Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 8, 2026

Biosensor-based High Throughput Biopanning and Bioinformatics Analysis Strategy for the Global Validation of Drug-protein Interactions
Published on: December 1, 2020
Metrabase: a cheminformatics and bioinformatics database for small molecule transporter data analysis and (Q)SAR
Lora Mak1, David Marcus1, Andrew Howlett2
1The Centre for Molecular Informatics, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, CB2 1EW UK ; European Molecular Biology Laboratory - European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SD UK.
Metrabase is a new database integrating human xenobiotic transport and metabolism data. It provides access to over 11,500 interaction records for computational analysis of drug bioavailability and effects.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology
- Biochemistry
- Bioinformatics
Background:
- Drug bioavailability and biological activity are determined by metabolism and transport processes.
- High-quality experimental data in databases aids computational analysis for knowledge inference.
- Efficient access to structured data is crucial for understanding molecular interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To create a freely accessible database for data on interactions between transport/metabolism proteins and small molecules.
- To integrate cheminformatics and bioinformatics resources for human xenobiotic transport and metabolism.
- To facilitate computational processing and knowledge discovery in pharmacology.
Main Methods:
- Manual data extraction from published literature.
- Integration of curated data from existing resources.
- Development of a relational database for cheminformatics and bioinformatics data.
Main Results:
- Metrabase version 1.0 contains over 11,500 interaction records.
- The database includes nearly 3,500 small molecule substrates and modulators.
- Data covers human transport proteins and cytochrome P450 enzymes.
Conclusions:
- Metrabase offers a valuable resource for researchers studying drug metabolism and transport.
- The database facilitates computational analysis of xenobiotic interactions.
- Freely accessible data promotes efficient knowledge discovery in pharmacology and toxicology.
Related Concept Videos
The Significance of Membrane Transport
Transporters facilitate either an active or passive movement of solutes. They can allow a single-molecule transport down its...
Membrane Transporters
Transporters are mainly composed of alpha-helices, built from bundles of ten or more helices traversing the plasma membrane. The solute-binding sites are located midway, where some of the helices are broken or distorted, making space for the binding site through...
Primary Active Transport
Physiological Pharmacokinetic Models: Incorporating Hepatic Transporter-Mediated Clearance
A recent model describes pravastatin's hepatobiliary excretion,...
Structure-Activity Relationships and Drug Design
SAR studies the intricate relationship between a drug's chemical structure and biological activity. It focuses on understanding how modifications to a drug's structure can influence...
Drug Absorption Mechanism: Carrier-Mediated Membrane Transport
Facilitated diffusion is a passive process that utilizes human Solute Carrier (SLC) transporters. These transporters bind to the drug, undergo structural...

