Abstract
A MD simulation protocol was developed to model halogen bonding in protein-ligand complexes by inclusion of a charged extra point to represent the anisotropic distribution of charge on the halogen atom. This protocol was then used to simulate the interactions of cathepsin L with a series of halogenated and non-halogenated inhibitors. Our results show that chloro, bromo and iodo derivatives have progressively narrower distributions of calculated geometries, which reflects the order of affinity I > Br > Cl, in agreement with the IC50 values. Graphs for the Cl, Br and I analogs show stable interactions between the halogen atom and the Gly61 carbonyl oxygen of the enzyme. The halogen-oxygen distance is close to or less than the sum of the van der Waals radii; the C-X center dot center dot center dot O angle is about 170A degrees; and the X center dot center dot center dot O=C angle approaches 120A degrees, as expected for halogen bond formation. In the case of the iodo-substituted analogs, these effects are enhanced by introduction of a fluorine atom on the inhibitors' halogen-bonding phenyl ring, indicating that the electron withdrawing group enlarges the sigma-hole, resulting in improved halogen bonding properties.
- atherosclerosis,
- bonding,
- bromine
- cathepsin
- cathepsins,
- cysteine
- design,
- discovery,
- disease,
- dqcauchile
- drug
- force-field,
- halogen
- halogenated
- inhibitors,
- interactions,
- l,
- md
- optimization,
- protein-ligand
- sigma-hole,
- simulation,
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