Virtual Screening TLR2 Antagonists for Oral Bioavailability

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for discovering small molecule TLR2 antagonists are inefficient and lack effective pharmacological targets for preventing or treating inflammatory diseases, with a need for novel compounds that can inhibit TLR2 signaling without causing toxicity.

Innovation Solution

Development of 19 novel small molecule TLR2 antagonists with high oral bioavailability, characterized by their ability to inhibit IL-8 secretion and function as regulators of TLR4, utilizing a combination of virtual screening techniques, pharmacophore modeling, and molecular docking to identify compounds like S06690562, S01688300, and S01382085 for use in pharmaceutical compositions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If experimental high-throughput screening (HTS) is used to discover TLR2 antagonists, then the reliability of identifying active compounds is improved, but the cost and time consumption increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvereliability of identifying active compoundsVSAvoidtime consumption of screening
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by performing virtual screening of compound libraries against TLR2 receptor models before conducting experimental validation. This pre-screening step filters out inactive compounds computationally, allowing only the most promising candidates to proceed to expensive and time-consuming wet lab experiments, thereby reducing overall screening time while maintaining reliability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces computational modeling and virtual screening as an intermediary between compound library storage and experimental testing. This intermediary layer uses in silico methods to predict binding affinity and activity, serving as a bridge that reduces the number of compounds requiring experimental validation while preserving the ability to identify true active compounds

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If the compound library is reduced to a small set for screening, then the screening cost and time are reduced, but the risk of missing specific target drugs increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvescreening efficiencyVSAvoidcompleteness of target drug identification
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies parameter changes by optimizing multiple computational parameters simultaneously: filtering criteria for compound selection, docking scoring functions, and virtual screening thresholds. By carefully tuning these parameters, the method identifies a small subset of compounds that maintains high probability of containing the specific target drug while reducing screening scope

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a multi-functional virtual screening platform that can evaluate compounds against multiple targets and conditions simultaneously. This universal approach allows the small reduced library to be assessed comprehensively using various computational metrics, increasing confidence that the specific target drug is not missed despite the reduced screening scope

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Device complexity

If ligand-based virtual screening is used, then the screening process is simplified, but it requires prior information about active ligands which may not be available

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecomplexity of screening processVSAvoidapplicability when no active ligand information is available
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies inversion by reversing the traditional screening approach: instead of starting with known active ligands and finding similar compounds (ligand-based), or using complex receptor structures (receptor-based), the method uses simplified pharmacophore models that can be constructed with minimal prior information, making the process both simple and broadly applicable

Inventive Principle:
Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

4Measurement precision

If molecular docking is performed with high-resolution receptor coordinates, then the binding affinity prediction accuracy is improved, but the computational resources and time required increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebinding affinity prediction accuracyVSAvoidcomputational resources required
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies partial action by performing molecular docking only on the small subset of compounds that passed virtual screening, rather than docking the entire compound library. This partial application of the computationally intensive docking method maintains high prediction accuracy for the most promising candidates while dramatically reducing overall computational resource requirements

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP3305767B1Novel TLR2 antagonists for treating inflammatory diseases
Publication Date: 2020.09.09 AJOU UNIV IND ACADEMIC COOP FOUND
  • EP3305767B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3305767B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3305767B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The present disclosure relates to a novel small molecule TLR2 antagonist, and particularly, to 19 novel TLR2 antagonists, a pharmaceutical composition, including the antagonists, for preventing or treating inflammatory diseases, and a TLR4 regulator. The novel TLR2 antagonists according to the present disclosure can be effectively used as a preparation for oral administration by having low molecular weight and high oral bioavailability, and can be useful in pharmaceutical compositions for preventing or treating inflammatory diseases since the secretion of IL-8 is effectively inhibited and in vivo cytotoxicity is not induced. In addition, the novel TLR2 antagonists according to the present disclosure can be used as a TLR4 regulator.