Chemoinformatic expedition of the chemical space of fungal products

Future Med Chem. 2016 Aug;8(12):1399-412. doi: 10.4155/fmc-2016-0079. Epub 2016 Aug 3.

Abstract

Aim: Fungi are valuable resources for bioactive secondary metabolites. However, the chemical space of fungal secondary metabolites has been studied only on a limited basis. Herein, we report a comprehensive chemoinformatic analysis of a unique set of 207 fungal metabolites isolated and characterized in a USA National Cancer Institute funded drug discovery project.

Results: Comparison of the molecular complexity of the 207 fungal metabolites with approved anticancer and nonanticancer drugs, compounds in clinical studies, general screening compounds and molecules Generally Recognized as Safe revealed that fungal metabolites have high degree of complexity. Molecular fingerprints showed that fungal metabolites are as structurally diverse as other natural products and have, in general, drug-like physicochemical properties.

Conclusion: Fungal products represent promising candidates to expand the medicinally relevant chemical space. This work is a significant expansion of an analysis reported years ago for a smaller set of compounds (less than half of the ones included in the present work) from filamentous fungi using different structural properties.

Keywords: chemical space; chemoinformatics; fungal metabolites; master key compound; molecular complexity; molecular fingerprint.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemistry*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / metabolism
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Biological Products / chemistry*
  • Biological Products / metabolism
  • Biological Products / pharmacology*
  • Computational Biology*
  • Drug Discovery
  • Fungi / chemistry*
  • Fungi / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Molecular Structure
  • Neoplasms / drug therapy*

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Biological Products