened to investigate the antiplasmodial activity on drug-susceptible Pf3D7 and drug-resistant PfW2 strains. The selected compounds were shown to be potent dual inhibitors of cysteine protease PfFP2 and PfFP3. Time-course parasitic development study demonstrated that compounds were able to arrest the growth of the parasite at the early trophozoite stage. The compounds did not show hemolysis of red blood cells and showed selectivity to the parasite compared with the mammalian Vero and A5489 cell lines. The study underlined HR5 and HR15 as a new class of Plasmodial falcipain inhibitors with an IC50 of 6.2 µM and 5.9 µM for PfFP2 and 6.8 µM and 6.4 µM for PfFP3, respectively. Both compounds have antimalarial efficacy with IC50 values of 3.05 µM and 2.80 µM for the Pf3D7 strain, and 4.35 µM and 3.39 µM for the PfW2 strain, respectively. Further structural optimization may turn them into potential Plasmodial falcipain inhibitors for malaria therapeutics.

Insilico screening to identify novel inhibitors targeting 30S ribosomal protein S12 in meningitis-causing organism 'Elizabethkingia meningoseptica'.

The current trend in biomedical research is on prioritizing infections based on multidrug resistance. Elizabethkingia meningoseptica, a nosocomial infection-causing organism emerging from Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs), leads to neonatal meningitis and sepsis resulting in severe illness, and, in some cases, fatal. Finding a solution remains challenging due to limited prior work. Translational S12 ribosomal proteins play a crucial role in decoding the codon-anticodon helix, which is essential for the survival of E. meningoseptica. These proteins do not exhibit significant similarity with humans, making them potential drug targets. An in silico study aims to identify specific inhibitors for E. meningoseptica ribosomal proteins among known bioactive compounds targeting prokaryotic 30S ribosomal protein. A 3D model of the 7JIL_h protein from Flavobacterium johnsoniae, showing 90% sequence similarity with the target protein was generated using SWISS-MODEL software. The model was validated through Molprobity v4.4, VERIFY 3D, Errata, and ProSA analysis, confirming conserved residues of the target protein. Insilico screening of known bioactive compounds and their analogs identified potential ligands for the target protein. Molecular Docking and post-docking analysis assessed the stability of the protein-ligand complexes among the shortlisted compounds. The top two compounds with high Gold fitness scores and low predicted binding energy underwent MD simulation and further estimation of free binding energy using the MM_PBSA module. These computationally shortlisted compounds, namely chEMBL 1323619 and chEMBL 312490 may be considered for future in-vivo studies as potential inhibitors against the modeled 30S ribosomal protein S12 of E. meningoseptica.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Potential inhibitors of RPS6KB2 and NRF2 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Among the major altered pathways in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, AKT/mTORC1/S6K and NRF2/KEAP1 pathway are quite significant. The overexpression and overstimulation of proteins from both these pathways makes them the promising candidates in cancer therapeutics. Inhibiting mTOR has been in research from past several decades but the tumour heterogeneity, and upregulation of several compensatory feed-back mechanisms, encourages to explore other downstream targets for inhibiting the pathway. One such downstream effectors of mTOR is S6K2. It is reported to be overexpressed in cancers such as head and neck cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer. In case of NRF2/KEAP1 pathway, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NFE2L2 or NRF2) is overexpressed in ∼90% of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cases. It associates with poor survival rate and therapeutic resistance in HNSCC treatment. NRF2 pathway is the primary antioxidant pathway in the cell which also serves pro-tumorigenic functions, such as repression of apoptosis, cell proliferation support and chemoresistance. The aim of this work was to explore S6K2 and NRF2 and identify novel and potential inhibitors against them for treating head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Since the crystal structure of S6K2 was not available at the time of this study, we modelled its structure using homology modelling and performed high throughput screening, molecular dynamics simulations, free energy calculations and protein-ligand interaction studies to identify the inhibitors. We identified natural compounds Crocin and Gypenoside XVII against S6K2 and Chebulinic acid and Sennoside A against NRF2. This study provides a significant in-depth understanding of the two studied pathways and therefore can be used in the development of potential therapeutics against HNSCC.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Identification of potential novel inhibitors against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein: targeting RBD and ACE2 interaction.

The SARS-CoV-2, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic has wrecked devastation throughout the globe. The SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) glycoprotein plays crucial role in virus attachment, fusion, and entry. This study aims to identify inhibitors targeting the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the S protein using computational and experimental techniques. We carried out virtual screening of four datasets against the S-RBD. Six potential candidate inhibitors were selected for experimental evaluation. Here, we provide experimental evidence that the molecules 9‴-MethyllithosperMate, Epimedin A, Pentagalloylglucose, and Theaflavin-3-gallate have a high binding affinity towards SARS-CoV-2 S-RBD. 9‴-MethyllithosperMate with a KD value of 1.3 nM serves as the best inhibitor, followed by others with KD values in micromolar range. We performed molecular dynamics simulation to assess the binding stability of these inhibitors. Hence, our study reports novel inhibitors against the SARS-CoV-2 S-RBD and their predicted binding mode also suggest the possibility to interfere with the ACE2 binding.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

In silico identification of colchicine derivatives as novel and potential inhibitors based on molecular docking and dynamic simulations targeting multifactorial drug targets involved in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by a gradual and steady deterioration in cognitive function over time. At least 50 million people worldwide are considered to have AD or another form of dementia. AD is marked by a gradual decline in cognitive abilities, memory deterioration and neurodegenerative transformations within the brain. The intricate and multifaceted nature of polygenic AD presents significant challenges within the landscape of drug development. The pathophysiology of AD unfolds in a non-linear and dynamic pattern, encompassing various systems and giving rise to a multitude of factors and hypotheses that contribute to the disease's onset. These encompass theories such as the beta-amyloid hypothesis, cholinergic hypothesis, tau hypothesis, oxidative stress and more. In the realm of drug development, polypharmacological drug profiles have emerged as a strategy that can yield combined or synergistic effects, effectively mitigating undesirable side effects and significantly enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of essential medications. With this concept in mind, our in-silico study sought to delve into the binding interactions of a diverse array of colchicine derivative compounds. These derivatives are chosen for their potential anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-neurodegenerative and neuroprotective properties against Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. We investigated compound interactions with AD-related targets, utilizing comprehensive molecular docking and dynamic simulations. COM111X showed impressive docking with acetylcholinesterase, indicating potential as an anti-Alzheimer's drug. COM112Y displayed strong docking scores with PDE4D and butyrylcholinesterase, suggesting dual inhibition for Alzheimer's treatment. Further in vitro and in vivo studies are warranted to explore these findings.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Identification of conserved immunogenic peptides of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein.

The emergence of the new SARS-CoV-2 variants has led to major concern regarding the efficacy of approved vaccines. Nucleocapsid is a conserved structural protein essential for replication of the virus. This study focuses on identifying conserved epitopes on the nucleocapsid (N) protein of SARS-CoV-2. Using 510 unique amino acid sequences of SARS-CoV-2 N protein, two peptides (193 and 215 aa) with 90% conservancy were selected for T cell epitope prediction. Three immunogenic peptides containing multiple T cell epitopes were identified which were devoid of autoimmune and allergic immune response. These peptides were also conserved (100%) in recent Omicron variants reported in Jan-August 2023. HLA analysis reveals that these peptides are predicted as binding to large number of HLA alleles and 71-90% population coverage in six continents. Identified peptides displayed good binding score with both HLA class I and HLA class II molecules in the docking study. Also, a vaccine construct docked with TLR-4 receptor displays strong interaction with 20 hydrogen bonds and molecular simulation analysis reveals that docked complex are stable. Additionally, the immunogenicity of these N protein peptides was confirmed using SARS-CoV-2 convalescent serum samples. We conclude that the identified N protein peptides contain highly conserved and antigenic epitopes which could be used as a target for the future vaccine development against SARS-CoV-2.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Identification of novel inhibitors against Med15a KIX domain of Candida glabrata.

Candida glabrata, the second most common cause of invasive fungal infections, exhibits multi-drug resistance to commonly used antifungal drugs. To counter this resistance, there is a critical need for novel antifungals. This study identifies small molecule inhibitors that target a three-helix bundle KIX domain in the Med15a Mediator subunit of Candida glabrata (CgMed15a KIX). This domain plays a crucial role by interacting with the Pleiotropic Drug Resistance transcription factor Pdr1, a key regulator of the multidrug resistance pathway in Candida glabrata. We performed high throughput computational screening of large chemical datasets against the binding sites of the CgMed15a KIX domain to identify novel inhibitors. We selected six potential candidates with high affinity and confirmed their binding with the CgMed15a KIX domain. A phytochemical compound, Chebulinic acid binds to the CgMed15a KIX domain with a KD value of 0.339 µM and shows significant inhibitory effects on the growth of Candida glabrata. Molecular dynamics simulation studies further revealed the structural stability of the CgMed15a KIX-Chebulinic acid complex. Thus, in conclusion, this study highlights Chebulinic acid as a novel potential antifungal compound against Candida glabrata.

In silico analysis of Diosmetin as an effective chemopreventive agent against prostate cancer: molecular docking, validation, dynamic simulation and pharmacokinetic prediction-based studies.

Prostate cancer is the second most dangerous cancer type worldwide. While various treatment options are present i.e. agonists and antagonists, their utilization leads to adverse effects and due to this resistance developing, ultimately the outcome is remission. So, to overcome this issue, we have undertaken an in-silico investigation to identify promising and unique flavonoid candidates for combating prostate cancer. Using GOLD software, the study assessed the effectiveness of 560 natural secondary polyphenols against CDKN2. Protein Data Bank was used to retrieve the 3D crystal structure of CDKN2 (PDB Id: 4EK3) and we retrieved the structure of selected secondary polyphenols from the PubChem database. The compound Diosmetin shows the highest GOLD score with the selected Protein i.e. CDKN2 which is 58.72. To better understand the 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional interactions, the interacting amino acid residues were visualised using Discovery Studio 3.5 and Maestro 13.5. Using Schrodinger-Glide, the Diosmetin and CDKN2 were re-docked, and decoy ligands were docked to CDKN2, which was used to further ascertain the study. The ligands with the highest Gold score were forecasted for pharmacokinetics characteristics, and the results were tabulated and analysed. Utilising the Gromacs software and Desmond packages, 100 ns of Diosmetin molecular dynamics simulations were run to evaluate the structural persistence and variations of protein-ligand complexes. Additionally, our investigation revealed that Diosmetin had a better binding affinity with CDKN2 measuring 58.72, and it also showed remarkable stability across a 100-ns simulation. Thus, following in-vitro and in-vivo clinical studies, diosmetin might lead to the Prostate regimen.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Morroniside interaction with poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase accentuates metabolic mitigation of alloxan-induced genotoxicity and hyperglycaemia: a molecular docking based in vitro and in vivo experimental therapeutic insight.

The present study tends to evaluate the possible potential of bio-active Morroniside (MOR), against alloxan (ALX)-induced genotoxicity and hyperglycaemia. In silico prediction revealed the interaction of MOR with Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) protein which corroborated well with experimental in vitro L6 cell line and in vivo mice models. Data revealed the efficacy of MOR in the selective activation of PARP protein and modulating other stress proteins NF-κB, and TNF-α to initiate protective potential against ALX-induced genotoxicity and hyperglycaemia. Further, the strong interaction of MOR with CT-DNA (calf thymus DNA) analyzed through CD spectroscopy, UV-Vis study and ITC data revealed the concerted action of bio-factors involved in inhibiting chromosomal aberration and micronucleus formation associated with DNA damage. Finally, MOR does not play any role in microbial growth inhibition which often occurs due to hyperglycemic dysbiosis. Thus, from the overall findings, we may conclude that MOR could be a potential drug candidate for the therapeutic management of induced-hyperglycaemia and genotoxicity.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Probing the interaction of cephalosporin antibiotic "cefoperazone" with lysozyme using spectroscopic and in silico methods: Effect of paracetamol on binding.

The interaction of lysozyme with cefoperazone was studied by means of spectroscopic and computational approaches. The change in the UV-visible spectrum of lysozyme in presence of cefoperazone was an indication of the complex formation between them. Fluorescence spectroscopy suggested that there was a fair interaction between the protein and drug which was taken place via dynamic quenching mechanism and the binding ratio was approximately 1:1. The binding was energetically feasible and principally supported by the hydrophobic forces. CD spectroscopic studies have shown that cefoperazone induced the secondary structure of lysozyme by increasing the α-helical contents of the latter. In silico studies revealed that the large nonpolar cavity was the preferred binding site of cefoperazone within lysozyme and the interaction was taken place mainly through hydrophobic forces with small involvement of hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions which is in good agreement with the experimental analyses. Effect of paracetamol was also seen on the binding and it was found that paracetamol had a negative influence on the binding between cefoperazone and lysozyme.

Convolutional neural network-based quantitative structure-activity relationship and fingerprint analysis against inhibitors of anthrax lethal factor.

Aim: To develop a one-dimensional convolutional neural network-based quantitative structure-activity relationship (1D-CNN-QSAR) model to identify novel anthrax inhibitors and analyze chemical space. Methods: We developed a 1D-CNN-QSAR model to identify novel anthrax inhibitors. Results: The statistical results of the 1D-CNN-QSAR model showed a mean square error of 0.045 and a predicted correlation coefficient of 0.79 for the test set. Further, chemical space analysis showed more than 80% fragment pair similarity, with activity cliffs associated with carboxylic acid, 2-phenylfurans, N-phenyldihydropyrazole, N-phenylpyrrole, furan, 4-methylene-1H-pyrazol-5-one, phenylimidazole, phenylpyrrole and phenylpyrazolidine. Conclusion: These fragments may serve as the basis for developing potent novel drug candidates for anthrax. Finally, we concluded that our proposed 1D-CNN-QSAR model and fingerprint analysis might be used to discover potential anthrax drug candidates.

Computational Grafting of Epitopes.

Epitopes are the cornerstones for the development of rational vaccine design strategies. Conventionally, epitopes are used by chemical conjugation with the carrier protein. This chapter describes our computational epitope grafting methodology to identify the preferential grafting site in a carrier protein/scaffold. We have used the mota epitope as an example, as it was already experimentally validated by an independent group. In this chapter, we have provided sufficient details to enable the wet experimentalist to employ this computational methodology in their research objective. Scripts/programs are extensively described in this chapter and freely accessible through the provided link.

Identification of potential novel inhibitors against glutamine synthetase enzyme of Leishmania major by using computational tools.

Glutamine Synthetase (GS) is functionally important in many pathogens, so its viability as a drug target has been widely investigated. We identified Leishmania major glutamine synthetase (Lm-GS) as an appealing target for developing potential leishmaniasis inhibitors. Comparative modeling, virtual screening, MD simulations along with MM-PBSA analyses were performed and two FDA approved compounds namely Chlortalidone (id ZINC00020253) and Ciprofloxacin (id ZINC00020220) were identified as potential inhibitor among the screened library. These compounds may be used as a lead molecule, although additional in vitro and in vivo testing is required to establish its anti-leishmanial effect. Hence, the goal of this study was to locate and identify certain medications that were previously FDA-approved for definite disorders and that might show anti-leishmanial effect. Due to GS's presence in additional Leishmania species, a novel medication docked with Lm-GS may have broad anti-leishmania efficacy.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Vitamin derivatives as potential drugs for Influenza Hemagglutinin.

The objective of the study was to identify potential inhibitors of Influenza surface Hemagglutinin (HA), which plays key role in the entry and replication of Influenza virus into the host cell. As ligands, seven vitamins and their derivatives were selected after initial screening based on their metabolizable capacity with no reported side effects, for in silico studies. Docking, and Post docking analysis (X Score and Ligplot+) were performed against nine Influenza HA targets for the vitamins and its derivatives. 'Vitamin Derivatives' with top docking score were further analysed by MD Simulations and free energy was calculated using MMGBSA module. FMNNa and FMNCa displayed high binding free energy with Influenza HA, thereby exhibiting potential as HA inhibitors.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Y12F mutation in Pseudomonas plecoglossicida S7 lipase enhances its thermal and pH stability for industrial applications: a combination of in silico and in vitro study.

Appropriate amino acid substitutions are critical for protein engineering to redesign catalytic properties of industrially important enzymes like lipases. The present study aimed for improving the environmental stability of lipase from Pseudomonas plecoglossicida S7 through site-directed mutagenesis driven by computational studies. lipA gene was amplified and sequenced. Both wild type (WT) and mutant type (MT) lipase genes were expressed into the pET SUMO system. The expressed proteins were purified and characterized for pH and thermostability. The lipase gene belonged to subfamily I.1 lipase. Molecular dynamics revealed that Y12F-palmitic acid complex had a greater binding affinity (-6.3 Kcal/mol) than WT (-6.0 Kcal/mol) complex. Interestingly, MDS showed that the binding affinity of WT-complex (-130.314 ± 15.11 KJ/mol) was more than mutant complex (-108.405 ± 69.376 KJ/mol) with a marked increase in the electrostatic energy of mutant (-26.969 ± 12.646 KJ/mol) as compared to WT (-15.082 ± 13.802 KJ/mol). Y12F mutant yielded 1.27 folds increase in lipase activity at 55 °C as compared to the purified WT protein. Also, Y12F mutant showed increased activity (~ 1.2 folds each) at both pH 6 and 10. P. plecoglossicida S7. Y12F mutation altered the kinetic parameters of MT (Km- 1.38 mM, Vmax- 22.32 µM/min) as compared to WT (Km- 1.52 mM, Vmax- 29.76 µM/min) thus increasing the binding affinity of mutant lipase. Y12F mutant lipase with better pH and thermal stability can be used in biocatalysis.

In silico identification of small molecule protein-protein interaction inhibitors: targeting hotspot regions at the interface of MXRA8 and CHIKV envelope protein.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arthritogenic arbovirus responsible for re-emerging epidemics of Chikungunya fever around the world for centuries. Chikungunya has become endemic in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and subtropical regions of the Americas. The unavailability of antiviral therapy or vaccine against the CHIKV and its continuous re-emergence demands an urgent need to develop potential candidate therapeutics. CHIKV entry into the host cell is mediated by its envelope proteins engaging the cellular receptor MXRA8 to invade the susceptible cells. We report here two essential target binding sites at the CHIKV E1-E2 proteins by identifying hotspot regions at the E1-E2-MXRA8 binding interface. Further, we employed high throughput computational screening to identify potential small molecule protein-protein interaction (PPI) modulators which could effectively bind at the identified target sites. Molecular dynamics simulations and binding free energy calculations confirmed the stability of three compounds, viz., ZINC299817498, ZINC584908978, and LAS52155651, at both the predicted interface binding sites. The polar and charged residues at the interface were responsible for energetically holding the ligands at the binding sites. Altogether, our findings suggest that the predicted target binding sites at the E1-E2 dimer could be essential to block the receptor interaction as well as the fusion process of the CHIKV particles. Thus, we identified a few small molecule PPI inhibitors with great potential to block the E1-E2-MXRA8 interaction and act as promising templates to design anti-CHIKV drugs.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Prediction of novel and potent inhibitors of lanosterol 14-α demethylase.

Lanosterol 14-α demethylase (LDM) is one of the promising drug targets of azoles antifungal. In this study, we have screened a large number of small molecules from different chemical databases (ZINC, DrugBank, ChEMBL, and ChemDiv) to find out novel and potential inhibitors of LDM. As a result, from more than a hundred thousand molecules, the two best candidates, C1 (ZINC000299817826) and C3 (ZINC000095786149), were selected from the top-scoring compounds and further validated in Molecular Dynamic (MD) simulation. The Glide scores of C1 and C3 were -19.33 kcal/mol and -19.13 kcal/mol, suggesting that these compounds bind with LDM with higher binding affinity than the benchmark compound (itraconazole), which has a Glide score of -6.85 kcal/mol. Docking poses reveal that the compounds C1 and C3 bind to the outermost region of the LDM binding site, which can prevent the lanosterol from getting into the catalytic pocket. Furthermore, MD simulation studies were performed to assess the stability of C1 and C3 in complex with LDM and were found to be stable over the 100 nanosecond simulation time. Binding free energy calculated by the MMPBSA method suggested that the C3 forms a more stable complex with the LDM as close to the benchmark compounds. Among the top selected molecules, C1 and C3 were predicted to be the significant inhibitors of LDM.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.