Discovery of Natural Products Targeting NQO1 via an Approach Combining Network-Based Inference and Identification of Privileged Substructures

NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) has been shown to be a potential therapeutic target for various human diseases, such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. Recent advances in computational methods, especially network-based methods, have made it possible to identify novel compounds for a target with high efficiency and low cost. In this study, we designed a workflow combining network-based methods and identification of privileged substructures to discover new compounds targeting NQO1 from a natural product library. According to the prediction results, we purchased 56 compounds for experimental validation. Without the assistance of privileged substructures, 31 compounds (31/56 = 55.4%) showed IC50 < 100 μM, and 11 compounds (11/56 = 19.6%) showed IC50 < 10 μM. With the assistance of privileged substructures, the two success rates were increased to 61.8 and 26.5%, respectively. Seven natural products further showed inhibitory activity on NQO1 at the cellular level, which may serve as lead compounds for further development. Moreover, network analysis revealed that osthole may exert anticancer effects against multiple cancer types by inhibiting not only carbonic anhydrases IX and XII but also NQO1. Our workflow and computational methods can be easily applied in other targets and become useful tools in drug discovery and development.