Valdés-Albuernes Jorge Luis, Díaz-Pico Erbio, Alfaro Sergio, Caballero Julio
Centro de Bioinformática, Simulación y Modelado (CBSM), Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile.
Front Mol Biosci. 2024 Mar 27;11:1374364. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2024.1374364. eCollection 2024.
The papain-like protease (PLpro) found in coronaviruses that can be transmitted from animals to humans is a critical target in respiratory diseases linked to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). Researchers have proposed designing PLpro inhibitors. In this study, a set of 89 compounds, including recently reported 2-phenylthiophenes with nanomolar inhibitory potency, were investigated as PLpro noncovalent inhibitors using advanced molecular modeling techniques. To develop the work with these inhibitors, multiple structures of the SARS-CoV-2 PLpro binding site were generated using a molecular sampling method. These structures were then clustered to select a group that represents the flexibility of the site. Subsequently, models of the protein-ligand complexes were created for the set of inhibitors within the chosen conformations. The quality of the complex models was assessed using LigRMSD software to verify similarities in the orientations of the congeneric series and interaction fingerprints to determine the recurrence of chemical interactions. With the multiple models constructed, a protocol was established to choose one per ligand, optimizing the correlation between the calculated docking energy values and the biological activities while incorporating the effect of the binding site's flexibility. A strong correlation (R = 0.922) was found when employing this flexible docking protocol.
在可从动物传播给人类的冠状病毒中发现的木瓜蛋白酶样蛋白酶(PLpro)是与严重急性呼吸综合征(SARS-CoV)相关的呼吸道疾病的关键靶点。研究人员已提议设计PLpro抑制剂。在本研究中,使用先进的分子建模技术,对一组89种化合物(包括最近报道的具有纳摩尔抑制效力的2-苯基噻吩)作为PLpro非共价抑制剂进行了研究。为了开展这些抑制剂的研究工作,使用分子采样方法生成了SARS-CoV-2 PLpro结合位点的多种结构。然后将这些结构聚类,以选择一组代表该位点灵活性的结构。随后,针对所选构象内的抑制剂组创建了蛋白质-配体复合物模型。使用LigRMSD软件评估复合物模型的质量,以验证同系物系列方向的相似性和相互作用指纹,从而确定化学相互作用的重现性。在构建了多个模型后,建立了一个协议,为每个配体选择一个模型,在纳入结合位点灵活性影响的同时,优化计算的对接能量值与生物活性之间的相关性。采用这种灵活的对接协议时,发现了很强的相关性(R = 0.922)。