In silico screening of drug-like molecules for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases on the basis of five-membered privileged heterocycles

Abstract

Among various heterocyclic systems, the derivatives of five-membered heterocycles are of special interest. Most of the above mentioned heterocycles are treatred as so-called privileged structures in modern medicinal chemistry. In silico screening among five-membered heterocycles of molecules for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases is actual.
 The aim of the work was the search for synthetic drug-like molecules based on functionalized five-membered heterocycles and related heterocyclic systems as an element of the theoretical platform for rational design of compounds acting on the cardiovascular system, and prediction of their possible mechanism of action.
 The objects of the study were derivatives of uncondensed and condensed five-membered heterocycles. In the work, in silico approaches were applied using the programs: Hyper-Chem, PASS, AutoDock, PROTOX.
 Based on the previous studies, focused sub-libraries of small synthetic drug-like molecules based on functionalized five-membered heterocycles and related heterocyclic systems have been selected. The compounds were divided on 12 groups. The optimization of the compound structures, the drug-like parameters calculation were carried out. The activity prediction, the acute toxicity level and docking studies to probable bio-targets which are related with cardiovascular drug mechanism of action have been carried out. It was shown that thiazole and thiadiazole based compounds possessed the highest calculated affinity levels to selected bio-targets. This is consistent with PASS-based prediction data.
 Diverse functionalized derivatives of five-membered heterocycles (thiazole, thiazolidine, thiadiazole, pyrazole, thiophene, triazole) and related fused heterocycles have been grouped in focused sub-libraries of compounds. it has been established that thiazole and thiadiazole based compounds are promising objects for directed synthesis and further modification as potential cardiovascular agents based on the prediction of biological activity, the calculation of affinity to potent bio-targets, and the prediction of the drug-like features and acute toxicity level. The prognostic values of the parameters of the above mentioned groups of compounds may be used as the element of theoretical platform for the search and de novo design of potential drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.