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Methods for the Discovery of Novel Compounds Modulating a Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Receptor Type A Neurotransmission
Published on: August 16, 2018
Identification of novel small molecules against GSK3β for Alzheimer's disease using chemoinformatics approach
Rohit Shukla1, Nupur S Munjal1, Tiratha Raj Singh1
1Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Jaypee University of Information Technology (JUIT), Waknaghat, Solan, H.P, 173234, India.
Abstract:
Alzheimer's disease is a rapidly increasing neurodegenerative disease. It is a multifactorial disease and also a global threat. Several enzymes are implicated in the disease in which Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta is a key enzyme to increase the disease progression by the hyperphosphorylation of the tau protein. We have used an integrative chemoinformatics and pharmacokinetics approach for the identification of novel small molecules. We have retrieved a subset from the ZINC database (n = 5,36,709) and screened against GSK3β in four steps. From here top 298 potent compounds were selected and employed for their pharmacokinetics analysis. We had seen that 29 compounds showed the key characteristics to be a novel drug candidate therefore, all these compounds were employed for redocking studies using Autodock Vina and Autodock. This analysis revealed that four compounds were showing good binding affinity. All these four compounds were employed for MDS analysis of 100 ns From here using a bunch of MD analyses we have found that out of four compounds GSK3β-ZINC21011059 and GSK3β-ZINC21011066 act as a stable protein-ligand complex. Therefore we proposed ZINC21011059 and ZINC21011066 can serve as a novel compounds against GSK3β and predicted scaffold can be used for further optimization towards the improvement of isoform selectivity, and warranting further investigations towards their in vitro and in vivo validation of the bioactivity.
Insights
Researchers identified two novel small molecules, ZINC21011059 and ZINC21011066, as potential drug candidates for Alzheimer's disease. These compounds show stable binding to Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta (GSK3β), a key enzyme in disease progression.
Area of Science:
- Computational chemistry
- Neuroscience
- Drug discovery
Background:
- Alzheimer's disease is a growing global health concern, characterized by neurodegeneration.
- Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta (GSK3β) is a critical enzyme in Alzheimer's pathogenesis, promoting tau protein hyperphosphorylation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify novel small molecules targeting GSK3β for Alzheimer's disease treatment.
- To utilize an integrated chemoinformatics and pharmacokinetic approach for drug candidate discovery.
Main Methods:
- Screening of over 5 million compounds from the ZINC database against GSK3β.
- Pharmacokinetic analysis of top-ranked compounds, followed by redocking studies using Autodock Vina and Autodock.
- Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of 100 nanoseconds to assess protein-ligand complex stability.
Main Results:
- 298 potent compounds were initially selected, with 29 showing promising pharmacokinetic characteristics.
- Four compounds demonstrated significant binding affinity to GSK3β.
- GSK3β-ZINC21011059 and GSK3β-ZINC21011066 formed stable protein-ligand complexes based on MD analysis.
Conclusions:
- ZINC21011059 and ZINC21011066 are proposed as novel therapeutic agents targeting GSK3β for Alzheimer's disease.
- The identified scaffolds warrant further optimization for improved selectivity and in vitro/in vivo validation.
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