Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40050649›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Knowledge-guided diffusion model for 3D ligand-pharmacophore mapping.

Jun-Lin Yu, Cong Zhou, Xiang-Li Ning, Jun Mou, Fan-Bo Meng, Jing-Wei Wu, Yi-Ting Chen, Biao-Dan Tang, Xiang-Gen Liu, Guo-Bo Li

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Learned Conformational Space and Pharmacophore Into Molecular Foundational Model.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Generative Deep Learning for de Novo Drug Design─A Chemical Space Odyssey.Journal of chemical information and modeling · 2025
    Review
  10. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Jun-Lin YuKey Laboratory of Drug Targeting and Drug Delivery System of Ministry of Education, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0001-2517-7596
Cong ZhouKey Laboratory of Drug Targeting and Drug Delivery System of Ministry of Education, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6394-6870
Xiang-Li NingKey Laboratory of Drug Targeting and Drug Delivery System of Ministry of Education, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4172-5131
Jun MouKey Laboratory of Drug Targeting and Drug Delivery System of Ministry of Education, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3141-1067
Fan-Bo MengKey Laboratory of Drug Targeting and Drug Delivery System of Ministry of Education, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-1717-9037
Jing-Wei WuKey Laboratory of Drug Targeting and Drug Delivery System of Ministry of Education, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0005-7431-0495
Yi-Ting ChenKey Laboratory of Drug Targeting and Drug Delivery System of Ministry of Education, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-3193-708X
Biao-Dan TangKey Laboratory of Drug Targeting and Drug Delivery System of Ministry of Education, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-1702-6968
Xiang-Gen LiuCollege of Computer Science, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. liuxianggen@scu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7340-4602
Guo-Bo LiKey Laboratory of Drug Targeting and Drug Delivery System of Ministry of Education, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. liguobo@scu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4915-6677

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pharmacophores are abstractions of essential chemical interaction patterns, holding an irreplaceable position in drug discovery. Despite the availability of many pharmacophore tools, the adoption of deep learning for pharmacophore-guided drug discovery remains relatively rare. We herein propose a knowledge-guided diffusion framework for 'on-the-fly' 3D ligand-pharmacophore mapping, named DiffPhore. It leverages ligand-pharmacophore matching knowledge to guide ligand conformation generation, meanwhile utilizing calibrated sampling to mitigate the exposure bias of the iterative conformation search process. By training on two self-established datasets of 3D ligand-pharmacophore pairs, DiffPhore achieves state-of-the-art performance in predicting ligand binding conformations, surpassing traditional pharmacophore tools and several advanced docking methods. It also manifests superior virtual screening power for lead discovery and target fishing. Using DiffPhore, we successfully identify structurally distinct inhibitors for human glutaminyl cyclases, and their binding modes are further validated through co-crystallographic analysis. We believe this work will advance the AI-enabled pharmacophore-guided drug discovery techniques.

Indexed as

Drug DiscoveryDeep LearningHumansLigandsMolecular Docking SimulationPharmacophoreProtein BindingLigands

Identifiers

PMID40050649
PMCPMC11885826

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.