Enabling synthesis in fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD): microscale high-throughput optimisation of the medicinal chemist's toolbox reactions.

Miniaturised high-throughput experimentation (HTE) is widely employed in industrial and academic laboratories for rapid reaction optimisation using material-limited, multifactorial reaction condition screening. In fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD), common toolbox reactions such as the Suzuki-Miyaura and Buchwald-Hartwig cross couplings can be hampered by the fragment's intrinsic heteroatom-rich pharmacophore which is required for ligand-protein binding. At Astex, we are using microscale HTE to speed up reaction optimisation and prevent target down-prioritisation. By identifying catalyst/base/solvent combinations which tolerate unprotected heteroatoms we can rapidly optimise key cross-couplings and expedite route design by avoiding superfluous protecting group manipulations. However, HTE requires extensive upfront training, and this modern automated synthesis technique largely differs to the way organic chemists are traditionally trained. To make HTE accessible to all our synthetic chemists we have developed a semi-automated workflow enabled by pre-made 96-well screening kits, rapid analytical methods and in-house software development, which is empowering chemists at Astex to run HTE screens independently with minimal training.

Atomic-resolution dissection of the energetics and mechanism of isomerization of hydrated ATP-Mg(2+) through the SOMA string method.

The atomic mechanisms of isomerization of ATP-Mg(2+) in solution are characterized using the recently developed String Method with Optimal Molecular Alignment (SOMA) and molecular-dynamics simulations. Bias-Exchange Metadynamics simulations are first performed to identify the primary conformers of the ATP-Mg(2+) complex and their connectivity. SOMA is then used to elucidate the minimum free-energy path (MFEP) for each transition, in a 48-dimensional space. Analysis of the per-atom contributions to the global free-energy profiles reveals that the mechanism of these transitions is controlled by the Mg(2+) ion and its coordinating oxygen atoms in the triphosphate moiety, as well as by the ion-hydration shell. Metadynamics simulations in path collective variables based on the MFEP demonstrate these isomerizations proceed across a narrow channel of configurational space, thus validating the premise underlying SOMA. This study provides a roadmap for the examination of conformational changes in biomolecules, based on complementary enhanced-sampling techniques with different strengths. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Discovery of a new class of highly potent inhibitors of acid ceramidase: synthesis and structure-activity relationship (SAR).

Acid ceramidase (AC) is an intracellular cysteine amidase that catalyzes the hydrolysis of the lipid messenger ceramide. By regulating ceramide levels in cells, AC may contribute to the regulation of cancer cell proliferation and senescence and to the response to cancer therapy. We recently identified the antitumoral agent carmofur (4a) as the first nanomolar inhibitor of intracellular AC activity (rat AC, IC50 = 0.029 µM). In the present work, we expanded our initial structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies around 4a by synthesizing and testing a series of 2,4-dioxopyrimidine-1-carboxamides. Our investigations provided a first elucidation of the structural features of uracil derivatives that are critical for AC inhibition and led us to identify the first single-digit nanomolar inhibitors of this enzyme. The present results confirm that substituted 2,4-dioxopyrimidine-1-carboxamides are a novel class of potent inhibitors of AC. Selected compounds of this class may represent useful probes to further characterize the functional roles of AC.

String method for calculation of minimum free-energy paths in Cartesian space in freely-tumbling systems.

The string method is a molecular-simulation technique that aims to calculate the minimum free-energy path of a chemical reaction or conformational transition, in the space of a pre-defined set of reaction coordinates that is typically highly dimensional. Any descriptor may be used as a reaction coordinate, but arguably the Cartesian coordinates of the atoms involved are the most unprejudiced and intuitive choice. Cartesian coordinates, however, present a non-trivial problem, in that they are not invariant to rigid-body molecular rotations and translations, which ideally ought to be unrestricted in the simulations. To overcome this difficulty, we reformulate the framework of the string method to integrate an on-the-fly structural-alignment algorithm. This approach, referred to as SOMA (String method with Optimal Molecular Alignment), enables the use of Cartesian reaction coordinates in freely tumbling molecular systems. In addition, this scheme permits the dissection of the free-energy change along the most probable path into individual atomic contributions, thus revealing the dominant mechanism of the simulated process. This detailed analysis also provides a physically-meaningful criterion to coarse-grain the representation of the path. To demonstrate the accuracy of the method we analyze the isomerization of the alanine dipeptide in vacuum and the chair-to-inverted-chair transition of ß-D mannose in explicit water. Notwithstanding the simplicity of these systems, the SOMA approach reveals novel insights into the atomic mechanism of these isomerizations. In both cases, we find that the dynamics and the energetics of these processes are controlled by interactions involving only a handful of atoms in each molecule. Consistent with this result, we show that a coarse-grained SOMA calculation defined in terms of these subsets of atoms yields nearidentical minimum free-energy paths and committor distributions to those obtained via a highly-dimensional string.

Theoretical insights into the mechanism of carbon monoxide (CO) release from CO-releasing molecules.

We used density functional theory to investigate the capacity for carbon monoxide (CO) release of five newly synthesized manganese-containing CO-releasing molecules (CO-RMs), namely CORM-368 (1), CORM-401 (2), CORM-371 (3), CORM-409 (4), and CORM-313 (5). The results correctly discriminated good CO releasers (1 and 2) from a compound unable to release CO (5). The predicted Mn-CO bond dissociation energies were well correlated (R(2) ≈0.9) with myoglobin (Mb) assay experiments, which quantified the formation of MbCO, and thus the amount of CO released by the CO-RMs. The nature of the Mn-CO bond was characterized by natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis. This allowed us to identify the key donor-acceptor interactions in the CO-RMs, and to evaluate the Mn-CO bond stabilization energies. According to the NBO calculations, the charge transfer is the major source of Mn-CO bond stabilization for this series. On the basis of the nature of the experimental buffers, we then analyzed the nucleophilic attack of putative ligands (L' = HPO(4)(2-), H(2)PO(4)(-), H(2)O, and Cl(-)) at the metal vacant site through the ligand-exchange reaction energies. The analysis revealed that different L'-exchange reactions were spontaneous in all the CO-RMs. Finally, the calculated second dissociation energies could explain the stoichiometry obtained with the Mb assay experiments.

A catalytic mechanism for cysteine N-terminal nucleophile hydrolases, as revealed by free energy simulations.

The N-terminal nucleophile (Ntn) hydrolases are a superfamily of enzymes specialized in the hydrolytic cleavage of amide bonds. Even though several members of this family are emerging as innovative drug targets for cancer, inflammation, and pain, the processes through which they catalyze amide hydrolysis remains poorly understood. In particular, the catalytic reactions of cysteine Ntn-hydrolases have never been investigated from a mechanistic point of view. In the present study, we used free energy simulations in the quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics framework to determine the reaction mechanism of amide hydrolysis catalyzed by the prototypical cysteine Ntn-hydrolase, conjugated bile acid hydrolase (CBAH). The computational analyses, which were confirmed in water and using different CBAH mutants, revealed the existence of a chair-like transition state, which might be one of the specific features of the catalytic cycle of Ntn-hydrolases. Our results offer new insights on Ntn-mediated hydrolysis and suggest possible strategies for the creation of therapeutically useful inhibitors.

Investigating the mechanism of substrate uptake and release in the glutamate transporter homologue Glt(Ph) through metadynamics simulations.

A homeostatic concentration of glutamate in the synaptic cleft ensures a correct signal transduction along the neuronal network. An unbalance in this concentration can lead to neuronal death and to severe neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. Glutamate transporters play a crucial role in this respect because they are responsible for the reuptake of the neurotransmitter from the synaptic cleft, thus controlling the glutamate concentration. Understanding the molecular mechanism of this transporter can provide the possibility of an exogenous control. Structural studies have shown that this transporter can assume at least three conformations, thus suggesting a pronounced dynamical behavior. However, some intermediate states that lead to the substrate internalization have not been characterized and many aspects of the transporter mechanism still remain unclear. Here, using metadynamics simulations, we investigate the substrate uptake from the synaptic cleft and its release in the intracellular medium. In addition, we focus on the role of ions and substrate during these processes and on the stability of the different conformations assumed by the transporter. The present dynamical results can complement available X-ray data and provide a thorough description of the entire process of substrate uptake, internalization, and release.

Metadynamics with Adaptive Gaussians.

Metadynamics is an established sampling method aimed at reconstructing the free-energy surface relative to a set of appropriately chosen collective variables. In standard metadynamics, the free-energy surface is filled by the addition of Gaussian potentials of preassigned and typically diagonal covariance. Asymptotically the free-energy surface is proportional to the bias deposited. Here, we consider the possibility of using Gaussians whose variance is adjusted on the fly to the local properties of the free-energy surface. We suggest two different prescriptions: one is based on the local diffusivity and the other on the local geometrical properties. We further examine the problem of extracting the free-energy surface when using adaptive Gaussians. We show that the standard relation between the bias and the free energy does not hold. In the limit of narrow Gaussians an explicit correction can be evaluated. In the general case, we propose to use instead a relation between bias and free energy borrowed from umbrella sampling. This relation holds for all kinds of incrementally deposited bias. We illustrate on the case of alanine dipeptide the advantage of using adaptive Gaussians in conjunction with the new free-energy estimator both in terms of accuracy and speed of convergence.

Insights into Ligand-Protein Binding from Local Mechanical Response.

Computational studies of ligand-protein binding are crucial for properly designing novel compounds of potential pharmacological interest. In this respect, researchers are increasingly interested in steered molecular dynamics for ligand-protein binding and unbinding studies. In particular, it has been suggested that analyzing the work profiles along the ligand-protein undocking paths could be fruitful. Here, we propose that small portions of work profiles, termed "local mechanical responses" of the system to a steering force, could serve as a universal measure for capturing relevant information about the system under investigation. Specifically, we first collected a high number of steering trajectories using two biological systems of increasing complexity (i.e., alanine dipeptide and (R)-roscovitine/CDK5 complex). Then, we devised a novel postprocessing tool to be applied to the local mechanical responses, to extract structural information related to the biological processes under investigation. Despite the out-of-equilibrium character of the trajectories, the analysis carried out on the work profiles provided pivotal information about the investigated biological processes. This could eventually be applied to drug design.

Covalent inhibitors of fatty acid amide hydrolase: a rationale for the activity of piperidine and piperazine aryl ureas.

Recently, covalent drugs have attracted great interest in the drug discovery community, with successful examples that have demonstrated their therapeutic effects. Here, we focus on the covalent inhibition of the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), which is a promising strategy in the treatment of pain and inflammation. Among the most recent and potent FAAH inhibitors (FAAHi), there are the cyclic piperidine and piperazine aryl ureas. FAAH hydrolyzes efficiently the amide bond of these compounds, forming a covalent enzyme-inhibitor adduct. To rationalize this experimental evidence, we performed an extensive computational analysis centered on piperidine-based PF750 (1) and piperazine-based JNJ1661010 (2), two potent lead compounds used to generate covalent inhibitors as clinical candidates. We found that FAAH induces a distortion of the amide bond of the piperidine and piperazine aryl ureas. Quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics ΔE(LUMO-HOMO) energies indicate that the observed enzyme-induced distortion of the amide bond favors the formation of a covalent FAAH-inhibitor adduct. These findings could help in the rational structure-based design of novel covalent FAAHi.

A chirality-based metrics for free-energy calculations in biomolecular systems.

In this work, we exploit the chirality index introduced in (Pietropaolo et al., Proteins 2008, 70, 667) as an effective descriptor of the secondary structure of proteins to explore their complex free-energy landscape. We use the chirality index as an alternative metrics in the path collective variables (PCVs) framework and we show in the prototypical case of the C-terminal domain of immunoglobulin binding protein GB1 that relevant configurations can be efficiently sampled in combination with well-tempered metadynamics. While the projections of the configurations found onto a variety of different descriptors are fully consistent with previously reported calculations, this approach provides a unifying perspective of the folding mechanism which was not possible using metadynamics with the previous formulation of PCVs.

Methyl Phosphate Dianion Hydrolysis in Solution Characterized by Path Collective Variables Coupled with DFT-Based Enhanced Sampling Simulations.

Herein, we propose a conceptually innovative approach to investigating reaction mechanisms. This study demonstrates the importance of considering explicitly the effects of large amplitude motions, aside from the intrinsic reaction coordinate, when tuning the free energy landscape of reaction pathways. We couple the path collective variables method with DFT-based enhanced sampling simulations to characterize the associative mechanism of the hydrolysis of the methyl phosphate dianion in solution. Importantly, energetics and mechanistic differences are observed when passing from the potential to the free energy surface.

Free-energy-based methods for binding profile determination in a congeneric series of CDK2 inhibitors.

Free-energy pathway methods show great promise in computing the mode of action and the free energy profile associated with the binding of small molecules with proteins, but are generally very computationally demanding. Here we apply a novel approach based on metadynamics and path collective variables. We show that this combination is able to find an optimal reaction coordinate and the free energy profile of binding with explicit solvent and full flexibility, while minimizing human intervention and computational costs. We apply it to predict the binding affinity of a congeneric series of 5 CDK2 inhibitors. The predicted binding free energy profiles are in accordance with experiment.

Ensemble of transition state structures for the cis-trans isomerization of N-methylacetamide.

The cis-trans isomerization of N-methylacetamide (NMA), a model peptidic fragment, is studied theoretically in vacuo and in explicit water solvent at 300 K using the metadynamics technique. The computed cis-trans free energy difference is very similar for NMA(g) and NMA(aq), in agreement with experimental measurements of population ratios and theoretical studies at 0 K. By exploiting the flexibility in the definition of a pair of recently introduced collective variables (Branduardi, D.; Gervasio, F. L.; Parrinello, M. J. Chem. Phys. 2007, 126, 054103), an ensemble of transition state structures is generated at finite temperature for both NMA(g) and NMA(aq), as verified by computing committor distribution functions. Ensemble members of NMA(g) are shown to have correlated values of the backbone dihedral angle and a second dihedral angle involving the amide hydrogen atom. The dynamical character of these structures is preserved in the presence of solvent, whose influence on the committor functions can be modeled using effective friction/noise terms.

Nucleotide-dependent conformational states of actin.

The influence of the state of the bound nucleotide (ATP, ADP-Pi, or ADP) on the conformational free-energy landscape of actin is investigated. Nucleotide-dependent folding of the DNase-I binding (DB) loop in monomeric actin and the actin trimer is carried out using all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) calculations accelerated with a multiscale implementation of the metadynamics algorithm. Additionally, an investigation of the opening and closing of the actin nucleotide binding cleft is performed. Nucleotide-dependent free-energy profiles for all of these conformational changes are calculated within the framework of metadynamics. We find that in ADP-bound monomer, the folded and unfolded states of the DB loop have similar relative free-energy. This result helps explain the experimental difficulty in obtaining an ordered crystal structure for this region of monomeric actin. However, we find that in the ADP-bound actin trimer, the folded DB loop is stable and in a free-energy minimum. It is also demonstrated that the nucleotide binding cleft favors a closed conformation for the bound nucleotide in the ATP and ADP-Pi states, whereas the ADP state favors an open confirmation, both in the monomer and trimer. These results suggest a mechanism of allosteric interactions between the nucleotide binding cleft and the DB loop. This behavior is confirmed by an additional simulation that shows the folding free-energy as a function of the nucleotide cleft width, which demonstrates that the barrier for folding changes significantly depending on the value of the cleft width.

Quantitative assessment of the complex dynamics of G1, S, and G2-M checkpoint activities.

Although studies of cell cycle perturbation and growth inhibition are common practice, they are unable to properly measure the activity of cell cycle checkpoints and frequently convey misinterpretation or incomplete pictures of the response to anticancer treatment. A measure of the strength of the treatment response of all checkpoints, with their time and dose dependence, provides a new way to evaluate the antiproliferative activity of the drugs, fully accounting for variation of the cell fates within a cancer cell line. This is achieved with an interdisciplinary approach, joining information from independent experimental platforms and interpreting all data univocally with a simple mathematical model of cell cycle proliferation. The model connects the dynamics of checkpoint activities at the molecular level with population-based flow cytometric and growth inhibition time course measures. With this method, the response to five drugs, characterized by different molecular mechanisms of action, was studied in a synoptic way, producing a publicly available database of time course measures with different techniques in a range of drug concentrations, from sublethal to frankly cytotoxic. Using the computer simulation program, we were able to closely reproduce all the measures in the experimental database by building for each drug a scenario of the time and dose dependence of G(1), S, and G(2)-M checkpoint activities. We showed that the response to each drug could be described as a combination of a few types of activities, each with its own strength and concentration threshold. The results gained from this method provide a means for exploring new concepts regarding the drug-cell cycle interaction.

Protein conformational transitions: the closure mechanism of a kinase explored by atomistic simulations.

Kinase large-scale conformational rearrangement is an issue of enormous biological and pharmacological relevance. Atomistic simulations able to capture the dynamics and the energetics of kinase large-scale motions are still in their infancy. Here, we present a computational study in which the atomistic dynamics of the "open-to-closed" movement of the cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) have been simulated. Simulations were carried out using a new sampling method that is able to find the lowest free-energy channel between an initial state and a final state. This large-scale movement has a two-step mechanism: first, the alphaC-helix rotates by approximately 45 degrees , allowing the interaction between Glu51 and Arg149; then the CDK5 activation loop refolds to assume the closed conformation. We have also estimated the free-energy profile associated with the global motion and identified a CDK5 intermediate, which could be exploited for drug-design purposes. Our new sampling method turned out to be well-suited for investigating at an atomistic level the energetics and dynamics of kinase large-scale conformational motions.

The unfolded ensemble and folding mechanism of the C-terminal GB1 beta-hairpin.

In this work, we shed new light on a much-studied case of beta-hairpin folding by means of advanced molecular dynamics simulations. A fully atomistic description of the protein and the solvent molecule is used, together with metadynamics, to accelerate the sampling and estimate free-energy landscapes. This is achieved using the path collective variables approach, which provides an adaptive description of the mechanism under study. We discover that the folding mechanism is a multiscale process where the turn region conformation leads to two different energy pathways that are connected by elongated structures. The former displays a stable 2:4 native-like structure in which an optimal hydrophobic packing and hydrogen bond pattern leads to 8 kcal/mol of stabilization. The latter shows a less-structured 3:5 beta-sheet, where hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic packing provide only 2.5 kcal/mol of stability. This perspective is fully consistent with experimental evidence that shows this to be a prototypical two-state folder, while it redefines the nature of the unfolded state.

Conformational changes and gating at the selectivity filter of potassium channels.

The translocation of ions and water across cell membranes is a prerequisite for many of life's processes. K(+) channels are a diverse family of integral membrane proteins through which K(+) can pass selectively. There is an ongoing debate about the nature of conformational changes associated with the opening and closing and conductive and nonconductive states of potassium (K(+)) channels. These changes depend on the membrane potential, the K(+) concentration gradient, and large scale motions of transmembrane helices and associated residues. Experiments also suggest that local structural changes in the selectivity filter may act as the dominant gate referred to as C-type inactivation. Herein we present an extensive computational study on KirBac, which supports the existence of a physical gate or constriction in the selectivity filter (SF) of K(+) channels. Our computations identify a new selectivity filter structure, which is likely associated with C-type inactivation. Specifically, the four peptide chains that comprise the filter adopt an unusual structure in which their dihedrals alternate between left- and right-handed Ramachandran angles, which also justifies the need for conservation of glycine in the K(+) selectivity filter, since it is the only residue able to play this bifunctional role.

The role of Li+, Na+, and K+ in the ligand binding inside the human acetylcholinesterase gorge.

Alkali cations can affect the catalytic efficiency of enzymes. This is particularly true when dealing with enzymes whose substrate bears a formal positive charge. Computational and biochemical approaches have been combined to shed light on the atomic aspects of the role of Li(+), Na(+), and K(+) on human acetylcholinesterase (hAChE) ligand binding. In this respect, molecular dynamics simulations and our recently developed metadynamics method were applied to study the entrance of the three cations in the gorge of hAChE, and their effect on the dynamical motion of a ligand (tetramethylammonium) from the bulk of the solvent into the deep narrow enzyme gorge. Furthermore, in order to support the theoretical results, K(M) and k(cat) for the acetylcholine hydrolysis in the presence of the three cations were evaluated by using an approach based on the Ellman's method. The combination of computational and biochemical experiments clearly showed that Li(+), Na(+), and K(+) may influence the ligand binding at the hAChE gorge.