title: A support vector machines approach for virtual screening of active compounds of single and multiple mechanisms from large libraries at an improved hit-rate and enrichment factor.
abstract: Support vector machines (SVM) and other machine-learning (ML) methods have been explored as ligand-based virtual screening (VS) tools for facilitating lead discovery. While exhibiting good hit selection performance, in screening large compound libraries, these methods tend to produce lower hit-rate than those of the best performing VS tools, partly because their training-sets contain limited spectrum of inactive compounds. We tested whether the performance of SVM can be improved by using training-sets of diverse inactive compounds. In retrospective database screening of active compounds of single mechanism (HIV protease inhibitors, DHFR inhibitors, dopamine antagonists) and multiple mechanisms (CNS active agents) from large libraries of 2.986 million compounds, the yields, hit-rates, and enrichment factors of our SVM models are 52.4-78.0%, 4.7-73.8%, and 214-10,543, respectively, compared to those of 62-95%, 0.65-35%, and 20-1200 by structure-based VS and 55-81%, 0.2-0.7%, and 110-795 by other ligand-based VS tools in screening libraries of >or=1 million compounds. The hit-rates are comparable and the enrichment factors are substantially better than the best results of other VS tools. 24.3-87.6% of the predicted hits are outside the known hit families. SVM appears to be potentially useful for facilitating lead discovery in VS of large compound libraries.
authors.affiliation: Bioinformatics and Drug Design Group, Department of Pharmacy, National University of Singapore, Blk S16, Level 8, 3 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117543, Singapore.
authors.forename: L Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: X H
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.forename: Z R
authors.initials: ZR
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Z W
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Z L
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Y Z
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D001185:Artificial Intelligence; D002491:Central Nervous System Agents / Q000737:chemistry; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002627:Chemistry, Physical; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists / Q000737:chemistry; D015195:Drug Design; D005493:Folic Acid Antagonists / Q000737:chemistry; D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D015394:Molecular Structure; D021281:Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D002491:Central Nervous System Agents; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists; D005493:Folic Acid Antagonists; D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors