Publications by authors named "Luca Mannocci"

Information processing functions are essential for organisms to perceive and react to their complex environment, and for humans to analyze and rationalize them. While our brain is extraordinary at processing complex information, winner-take-all, as a type of biased competition is one of the simplest models of lateral inhibition and competition among biological neurons. It has been implemented as DNA-based neural networks, for example, to mimic pattern recognition.

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Libraries of chemical compounds individually coupled to encoding DNA tags (DNA-encoded chemical libraries) hold promise to facilitate exceptionally efficient ligand discovery. We constructed a high-quality DNA-encoded chemical library comprising 30,000 drug-like compounds; this was screened in 170 different affinity capture experiments. High-throughput sequencing allowed the evaluation of 120 million DNA codes for a systematic analysis of selection strategies and statistically robust identification of binding molecules.

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The identification of specific binding molecules is a central problem in chemistry, biology and medicine. Therefore, technologies, which facilitate ligand discovery, may substantially contribute to a better understanding of biological processes and to drug discovery. DNA-encoded chemical libraries represent a new inexpensive tool for the fast and efficient identification of ligands to target proteins of choice.

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Collections of chemical compounds, individually attached to unique DNA fragments serving as amplifiable identification bar codes, are generally referred to as "DNA-encoded chemical libraries". Such libraries can be used for the de novo isolation of binding molecules against target proteins of interest. Here, we describe the synthesis and use of a DNA-encoded library based on benzamidine analogues, which allowed the isolation of a trypsin inhibitor with an IC(50) value of 3.

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DNA-encoded chemical libraries represent a novel avenue for the facile discovery of small molecule ligands against target proteins of biological or pharmaceutical importance. Library members consist of small molecules covalently attached to unique DNA fragments that serve as amplifiable identification barcodes. This encoding allows the in vitro selection of ligands at subpicomolar concentrations from large library populations by affinity capture on a target protein of interest, in analogy to established technologies for the selection of binding polypeptides (e.

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DNA-encoded chemical libraries are large collections of small organic molecules, individually coupled to DNA fragments that serve as amplifiable identification bar codes. The isolation of specific binders requires a quantitative analysis of the distribution of DNA fragments in the library before and after capture on an immobilized target protein of interest. Here, we show how Illumina sequencing can be applied to the analysis of DNA-encoded chemical libraries, yielding over 10 million DNA sequence tags per flow-lane.

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Bcl-xL is an antiapoptotic member of the Bcl-2 protein family and an attractive target for the development of anticancer agents. Here we describe the isolation of binders to Bcl-xL from a DNA-encoded chemical library using affinity-capture selections and massively parallel high-throughput sequencing of >30,000 sequence tags of library members. The most potent binder identified, compound 19/93 [(R)-3-(amido indomethacin)-4-(naphthalen-1-yl)butanoic acid], bound to Bcl-xL with a dissociation constant (K(d)) of 930 nM and was able to compete with a Bak-derived BH3 peptide, an antagonist of Bcl-xL function.

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DNA encoding facilitates the construction and screening of large chemical libraries. Here, we describe general strategies for the stepwise coupling of coding DNA fragments to nascent organic molecules throughout individual reaction steps as well as the first implementation of high-throughput sequencing for the identification and relative quantification of the library members. The methodology was exemplified in the construction of a DNA-encoded chemical library containing 4,000 compounds and in the discovery of binders to streptavidin, matrix metalloproteinase 3, and polyclonal human IgG.

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DNA-encoded chemical libraries are increasingly being employed for the identification of binding molecules to protein targets of pharmaceutical relevance. Here, we describe the synthesis and characterization of a DNA-encoded chemical library, consisting of 4000 compounds generated by Diels-Alder cycloaddition reactions. The compounds were encoded with unique DNA fragments which were generated through a stepwise assembly process and serve as amplifiable bar codes for the identification and relative quantification of library members.

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Encoded self-assembling chemical (ESAC) libraries are characterized by the covalent display of chemical moieties at the extremity of self-assembling oligonucleotides carrying a unique DNA sequence for the identification of the corresponding chemical moiety. We have used ESAC library technology in a two-step selection procedure for the identification of novel inhibitors of stromelysin-1 (MMP-3), a matrix metalloproteinase involved in both physiological and pathological tissue remodeling processes, yielding novel inhibitors with micromolar potency.

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