Elucidation of structure-activity relationship pathways in biological screening data

A computational molecular network analysis of various high-throughput screening (HTS) data sets including inhibition assays and cell-based screens organizes screening hits according to different local structure-activity relationships (SARs). The resulting network representations make it possible to focus on different local SAR environments in screening data. We have designed a simple scoring function accounting for similarity and potency relationships among hits that identifies SAR pathways leading from active compounds in different SAR contexts to key compounds forming activity cliffs. From these pathways, SAR information can be extracted and utilized to select hits for further analysis. In clusters of hits related by different local SARs, alternative pathways can be systematically explored and ranked according to SAR information content, which makes it possible to prioritize hits in a consistent manner.