Protonation states of the catalytic dyad of β-secretase (BACE1) in the presence of chemically diverse inhibitors: a molecular docking study

J Chem Inf Model. 2012 May 25;52(5):1275-87. doi: 10.1021/ci200611t. Epub 2012 May 16.

Abstract

In this molecular docking study, the protonation states of the catalytic Asp dyad of the beta-secretase (BACE1) enzyme in the presence of eight chemically diverse inhibitors have been predicted. BACE1 catalyzes the rate-determining step in the generation of Alzheimer amyloid beta peptides and is widely considered as a promising therapeutic target. All the inhibitors were redocked into their corresponding X-ray structures using a combination of eight different protonation states of the Asp dyad for each inhibitor. Five inhibitors were primarily found to favor two different monoprotonated states, and the remaining three favor a dideprotonated state. In addition, five of them exhibited secondary preference for a diprotonated state. These results show that the knowledge of a single protonation state of the Asp dyad is not sufficient to search for the novel inhibitors of BACE1 and the most plausible state for each inhibitor must be determined prior to conducting in-silico screening.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases / chemistry*
  • Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases / chemistry*
  • Catalysis
  • Computer Simulation*
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / chemistry*
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Inhibitory Concentration 50
  • Models, Biological*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Structure
  • Protein Binding / drug effects
  • Protons*

Substances

  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Protons
  • Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases
  • Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases
  • BACE1 protein, human