A second fatty acid amide hydrolase with variable distribution among placental mammals.

Fatty acid amides constitute a large and diverse class of lipid transmitters that includes the endogenous cannabinoid anandamide and the sleep-inducing substance oleamide. The magnitude and duration of fatty acid amide signaling are controlled by enzymatic hydrolysis in vivo. Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) activity in mammals has been primarily attributed to a single integral membrane enzyme of the amidase signature (AS) family.

A streamlined platform for high-content functional proteomics of primary human specimens.

Achieving information content of satisfactory breadth and depth remains a formidable challenge for proteomics. This problem is particularly relevant to the study of primary human specimens, such as tumor biopsies, which are heterogeneous and of finite quantity. Here we present a functional proteomics strategy that unites the activity-based protein profiling and multidimensional protein identification technologies (ABPP-MudPIT) for the streamlined analysis of human samples.

Soft docking and multiple receptor conformations in virtual screening.

Protein conformational change is an important consideration in ligand-docking screens, but it is difficult to predict. A simple way to account for protein flexibility is to soften the criterion for steric fit between ligand and receptor. A more comprehensive but more expensive method would be to sample multiple receptor conformations explicitly.

Testing a flexible-receptor docking algorithm in a model binding site.

Sampling receptor flexibility is challenging for database docking. We consider a method that treats multiple flexible regions of the binding site independently, recombining them to generate different discrete conformations. This algorithm scales linearly rather than exponentially with the receptor's degrees of freedom.

Structure-based inhibitor discovery against adenylyl cyclase toxins from pathogenic bacteria that cause anthrax and whooping cough.

Edema factor (EF) and CyaA are adenylyl cyclase toxins secreted by pathogenic bacteria that cause anthrax and whooping cough, respectively. Using the structure of the catalytic site of EF, we screened a data base of commercially available, small molecular weight chemicals for those that could specifically inhibit adenylyl cyclase activity of EF. From 24 compounds tested, we have identified one quinazoline compound, ethyl 5-aminopyrazolo[1,5-a]quinazoline-3-carboxylate, that specifically inhibits adenylyl cyclase activity of EF and CyaA with approximately 20 microm Ki.

A model binding site for testing scoring functions in molecular docking.

Prediction of interaction energies between ligands and their receptors remains a major challenge for structure-based inhibitor discovery. Much effort has been devoted to developing scoring schemes that can successfully rank the affinities of a diverse set of possible ligands to a binding site for which the structure is known. To test these scoring functions, well-characterized experimental systems can be very useful.