A Fast Flexible Docking Method using an Incremental Construction Algorithm

The direct functionalization of C-H bonds in organic compounds has recently emerged as a powerful and ideal method for the formation of carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds. This Review provides an overview of C-H bond functionalization strategies for the rapid synthesis of biologically active compounds such as natural products and pharmaceutical targets.

C-H bond functionalization: emerging synthetic tools for natural products and pharmaceuticals

Implicit Solvation Models: Equilibria, Structure, Spectra, and Dynamics.

We present a novel protein-ligand docking method that accurately accounts for both ligand and receptor flexibility by iteratively combining rigid receptor docking (Glide) with protein structure prediction (Prime) techniques. While traditional rigid-receptor docking methods are useful when the receptor structure does not change substantially upon ligand binding, success is limited when the protein must be "induced" into the correct binding conformation for a given ligand. We provide an in-depth description of our novel methodology and present results for 21 pharmaceutically relevant examples. Traditional rigid-receptor docking for these 21 cases yields an average RMSD of 5.5 A. The average ligand RMSD for docking to a flexible receptor for the 21 pairs is 1.4 A; the RMSD is < or =1.8 A for 18 of the cases. For the three cases with RMSDs greater than 1.8 A, the core of the ligand is properly docked and all key protein/ligand interactions are captured.

Novel procedure for modeling ligand/receptor induced fit effects.

AutoDock is a suite of C programs used to predict the bound conformations of a small, flexible ligand to a macromolecular target of known structure. The technique combines simulated annealing for conformation searching with a rapid grid-based method of energy evaluation. This paper reviews recent applications of the technique and describes the enhancements included in the current release.

Automated docking of flexible ligands: applications of AutoDock.

We present a computational method for prediction of the conformation of a ligand when bound to a macromolecular receptor. The method is intended for use in systems in which the approximate location of the binding site is known and no large-scale rearrangements of the receptor are expected upon formation of the complex. The ligand is initially placed in the vicinity of the binding site and the atomic motions of the ligand and binding site are explicitly simulated, with solvent represented by an implicit solvation model and using a grid representation for the bulk of the receptor protein. These two approximations make the method computationally efficient and yet maintain accuracy close to that of an all-atom calculation. For the benzamidine/trypsin system, we ran 100 independent simulations, in many of which the ligand settled into the low-energy conformation observed in the crystal structure of the complex. The energy of these conformations was lower than and well-separated from that of others sampled. Extensions of this method are also discussed. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

A molecular mechanics/grid method for evaluation of ligand–receptor interactions

NMR and X-ray Evidence That the HIV Protease Catalytic Aspartyl Groups Are Protonated in the Complex Formed by the Protease and a Non-Peptide Cyclic Urea-Based Inhibitor

Crystal structure of scytalone dehydratase--a disease determinant of the rice pathogen, Magnaporthe grisea

Tricyclic ureas: A new class of HIV-1 protease inhibitors

We used molecular dynamics computer simulation to "fly" a small flexible ligand, L-leucine hydroxamic acid, into the active site of thermolysin. The potential, which imposed no constraints between protein and ligand, produced conformations close to the crystallographically determined one. The calculations made use of the combined molecular mechanics/grid method of Luty et al. (J. Comp. Chem. 16:454-464, 1995), in which atoms of the active site are free to move whereas the rest of the protein, assumed to be rigid, is represented as points of a grid, and which also includes an implicit solvation model. The method is sufficiently fast that large sets of simulations could be carried out, enabling statistical sampling and exploration of the effect of initial position and conformation of the ligand on the probability of successful docking. In a charged catalytic Glu/uncharged ligand regime, when the initial position of the ligand was determined by random translations and rotations that kept the center of mass within 8.0 angstroms of the crystal one, none of the 20 runs placed the ligand correctly. In a second set with uncharged Glu and zwitterionic ligand, 3 of 24 similarly placed random structures flew the ligand in successfully. In a third set with the same protonation scheme as the second the starting positions had randomly determined conformations but kept the hydroxamate oxygens within 4.0 angstroms of the zinc; in this case 22 of 25 runs reoriented correctly. A diverse set of energetic, structural, and dynamic criteria was used for evaluation of the calculations. The results indicate the method to be a promising tool for the rational drug design process.

C. Nicholas Hodge

Papers

A molecular mechanics/grid method for evaluation of ligand–receptor interactions

NMR and X-ray Evidence That the HIV Protease Catalytic Aspartyl Groups Are Protonated in the Complex Formed by the Protease and a Non-Peptide Cyclic Urea-Based Inhibitor

Crystal structure of scytalone dehydratase--a disease determinant of the rice pathogen, Magnaporthe grisea

Tricyclic ureas: A new class of HIV-1 protease inhibitors

Fitting an inhibitor into the active site of thermolysin: a molecular dynamics case study.