The implementation of a novel sequential computational approach that can be used effectively for virtual screening and identification of prospective ligands that bind to trypanothione reductase (TryR) is reported. The multistep strategy combines a ligand-based virtual screening for building an enriched library of small molecules with a docking protocol (AutoDock, X-Score) for screening against ...

Sentrin specific proteases (SENPs) are responsible for activating and deconjugating SUMO (Small Ubiquitin like MOdifier) from target proteins. It remains difficult to study this posttranslational modification due to the lack of reagents that can be used to block the removal of SUMO from substrates. Here, we describe the identification of small molecule SENP inhibitors and active site probes con...

Apoptotic caspases, such as caspase-7, are stored as inactive protease zymogens, and when activated, lead to a fate-determining switch to induce cell death. We previously discovered small molecule thiol-containing inhibitors that when tethered revealed an allosteric site and trapped a conformation similar to the zymogen form of the enzyme. We noted three structural transitions that the compound...

Testing small molecules for their ability to modify cysteine residues of proteins in the early stages of drug discovery is expected to accelerate our ability to develop more selective drugs with lesser side effects. In addition, this approach also enables the rapid evaluation of the mode of binding of new drug candidates with respect to thiol reactivity and metabolism by glutathione. Herein, we...

Magnetic and magnetofluorescent nanoparticles have become important materials for biological applications especially for sensing, separation, and imaging. To achieve target specificity, these nanomaterials are often covalently modified with binding proteins such as antibodies or proteins. Here we report on the creation of nanoparticle libraries that achieve specificity through multivalent modif...

Cyclodextrins (CD) are cyclic oligosaccharides that can form noncovalent host–guest inclusion complexes to yield intriguing supramolecular structures. Electrospinning of nanofibers from CD is challenging since they are small molecules, nonetheless, electrospun nanofibers from CD would be particularly attractive because of the distinctive properties obtained by combining the very large surface a...

Dehydroalanine is a nonproteinogenic amino acid, but it is a component of a wide variety of natural products with therapeutic activities. Indeed, this alpha,beta-unsaturated residue is a highly versatile building block due to its rigidifying effect on peptide backbones and its electrophilicity which allows site-specific thiol ligations of peptides with small molecules or proteins. To harness su...

Plants synthesize small molecule terpenoids from a universal C5 precursor isopentenyl diphosphate, manufacturing diverse compounds used for defense, signaling, energy production, and other functions. Industrially, naturally occuring are as natural aromas flavoring, pharmaceuticals, insecticide. Despite terpenoid ubiquity in plant systems, it remains unknown how plants control localization trans...

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protein negative factor (Nef) is important for AIDS pathogenesis. An anti-Nef single-domain antibody (sdAb19) derived from camelids has been previously generated and shown to effectively block the physiological functions of Nef in vitro and in vivo in nef-transgenic mice. However, sdAb19 must be ectopically expressed within the target cell to be able to ex...

Regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins are potent negative modulators of G protein signaling and have been proposed as potential targets for small-molecule inhibitor development. We report a high-throughput time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer screen to identify inhibitors of RGS4 and describe the first reversible small-molecule inhibitors of an RGS protein. Two closel...