Opportunities and Challenges for In Silico Drug Discovery at Delta Opioid Receptors

The delta opioid receptor is a Gi-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) with a broad expression pattern both in the central nervous system and the body. The receptor has been investigated as a potential target for a multitude of significant diseases including migraine, alcohol use disorder, ischemia, and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2022-07, Vol.15 (7), p.873
Main Authors: Meqbil, Yazan J, van Rijn, Richard M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
artificial intelligence
biased signaling
Binding sites
Clinical trials
computer-aided drug design
Drug discovery
G protein-coupled receptor
Irritable bowel syndrome
Ligands
Migraine
molecular dynamic simulation
Mutagenesis
Mutation
Narcotics
Nervous system
Nervous system agents
Opioids
Peptides
Pharmaceutical research
Proteins
Receptors
Review
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Summary:The delta opioid receptor is a Gi-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) with a broad expression pattern both in the central nervous system and the body. The receptor has been investigated as a potential target for a multitude of significant diseases including migraine, alcohol use disorder, ischemia, and neurodegenerative diseases. Despite multiple attempts, delta opioid receptor-selective molecules have not been translated into the clinic. Yet, the therapeutic promise of the delta opioid receptor remains and thus there is a need to identify novel delta opioid receptor ligands to be optimized and selected for clinical trials. Here, we highlight recent developments involving the delta opioid receptor, the closely related mu and kappa opioid receptors, and in the broader area of the GPCR drug discovery research. We focus on the validity and utility of the available delta opioid receptor structures. We also discuss the increased ability to perform ultra-large-scale docking studies on GPCRs, the rise in high-resolution cryo-EM structures, and the increased prevalence of machine learning and artificial intelligence in drug discovery. Overall, we pose that there are multiple opportunities to enable in silico drug discovery at the delta opioid receptor to identify novel delta opioid modulators potentially with unique pharmacological properties, such as biased signaling.
ISSN:1424-8247
1424-8247
DOI:10.3390/ph15070873