Quantitative structure–activity relationships of chemical bioactivity toward proteins associated with molecular initiating events of organ-specific toxicity

Abstract The adverse outcome pathway (AOP) concept has gained attention as a way to explore the mechanism of chemical toxicity. In this study, quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models were developed to predict compound activity toward protein targets relevant to molecular initiatin...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Domenico Gadaleta, Marina Garcia de Lomana, Eva Serrano-Candelas, Rita Ortega-Vallbona, Rafael Gozalbes, Alessandra Roncaglioni, Emilio Benfenati
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2024-11-01
Series:Journal of Cheminformatics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13321-024-00917-x
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846171710793973760
author Domenico Gadaleta
Marina Garcia de Lomana
Eva Serrano-Candelas
Rita Ortega-Vallbona
Rafael Gozalbes
Alessandra Roncaglioni
Emilio Benfenati
author_facet Domenico Gadaleta
Marina Garcia de Lomana
Eva Serrano-Candelas
Rita Ortega-Vallbona
Rafael Gozalbes
Alessandra Roncaglioni
Emilio Benfenati
author_sort Domenico Gadaleta
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The adverse outcome pathway (AOP) concept has gained attention as a way to explore the mechanism of chemical toxicity. In this study, quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models were developed to predict compound activity toward protein targets relevant to molecular initiating events (MIE) upstream of organ-specific toxicities, namely liver steatosis, cholestasis, nephrotoxicity, neural tube closure defects, and cognitive functional defects. Utilizing bioactivity data from the ChEMBL 33 database, various machine learning algorithms, chemical features and methods to assess prediction reliability were compared and applied to develop robust models to predict compound activity. The results demonstrate high predictive performance across multiple targets, with balanced accuracy exceeding 0.80 for the majority of models. Furthermore, stability checks confirmed the consistency of predictive performance across multiple training-test splits. The results obtained by using QSAR predictions to identify known markers of adversities highlighted the utility of the models for risk assessment and for prioritizing compounds for further experimental evaluation. Scientific contribution The work describes the development of QSAR models as tools for screening chemicals with potential systemic toxicity, thus contributing to resource savings and providing indications for further better-targeted testing. This study provides advances in the field of computational modeling of MIEs and information from AOP which is still relatively young and unexplored. The comprehensive modeling procedure is highly generalizable, and offers a robust framework for predicting a wide range of toxicological endpoints.
format Article
id doaj-art-f64a73920b77456f89cbc33ac1b0126b
institution Kabale University
issn 1758-2946
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series Journal of Cheminformatics
spelling doaj-art-f64a73920b77456f89cbc33ac1b0126b2024-11-10T12:40:39ZengBMCJournal of Cheminformatics1758-29462024-11-0116111710.1186/s13321-024-00917-xQuantitative structure–activity relationships of chemical bioactivity toward proteins associated with molecular initiating events of organ-specific toxicityDomenico Gadaleta0Marina Garcia de Lomana1Eva Serrano-Candelas2Rita Ortega-Vallbona3Rafael Gozalbes4Alessandra Roncaglioni5Emilio Benfenati6Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCSBayer AG, Machine Learning Research, Research & Development, PharmaceuticalsProtoQSAR SL, CEEI (Centro Europeo de Empresas Innovadoras)ProtoQSAR SL, CEEI (Centro Europeo de Empresas Innovadoras)ProtoQSAR SL, CEEI (Centro Europeo de Empresas Innovadoras)Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCSLaboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCSAbstract The adverse outcome pathway (AOP) concept has gained attention as a way to explore the mechanism of chemical toxicity. In this study, quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models were developed to predict compound activity toward protein targets relevant to molecular initiating events (MIE) upstream of organ-specific toxicities, namely liver steatosis, cholestasis, nephrotoxicity, neural tube closure defects, and cognitive functional defects. Utilizing bioactivity data from the ChEMBL 33 database, various machine learning algorithms, chemical features and methods to assess prediction reliability were compared and applied to develop robust models to predict compound activity. The results demonstrate high predictive performance across multiple targets, with balanced accuracy exceeding 0.80 for the majority of models. Furthermore, stability checks confirmed the consistency of predictive performance across multiple training-test splits. The results obtained by using QSAR predictions to identify known markers of adversities highlighted the utility of the models for risk assessment and for prioritizing compounds for further experimental evaluation. Scientific contribution The work describes the development of QSAR models as tools for screening chemicals with potential systemic toxicity, thus contributing to resource savings and providing indications for further better-targeted testing. This study provides advances in the field of computational modeling of MIEs and information from AOP which is still relatively young and unexplored. The comprehensive modeling procedure is highly generalizable, and offers a robust framework for predicting a wide range of toxicological endpoints.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13321-024-00917-xQuantitative structure–activity relationshipAdverse outcome pathwayMolecular initiating eventLiver toxicityNeurotoxicityNephrotoxicity
spellingShingle Domenico Gadaleta
Marina Garcia de Lomana
Eva Serrano-Candelas
Rita Ortega-Vallbona
Rafael Gozalbes
Alessandra Roncaglioni
Emilio Benfenati
Quantitative structure–activity relationships of chemical bioactivity toward proteins associated with molecular initiating events of organ-specific toxicity
Journal of Cheminformatics
Quantitative structure–activity relationship
Adverse outcome pathway
Molecular initiating event
Liver toxicity
Neurotoxicity
Nephrotoxicity
title Quantitative structure–activity relationships of chemical bioactivity toward proteins associated with molecular initiating events of organ-specific toxicity
title_full Quantitative structure–activity relationships of chemical bioactivity toward proteins associated with molecular initiating events of organ-specific toxicity
title_fullStr Quantitative structure–activity relationships of chemical bioactivity toward proteins associated with molecular initiating events of organ-specific toxicity
title_full_unstemmed Quantitative structure–activity relationships of chemical bioactivity toward proteins associated with molecular initiating events of organ-specific toxicity
title_short Quantitative structure–activity relationships of chemical bioactivity toward proteins associated with molecular initiating events of organ-specific toxicity
title_sort quantitative structure activity relationships of chemical bioactivity toward proteins associated with molecular initiating events of organ specific toxicity
topic Quantitative structure–activity relationship
Adverse outcome pathway
Molecular initiating event
Liver toxicity
Neurotoxicity
Nephrotoxicity
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13321-024-00917-x
work_keys_str_mv AT domenicogadaleta quantitativestructureactivityrelationshipsofchemicalbioactivitytowardproteinsassociatedwithmolecularinitiatingeventsoforganspecifictoxicity
AT marinagarciadelomana quantitativestructureactivityrelationshipsofchemicalbioactivitytowardproteinsassociatedwithmolecularinitiatingeventsoforganspecifictoxicity
AT evaserranocandelas quantitativestructureactivityrelationshipsofchemicalbioactivitytowardproteinsassociatedwithmolecularinitiatingeventsoforganspecifictoxicity
AT ritaortegavallbona quantitativestructureactivityrelationshipsofchemicalbioactivitytowardproteinsassociatedwithmolecularinitiatingeventsoforganspecifictoxicity
AT rafaelgozalbes quantitativestructureactivityrelationshipsofchemicalbioactivitytowardproteinsassociatedwithmolecularinitiatingeventsoforganspecifictoxicity
AT alessandraroncaglioni quantitativestructureactivityrelationshipsofchemicalbioactivitytowardproteinsassociatedwithmolecularinitiatingeventsoforganspecifictoxicity
AT emiliobenfenati quantitativestructureactivityrelationshipsofchemicalbioactivitytowardproteinsassociatedwithmolecularinitiatingeventsoforganspecifictoxicity