GPCR structure-based virtual screening approach for CB2 antagonist search

J Chem Inf Model. 2007 Jul-Aug;47(4):1626-37. doi: 10.1021/ci7000814. Epub 2007 Jun 20.

Abstract

The potential for therapeutic specificity in regulating diseases has made cannabinoid (CB) receptors one of the most important G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) targets in search for new drugs. Considering the lack of related 3D experimental structures, we have established a structure-based virtual screening protocol to search for CB2 bioactive antagonists based on the 3D CB2 homology structure model. However, the existing homology-predicted 3D models often deviate from the native structure and therefore may incorrectly bias the in silico design. To overcome this problem, we have developed a 3D testing database query algorithm to examine the constructed 3D CB2 receptor structure model as well as the predicted binding pocket. In the present study, an antagonist-bound CB2 receptor complex model was initially generated using flexible docking simulation and then further optimized by molecular dynamic and mechanical (MD/MM) calculations. The refined 3D structural model of the CB2-ligand complex was then inspected by exploring the interactions between the receptor and ligands in order to predict the potential CB2 binding pocket for its antagonist. The ligand-receptor complex model and the predicted antagonist binding pockets were further processed and validated by FlexX-Pharm docking against a testing compound database that contains known antagonists. Furthermore, a consensus scoring (CScore) function algorithm was established to rank the binding interaction modes of a ligand on the CB2 receptor. Our results indicated that the known antagonists seeded in the testing database can be distinguished from a significant amount of randomly chosen molecules. Our studies demonstrated that the established GPCR structure-based virtual screening approach provided a new strategy with a high potential for in silico identifying novel CB2 antagonist leads based on the homology-generated 3D CB2 structure model.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Models, Molecular
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Conformation
  • Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB2 / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB2 / metabolism
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / chemistry*
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / metabolism

Substances

  • Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB2
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled