Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41365886›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Ultra-large virtual screening unveils potent agonists of the neuromodulatory orphan receptor GPR139.

Israel Cabeza de Vaca, Boris Trapkov, Ling Shen, Duy Duc Vo, Xiaoqun Zhang, Yunting Yang, Mitra Pezeshki, Xuehan Zhang, Frida Bällgren, Aljona Saleh and 9 more

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 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing 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

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
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

19 authors.

Israel Cabeza de Vaca *Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6208-1091
Boris Trapkov *Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1245-888X
Ling Shen *iHuman Institute, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
Duy Duc VoScience for Life Laboratory, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Xiaoqun ZhangNeuro Svenningsson, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9461-8682
Yunting YangNeuro Svenningsson, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
Mitra PezeshkiDepartment of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0001-0155-7463
Xuehan ZhangiHuman Institute, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
Frida BällgrenDepartment of Pharmacy, SciLifeLab Drug Discovery and Development, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Aljona SalehDepartment of Pharmacy, SciLifeLab Drug Discovery and Development, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Andrii V TarnovskiyEnamine Ltd., Kyiv, Ukraine.
Dmytro S RadchenkoEnamine Ltd., Kyiv, Ukraine.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5444-7754
Yurii S MorozEnamine Ltd., Kyiv, Ukraine.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6073-002X
Hans Bräuner-OsborneDepartment of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Per SvenningssonNeuro Svenningsson, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6727-3802
Jan KihlbergDepartment of Chemistry-BMC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4205-6040
Zhi-Jie LiuiHuman Institute, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China. liuzhj@shanghaitech.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7279-2893
Alexander Sebastian HauserDepartment of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. alexander.hauser@sund.ku.dk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1098-6419
Jens CarlssonScience for Life Laboratory, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. jens.carlsson@icm.uu.se.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4623-2977

Funding

Vetenskapsrådet (Swedish Research Council) 2021-00179Vetenskapsrådet (Swedish Research Council) 2022-06725
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The orphan G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) GPR139 attracts interest as a target for neuropsychiatric disorders. Whereas the physiological functions of GPR139 remain elusive, a high-resolution receptor structure is now available. To assess whether structural information enables ligand discovery, we computationally dock 235 million compounds to the GPR139 binding site. Of 68 top-ranked compounds evaluated experimentally, five are full agonists with potencies ranging from 160 nM to 3.6 µM. Structure-guided optimization identifies one of the most potent GPR139 agonists, and a cryo-EM structure of the receptor-ligand complex confirms the predicted binding mode. Functional characterization provides insights into GPR139 signalling, and one agonist elicits behavioural effects in mice. We also explore the potential to replace experimental structure determination with the deep-learning method AlphaFold3, revealing a limited capability of artificial intelligence to model receptor-ligand interactions for understudied GPCRs. The results demonstrate how high-resolution GPCR structures combined with large-library docking can accelerate drug discovery.

Indexed as

Receptors, G-Protein-CoupledAnimalsBinding SitesCryoelectron MicroscopyDrug DiscoveryHEK293 CellsHumansLigandsMiceMolecular Docking SimulationNerve Tissue ProteinsProtein BindingGPR139 protein, humanLigandsNerve Tissue ProteinsReceptors, G-Protein-Coupled

Identifiers

PMID41365886
PMCPMC12775434

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.