Technical leap in drug development: AI predicts protein structures

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to greatly speed up the process of creating new drugs to treat mental disorders such as schizophrenia and depression. Uppsala University study published in the journal Advances in Science shows that AI can predict the three-dimensional structures of important receptors, opening new opportunities for the development of effective drugs.

A breakthrough in protein structure prediction

Traditional drug development methods involve determining the three-dimensional structure of target proteins and understanding how they interact with molecules. This process requires a lot of resources and time, which limits its use. With the development of AI, scientists have been able to significantly increase the accuracy and speed of predicting protein structures.

This study used AI to create a model of a previously unknown 3D structure of the TAAR1 receptor. This receptor is a key target for the development of drugs for mental disorders. The scientists screened millions of molecules using supercomputers to find the ones that best fit the receptor model. These molecules were then tested in laboratory conditions.

Impressive results

A large number of tested molecules showed the ability to activate TAAR1, and one of them showed particularly promising results in animal experiments. The experimental structures of TAAR1, which were available at the last stage of the study, allowed scientists to compare them with models created using AI. The accuracy of AI prediction structures was significantly higher than using traditional methods.

Jens Carlsson, who led the study, noted that the accuracy of the structures created by AI exceeded all expectations and was significantly better than using traditional methods . This opens up new opportunities for working with tenants whose structure was not known or accessible for research.

Future outlook

The study shows that AI not only accelerates the drug development process, but also improves its accuracy, opening new opportunities for treating various mental and neurodegenerative diseases. The successful use of AlphaFold in this study highlights the importance of integrating advanced technologies into medicine and medicine.

Using AI to predict 3D protein structures and discover drug molecules could be a key tool in the fight against mental disorders, improving the quality of life for millions of people around the world.