Hans Gmuender

Bio: Hans Gmuender is an academic researcher from Hoffmann-La Roche. The author has contributed to research in topics: DNA gyrase & Antibacterial agent. The author has an hindex of 7, co-authored 11 publications receiving 779 citations.

Novel inhibitors of DNA gyrase: 3D structure based biased needle screening, hit validation by biophysical methods, and 3D guided optimization. A promising alternative to random screening.

Abstract: Random screening provided no suitable lead structures in a search for novel inhibitors of the bacterial enzyme DNA gyrase. Therefore, an alternative approach had to be developed. Relying on the detailed 3D structural information of the targeted ATP binding site, our approach combines as key techniques (1) an in silico screening for potential low molecular weight inhibitors, (2) a biased high throughput DNA gyrase screen, (3) validation of the screening hits by biophysical methods, and (4) a 3D guided optimization process. When the in silico screening was performed, the initial data set containing 350 000 compounds could be reduced to 3000 molecules. Testing these 3000 selected compounds in the DNA gyrase assay provided 150 hits clustered in 14 classes. Seven classes could be validated as true, novel DNA gyrase inhibitors that act by binding to the ATP binding site located on subunit B: phenols, 2-amino-triazines, 4-amino-pyrimidines, 2-amino-pyrimidines, pyrrolopyrimidines, indazoles, and 2-hydroxymethyl-indoles. The 3D guided optimization provided highly potent DNA gyrase inhibitors, e. g., the 3,4-disubstituted indazole 23 being a 10 times more potent DNA gyrase inhibitor than novobiocin (3).

Gene Expression Changes Triggered by Exposure of Haemophilus influenzae to Novobiocin or Ciprofloxacin: Combined Transcription and Translation Analysis

Abstract: The responses of Haemophilus influenzae to DNA gyrase inhibitors were analyzed at the transcriptional and the translational level. High-density microarrays based on the genomic sequence were used to monitor the expression levels of >80% of the genes in this bacterium. In parallel the proteins were analyzed by two-dimensional electrophoresis. DNA gyrase inhibitors of two different functional classes were used. Novobiocin, as a representative of one class, inhibits the ATPase activity of the enzyme, thereby indirectly changing the degree of DNA supercoiling. Ciprofloxacin, a representative of the second class, obstructs supercoiling by inhibiting the DNA cleavage-resealing reaction. Our results clearly show that different responses can be observed. Treatment with the ATPase inhibitor Novobiocin changed the expression rates of many genes, reflecting the fact that the initiation of transcription for many genes is sensitive to DNA supercoiling. Ciprofloxacin mainly stimulated the expression of DNA repair systems as a response to the DNA damage caused by the stable ternary complexes. In addition, changed expression levels were also observed for some genes coding for proteins either annotated as “unknown function” or “hypothetical” or for proteins not directly involved in DNA topology or repair. [The sequence data described in this paper have been submitted to the EMBL data library under accession nos. {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"AJ297131","term_id":"10880347","term_text":"AJ297131"}}AJ297131 and {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"AL135960","term_id":"6635875","term_text":"AL135960"}}AL135960.]

Pyrimido[1,6-a]benzimidazoles: a new class of DNA gyrase inhibitors.

Abstract: Substituted 4-quinolone- (1, A = CH) and 1,8-naphthyrid-4-one- (1, A = N) 3-carboxylic acids are currently the only classes of clinically useful antibacterial agents exerting their activity by inhibiting the subunit A of DNA gyrase. Pyrimido[1,6-alpha]benzimidazoles 11 have been found to be a new class of inhibitors of this enzyme. The design, synthesis, and biological activity of these compounds are reported.

New Antibacterial Agents Derived from the DNA Gyrase Inhibitor Cyclothialidine

Abstract: Cyclothialidine (1, Ro 09-1437) is a potent DNA gyrase inhibitor that was isolated from Streptomyces filipinensis NR0484 and is a member of a new family of natural products. It acts by competitively inhibiting the ATPase activity exerted by the B subunit of DNA gyrase but barely exhibits any growth inhibitory activity against intact bacterial cells, presumably due to insufficient permeation of the cytoplasmic membrane. To explore the antibacterial potential of 1, we developed a flexible synthetic route allowing for the systematic modification of its structure. From a first set of analogues, structure-activity relationships (SAR) were established for different substitution patterns, and the 14-hydroxylated, bicyclic core (X) of 1 seemed to be the structural prerequisite for DNA gyrase inhibitory activity. The variation of the lactone ring size, however, revealed that activity can be found among 11- to 16-membered lactones, and even seco-analogues were shown to maintain some enzyme inhibitory properties, thereby reducing the minimal structural requirements to a rather simple, hydroxylated benzyl sulfide (XI). On the basis of these "minimal structures" a modification program afforded a number of inhibitors that showed in vitro activity against Gram-positive bacteria. The best activities were displayed by 14-membered lactones, and representatives of this subclass exhibit excellent and broad in vitro antibacterial activity against Gram-positive pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Enterococcus faecalis, and overcome resistance against clinically used drugs. By improving the pharmacokinetic properties of the most active compounds (94, 97), in particular by lowering their lipophilic properties, we were able to identify congeners of cyclothialidine (1) that showed efficacy in vivo.

A new DNA gyrase inhibitor subclass of the cyclothialidine family based on a bicyclic dilactam-lactone scaffold. Synthesis and antibacterial properties.

Abstract: The DNA gyrase inhibitor cyclothialidine had been shown to be a valuable lead structure for the discovery of new antibacterial classes able to overcome bacterial resistance to clinically used drugs. Bicyclic lactone derivatives containing in their 12−14-membered ring a thioamide functionality were reported previously to exhibit potent antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria. Moderate in vivo efficacy, however, was demonstrated only for derivatives bearing hydrophilic substituents, which were found to have a favorable impact on pharmcokinetics, and to reduce metabolic degradation, in particular glucuronidation. The incorporation of an additional amide unit into the 14-membered monolactam-lactone scaffold of cyclothialidine analogues provided a new “dilactam” subclass of DNA gyrase inhibitors of inherently higher polarity. After adjusting their lipophilicity by methyl−halogen exchange at the benzene ring, compounds of this series did not require the thioamide functionality to exert a decent an...

Improved protein-ligand docking using GOLD.

Abstract: The Chemscore function was implemented as a scoring function for the protein-ligand docking program GOLD, and its performance compared to the original Goldscore function and two consensus docking protocols, "Goldscore-CS" and "Chemscore-GS," in terms of docking accuracy, prediction of binding affinities, and speed. In the "Goldscore-CS" protocol, dockings produced with the Goldscore function are scored and ranked with the Chemscore function; in the "Chemscore-GS" protocol, dockings produced with the Chemscore function are scored and ranked with the Goldscore function. Comparisons were made for a "clean" set of 224 protein-ligand complexes, and for two subsets of this set, one for which the ligands are "drug-like," the other for which they are "fragment-like." For "drug-like" and "fragment-like" ligands, the docking accuracies obtained with Chemscore and Goldscore functions are similar. For larger ligands, Goldscore gives superior results. Docking with the Chemscore function is up to three times faster than docking with the Goldscore function. Both combined docking protocols give significant improvements in docking accuracy over the use of the Goldscore or Chemscore function alone. "Goldscore-CS" gives success rates of up to 81% (top-ranked GOLD solution within 2.0 A of the experimental binding mode) for the "clean list," but at the cost of long search times. For most virtual screening applications, "Chemscore-GS" seems optimal; search settings that give docking speeds of around 0.25-1.3 min/compound have success rates of about 78% for "drug-like" compounds and 85% for "fragment-like" compounds. In terms of producing binding energy estimates, the Goldscore function appears to perform better than the Chemscore function and the two consensus protocols, particularly for faster search settings. Even at docking speeds of around 1-2 min/compound, the Goldscore function predicts binding energies with a standard deviation of approximately 10.5 kJ/mol.

Molecular docking: a powerful approach for structure-based drug discovery.

Abstract: Molecular docking has become an increasingly important tool for drug discovery. In this review, we present a brief introduction of the available molecular docking methods, and their development and applications in drug discovery. The relevant basic theories, including sampling algorithms and scoring functions, are summarized. The differences in and performance of available docking software are also discussed. Flexible receptor molecular docking approaches, especially those including backbone flexibility in receptors, are a challenge for available docking methods. A recently developed Local Move Monte Carlo (LMMC) based approach is introduced as a potential solution to flexible receptor docking problems. Three application examples of molecular docking approaches for drug discovery are provided.

Small-molecule inhibitors of protein–protein interactions: progressing towards the dream

Abstract: Protein–protein interactions have a key role in most biological processes, and offer attractive opportunities for therapeutic intervention. Developing small molecules that modulate protein–protein interactions is difficult, owing to issues such as the lack of well-defined binding pockets. Nevertheless, there has been important progress in this endeavour in recent years. Here, we use illustrative examples to discuss general strategies for addressing the challenges inherent in the discovery and characterization of small-molecule inhibitors of protein–protein interactions.

The Many Roles of Computation in Drug Discovery

Abstract: An overview is given on the diverse uses of computational chemistry in drug discovery. Particular emphasis is placed on virtual screening, de novo design, evaluation of drug-likeness, and advanced methods for determining protein-ligand binding.

SwissDock, a protein-small molecule docking web service based on EADock DSS

Abstract: Most life science processes involve, at the atomic scale, recognition between two molecules. The prediction of such interactions at the molecular level, by so-called docking software, is a non-trivial task. Docking programs have a wide range of applications ranging from protein engineering to drug design. This article presents SwissDock, a web server dedicated to the docking of small molecules on target proteins. It is based on the EADock DSS engine, combined with setup scripts for curating common problems and for preparing both the target protein and the ligand input files. An efficient Ajax/HTML interface was designed and implemented so that scientists can easily submit dockings and retrieve the predicted complexes. For automated docking tasks, a programmatic SOAP interface has been set up and template programs can be downloaded in Perl, Python and PHP. The web site also provides an access to a database of manually curated complexes, based on the Ligand Protein Database. A wiki and a forum are available to the community to promote interactions between users. The SwissDock web site is available online at http://www.swissdock.ch. We believe it constitutes a step toward generalizing the use of docking tools beyond the traditional molecular modeling community.