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Updated: Jul 4, 2026
10:21
Protein Target Prediction and Validation of Small Molecule Compound
Published on: February 23, 2024
Contribution of structural biology to clinically validated target proteins
Masumi Mori1, Naoko Ogawa, Kunihiro Tanikawa
1RIKEN Genomic Sciences Center, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan.
Drug Discovery Today
|June 14, 2008
Summary
Structural analysis of drug targets is crucial, yet only 9.8% of proteins linked to serious diseases have available structural data. Developing new methods for intractable proteins is essential for drug discovery.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Structural Biology
- Drug Discovery
Background:
- Six disease groups posing significant future health risks were identified based on WHO data.
- Approved drugs targeting these diseases interact with 409 unique proteins.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the availability of structural information for drug target proteins associated with serious diseases.
- To highlight challenges in protein structural analysis and advocate for new methodologies.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of protein targets for WHO-identified serious diseases.
- Assessment of structural data availability in the Protein Data Bank (PDB).
- Identification of protein characteristics hindering structural analysis.
Main Results:
- Only 9.8% of the 409 identified target proteins have full-length structural information in the PDB.
- Intractable proteins, particularly those with multiple transmembrane regions and complex glycosylation, pose significant challenges.
- A substantial proportion of druggable proteins remain structurally uncharacterized.
Conclusions:
- There is a critical gap in structural information for key drug target proteins.
- The complexity of certain proteins impedes structural determination, hindering drug development.
- Advancement in structural biology methods is imperative for characterizing intractable proteins and advancing therapeutic strategies.
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