license: cc-by-4.0
pretty_name: Cereblon (CRBN) Binders — Ligand–Receptor Complexes
task_categories:
- graph-ml
- other
size_categories:
- n<1K
language:
- en
tags:
- chemistry
- drug-discovery
- molecular-docking
- protein-ligand-complex
- CRBN
- cereblon
- molecular-glue
- targeted-protein-degradation
- E3-ligase
- biology
- de-novo-design
- generative-design
- structure-based-drug-design
- synthetic
- synthetic-data
- ai-generated
- computational-chemistry
- virtual-screening
- cheminformatics
- SMILES
- E3-ubiquitin-ligase
- CRL4-CRBN
- thalidomide
- lenalidomide
- pomalidomide
- IMiD
- PROTAC
- TPD
- degrader
- neosubstrate
- ligase-handle
- generative-ai
- small-molecule
- SDF
- genetic-algorithm
- GA-II
- autodock-vina
- TC-43
- technetium
Cereblon (CRBN) Binders — Ligand–Receptor Complexes
Why this target matters. Cereblon is the most clinically validated E3 ligase handle in medicine — the direct target of thalidomide, lenalidomide and pomalidomide, and the recruiting engine behind most molecular glues and PROTACs now in the clinic.
221 computationally designed small-molecule ligands docked into Cereblon (CRBN), each provided as a single-file protein–ligand complex in PDB format (221 unique ligand structures).
CRBN is the substrate-receptor subunit of the CRL4^CRBN E3 ubiquitin ligase and the central recruiting handle for molecular glues and PROTACs in targeted protein degradation. Designs occupy the thalidomide-binding domain (the classic tri-tryptophan glutarimide pocket).
Receptor note: coordinates correspond to the CRBN thalidomide-binding domain (chain A res 20–123). TODO: add the source RCSB PDB accession for the receptor template used to generate these complexes.
Dataset summary
| Complex files | 221 (*_cmpx.pdb) |
| Unique ligand SMILES | 221 |
| Receptor | CRBN thalidomide-binding domain (chain A res 20–123) |
| Generator | Technetium GA-II pocket-conditioned generative platform |
| Pose scoring | AutoDock Vina |
These are de novo, scaffold-constrained generative designs produced by the Technetium GA-II pocket-conditioned generative platform. Each design is docked into the target pocket and scored with AutoDock Vina; a REMARK CORE record preserves the scaffold/attachment context.
Each complex file is self-contained — receptor structure, the ligand's 3D docked pose, and a 2D↔3D atom map all travel inside the single PDB.
Property profile
Physicochemical ranges are computed with RDKit over the 221 unique ligand structures; docking energy is from the generation/docking pipeline.
| Property | Range | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Docking energy (AutoDock Vina) | ≤ -8.4 kcal/mol (down to -9.5) | — |
| Molecular weight | 216.2 – 299.3 Da | 282.3 |
| cLogP | 0.0 – 3.0 | 1.9 |
| TPSA | 38.3 – 102.4 Ų | 57.1 |
| Fsp3 (fraction sp³ C) | 0.2 – 0.6 | 0.3 |
| H-bond donors | 0 – 4 | 1 |
| H-bond acceptors | 2 – 6 | 3 |
| Rotatable bonds | 1 – 3 | 1 |
File format
Each *_cmpx.pdb bundles the receptor and one docked ligand pose:
| Record | Content |
|---|---|
REMARK VINA RESULT <energy> … |
AutoDock Vina docking score (kcal/mol) |
REMARK CORE <smiles> |
the scaffold / attachment context of the design |
REMARK SMILES <smiles> |
the docked ligand (2D structure) |
REMARK SMILES IDX <pos> <serial> … |
map of each SMILES heavy-atom position ↔ its ligand atom serial (the 2D↔3D key) |
ATOM … <chain> |
receptor heavy atoms |
ATOM … UNL (after MODEL 1) |
ligand 3D pose (residue name UNL) |
Usage
import glob
def read_complex(path):
smiles, idx = None, {}
with open(path) as fh:
for line in fh:
if line.startswith("REMARK SMILES IDX"):
toks = line.split()[3:] # flat list of (smiles_pos, atom_serial)
for i in range(0, len(toks), 2):
idx[int(toks[i])] = int(toks[i + 1])
elif line.startswith("REMARK SMILES"):
smiles = line.split(None, 2)[2].strip()
return smiles, idx # idx[smiles_atom_position] -> ligand atom serial
for f in glob.glob("*_cmpx.pdb"):
smi, idx = read_complex(f)
# ligand atoms are the `ATOM ... UNL` records following `MODEL 1`
Provenance & intended use
- These are computationally generated designs and docked poses — not experimentally validated binders. No claim of activity or selectivity is made.
- Intended for machine-learning, cheminformatics, generative-model benchmarking, and docking-pose research on a well-defined target.
Citation
Generated by Technetium Therapeutics. Poses scored with AutoDock Vina.