We describe and apply a scaffold-focused virtual screen based upon scaffold
trees to the mitotic kinase TTK (MPS1). Using level 1 of the scaffold tree, we
perform both 2D and 3D similarity searches between a query scaffold and a level
1 scaffold library derived from a 2 million compound library; 98 compounds from
27 unique top-ranked level 1 scaffolds are selected for biochemical screening.
We show that this scaffold-focused virtual screen prospectively identifies eight
confirmed active compounds that are structurally differentiated from the query
compound. In comparison, 100 compounds were selected for biochemical screening
using a virtual screen based upon whole molecule similarity resulting in 12
confirmed active compounds that are structurally similar to the query compound.
We elucidated the binding mode for four of the eight confirmed scaffold hops to
TTK by determining their protein-ligand crystal structures; each represents a
ligand-efficient scaffold for inhibitor design.