Computational Study on the Interaction of N1 Substituted Pyrazole Derivatives with B-Raf Kinase: An Unusual Water Wire Hydrogen-Bond Network and Novel Interactions at the Entrance of the Active Site

Docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of N1 substituted pyrazole derivatives complexed with B-Raf kinase were performed to gain insight into the structural and energetic preferences of these inhibitors. First, a comparative study of fully automated docking programs Auto Dock, ICM, GLIDE, and Surflex-Dock in closely approximating the X-ray crystal structure of the inhibitor (1E)-5-[1-(4-piperidinyl)-3-(4-pyridinyl)-1H-pyrazol-4-yl]-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-one oxime was performed. Afterward, the dynamics of the above-mentioned compound and the less active analogous compounds with 1-methyl-4-piperidinyl and tetrahydro-2H-pyran-4-yl groups at position N1 of pyrazole ring inside the B-Raf active site were analyzed by MD simulations. We found that the most active compound has stable interactions with residues Ile463 and His539 at the entrance of the B-Raf active site. Those interactions were in very good agreement with more reliable quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics calculations performed on the torsional angle phi between the pyrazole ring and the substituents at position N1. In addition, we identified a water wire connecting N2 of the pyrazole ring, Cys532, and Ser536, which is composed of three water molecules for the most active compound. We found some differences in the water wire hydrogen-bond network formed by less active compounds. We suggest that the differences between these structural features are responsible for the differences in activity among the studied compounds.