Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, Toxicity Research Articles

Multitargeted Compounds Derived from (2,5-Dioxopyrrolidin-1-yl)(phenyl)-Acetamides as Candidates for Effective Anticonvulsant and Antinociceptive Agents.

We developed a focused set of original hybrid pyrrolidine-2,5-dione derivatives with potent anticonvulsant and antinociceptive properties. These hybrid compounds demonstrated broad-spectrum protective activity in a range of mouse models, such as the maximal electroshock (MES) test, the pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures (scPTZ), and the 6 Hz (32 mA) seizures. Compound 22 showed the most potent anticonvulsant activity (ED50 MES = 23.7 mg/kg, ED50 6 Hz (32 mA) = 22.4 mg/kg, ED50scPTZ = 59.4 mg/kg). In addition, 22 revealed potent efficacy in the formalin-induced tonic pain. These in vivo activities of 22 are likely mediated by several targets and may result from the inhibition of central sodium/calcium currents and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) receptor antagonism. Finally, the lead compound 22 revealed drug-like absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity (ADME-Tox) properties in the in vitro assays, making it a potential candidate for further development in epilepsy and neuropathic pain indications.

Virtual Screening of Natural Products against Type II Transmembrane Serine Protease (TMPRSS2), the Priming Agent of Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused about 2 million infections and is responsible for more than 100,000 deaths worldwide. To date, there is no specific drug registered to combat the disease it causes, named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In the current study, we used an in silico approach to screen natural compounds to find potent inhibitors of the host enzyme transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2). This enzyme facilitates viral particle entry into host cells, and its inhibition blocks virus fusion with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). This, in turn, restricts SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. A three-dimensional structure of TMPRSS2 was built using SWISS-MODEL and validated by RAMPAGE. The natural compounds library Natural Product Activity and Species Source (NPASS), containing 30,927 compounds, was screened against the target protein. Two techniques were used in the Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) for this purpose, i.e., a ligand-based pharmacophore approach and a molecular docking-based screening. In total, 2140 compounds with pharmacophoric features were retained using the first approach. Using the second approach, 85 compounds with molecular docking comparable to or greater than that of the standard inhibitor (camostat mesylate) were identified. The top 12 compounds with the most favorable structural features were studied for physicochemical and ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity) properties. The low-molecular-weight compound NPC306344 showed significant interaction with the active site residues of TMPRSS2, with a binding energy score of −14.69. Further in vitro and in vivo validation is needed to study and develop an anti-COVID-19 drug based on the structures of the most promising compounds identified in this study.

In Silico Modelling in the Development of Novel Radiolabelled Peptide Probes.

This review describes the usefulness of in silico design approaches in the design of new radiopharmaceuticals, especially peptide-based radiotracers (including peptidomimetics). Although not part of the standard arsenal utilized during radiopharmaceutical design, the use of in silico strategies is steadily increasing in the field of radiochemistry as it contributes to a more rational and scientific approach. The development of new peptide-based radiopharmaceuticals as well as a short introduction to suitable computational approaches are provided in this review. The first section comprises a concise overview of the three most useful computeraided drug design strategies used, namely i) a Ligand-based Approach (LBDD) using pharmacophore modelling, ii) a Structure-based Design Approach (SBDD) using molecular docking strategies and iii) Absorption-Distribution-Metabolism-Excretion-Toxicity (ADMET) predictions. The second section summarizes the challenges connected to these computer-aided techniques and discusses successful applications of in silico radiopharmaceutical design in peptide-based radiopharmaceutical development, thereby improving the clinical procedure in Nuclear Medicine. Finally, the advances and future potential of in silico modelling as a design strategy is highlighted.

Efficient Synthesis and Antibacterial Profile of Bis(2-hydroxynaphthalene- 1,4-dione).

Antibacterial resistance is a serious public health problem infecting millions in the global population. Currently, there are few antimicrobials on the market against resistant bacterial infections. Therefore, there is an urgent need for new therapeutic options against these strains. In this study, we synthesized and evaluated ten Bis(2-hydroxynaphthalene-1,4-dione) against Gram-positive strains, including a hospital Methicillin-resistant (MRSA), and Gram-negative strains. The compounds were prepared by condensation of aldehydes and lawsone in the presence of different L-aminoacids as catalysts in very good yields. The compounds were submitted to antibacterial analysis through disk diffusion and Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) assays. L-aminoacids have been shown to be efficient catalysts in the preparation of Bis(2- hydroxynaphthalene-1,4-dione) from 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinones and arylaldehydes in excellent yields of up to 96%. The evaluation of the antibacterial profile against Gram-positive strains (Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, S. epidermidis ATCC 12228) also including a hospital Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and Gram-negative strains (Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 4352), revealed that seven compounds showed antibacterial activity within the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) levels mainly against P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 (MIC 8-128 µg/mL) and MRSA (MIC 32-128 µg/mL). In addition, the in vitro toxicity showed all derivatives with no hemolytic effects on healthy human erythrocytes. Furthermore, the derivatives showed satisfactory theoretical absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity (ADMET) parameters, and a similar profile to antibiotics currently in use. Finally, the in silico evaluation pointed to a structure-activity relationship related to lipophilicity for these compounds. This feature may help them in acting against Gram-negative strains, which present a rich lipid cell wall selective for several antibiotics. Our data showed the potential of this series for exploring new and more effective antibacterial activities in vivo against other resistant bacteria.

Nanosized divalent transition metal ion‐prompted macrocyclic complexes: Synthesis, characterization, molecular modeling, and biological studies

AbstractIn the present research work, four new 14‐membered tetraazamacrocylic complexes of Cobalt(II), Nickel(II), Copper(II) and Zinc(II) with (1E,14E)‐8,8,17,17‐tetramethyl‐2,5,11,14‐tetraazatricyclo[13.3.1.16,10]icosa‐1,5,10,14‐tetraene were synthesized using the template methodology that leads to the formation of a complex of type [MLX2] in which L is a macrocyclic ligand derived from ethylenediamine (ED) and 5,5‐dimethylcyclohexanedione (DCH) and X = Cl−/CH3COO−. Spectroscopic, physical, and analytical characterization of complexes was carried out with the assistance of infra‐red, nuclear magnetic resonance, electron spin resonance, Ultraviolet‐visible, powder X‐Ray diffraction, electron spray ionization ‐ mass spectroscopy (ESI‐MS), thermogravimetric analysis, magnetic susceptibilities, and carbon hydrogen nitrogen analysis. The information regarding the monomeric and nonelectrolytic behavior was elucidated from ESI‐MS and molar conductance values. Powder X‐Ray diffractogram studies point toward the crystalline or amorphous nature of the complexes. All the compounds exhibited the nonelectrolytic nature. Semiempirical calculations were performed using Gaussian 09 software and quantum chemical parameters were determined. Newly designed macrocyclic complexes were examined for their antifungal and antibacterial potency by the Agar well diffusion method. In‐vitro DNA binding studies were carried out in order to understand the extent and nature of binding shown by the complexes with the DNA. In addition to this, in‐silico absorption distribution metabolism excretion toxicity studies were also carried out for the interpretation of drug‐like properties in the newly synthesized complexes.

Exploration of Novel MTH1 Inhibitors Using Fragment-Based De Novo Design, Virtual Screening, and Reverse Virtual Screening Methods

MTH1 (MutT homologue 1, NUDT1), a member of the Nudix phosphohydrolase superfamily of enzymes, was speculated to contribute to hampering tumor growth based on a number of validation experiments. Based on the crystal structure of MTH1, de novo design was employed to construct a series of new MTH1 inhibitors by means of fragment-based strategy. ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity) were used to assess the pharmacokinetic profiles; pharmacophore screening and molecular docking were carried out to obtain 9 candidate molecules. Then, molecular dynamic (MD) simulations were performed to learn the stability of receptor–ligand complexes, which have the lowest binding energy in docking, and the binding model was analyzed. Finally, using reverse virtual screening, potential targets of query compounds, especially those enzymes participating in various cancer-related pathways, were found. The results provide theoretical basis for the design of more potent MTH1 inhibitors.

The Role Change of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics Research in the Drug Development

Global big pharmaceutical companies identify Absorption-Distribution-Metabolism-Excretion-Toxicity (ADMET) properties in early drug discovery stage to improve poor pharmacokinetics (PK) and bioavailability (BA) that are the major cause of attrition rate in drug development in 1990s. Attrition rate due to poor PK and BA was around 40% among total attrition rate. Hence, they intend to assign in-vitro ADME assay evaluations at the early drug discovery stage for finding optimal ADME chemicals to reduce attrition rate. As a result, attrition rate in 2000s due to poor PK & BA greatly decreased to less than 8% and the role of Drug-Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK) research has changed importantly during this process. According to this trend, canonical role of DMPK is moving fast to convergence area for optimization of new drugs. We expressed typical nonclinical work-flow in the 1990s and 2000s and tried to investigate how non-clinical work-flow changed in early drug discovery stage. The biggest changes are that in-vitro ADME assays were performed during the early drug discovery stage. In this review, we tried to inform to Korean pharmaceutical company about the world wide paradigm shift in DMPK research. We discussed drug discovery strategies to increase the success rate and the future direction of DMPK research scope.

Synthesis, Reactivity, Functionalization, and ADMET Properties of Silicon-Containing Nitrogen Heterocycles.

Silicon-containing compounds have been largely ignored in drug design and development, despite their potential to improve not only the potency but also the physicochemical and ADMET ( absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity) properties of drug-like candidates because of the unique characteristics of silicon. This deficiency is in large part attributable to a lack of general methods for synthesizing diverse organosilicon structures. Accordingly, a new building block strategy has been developed that diverges from traditional approaches to incorporation of silicon into drug candidates. Flexible, multi-gram-scale syntheses of silicon-containing tetrahydroquinoline and tetrahydroisoquinoline building blocks are described, along with methods by which diversely functionalized silicon-containing nitrogen heterocycles can be rapidly built using common reactions optimized to accommodate the properties of silicon. Furthermore, to better clarify the liabilities and advantages of silicon incorporation, select compounds and their carbon analogues were challenged in ADMET-focused biological studies.

IMPPAT: A curated database of Indian Medicinal Plants, Phytochemistry And Therapeutics

Phytochemicals of medicinal plants encompass a diverse chemical space for drug discovery. India is rich with a flora of indigenous medicinal plants that have been used for centuries in traditional Indian medicine to treat human maladies. A comprehensive online database on the phytochemistry of Indian medicinal plants will enable computational approaches towards natural product based drug discovery. In this direction, we present, IMPPAT, a manually curated database of 1742 Indian Medicinal Plants, 9596 Phytochemicals, And 1124 Therapeutic uses spanning 27074 plant-phytochemical associations and 11514 plant-therapeutic associations. Notably, the curation effort led to a non-redundant in silico library of 9596 phytochemicals with standard chemical identifiers and structure information. Using cheminformatic approaches, we have computed the physicochemical, ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity) and drug-likeliness properties of the IMPPAT phytochemicals. We show that the stereochemical complexity and shape complexity of IMPPAT phytochemicals differ from libraries of commercial compounds or diversity-oriented synthesis compounds while being similar to other libraries of natural products. Within IMPPAT, we have filtered a subset of 960 potential druggable phytochemicals, of which majority have no significant similarity to existing FDA approved drugs, and thus, rendering them as good candidates for prospective drugs. IMPPAT database is openly accessible at: https://cb.imsc.res.in/imppat.

SYNTHESIS, ANTIMICROBIAL, ANTITUBERCULAR AND CHEMINFORMATIC STUDIES OF 2-(1-BENZOFURAN-2-YL)-N'-[(3Z)-2-OXO-1, 2-DIHYDRO-3H-INDOL-3-YLIDENE] QUINOLINE-4-CARBOHYDRAZIDE AND ITS DERIVATIVES

Objective: Synthesis of novel 2-(1-benzofuran-2-yl)-N'-[(3Z)-2-oxo-1, 2-dihydro-3H-indol-3-ylidene] quinoline-4-carbohydrazide and its derivatives for antimicrobial and antitubercular activity.Methods: Synthesis was carried out using the general method and the structures were confirmed by IR, 1H-NMR, [13]C-NMR and mass spectral analysis. The antibacterial activity was carried by agar well diffusion method, antifungal activity was performed by poison food technique and antitubercular activity was carried out by Microplate Alamar Blue Assay (MABA) method with the help of H37Rv. In silico absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity (ADMET) study of the drug, likeliness was carried out in ACD/lab-2.Results: The results revealed that at 25 mg/ml concentration, compounds 3a and 5a showed good antibacterial activity at 3.5±0.1, 3.8±0.3, 3.6±0.2 respectively against E. coli, K. pneumonia and S. typhimurium, when compared with drug streptomycin with similar concentration. The percentage of inhibition found at 50 µg/ml concentration, compounds 2b and 6a exhibited good antifungal activity at 53±1.15, 57±1.52 against A. flavus and C. neoformans, compared with standard drug fluconazole. The increase in activity was found to be dose dependent. The analogue 2a showed good antitubercular activity at 12.5±0.5 µg/ml, compounds 2b, 3a, 4a-b, 5a-b and 6a-b exhibited significant activity at 25±0.57 µg/ml and compound 3b showed moderate activity at 50±0.57 µg/ml. The mean value of P<0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. The absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity studies of the entitled molecules were analyzed and found to be in acceptable range.Conclusion: The study reveals that compounds containing benzofuran coupled nitrogen heterocycles are essential for activity as they possess excellent drug-like characteristics, suggesting to be potentially best inhibitor of H37Rv strain. The in silico ADME analysis also revealed that all the compounds were in acceptable range to obey the pharmacokinetic parameters.

An In-silico Approach to Explore the Possible Multifunctional Neuroprotective Efficacy of Violacein against Ischemic Stroke

Introduction: Cerebral ischemia arise due to insufficient/ interrupted blood supply to brain and is accompanied by pathologies like degradation of extracellular matrix resulting in blood brain barrier disruption, intra cranial haemorrhage, activation of astroglial cells and hence death of neurons. In addition, oxidative stress and inflammation is common to all neurodegenerative diseases enhancing the harmful consequences of diseases. Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMP) are normally involved in extracellular matrix remodelling and are regulated while injury and inflammation in tissue. Over expression of MMP2 and MMP9 results in progression of ischemic conditions by extracellular matrix degradation thus compromising the structural integrity of Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) proving them a potent targets for the disease. Violacein (source: Chromobacterium violaceum), purple pigment from microbial origin is a bisindole have high anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-cancer and anti-parasitic properties. Present study is to study the effective potential of violacein against cerebral ischemia. Methods and findings: Violacein’s ADMET (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, Toxicity), properties were calculated and structural inhibition of MMPs through molecular docking was evaluated. Violacein resulted six H-bonds with MMP2 with high binding energy of -11.83 kcal/mol and two H-bonds with MMP9 with binding energy of -9.889 kcal/mol. The Ki values of violacein with MMP2 and MMP9 were 2.12 nM and 56.14 nM respectively which proved high affinity of violacein towards the target. Conclusion: Violacein with its high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory property can be a potent all round treatment for cerebral ischemia and demands extensive research.

E-Pharmacophore Model Assisted Discovery of Novel Antagonists of nNOS

The nitric oxide (NO) synthesized by neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) acts as a neurotransmitter and plays a crucial role in a series of neurobiological functions. In diseased condition, activated nNOS induces nitrosylation as well as phosphorylation of tau protein and glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK-3β) respectively. Hyper phosphorylation of tau accelerates tau oligomerization resulting in formation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), ensuring the neuronal cell death in hippocampus region; a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Thus, designing inhibitor towards nNOS may reduce the neuronal loss caused by nNOS. Hence nNOS has been one of the revitalizing targets for AD. In the present work, one energetically optimized structure-based pharmacophore (e-pharmacophore) was generated using nNOS co-crystal structure (4D1N) to map important pharmacophoric features of nNOS. Shape based similarity screening performed using e-pharmacophore against in-house library of more than one million compounds resulted 2701 library of compounds. Rigid receptor docking (RRD) was applied and followed by molecular mechanics and generalized Born and surface area (MM-GBSA) calculation which results 22 nNOS ligands. To define the leads, dock complexes were subjected to quantum-polarized ligand docking (QPLD) followed by free energy calculations revealed 3 leads. On comparison with 1 existing inhibitor,it concealed three best leads with lower binding energy and better binding affinity. The best lead was subjected to induced fit docking (IFD) with MM-GBSA calculation and further molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for 50 ns in solvated model system. Potential energy, root mean square deviation (RMSD) and root mean square fluctuations (RMSF) results disclosed constancy of lead 1 interactions throughout 50 ns MD simulations run. Thus proposed three leads are having favorable absorption distribution metabolism excretion toxicity (ADME/T) properties and provide a scaffold for designing nNOS antagonists.

Antileishmanial Thioureas: Synthesis, Biological Activity and in Silico Evaluations of New Promising Derivatives.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Leishmania. Currently, the drugs available for treatment of this disease present high toxicity, along with development of parasite resistance. In order to overcome these problems, efforts have been made to search for new and more effective leishmanicidal drugs. The aim of this study was to synthesize and investigate the leishmanicidal effect of N,N'-disubstituted thioureas against Leishmania amazonensis, with evaluation of their in silico pharmacokinetics and toxicity profiles. Our results showed that different thioureas could be obtained in high to moderate yields using simple reaction conditions. Nine thiourea derivatives (3e, 3i, 3k, 3l, 3p, 3q, 3v, 3x and 3z) were active against parasite promastigotes (IC50 21.48-189.10 µM), with low cytotoxicity on mice peritoneal macrophages (CC50>200 µM), except for thiourea 3e (CC50=49.22 µM). After that, the most promising thioureas (3k, 3l, 3p, 3q and 3v) showed IC50 ranging from 70 to 150 µM against L. amazonensis amastigotes in infected macrophages. Except for thiourea 3p, the leishmanicidal activity of the derivatives were independent of nitric oxide (NO) production. Thioureas 3q and 3v affected promastigotes cell cycle without disturbing the mitochondrial membrane potential. Furthermore, our derivatives showed satisfactory theoretical absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity (ADMET) properties. These data indicate that thiourea derivatives are good candidates as leading compounds for the development of new leishmanicidal drugs.

New Thiazolyl-triazole Schiff Bases: Synthesis and Evaluation of the Anti-Candida Potential.

In the context of the dangerous phenomenon of fungal resistance to the available therapies, we present here the chemical synthesis of a new series of thiazolyl-triazole Schiff bases B1–B15, which were in vitro assessed for their anti-Candida potential. Compound B10 was found to be more potent against Candida spp. when compared with the reference drugs Fluconazole and Ketoconazole. A docking study of the newly synthesized Schiff bases was performed, and results showed good binding affinity in the active site of co-crystallized Itraconazole-lanosterol 14α-demethylase isolated from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. An in silico ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity) study was done in order to predict some pharmacokinetic and pharmacotoxicological properties. The Schiff bases showed good drug-like properties. The results of in vitro anti-Candida activity, a docking study and ADMET prediction revealed that the newly synthesized compounds have potential anti-Candida activity and evidenced the most active derivative, B10, which can be further optimized as a lead compound.

ANTIPROLIFERATIVE, ADME AND POTENTIAL IN SILICO G6PDH INHIBITORY ACTIVITY OF NOVEL 2-(1-BENZOFURAN-2-YL)-4-(5-PHENYL-4H-1, 2, 4-TRIAZOL-3-YL) QUINOLINE DERIVATIVES

Objectives: Synthesis of new 2-(1-benzofuran-2-yl)-4-(5-phenyl-4H-1, 2, 4-triazol-3-yl) quinoline and its derivatives for antiproliferative potential against cancer cells.Methods: The general methods were employed for the synthesis and the structures were confirmed by IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and mass spectral analysis. The antiproliferative activity was performed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and molecular docking study were performed by Auto Dock Tools. In silico Absorption-Distribution-Metabolism-Excretion-Toxicity (ADMET) study for the drug, likeliness was carried out on ACD/lab-2.Results: The compound 3l showed 44, 44, 38 and 37 % inhibition against MCF-7, HepG2, Colo205 and HeLa cell lines, respectively; whereas, the compounds 3i and 3j exhibited 49 and 42 % inhibition against MCF-7 cell line. The molecular docking study revealed that the compound 3i has the lowest binding energy (-8.60 Kcal mol-1), suggesting to be potentially best inhibitor of Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH). The in silico ADME analysis also revealed that compound 3i does not violate any of the Lipinski rules of five and has the best stimulative human colonic absorption up to 95 %.Conclusion: The study reveals that the compounds containing benzofuran coupled nitrogen heterocycles are essential for activity as they possess excellent drug-like characteristics.

ANTIMICROBIAL AND IN SILICO ADMET SCREENING OF NOVEL (E)-N-(2-(1H-INDOL-3-YL-AMINO) VINYL)-3-(1-METHYL-1H-INDOL-3-YL)-3-PHENYLPROPANAMIDE DERIVATIVES

<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Synthesis, <em>in silico</em> absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity (ADMET) and <em>in vitro</em> antimicrobial screening of (<em>E</em>)-<em>N</em>-(2-(1<em>H</em>-indol-3-ylamino) vinyl)-3-(1-methyl-1<em>H</em>-indol-3-yl)-3-phenylpropanamide derivatives.<strong></strong></p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>(<em>E</em>)-<em>N</em>-(2-(1<em>H</em>-indol-3-ylamino) vinyl)-3-(1-methyl-1<em>H</em>-indol-3-yl)-3 phenylpropane-amide derivatives were synthesized by combining indole ethanolamine and substituted Meldrum’s adduct. The synthesized compounds were subjected to <em>in vitro</em> antimicrobial study by cup plate method and <em>in silico</em> ADMET properties using ACD/I-Lab 2.0.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The <em>in vitro </em>antimicrobial screening against precarious pathogenic microorganisms <em>viz</em>, <em>Pseudomonas aureginosa</em>, <em>Staphylococcus aureus,</em> <em>Escherichia coli, </em><em>Vibrio cholerae</em>, and the antifungal activity against <em>Candida albicans, </em><em>Aspergillus niger</em>, <em>Penicillin chrysogenum</em> and <em>Cladosporium oxysporum</em> strains. The results revealed that compounds 5b, 5c, 5d and 5e showed good antimicrobial property and obeyed the <em>in silico</em> pharmacokinetic parameters.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The encouraging results exhibited by the compounds (<em>E</em>)-<em>N</em>-(2-(1<em>H</em>-indol-3-ylamino) vinyl)-3-(1-methyl-1<em>H</em>-indol-3-yl)-3-phenyl propanamide derivatives, 5(a-e) can be explored as possible hits in antimicrobial therapy. The molecules obey the Lipinski rule of five when tested <em>in silico </em>and can be used in understanding the quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) parameters.</p>

IDAAPM: integrated database of ADMET and adverse effects of predictive modeling based on FDA approved drug data.

Background The disposition of a pharmaceutical compound within an organism, i.e. its Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, Toxicity (ADMET) properties and adverse effects, critically affects late stage failure of drug candidates and has led to the withdrawal of approved drugs. Computational methods are effective approaches to reduce the number of safety issues by analyzing possible links between chemical structures and ADMET or adverse effects, but this is limited by the size, quality, and heterogeneity of the data available from individual sources. Thus, large, clean and integrated databases of approved drug data, associated with fast and efficient predictive tools are desirable early in the drug discovery process.Description We have built a relational database (IDAAPM) to integrate available approved drug data such as drug approval information, ADMET and adverse effects, chemical structures and molecular descriptors, targets, bioactivity and related references. The database has been coupled with a searchable web interface and modern data analytics platform (KNIME) to allow data access, data transformation, initial analysis and further predictive modeling. Data were extracted from FDA resources and supplemented from other publicly available databases. Currently, the database contains information regarding about 19,226 FDA approval applications for 31,815 products (small molecules and biologics) with their approval history, 2505 active ingredients, together with as many ADMET properties, 1629 molecular structures, 2.5 million adverse effects and 36,963 experimental drug-target bioactivity data.ConclusionIDAAPM is a unique resource that, in a single relational database, provides detailed information on FDA approved drugs including their ADMET properties and adverse effects, the corresponding targets with bioactivity data, coupled with a data analytics platform. It can be used to perform basic to complex drug-target ADMET or adverse effects analysis and predictive modeling. IDAAPM is freely accessible at http://idaapm.helsinki.fi and can be exploited through a KNIME workflow connected to the database.Graphical abstractFDA approved drug data integration for predictive modelingElectronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13321-016-0141-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Identification of Selective ERRγ Inverse Agonists.

GSK5182 (4) is currently one of the lead compounds for the development of estrogen-related receptor gamma (ERRγ) inverse agonists. Here, we report the design, synthesis, pharmacological and in vitro absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity (ADMET) properties of a series of compounds related to 4. Starting from 4, a series of analogs were structurally modified and their ERRγ inverse agonist activity was measured. A key pharmacophore feature of this novel class of ligands is the introduction of a heterocyclic group for A-ring substitution in the core scaffold. Among the tested compounds, several of them are potent ERRγ inverse agonists as determined by binding and functional assays. The most promising compound, 15g, had excellent binding selectivity over related subtypes (IC50 = 0.44, >10, >10, and 10 μM at the ERRγ, ERRα, ERRβ, and ERα subtypes, respectively). Compound 15g also resulted in 95% transcriptional repression at a concentration of 10 μM, while still maintaining an acceptable in vitro ADMET profile. This novel class of ERRγ inverse agonists shows promise in the development of drugs targeting ERRγ-related diseases.

Exploration of Peptide Inhibitors of Human Squalene Synthase through Molecular Modeling and Phage Display Technique.

Many studies have demonstrated the role of elevated levels of serum cholesterol in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Various drugs targeting the key enzymes involved in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway have been investigated for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. Human squalene synthase has been one of the most important targets for therapeutic intervention. In the present study, we used the recombinant human squalene synthase as the lure for screening the peptide inhibitors from phage-displayed random peptide library. The tightly bound phages and their derived peptides were further evaluated based on their potential binding capabilities, molecular modeling characteristics and predicted absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity (ADMET) properties. Several hexa-peptides and tetra-peptides were finally synthesized to assay their inhibitory effects toward the recombinant human squalene synthase. The results demonstrated that the hexa-peptide FTACNW and tetra-peptide VACL can inhibit human squalene synthase effectively (with IC50 values near 100μM) and may have potential to develop further as future hypocholesterolemia agents.

The 8-Pyrrole-Benzothiazinones Are Noncovalent Inhibitors of DprE1 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

8-Nitro-benzothiazinones (BTZs), such as BTZ043 and PBTZ169, inhibit decaprenylphosphoryl-β-d-ribose 2'-oxidase (DprE1) and display nanomolar bactericidal activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vitro. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies revealed the 8-nitro group of the BTZ scaffold to be crucial for the mechanism of action, which involves formation of a semimercaptal bond with Cys387 in the active site of DprE1. To date, substitution of the 8-nitro group has led to extensive loss of antimycobacterial activity. Here, we report the synthesis and characterization of the pyrrole-benzothiazinones PyrBTZ01 and PyrBTZ02, non-nitro-benzothiazinones that retain significant antimycobacterial activity, with MICs of 0.16 μg/ml against M. tuberculosis. These compounds inhibit DprE1 with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of <8 μM and present favorable in vitro absorption-distribution-metabolism-excretion/toxicity (ADME/T) and in vivo pharmacokinetic profiles. The most promising compound, PyrBTZ01, did not show efficacy in a mouse model of acute tuberculosis, suggesting that BTZ-mediated killing through DprE1 inhibition requires a combination of both covalent bond formation and compound potency.