Selection of fragments for kinase inhibitor design: decoration is key.

In fragment-based screening, the choice of the best suited fragment hit among the detected hits is crucial for success. In our study, a kinase lead compound was fragmented, the hinge-binding motif extracted as a core fragment, and a minilibrary of five similar compounds with fragment-like properties was selected from our proprietary compound database. The structures of five fragments in complex with transforming growth factor β receptor type 1 kinase domain were determined by X-ray crystallography.

A normal mode-based geometric simulation approach for exploring biologically relevant conformational transitions in proteins.

A three-step approach for multiscale modeling of protein conformational changes is presented that incorporates information about preferred directions of protein motions into a geometric simulation algorithm. The first two steps are based on a rigid cluster normal-mode analysis (RCNMA). Low-frequency normal modes are used in the third step (NMSim) to extend the recently introduced idea of constrained geometric simulations of diffusive motions in proteins by biasing backbone motions of the protein, whereas side-chain motions are biased toward favorable rotamer states.

Identification of benzothiazoles as potential polyglutamine aggregation inhibitors of Huntington's disease by using an automated filter retardation assay.

Preventing the formation of insoluble polyglutamine containing protein aggregates in neurons may represent an attractive therapeutic strategy to ameliorate Huntington's disease (HD). Therefore, the ability to screen for small molecules that suppress the self-assembly of huntingtin would have potential clinical and significant research applications. We have developed an automated filter retardation assay for the rapid identification of chemical compounds that prevent HD exon 1 protein aggregation in vitro.