recognition

Peptidomimetics are compounds whose essential elements (pharmacophore) mimic a natural peptide or protein in 3D space and which retain the ability to interact with the biological target and produce the same biological effect. Peptidomimetics are designed to circumvent some of the problems associated with a natural peptide: e.g. stability against proteolysis (duration of activity) and poor bioavailability. Certain other properties, such as receptor selectivity or potency, often can be substantially improved. The design and synthesis of peptidomimetics are most important because of the dominant position peptide and protein-protein interactions play in molecular recognition and signaling, especially in living systems. Hence mimics have great potential in drug discovery.

MCE Peptidomimetic Library contains 376 compounds including peptoid, α-helix mimetics, β-turn/sheets mimetics, etc. This library is an indispensable tool of structure-activity relationships in drug discovery.

Membrane receptors, also known cell surface receptors or transmembrane receptors, are transmembrane proteins embedded into the plasma membrane which play an essential role in maintaining communication between the internal processes within the cell and various types of extracellular signals. They act in cell signaling by receiving (binding to) extracellular molecules, which are also called ligands. These extracellular molecules include hormones, cytokines, growth factors, neurotransmitters, lipophilic signaling molecules such as prostaglandins, and cell recognition molecules.

There are three kinds of membrane receptors: ion channel-linked receptors, enzyme-linked receptors and G-protein-linked receptors. They play important roles in keeping human normal physiologic processes. GPCRs and ion channels are important drug targets in drug discovery.

MCE provides a unique collection of 4626 compounds targeting a variety of membrane receptors. MCE Membrane reeptor-targeted Compound Library can be used for membrane receptor-focused screening and drug discovery.

Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) is well suited for discovering both drug leads and chemical probes of protein function. 3-dimensionality (3D) diversity is pivotal because the molecular shape is one of the most important factors in molecular recognition by a biomolecule. There is a developing appreciation that 3D fragments could offer opportunities that are not provided by 2D fragments.

MCE 3D Diverse Fragment Library consists of 5,196 non-flat fragment-like molecules (average Fsp3 value 0.58). More than 4,700 fragment compounds contain at least one chiral center in the structure. The key concepts that underlie the library design were 3D shape, structural diversity, reactive functionality and fragment-like. This 3D Diverse Fragment Library brings higher fragment hit optimization and increases the likelihood to find innovative hits in FBDD.

Inflammasomes are classic pattern recognition receptors for natural immune responses. Inflammasomes are polymeric protein complexes that regulate inflammatory responses and pyrolytic cell death, thereby exerting the host's defense against microorganisms. Inflammasomes sensors are associated with adapter proteins, activating inflammatory caspase-1, releasing inflammatory cytokines and inducing cell death, endowing the host with defense against pathogens. NLRP1, NLRP3, NLRC4, AIM2, and pyrin are considered typical inflammasomes because they convert cysteine asparaginase-1 into catalytically active capsaicin-1. In addition to infectious diseases, the importance of inflammasomes is also related to various clinical diseases, such as autoimmune diseases, neurodegeneration and metabolic disorders, and the development of cancer. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly regulate the activation and function of inflammasomes to avoid accidental host tissue damage while inducing pathogens to kill the inflammatory response.

MCE designs a unique collection of 65 inflammasomes related compounds. It is a good tool to be used for research on Inflammation, cancer and other diseases.

Most of molecules enter or leave cells mainly via membrane transport proteins, which play important roles in several cellular functions, including cell metabolism, ion homeostasis, signal transduction, the recognition process in the immune system, energy transduction, etc. There are three major types of transport proteins, ATP-powered pumps, channel proteins and transporters. Transport proteins such as channels and transporters play important roles in the maintenance of intracellular homeostasis, and mutations in these transport protein genes have been identified in the pathogenesis of a number of hereditary diseases. In the central nervous system, ion channels have been linked to, but not limited to, many diseases such asataxias, paralyses, epilepsies, and deafness. This indicates the roles of ion channels in the initiation and coordination of movement, sensory perception, and encoding and processing of information. Ion channels are a major class of drug targets in drug development.

MCE designs a unique collection of 1392 smal-molecule modulators that can be used for the research of Ion Channel and Membrane Transporter or high throughput screening (HTS) related drug discovery.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI; also known as drug-induced hepatotoxicity) is caused by medications (prescription or OTC), herbal and dietary supplements (HDS), or other xenobiotics that result in abnormalities in liver tests or in hepatic dysfunction that cannot be explained by other causes. Drugs are an important cause of liver injury. Drug-induced hepatic injury is the most common reason cited for withdrawal of an approved drug.

DILI is thought to occur via several different mechanisms. Among these are direct impairment of the structural (e.g., mitochondrial dysfunction) and functional integrity of the liver; production of a metabolite that alters hepatocellular structure and function; production of a reactive drug metabolite that binds to hepatic proteins to produce new antigenic drug-protein adducts, which are targeted by hosts’ defenses (the hapten hypothesis); and initiation of a systemic hypersensitivity response (i.e., drug allergy) that damages the liver.

MCE Drug-induced Liver Injury (DILI) Compound Library contains a unique collection of 1397 hepatotoxicity causing compounds and is a powerful tool to research DILI and other drug toxicities. This library can be used to understand the mechanisms of DILI, identify biomarkers for early DILI prediction, and allow timely recognition during drug development, thus finally achieving successful DILI prevention and assessment in the pre-marketing phase.