The sesquiterpenoid juvenile hormone (JH) is vital to insect development and reproduction. Intracellular JH receptors have recently been established as basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor (bHLH)/PAS proteins in Drosophila melanogaster known as germ cell–expressed (Gce) and its duplicate paralog, methoprene-tolerant (Met). Upon binding JH, Gce/Met activates its target genes. Insects possess multiple native JH homologs whose molecular activities remain unexplored, and diverse synthetic compounds including insecticides exert JH-like effects. How the JH receptor recognizes its ligands is unknown. To determine which structural features define an active JH receptor agonist, we tested several native JHs and their nonnative geometric and optical isomers for the ability to bind the Drosophila JH receptor Gce, to induce Gce-dependent transcription, and to affect the development of the fly. Our results revealed high ligand stereoselectivity of the receptor. The geometry of the JH skeleton, dictated by two stereogenic double bonds, was the most critical feature followed by the presence of an epoxide moiety at a terminal position. The optical isomerism at carbon C11 proved less important even though Gce preferentially bound a natural JH enantiomer. The results of receptor-ligand–binding and cell-based gene activation assays tightly correlated with the ability of different geometric JH isomers to induce gene expression and morphogenetic effects in the developing insects. Molecular modeling supported the requirement for the proper double-bond geometry of JH, which appears to be its major selective mechanism. The strict stereoselectivity of Gce toward the natural hormone contrasts with the high potency of synthetic Gce agonists of disparate chemistries.

Tankyrase 1 and 2 (TNKS) are promising and attractive therapeutic targets in anticancer drug development. Herein, we report the findings of structure- and ligand-based virtual screening for novel TNKS1 inhibitors using iterative rounds of in silico studies and subsequent biological evaluation methods. Upon screening of three compound databases, a final set of five molecules were selected for experimental validation. In order to prove our in silico findings, tankyrase activity was assessed by a calorimetric assay with the five identified lead molecules. Out of five, only C1 (7309981) showed significant inhibition of TNKS1 enzyme. Furthermore, the toxicity of the selected 5 compounds was measured using cytotoxicity experiments and inhibition of cell growth, and it was more pronounced in C1, followed by C5 and C3 (7309981 > 7245236 > 7275738). The morphological assessment, DNA damage and chromatin condensation and fragmentation results also confirmed that C1 has enhanced activity against MCF-7 cells.

Tankyrases (TNKS) belong to the poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase (PARP) protein super family and play a vital role in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. TNKS is a potential target for therapeutic intervention against various cancers, heritable diseases (e.g. cherubism) and implications in the replication of herpes simplex virus (HSV). The recent discovery of the structure of TNKS with an IWR1 inhibitor has provided insight into the binding modes which are specific for the TNKS protein which will aid in the development of drugs that are specific for the TNKS protein. The current study investigates molecular interactions between the induced pocket of TNKS1 and TNKS2 with an IWR1 compound using computational approaches. Molecular docking analysis of IWR1 at the induced pocket of TNKS1 and TNKS2 was performed. The resulting protein–ligand complexes were simulated for a timescale of 100 ns. Results revealed the stable binding of IWR1 at the induced pocket of TNKS1 and TNKS2 proteins. Apart from active site amino acids, π–π stack paring interactions were also crucial for the protein–ligand binding and stability of the complex. Further, energy-optimized pharmacophore mapping was performed and the resulting pharmacophore model contained a four (TNKS1–IWR1) and five (TNKS2–IWR1) featured sites. Based on the pharmacophore models, the best inhibitors were screened from the ZINC natural product compound database and these could be used as potential drugs against TNKS1 and TNKS2.