Predicting Inactive Conformations of Protein Kinases Using Active Structures: Conformational Selection of Type-II Inhibitors
2011

Predicting Inactive Conformations of Protein Kinases Using Active Structures

publication Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Xu Min, Yu Lu, Bo Yu, Long Huang, Qiang

Primary Institution: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

Hypothesis

Can we predict the inactive DFG-out conformation of protein kinases using their active DFG-in structures?

Conclusion

The computational approach developed in this study effectively predicts the inactive conformations of protein kinases and aids in the design of type-II inhibitors.

Supporting Evidence

  • The predicted DFG-out models were found to be selective toward their specific type-II inhibitors.
  • The binding poses predicted for known type-II inhibitors were in good agreement with X-ray crystal structures.
  • The AUC results indicated high performance in virtual screening of type-II inhibitors.

Takeaway

Scientists created a computer program to guess the shape of proteins when they are not active, which helps in designing better medicines.

Methodology

The study used a computational approach called activation-loop remodeling method (ALRM) to predict DFG-out conformations from DFG-in structures.

Limitations

The study relies on existing DFG-in structures, which may not represent all possible conformations.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1371/journal.pone.0022644

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