Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

SAR by HCS

Nature Chemical Biology volume 4, pages 18–19 (2008)Cite this article

The combination of high-content small-molecule screening information with computational tools offers the opportunity to obtain structure-activity relationships from complex cell-based data.

In high-content screening (HCS), the biological activity of small molecules is profiled using automated microscopy and image analysis. This cellular imaging enables the retrieval of as much information as possible from one experimental condition1. HCS shows great promise for the drug discovery industry, but it also brings great challenges in terms of data size and how to extract the relevant information from this huge flow of data. In this issue, Young et al. describe a methodology for analyzing data from a complex phenotypic cell-based assay screened against a collection of several thousands of chemical entities2. By integrating the HCS analysis with complementary computational tools, the HCS data can be used to predict the mechanism of action of small-molecule hits. With this approach, the authors retrieve the vital information for drug development—structure-activity relationships (SAR).

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Elucidating SAR information from cellular phenotypes.

Ann Thomson

References

  1. Lang, P., Yeow, K., Nichols, A. & Scheer, A. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 5, 343–356 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Young, D.W. et al. Nat. Chem. Biol. 4, 59–68 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Rausch, O. Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol. 10, 316–320 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Spearman, C. Am. J. Psychol. 15, 201–293 (1904).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Irish, J.M. et al. Cell 118, 217–228 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Sachs, K. Science 308, 523–529 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Butcher, E.C. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 4, 461–472 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Giuliano, K.A., Johnston, P.A., Gough, A. & Taylor, D.L. Methods Enzymol. 414, 601–619 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Paul Lang is the head of the Department of Assay Development and Biomolecular Pharmacology, Merck Serono Geneva Research Center, 9 chemin des mines, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland. paul.lang@merckserono.net,

    Paul Lang

Authors
  1. Paul Lang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lang, P. SAR by HCS. Nat Chem Biol 4, 18–19 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio0108-18

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio0108-18

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing