Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2025

Author Spotlight: Streamlining Protein Target Prediction and Validation via Molecular Docking and CETSA
Published on: February 23, 2024
DeepMolecules: a web server for predicting enzyme and transporter-small molecule interactions
Alexander Kroll1, Yvan Rousset1, Thomas Spitzlei1
1Heinrich-Heine-University, Institute for Computer Science and Department of Biology, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
Abstract:
DeepMolecules is an easily accessible web server for predicting protein-small molecule interactions. It integrates four state-of-the-art models: ESP and SPOT for identifying substrates of enzymes and transporters, respectively, TurNuP for predicting enzyme turnover numbers kcat, and a model for predicting Michaelis constants KM. These models use deep learning-generated numerical representations of the proteins and small molecules as input features for gradient-boosted decision tree models, achieving high predictive performance. The web interface accepts protein amino acid sequences and small molecules in SMILES, InChI, or KEGG ID formats, supporting single submissions and batch submissions via Excel files. Beyond its predictive capabilities, DeepMolecules provides a structured interface to experimental data on known interactions and kinetic parameters, offering a comprehensive view of protein-small molecule relationships. Freely accessible at https://www.DeepMolecules.org, the web server supports applications in metabolic engineering, drug discovery, and biocatalyst optimization by identifying potential substrates and quantifying their catalytic properties.
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...
Ligand Binding Sites
Protein-ligand interactions are quite specific; even though numerous potential ligands surround a cellular protein at any given time, only a particular ligand can bind to that protein. Moreover, a ligand binds only to a dedicated area on the surface of the protein, known as the...
Primary Active Transport
Protein-protein Interfaces
Protein Networks
These interactions can be represented through maps depicting protein-protein interaction networks, represented as nodes and edges. Nodes are circles that are representative of a protein,...
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...

