HybTrans: A Molecular Generation and Optimization Model Integrating Protein Pocket Sequence and Structural Information

Deep learning models for drug discovery offer broader chemical space exploration and generate more novel molecules compared to traditional methods. Deep learning models currently used in drug design can be divided into two main categories: those based on ligands and those based on protein pockets. H...

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Main Authors: Chen Yinghao, Liu Hongde, Sun Xiao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: EDP Sciences 2025-01-01
Series:BIO Web of Conferences
Online Access:https://www.bio-conferences.org/articles/bioconf/pdf/2025/25/bioconf_icbb2025_03012.pdf
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author Chen Yinghao
Liu Hongde
Sun Xiao
author_facet Chen Yinghao
Liu Hongde
Sun Xiao
author_sort Chen Yinghao
collection DOAJ
description Deep learning models for drug discovery offer broader chemical space exploration and generate more novel molecules compared to traditional methods. Deep learning models currently used in drug design can be divided into two main categories: those based on ligands and those based on protein pockets. However, there is a lack of models that integrate both protein pocket sequence and structural information for molecular generation. This study proposes HybTrans, a molecular generation and optimization model that integrates protein pocket sequence and structural information. The model includes a sequence encoding module, a structure encoding module, a small molecule Self-Referencing Embedded Strings (SELFIES) representation module, a fusion decoding module, and a reinforcement learning module. The evaluation results demonstrate that the molecules produced by HybTrans have an average diversity of 0.815 and a docking affinity score of -7.828 kcal/mol (Vina), surpassing the performance of similar models. Additionally, the generated molecules exhibit high drug-likeness (QED), synthesizability (SA), and Lipinski’s rule of five scores (Lipinski). Ablation studies demonstrate the importance of key modules such as the fusion decoding module and the SELFIES representation module. A case study on the p21-activated kinase (PDB ID: 5i0b) binding pocket shows that HybTrans is capable of capturing the interactions between protein pockets and drug molecules, generating small molecules with high target affinity and excellent molecular properties.
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spelling doaj-art-6c70dab5d2944c2dbedefd851f76fe362025-08-20T03:08:51ZengEDP SciencesBIO Web of Conferences2117-44582025-01-011740301210.1051/bioconf/202517403012bioconf_icbb2025_03012HybTrans: A Molecular Generation and Optimization Model Integrating Protein Pocket Sequence and Structural InformationChen Yinghao0Liu Hongde1Sun Xiao2School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast UniversitySchool of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast UniversitySchool of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast UniversityDeep learning models for drug discovery offer broader chemical space exploration and generate more novel molecules compared to traditional methods. Deep learning models currently used in drug design can be divided into two main categories: those based on ligands and those based on protein pockets. However, there is a lack of models that integrate both protein pocket sequence and structural information for molecular generation. This study proposes HybTrans, a molecular generation and optimization model that integrates protein pocket sequence and structural information. The model includes a sequence encoding module, a structure encoding module, a small molecule Self-Referencing Embedded Strings (SELFIES) representation module, a fusion decoding module, and a reinforcement learning module. The evaluation results demonstrate that the molecules produced by HybTrans have an average diversity of 0.815 and a docking affinity score of -7.828 kcal/mol (Vina), surpassing the performance of similar models. Additionally, the generated molecules exhibit high drug-likeness (QED), synthesizability (SA), and Lipinski’s rule of five scores (Lipinski). Ablation studies demonstrate the importance of key modules such as the fusion decoding module and the SELFIES representation module. A case study on the p21-activated kinase (PDB ID: 5i0b) binding pocket shows that HybTrans is capable of capturing the interactions between protein pockets and drug molecules, generating small molecules with high target affinity and excellent molecular properties.https://www.bio-conferences.org/articles/bioconf/pdf/2025/25/bioconf_icbb2025_03012.pdf
spellingShingle Chen Yinghao
Liu Hongde
Sun Xiao
HybTrans: A Molecular Generation and Optimization Model Integrating Protein Pocket Sequence and Structural Information
BIO Web of Conferences
title HybTrans: A Molecular Generation and Optimization Model Integrating Protein Pocket Sequence and Structural Information
title_full HybTrans: A Molecular Generation and Optimization Model Integrating Protein Pocket Sequence and Structural Information
title_fullStr HybTrans: A Molecular Generation and Optimization Model Integrating Protein Pocket Sequence and Structural Information
title_full_unstemmed HybTrans: A Molecular Generation and Optimization Model Integrating Protein Pocket Sequence and Structural Information
title_short HybTrans: A Molecular Generation and Optimization Model Integrating Protein Pocket Sequence and Structural Information
title_sort hybtrans a molecular generation and optimization model integrating protein pocket sequence and structural information
url https://www.bio-conferences.org/articles/bioconf/pdf/2025/25/bioconf_icbb2025_03012.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT chenyinghao hybtransamoleculargenerationandoptimizationmodelintegratingproteinpocketsequenceandstructuralinformation
AT liuhongde hybtransamoleculargenerationandoptimizationmodelintegratingproteinpocketsequenceandstructuralinformation
AT sunxiao hybtransamoleculargenerationandoptimizationmodelintegratingproteinpocketsequenceandstructuralinformation