LocPro: A deep learning-based prediction of protein subcellular localization for promoting multi-directional pharmaceutical research

Drug development encompasses multiple processes, wherein protein subcellular localization is essential. It promotes target identification, treatment development, and the design of drug delivery systems. In this research, a deep learning framework called LocPro is presented for predicting protein sub...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yintao Zhang, Lingyan Zheng, Nanxin You, Wei Hu, Wanghao Jiang, Mingkun Lu, Hangwei Xu, Haibin Dai, Tingting Fu, Ying Zhou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-08-01
Series:Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095177925000723
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849390418048843776
author Yintao Zhang
Lingyan Zheng
Nanxin You
Wei Hu
Wanghao Jiang
Mingkun Lu
Hangwei Xu
Haibin Dai
Tingting Fu
Ying Zhou
author_facet Yintao Zhang
Lingyan Zheng
Nanxin You
Wei Hu
Wanghao Jiang
Mingkun Lu
Hangwei Xu
Haibin Dai
Tingting Fu
Ying Zhou
author_sort Yintao Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Drug development encompasses multiple processes, wherein protein subcellular localization is essential. It promotes target identification, treatment development, and the design of drug delivery systems. In this research, a deep learning framework called LocPro is presented for predicting protein subcellular localization. Specifically, LocPro is unique in (a) combining protein representations from the pre-trained large language model (LLM) ESM2 and the expert-driven tool PROFEAT, (b) implementing a hybrid deep neural network architecture that integrates convolutional neural network (CNN), fully connected (FC) layer, and bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) blocks, and (c) developing a multi-label framework for predicting protein subcellular localization at multiple granularity levels. Additionally, a dataset was curated and divided using a homology-based strategy for training and validation. Comparative analyses show that LocPro outperforms existing methods in sequence-based multi-label protein subcellular localization prediction. The practical utility of this framework is further demonstrated through case studies on drug target subcellular localization. All in all, LocPro serves as a valuable complement to existing protein localization prediction tools. The web server is freely accessible at https://idrblab.org/LocPro/.
format Article
id doaj-art-45f5f8ed76544afaa0a6c0455cda5f17
institution Kabale University
issn 2095-1779
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis
spelling doaj-art-45f5f8ed76544afaa0a6c0455cda5f172025-08-20T03:41:40ZengElsevierJournal of Pharmaceutical Analysis2095-17792025-08-0115810125510.1016/j.jpha.2025.101255LocPro: A deep learning-based prediction of protein subcellular localization for promoting multi-directional pharmaceutical researchYintao Zhang0Lingyan Zheng1Nanxin You2Wei Hu3Wanghao Jiang4Mingkun Lu5Hangwei Xu6Haibin Dai7Tingting Fu8Ying Zhou9Department of Pharmacy, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310009, China; College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310009, China; College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, ChinaCollege of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310009, ChinaCollege of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, ChinaCollege of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, ChinaCollege of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310009, China; Corresponding author.Department of Pharmacy, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310009, China; Corresponding author.Department of Pharmacy, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310009, China; Corresponding author.Drug development encompasses multiple processes, wherein protein subcellular localization is essential. It promotes target identification, treatment development, and the design of drug delivery systems. In this research, a deep learning framework called LocPro is presented for predicting protein subcellular localization. Specifically, LocPro is unique in (a) combining protein representations from the pre-trained large language model (LLM) ESM2 and the expert-driven tool PROFEAT, (b) implementing a hybrid deep neural network architecture that integrates convolutional neural network (CNN), fully connected (FC) layer, and bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) blocks, and (c) developing a multi-label framework for predicting protein subcellular localization at multiple granularity levels. Additionally, a dataset was curated and divided using a homology-based strategy for training and validation. Comparative analyses show that LocPro outperforms existing methods in sequence-based multi-label protein subcellular localization prediction. The practical utility of this framework is further demonstrated through case studies on drug target subcellular localization. All in all, LocPro serves as a valuable complement to existing protein localization prediction tools. The web server is freely accessible at https://idrblab.org/LocPro/.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095177925000723Protein subcellular locationPharmaceutical researchProtein large language modelMulti-label prediction
spellingShingle Yintao Zhang
Lingyan Zheng
Nanxin You
Wei Hu
Wanghao Jiang
Mingkun Lu
Hangwei Xu
Haibin Dai
Tingting Fu
Ying Zhou
LocPro: A deep learning-based prediction of protein subcellular localization for promoting multi-directional pharmaceutical research
Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis
Protein subcellular location
Pharmaceutical research
Protein large language model
Multi-label prediction
title LocPro: A deep learning-based prediction of protein subcellular localization for promoting multi-directional pharmaceutical research
title_full LocPro: A deep learning-based prediction of protein subcellular localization for promoting multi-directional pharmaceutical research
title_fullStr LocPro: A deep learning-based prediction of protein subcellular localization for promoting multi-directional pharmaceutical research
title_full_unstemmed LocPro: A deep learning-based prediction of protein subcellular localization for promoting multi-directional pharmaceutical research
title_short LocPro: A deep learning-based prediction of protein subcellular localization for promoting multi-directional pharmaceutical research
title_sort locpro a deep learning based prediction of protein subcellular localization for promoting multi directional pharmaceutical research
topic Protein subcellular location
Pharmaceutical research
Protein large language model
Multi-label prediction
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095177925000723
work_keys_str_mv AT yintaozhang locproadeeplearningbasedpredictionofproteinsubcellularlocalizationforpromotingmultidirectionalpharmaceuticalresearch
AT lingyanzheng locproadeeplearningbasedpredictionofproteinsubcellularlocalizationforpromotingmultidirectionalpharmaceuticalresearch
AT nanxinyou locproadeeplearningbasedpredictionofproteinsubcellularlocalizationforpromotingmultidirectionalpharmaceuticalresearch
AT weihu locproadeeplearningbasedpredictionofproteinsubcellularlocalizationforpromotingmultidirectionalpharmaceuticalresearch
AT wanghaojiang locproadeeplearningbasedpredictionofproteinsubcellularlocalizationforpromotingmultidirectionalpharmaceuticalresearch
AT mingkunlu locproadeeplearningbasedpredictionofproteinsubcellularlocalizationforpromotingmultidirectionalpharmaceuticalresearch
AT hangweixu locproadeeplearningbasedpredictionofproteinsubcellularlocalizationforpromotingmultidirectionalpharmaceuticalresearch
AT haibindai locproadeeplearningbasedpredictionofproteinsubcellularlocalizationforpromotingmultidirectionalpharmaceuticalresearch
AT tingtingfu locproadeeplearningbasedpredictionofproteinsubcellularlocalizationforpromotingmultidirectionalpharmaceuticalresearch
AT yingzhou locproadeeplearningbasedpredictionofproteinsubcellularlocalizationforpromotingmultidirectionalpharmaceuticalresearch