Lei Zhang

Dr. Lei Zhang


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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1 May 2024 in Genes & Diseases
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
YXYuting Xu
Yuting Xu
XXXiaoyu Xu
Xiaoyu Xu
QZQianyue Zhang
Qianyue Zhang
PLPeizhe Lu
Peizhe Lu
CXChongjun Xiang
Chongjun Xiang
QSQiaoling Song
Qiaoling Song

21 November 2022 in Toxins
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
YCYanyan Chu
Yanyan Chu
HZHuanhuan Zhang
Huanhuan Zhang
LZLei Zhang
Lei Zhang
Peptide toxins generally have extreme pharmacological activities and provide a rich source for the discovery of drug leads. However, determining the optimal activity of a new peptide can be a long and expensive process. In this study, peptide toxins were retrieved from Uniprot; three positive-unlabeled (PU) learning schemes, adaptive basis classifier, two-step method, and PU bagging were adopted to develop models for predicting the biological function of new peptide toxins. All three schemes were embedded with 14 machine learning classifiers. The prediction results of the adaptive base classifier and the two-step method were highly consistent. The models with top comprehensive performances were further optimized by feature selection and hyperparameter tuning, and the models were validated by making predictions for 61 three-finger toxins or the external HemoPI dataset. Biological functions that can be identified by these models include cardiotoxicity, vasoactivity, lipid binding, hemolysis, neurotoxicity, postsynaptic neurotoxicity, hypotension, and cytolysis, with relatively weak predictions for hemostasis and presynaptic neurotoxicity. These models are discovery-prediction tools for active peptide toxins and are expected to accelerate the development of peptide toxins as drugs.