An insight from computational approach to explore novel, high-affinity phosphodiesterase 10A inhibitors for neurological disorders

The enzyme Phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A) plays a regulatory role in the cAMP/protein kinase A (PKA) signaling pathway by means of hydrolyzing cAMP and cGMP. PDE10A emerges as a relevant pharmacological drug target for neurological conditions such as psychosis, schizophrenia, Parkinson's, Huntington's disease, and other memory-related disorders. In the current study, we subjected a set of 1,2,3-triazoles to be explored as PDE10A inhibitors using diverse computational approaches, including molecular docking, classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, Molecular Mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann Surface Area (MM-PBSA) calculations, steered MD, and umbrella sampling simulations. Molecular docking of cocrystallized ligands papaverine and PFJ, along with a set of in-house synthesized molecules, suggested that molecule 3i haded the highest binding affinity, followed by 3h and 3j. Furthermore, the structural stability studies using MD and MM-PBSA indicated that the 3h and 3j formed stable complexes with PDE10A. The binding free energy of -240.642 kJ/mol and -201.406 kJ/mol was observed for 3h and 3j, respectively. However, the cocrystallized ligands papaverine and PFJ exhibited comparitively higher binding free energy values of -202.030 kJ/mol and -138.764 kJ/mol, respectively. Additionally, steered MD and umbrella sampling simulations provided conclusive evidence that the molecules 3h and 3j could be exploited as promising candidates to target PDE10A. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Automated summary

Phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A) is an important drug target for neurological conditions. In this study, a series of compounds were explored as PDE10A inhibitors using computational methods, and 3h and 3j were identified as promising candidates. The results showed that these compounds formed stable complexes with PDE10A.