Recent advances in the development of DprE1 inhibitors using AI/CADD approaches

Tuberculosis (TB) is a global lethal disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). The flavoenzyme decaprenylphosphoryl-β-d-ribose 2′-oxidase (DprE1) plays a crucial part in the biosynthesis of lipoarabinomannan and arabinogalactan for the cell wall of Mtb and represents a promising target for anti-TB drug development. Therefore, there is an urgent need to discover DprE1 inhibitors with novel scaffolds, improved bioactivity and high drug-likeness. Recent studies have shown that artificial intelligence/computer-aided drug design (AI/CADD) techniques are powerful tools in the discovery of novel DprE1 inhibitors. This review provides an overview of the discovery of DprE1 inhibitors and their underlying mechanism of action and highlights recent advances in the discovery and optimization of DprE1 inhibitors using AI/CADD approaches.