To examine the cytotoxic activity of congeners of 3-amino-isoquinoline, we performed the phenotypic screening using panel of 60 cell lines and found that (N-(6,7-dimethoxy-1-methyl-isoquinolin-3-yl)-4-{[(1-ethyl-4-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl]amino}benzamide (4d)) exhibited the significant effect against different tumor cell lines while showing the high activity toward human colorectal cancer HCT-116 cells (IC50 = 18 μm) and human breast cancer T-47D cells (GI50 = 1.9 μm). Virtual screening indicated that these compounds target protein kinases and phosphodiesterases (PDE). However, wet screening among panel of protein kinases did not show any significant activity. By contrast, 50 μm of 4c and 4d inhibited the growth of HKe3-mtKRAS spheroids in the 3D floating (3DF) culture suggesting that 4c and 4d target PDE4B which is selectively upregulated by mtKRAS in 3DF culture.
Chem Biol Drug Des. 2016 Apr;87(4):575-82. doi: 10.1111/cbdd.12691. Epub 2015 Dec 29.

The search for new substances for the treatment and prophylaxis of HIV-AIDS remains relevant despite advances in highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), both because of the appearance of resistance to existing agents and because of their side effects and toxicity. Preventing the spread of HIV infection via sexual contacts by treating the uninfected partner has some advantage, as prophylactic effects can be obtained using simpler treatment (for example, using one agent rather than combinations of three drugs), as the need is to block the transfer of small numbers of infective virions. On the other hand, agents acting on the uninfected partner must be relatively nontoxic as they have to be used for long periods of time in healthy people. Effective chemoprophylaxis can be obtained using agents blocking the life cycle of the virus before integration into the human genome. Two widely used classes of agent therefore have potential – non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors and integrase (IN) strand transfer inhibitors. In addition, proteins such as CD4, gp120, CCR5, CXCR4, and gp41 can be regarded as potential targets, as their functional roles at different stages in the interaction between virion and host cell have been established. As it is now known that all antiretroviral agents approved for medical use induce resistant viral strains, new anti-HIV agents must have chemical structures which are significantly different from known drugs and (if possible) must act on multiple pharmacological targets. Candidates can be sought by virtual screening of libraries of commercially available samples of chemical compounds; such libraries currently contain several million structural formulas for compounds which have been synthesized and are available for biological testing. Virtual screening can be performed using the computer programs PASS and PharmaExpert, allowing identification of substances with potential for experimental studies on the basis of a number of prognostic criteria (presence of the required types of activity, absence of side and toxic effects, appropriate physicochemical properties).We present here data on the current state of the search for new agents for the treatment and prophylaxis of HIV/AIDS, our approach to virtual screening for new potential substances for the prophylaxis of HIV/AIDS, and the results of using this approach in databases of chemical compounds available for screening. The potential for detection of anti-HIV compounds acting on multiple pharmacological targets among substances which have already been synthesized is discussed. We conclude that there is potential for the rational design of such drugs using computer-aided drug design methods.
Pharmaceutical Chemistry Journal, 2013, 47 (7), 343-360.

This article reviews the application of fragment descriptors at different stages of virtual screening: filtering, similarity search, and direct activity assessment using QSAR/QSPR models. Several case studies are considered. It is demonstrated that the power of fragment descriptors stems from their universality, very high computational efficiency, simplicity of interpretation and versatility.
Combinatorial Chemistry and High Throughput Screening, Volume 11, Issue 8, September 2008, Pages 661-668. DOI: 10.2174/138620708785739907

Bacterial secondary metabolites display diverse biological activities, thus having potential as pharmacological agents. Although most of these compounds are discovered by random screening, it is possible to predict and re-design their structures based on the information on their biosynthetic pathways. Biosynthesis of macrolides, governed by modular polyketide synthases (PKS), obeys certain rules, which can be simulated in silico. PKS mode of action theoretically allows for a huge number of macrolides to be produced upon combinatorial manipulation. Since engineering of all possible PKS variants is practically unfeasible, we created Biogenerator software, which simulates manipulation of PKS and generates virtual libraries of macrolides. These libraries can be screened by computer-aided prediction of biological activities, as exemplified by analysis of erythromycin and macrolactin libraries. This approach allows rational selection of macrolides with desired biological activities and provides instructions regarding the composition of the PKS gene clusters necessary for microbial production of such molecules.
Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2006, 49 (6), 2077-2087.