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13 items found (0 items not approved), displaying 1 to 10.[First/Prev] 1, 2 [Next/Last]

Instruments / Technical Area	Publication Details	Published
I04-1-Macromolecular Crystallography (fixed wavelength) I24-Microfocus Macromolecular Crystallography	Gluebodies offer a route to improve crystal reliability and diversity through transferable nanobody mutations that introduce constitutive close contacts Mingda Ye , Mpho Makola , Mark W. Richards , Joseph A. Newman , Michael Fairhead , Selena G. Burgess , Zhihuang Wu , Elizabeth Maclean , Nathan D. Wright , Lizbe Koekemoer , Andrew Thompson , Gustavo Arruda Bezerra , Gangshun Yi , Huanyu Li , Victor Rangel , Dimitrios Mamalis , Hazel Aitkenhead , Benjamin G. Davis , Robert J. C. Gilbert , Katharina L. Duerr , Richard Bayliss , Opher Gileadi , Frank Von Delft Acs Central Science DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.5c00937 Diamond Proposal Number(s): [26998] Open Access Show Abstract ▼ Abstract: Design of modular, transferable protein assemblies has broad applicability and in structural biology could help with the ever-troublesome crystallization bottleneck, including finding robustly behaved protein crystals for rapidly characterizing ligands or drug candidates or generating multiple polymorphs to illuminate diverse conformations. Nanobodies as crystallization chaperones are well-established but still unreliable, as we show here. Instead, we show an exemplar of how robust crystallization behavior can be engineered by exploring many combinations (>200) of nanobody surface mutations over several iterations. Critically, what needed testing was crystallization and diffraction quality, since target–nanobody binding affinity is decoupled from crystallizability enhancement. Our study yielded multiple polymorphs, all mediated by the same interface, with dramatically improved resolution and diffraction reliability for some mutants; we thus name them ‘Gluebodies’ (Gbs). We further demonstrate that these Gb mutations do transfer to some other targets, both for achieving robust crystallization in alternative packing forms and for establishing the ability to crystallize a key early stage readout. Since the Gb interface is evidently a favored interaction, it may be broadly applicable for modular assembly; more specifically, this work suggests that Gbs should be routinely attempted for crystallization whenever nanobodies are available.	Oct 2025
I04-1-Macromolecular Crystallography (fixed wavelength)	Combined crystallographic fragment screening and deep mutational scanning enable discovery of Zika virus NS2B-NS3 protease inhibitors Xiaomin Ni , R. Blake Richardson , Andre Schutzer Godoy , Matteo P. Ferla , Caroline Kikawa , Jenke Scheen , William W. Hannon , Eda Capkin , Noa Lahav , Blake H. Balcomb , Peter G. Marples , Michael Fairhead , Siyi Wang , Eleanor P. Williams , Charles W. E. Tomlinson , Jasmin C. Aschenbrenner , Ryan Lithgo , Max Winokan , Charline Giroud , Isabela Dolci , Rafaela Sachetto Fernandes , Glaucius Oliva , Anu V. Chandran , Mary-Ann Xavier , Martin A. Walsh , Warren Thompson , Jesse D. Bloom , Nathaniel T. Kenton , Alpha A. Lee , Annette Von Delft , Haim Barr , Karla Kirkegaard , Lizbe Koekemoer , Daren Fearon , Matthew J. Evans , Frank Von Delft Nature Communications 16 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63602-z Diamond Proposal Number(s): [32627] Open Access Show Abstract ▼ Abstract: The Zika viral protease NS2B-NS3 is essential for the cleavage of viral polyprotein precursor into individual structural and non-structural (NS) proteins and is therefore an attractive drug target. Generation of a robust crystal system of co-expressed NS2B-NS3 protease has enabled us to perform a crystallographic fragment screening campaign with 1076 fragments. 46 fragments with diverse scaffolds are identified to bind in the active site of the protease, with another 6 fragments observed in a potential allosteric site. To identify binding sites that are intolerant to mutation and thus suppress the outgrowth of viruses resistant to inhibitors developed from bound fragments, we perform deep mutational scanning of the NS2B-NS3 protease. Merging fragment hits yields an extensive set of ‘mergers’, defined as synthetically accessible compounds that recapitulate constellations of observed fragment-protein interactions. In addition, the highly sociable fragment hits enable rapid exploration of chemical space via algorithmic calculation and thus yield diverse possible starting points. In this work, we maximally explore the binding opportunities to NS2B-NS3 protease, facilitating its resistance-resilient antiviral development.	Oct 2025
I03-Macromolecular Crystallography I04-1-Macromolecular Crystallography (fixed wavelength) I04-Macromolecular Crystallography	Crystal structure of fatty acid thioesterase A bound by 129 fragments provides diverse development opportunities Ekaterina Kot , Matteo P. Ferla , Patricia H. Hollinshead , Charles W. E. Tomlinson , Daren Fearon , Jasmin C. Aschenbrenner , Lizbe Koekemoer , Max Winokan , Michael Fairhead , Xiaomin Ni , Rod Chalk , Katherine S. England , Laura Ortega Varga , Mark Greer Montgomery , Nicholas P. Mulholland , Frank Von Delft Pest Management Science 148 DOI: 10.1002/ps.70199 Diamond Proposal Number(s): [28172, 34598, 30602, 36049] Open Access Show Abstract ▼ Abstract: BACKGROUND: In order to alleviate the growing issue of herbicide resistance, diversification of the herbicide portfolio is necessary. A promising yet underutilized mode-of-action is the inhibition of fatty acid thioesterases (FATs), which terminate de novo fatty acid (FA) biosynthesis by releasing FAs from acyl carrier protein (ACP) cofactors. These enzymes impact plant growth and sterility by determining the amount and length of FAs present. In this study we report a crystallographic fragment screening approach for the identification of novel chemical matter targeting FATs. RESULTS: We have solved the crystal structure of Arabidopsis thaliana FatA to 1.5 Å and conducted a crystallographic fragment screen which identified 129 unique fragments bound in 141 different poses. Ten fragments demonstrated on-scale potency, two of these exploiting different interactions to known herbicides. Elaboration of one of the fragments resulted in an improvement of affinity from ~20 μm to ~90 nm KD. Finally, superposition of our crystal structures revealed that some fragments exploit large conformational changes in the substrate binding site. CONCLUSION: We have fully enabled FatA as a target for rapid, rational hit-to-lead development, with robust structural, biophysical and biochemical assays. We provide a set of fragment hits which represent diverse, novel scaffolds that both recapitulate interactions made by current herbicides, and also target novel regions within the active and dimer sites. Our fragments can be readily merged and allow for effective catalogue-based structure–activity relationship (SAR) exploration. Together these data will accelerate the development of novel, alternative herbicides to combat herbicide resistance.	Sep 2025
Krios I-Titan Krios I at Diamond	Covalently constrained 'Di-Gembodies' enable parallel structure solutions by cryo-EM Gangshun Yi , Dimitrios Mamalis , Mingda Ye , Loic Carrique , Michael Fairhead , Huanyu Li , Katharina L. Duerr , Peijun Zhang , David B. Sauer , Frank Von Delft , Benjamin G. Davis , Robert J. C. Gilbert Nature Chemical Biology 52 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-025-01972-7 Diamond Proposal Number(s): [20223, 21004] Open Access Show Abstract ▼ Abstract: Whilst cryo-electron microscopy(cryo-EM) has become a routine methodology in structural biology, obtaining high-resolution cryo-EM structures of small proteins (<100 kDa) and increasing overall throughput remain challenging. One approach to augment protein size and improve particle alignment involves the use of binding proteins or protein-based scaffolds. However, a given imaging scaffold or linking module may prove inadequate for structure solution and availability of such scaffolds remains limited. Here, we describe a strategy that exploits covalent dimerization of nanobodies to trap an engineered, predisposed nanobody-to-nanobody interface, giving Di-Gembodies as modular constructs created in homomeric and heteromeric forms. By exploiting side-chain-to-side-chain assembly, they can simultaneously display two copies of the same or two distinct proteins through a subunit interface that provides sufficient constraint required for cryo-EM structure determination. We validate this method with multiple soluble and membrane structural targets, down to 14 kDa, demonstrating a flexible and scalable platform for expanded protein structure determination.	Aug 2025
	Accelerating drug discovery with high-throughput crystallographic fragment screening and structural enablement Daren Fearon , Ailsa Powell , Alice Douangamath , Alexandre Dias , Charles W. E. Tomlinson , Blake H. Balcomb , Jasmin C. Aschenbrenner , Anthony Aimon , Isabel A. Barker , Jose Brandao-Neto , Patrick Collins , Louise E. Dunnett , Michael Fairhead , Richard J. Gildea , Mathew Golding , Tyler Gorrie-Stone , Paul V. Hathaway , Lizbe Koekemoer , Tobias Krojer , Ryan Lithgo , Elizabeth M. Maclean , Peter G. Marples , Xiaomin Ni , Rachael Skyner , Romain Talon , Warren Thompson , Conor F. Wild , Max Winokan , Nathan D. Wright , Graeme Winter , Elizabeth J. Shotton , Frank Von Delft Applied Research DOI: 10.1002/appl.202400192 Open Access Show Abstract ▼ Abstract: Fragment-based drug discovery is a well-established method for the identification of chemical starting points for development into clinical candidates. Historically, crystallographic fragment screening was perceived to be low-throughput and time consuming. However, thanks to advances in synchrotron capabilities and the introduction of dedicated facilities, such as the XChem platform at Diamond Light Source, there have been substantial improvements in throughput and integration between sample preparation, data collection and hit identification. Herein we share our experiences of establishing a crystallographic fragment screening facility, our learnings from operating a user programme for ten years and our perspective on applying structural enablement to rapidly progress initial fragment hits to lead-like molecules.	Nov 2024
I04-1-Macromolecular Crystallography (fixed wavelength) Krios II-Titan Krios II at Diamond	Allosteric regulation and crystallographic fragment screening of SARS-CoV-2 NSP15 endoribonuclease Andre Schutzer Godoy , Aline Minalli Nakamura , Alice Douangamath , Yun Song , Gabriela Dias Noske , Victor Oliveira Gawriljuk , Rafaela Sachetto Fernandes , Humberto D'Muniz Pereira , Ketllyn irene Zagato Oliveira , Daren Fearon , Alexandre Dias , Tobias Krojer , Michael Fairhead , Alisa Powell , Louise Dunnett , Jose Brandao-Neto , Rachael Skyner , Rod Chalk , Dávid Bajusz , Miklós Bege , Anikó Borbás , György Miklós Keserű , Frank Von Delft , Glaucius Oliva Nucleic Acids Research 579 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad314 Diamond Proposal Number(s): [27083, 27023] Open Access Show Abstract ▼ Abstract: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The NSP15 endoribonuclease enzyme, known as NendoU, is highly conserved and plays a critical role in the ability of the virus to evade the immune system. NendoU is a promising target for the development of new antiviral drugs. However, the complexity of the enzyme's structure and kinetics, along with the broad range of recognition sequences and lack of structural complexes, hampers the development of inhibitors. Here, we performed enzymatic characterization of NendoU in its monomeric and hexameric form, showing that hexamers are allosteric enzymes with a positive cooperative index, and with no influence of manganese on enzymatic activity. Through combining cryo-electron microscopy at different pHs, X-ray crystallography and biochemical and structural analysis, we showed that NendoU can shift between open and closed forms, which probably correspond to active and inactive states, respectively. We also explored the possibility of NendoU assembling into larger supramolecular structures and proposed a mechanism for allosteric regulation. In addition, we conducted a large fragment screening campaign against NendoU and identified several new allosteric sites that could be targeted for the development of new inhibitors. Overall, our findings provide insights into the complex structure and function of NendoU and offer new opportunities for the development of inhibitors.	Apr 2023
I04-1-Macromolecular Crystallography (fixed wavelength) I04-Macromolecular Crystallography	Crystallographic and electrophilic fragment screening of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease Alice Douangamath , Daren Fearon , Paul Gehrtz , Tobias Krojer , Petra Lukacik , C. David Owen , Efrat Resnick , Claire Strain-Damerell , Anthony Aimon , Péter Ábrányi-Balogh , Jose Brandao-Neto , Anna Carbery , Gemma Davison , Alexandre Dias , Thomas D. Downes , Louise Dunnett , Michael Fairhead , James D. Firth , S. Paul Jones , Aaron Keeley , György M. Keserü , Hanna F. Klein , Mathew P. Martin , Martin M. Noble , Peter O’brien , Ailsa Powell , Rambabu N. Reddi , Rachael Skyner , Matthew Snee , Michael J. Waring , Conor Wild , Nir London , Frank Von Delft , Martin A. Walsh Nature Communications 11 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18709-w Open Access Show Abstract ▼ Abstract: COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, lacks effective therapeutics. Additionally, no antiviral drugs or vaccines were developed against the closely related coronavirus, SARS-CoV-1 or MERS-CoV, despite previous zoonotic outbreaks. To identify starting points for such therapeutics, we performed a large-scale screen of electrophile and non-covalent fragments through a combined mass spectrometry and X-ray approach against the SARS-CoV-2 main protease, one of two cysteine viral proteases essential for viral replication. Our crystallographic screen identified 71 hits that span the entire active site, as well as 3 hits at the dimer interface. These structures reveal routes to rapidly develop more potent inhibitors through merging of covalent and non-covalent fragment hits; one series of low-reactivity, tractable covalent fragments were progressed to discover improved binders. These combined hits offer unprecedented structural and reactivity information for on-going structure-based drug design against SARS-CoV-2 main protease.	Oct 2020
I04-1-Macromolecular Crystallography (fixed wavelength)	Deliberately losing control of C−H activation processes in the design of small‐molecule‐fragment arrays targeting peroxisomal metabolism Raysa Khan Tareque , Storm Hassell-Hart , Tobias Krojer , Anthony Bradley , Srikannathasan Velupillai , Romain Talon , Michael Fairhead , Iain J. Day , Kamlesh Bala , Robert Felix , Paul D. Kemmitt , Paul Brennan , Frank Von Delft , Laura Diaz Saez , Kilian Huber , John Spencer Chemmedchem 15, 2513 - 2520 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202000543 Diamond Proposal Number(s): [18145] Show Abstract ▼ Abstract: Combined photochemical arylation, “nuisance effect” (SNAr) reaction sequences have been employed in the design of small arrays for immediate deployment in medium‐throughput X‐ray protein–ligand structure determination. Reactions were deliberately allowed to run “out of control” in terms of selectivity; for example the ortho‐arylation of 2‐phenylpyridine gave five products resulting from mono‐ and bisarylations combined with SNAr processes. As a result, a number of crystallographic hits against NUDT7, a key peroxisomal CoA ester hydrolase, have been identified.	Aug 2020
I03-Macromolecular Crystallography I04-1-Macromolecular Crystallography (fixed wavelength) I24-Microfocus Macromolecular Crystallography	Demonstration of the utility of DOS-derived fragment libraries for rapid hit derivatisation in a multidirectional fashion Sarah L. Kidd , Elaine Fowler , Till Reinhardt , Thomas Compton , Natalia Mateu , Hector Newman , Dom Bellini , Romain Talon , Joseph Mcloughlin , Tobias Krojer , Anthony Aimon , Anthony Bradley , Michael Fairhead , Paul Brear , Laura Diaz-Saez , Katherine Mcauley , Hannah F. Sore , Andrew Madin , Daniel H. O'Donovan , Kilian Huber , Marko Hyvonen , Frank Von Delft , Christopher G. Dowson , David R. Spring Chemical Science DOI: 10.1039/D0SC01232G Diamond Proposal Number(s): [18145, 15649, 14303, 14493] Open Access Show Abstract ▼ Abstract: Organic synthesis underpins the evolution of weak fragment hits into potent lead compounds. Deficiencies within current screening collections often result in the requirement of significant synthetic investment to enable multidirectional fragment growth, limiting the efficiency of the hit evolution process. Diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS)-derived fragment libraries are constructed in an efficient and modular fashion and thus are well-suited to address this challenge. To demonstrate the effective nature of such libraries within fragment-based drug discovery, we herein describe the screening of a 40-member DOS library against three functionally distinct biological targets using X-Ray crystallography. Firstly, we demonstrate the importance for diversity in aiding hit identification with four fragment binders resulting from these efforts. Moreover, we also exemplify the ability to readily access a library of analogues from cheap commercially available materials, which ultimately enabled the exploration of a minimum of four synthetic vectors from each molecule. In total, 10–14 analogues of each hit were rapidly accessed in three to six synthetic steps. Thus, we showcase how DOS-derived fragment libraries enable efficient hit derivatisation and can be utilised to remove the synthetic limitations encountered in early stage fragment-based drug discovery.	May 2020
I03-Macromolecular Crystallography I04-1-Macromolecular Crystallography (fixed wavelength)	Rapid covalent-probe discovery by electrophile-fragment screening Efrat Resnick , Anthony Bradley , Jinrui Gan , Alice Douangamath , Tobias Krojer , Ritika Sethi , Paul P. Geurink , Anthony Aimon , Gabriel Amitai , Dom Bellini , James Bennett , Michael Fairhead , Oleg Fedorov , Ronen Gabizon , Jin Gan , Jingxu Guo , Alexander Plotnikov , Nava Reznik , Gian Filippo Ruda , Laura Diaz-Saez , Verena M. Straub , Tamas Szommer , Srikannathasan Velupillai , Daniel Zaidman , Yanling Zhang , Alun R. Coker , Christopher G. Dowson , Haim Barr , Chu Wang , Kilian V. M. Huber , Paul E. Brennan , Huib Ovaa , Frank Von Delft , Nir London Journal Of The American Chemical Society DOI: 10.1021/jacs.9b02822 Open Access Show Abstract ▼ Abstract: Covalent probes can display unmatched potency, selectivity and duration of action; however, their discovery is challenging. In principle, fragments that can irreversibly bind their target can overcome the low affinity that limits reversible fragment screening, but such electrophilic fragments were considered non-selective and were rarely screened. We hypothesized that mild electrophiles might overcome the selectivity challenge and constructed a library of 993 mildly electrophilic fragments. We characterized this library by a new high-throughput thiol-reactivity assay and screened them against ten cysteine-containing proteins. Highly reactive and promiscuous fragments were rare and could be easily eliminated. By contrast, we found hits for most targets. Combining our approach with high-throughput crystallography allowed rapid progression to potent and selective probes for two enzymes, the deubiquitinase OTUB2 and the pyrophosphatase NUDT7. No inhibitors were previously known for either. This study highlights the potential of electrophile-fragment screening as a practical and efficient tool for covalent-ligand discovery.	May 2019

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