Publications by authors named "Weiren Xu"

An accurate deep learning predictor is needed for enzyme optimal temperature (${T}_{opt}$), which quantitatively describes how temperature affects the enzyme catalytic activity. In comparison with existing models, a new model developed in this study, Seq2Topt, reached a superior accuracy on ${T}_{opt}$ prediction just using protein sequences (RMSE = 12.26°C and R2 = 0.

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PI3Kδ is a key mediator of B-cell receptor signaling and plays an important role in the pathogenesis of certain hematological malignancies, such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Idelalisib, which targets PI3Kδ specifically, is the first approved PI3K inhibitor for cancer therapy. Recently, we carried out virtual screening, cell-based assays, adapta kinase assays, and molecular dynamic analysis to discover novel PI3Kδ inhibitors and identified NSC348884 as a lead PI3Kδ inhibitor.

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Background: The Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors (PPARs) are ligandactivated transcription factors belonging to the nuclear receptor family. The roles of PPARα in fatty acid oxidation and PPARγ in adipocyte differentiation and lipid storage have been widely characterized. Compounds with dual PPARα/γ activity have been proposed, combining the benefits of insulin sensitization and lipid lowering into one drug, allowing a single drug to reduce hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia while preventing the development of cardiovascular complications.

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The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of genetic polymorphism on fluvastatin pharmacokinetics. In addition, we compared the fluvastatin pharmacokinetics differences between extended-release (ER) 80 mg tablet and immediate-release (IR) 40 mg capsule in terms of drug metabolism enzyme and transporter genetic polymorphisms. In this open-label, randomized, two-period, two-treatment, crossover study ( = 24), effects of and polymorphisms on the pharmacokinetics of fluvastatin were analyzed.

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PPARα and PPARγ play important roles in regulating glucose and lipid metabolism. In recent years, the development of dual PPAR agonists has become a hot topic in the field of anti-diabetic medicinal chemistry. The dual PPARα/γ agonists can both improve metabolism and reduce side effects caused by single drugs, and has become a promising strategy for designing effective drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

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The therapeutic potential of PPARs antagonists extends beyond diabetes. PPARs antagonists represent a new drug class that holds promise as a broadly applicable therapeutic approach for cancer treatment. Thus, there is a strong need to develop a rational design strategy for creating PPARs antagonists.

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Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are considered important targets for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes (T2DM). To accelerate the discovery of PPAR α/γ dual agonists, the comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) were performed for PPARα and PPARγ, respectively. Based on the molecular alignment, highly predictive CoMFA model for PPARα was obtained with a cross-validated value of 0.

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Specific study about the effect of cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) polymorphisms on the metabolism of clinic drugs is of great significance for drug safety investigation. Here, the interaction between CYP2D6 variants (*1, *2, *10, *39) and metoprolol (MET) was intensively researched in vitro from the aspect of drug-enzyme kinetic study. To obtain quantitative data, α-hydroxymetoprolol (main metabolite of MET) was selected as an ideal analyte and an LC-MS/MS method was adopted for sample determination.

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Background: Phosphoinositide-3-kinase Delta (PI3Kδ) plays a key role in B-cell signal transduction and inhibition of PI3Kδ is confirmed to have clinical benefit in certain types of activation of B-cell malignancies. Virtual screening techniques have been used to discover new molecules for developing novel PI3Kδ inhibitors with little side effects.

Method: Computer aided drug design method were used to rapidly screen optimal PI3Kδ inhibitors from the Asinex database.

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PPARα and PPARγ play an important role in regulating glucose and lipid metabolism. The single and selective PPARα or PPARγ agonists have caused several side effects such as edema, weight gain and cardiac failure. In the recent years, the dual PPARs agonist development has become a hot topic in the antidiabetic medicinal chemistry field.

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Genetic mutations in the phosphatase PTPN11 (SHP2) are associated with childhood leukemias. These mutations cause hyperactivation of SHP2 due to the disruption of the autoinhibitory conformation. By targeting the activation-associated protein conformational change, we have identified an SHP2 inhibitor ( E)-1-(1-(5-(3-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)acryloyl)-2-ethoxy-4-hydroxybenzyl)-1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridin-3-yl)-1 H-benzo[ d]imidazol-2(3 H)-one (LY6, 1) using computer-aided drug design database screening combined with cell-based assays.

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In order to systematically explore and better understand the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of a diarylmethane backbone in the design of potent uric acid transporter 1 (URAT1) inhibitors, 33 compounds (- and -) were designed and synthesized, and their in vitro URAT1 inhibitory activities (IC) were determined. The three-round systematic SAR exploration led to the discovery of a highly potent novel URAT1 inhibitor, , which was 200- and 8-fold more potent than parent lesinurad and benzbromarone, respectively (IC = 0.035 μM against human URAT1 for vs.

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The aim of the study is to investigate the protective effects of TY501 against LCA-induced cholestasis in mice and to explore the potential mechanisms. It was demonstrated that TY501(5, 15 or 45 mg/kg, i.g.

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Benzbromarone is a uricosuric drug metabolized predominantly by cytochrome P450 2C9 from in vitro findings. Human CYP2C9 exhibits extensive genetic polymorphism and numbers of clinic studies have demonstrated that CYP2C9 genetic polymorphism has a significant influence on the pharmacokinetics of benzbromarone. But in vitro study on the interaction between CYP2C9 allelic isoforms and benzbromarone was rare.

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Article Synopsis
  • Thiazolidinedione-class PPARγ agonists, used for diabetes treatment, have limited clinical use due to side effects like edema and heart failure caused by their selective agonism.
  • The development of dual agonists that target both PPARα and PPARγ is gaining attention for potentially reducing these side effects, with Saroglitazar being the first approved dual agonist in India for diabetic dyslipidemia.
  • Researchers designed 72 new compounds based on structural modifications and evaluated their properties, leading to the identification of 12 promising candidates through molecular docking and pharmacokinetic assessments, with two compounds selected for further binding stability studies using molecular dynamics simulations.
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PPARα and PPARγ have been the most widely studied Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) subtypes due to their important roles in regulating glucose, lipids, and cholesterol metabolism. By combining the lowering serum triglyceride levels benefit of PPARα agonists (such as fibrates) with the glycemic advantages of the PPARγ agonists (such as TZD), the dual PPAR agonists approach can both improve the metabolic effects and minimize the side effects caused by either agent alone, and hence, has become a promising strategy for designing effective drugs against type-2 diabetes. In this study, by means of virtual screening, ADMET prediction and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations techniques, one compound-ASN15761007 with high binding score, low toxicity were gained.

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Telmisartan, a bifunctional agent of blood pressure lowering and glycemia reduction, was previously reported to antagonize angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor and partially activate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) simultaneously. Through the modification to telmisartan, researchers designed and obtained imidazo-\pyridine derivatives with the IC50s of 0.49~94.

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Factor Xa (FXa) plays a significant role in the blood coagulation cascade and is a promising target for anticoagulation drugs. Three oral FXa inhibitors have been approved by FDA for treating thrombotic diseases. In this study, 43 novel compounds were synthesized anthranilamide-based FXa inhibitors aiming to ameliorate the toxicity of traditional FXa inhibitors in clinic.

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Peroxisome proliferators-activated receptors (PPARα, γ and δ) are potentially effective targets for Type 2 diabetes mellitus therapy. The severe effects of known glitazones and the successfully approved agents (saroglitazar and lobeglitazone) motivated us to study novelly potent PPARs drugs with improved safety profile. In this work, we received 15 carboxylic acids based on the combination principle to integrate the polar head of bezafibrate with the hydrophobic tail of pioglitazone.

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In order to systematically explore and understand the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of a lesinurad-based hit () derived from the replacement of the S atom in lesinurad with CH₂, 18 compounds (-) were designed, synthesized and subjected to in vitro URAT1 inhibitory assay. The SAR exploration led to the discovery of a highly potent flexible URAT1 inhibitor, , which was 31-fold more potent than parent lesinurad (IC = 0.23 μM against human URAT1 for vs 7.

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Background: Gout is the most common inflammatory arthritis, which, if left untreated or inadequately treated, will lead to joint destruction, bone erosion and disability due to the crystal deposition. Uric acid transporter 1 (URAT1) was the promising therapeutic target for urate-lowering therapy.

Objective: The goal of this work is to understand the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of a potent lesinurad-based hit, sodium 2-((5-bromo-4-((4-cyclopropyl-naphth-1-yl)methyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3- yl)thio)acetate (1c), and based on that discover a more potent URAT1 inhibitor.

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It has been reported previously that some angiotensin II receptor blockers not only antagonize angiotensin II type 1 receptor (ATR), but also exert stimulation in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) partial activation, among which telmisartan displays the best. Telmisartan has been tested as a bifunctional ligand with antihypertensive and hypoglycemic activity. Aiming at more potent leads with selective ATR antagonism and PPARγ partial agonism, the three parts of telmisartan including the distal benzimidazole ring, the biphenyl moiety, and the carboxylic acid group experienced modification by core hopping method in our study.

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Megakaryocyte protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (PTP-MEG2) is a tyrosine phosphatase expressed in megakaryocytic cells, and causes insulin sensitization when down regulated. Therefore, specific inhibitors of PTP-MEG2 are potential candidates for novel Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM)therapy. In this study, we discovered PTP-MEG2 inhibitors using high throughput and virtual screening (HTS/VS) and structural optimization in silicon.

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Rosiglitazone was restricted clinically due to the side effects such as edema, weight gain and cardiac failure mainly attributing to the single and selective PPARγ activation. Nowadays, multi-targeted PPARs agonists remained to be a hot topic in the antidiabetic medicinal chemistry field. In this paper, the cooperative PPARα/γ dual agonists were screened from Specs database via the flow chart of docking, ADMET prediction and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.

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