This study compares the conformational dynamics of ACKR3 and CXCR4 using MD simulations and BRET assays, revealing that ACKR3's dynamic behavior leads to activation-proneness and G protein-incompetence.

bioRxiv · May 20, 2026 · PreprintPharmacology & Toxicology

Pharmacological proximities in the GPCR family discovered using contact-informed amino-acid and binding pocket similarities

Sean S. So, Tony Ngo, Andrey V. Ilatovskiy, Angela M. Finch, RF Riek, Ruben A Abagyan, Nicola J. Smith, Irina Kufareva

This paper introduces GPCR-CoINPocket v2, a method to detect pharmacological similarities in GPCRs using sequence and ligand interaction data, revealing new relationships and aiding drug discovery.

bioRxiv · May 6, 2026 · PreprintBioinformatics

Monocyte Migration Emerges from a Divergent Chemokine Signaling Network

Sean S. So, Alexis Lona, Rina Pokhrel, Alexandra L. Morgan, Mila Saltikova, T M Nguyen, Willow Carretero Chavez, Tony Ngo, Harley Robinson, Cheng Huang, Shankar Raj Devkota, Ram Prasad Bhusal, David Harold Drewry, Joel R. Steele, Ralf B. Schittenhelm, , Martin J. Stone

The paper maps the chemokine-stimulated signal transduction network in monocytic cells and shows that chemotaxis emerges from a divergent signaling network that can be inhibited to block cell migration.

bioRxiv · May 4, 2026 · PreprintSystems Biology

A Circuit for Secretion-coupled Cellular Autonomy in Multicellular Eukaryotes

Lingxia Qiao, Saptarshi Sinha, Amer Ali Abd El‐Hafeez, I‐Chung Lo, Krishna Midde, Tony Ngo, Nicolas Aznar, Inmaculada López-Sánchez, Vijay Gupta, Marilyn G. Farquhar, Padmini Rangamani, Pradipta Ghosh

The paper identifies a GTPase circuit that enables secretion-coupled cellular autonomy in cancer cells through feedback loops and dose response alignment of growth factor sensing and secretion.

bioRxiv · Mar 18, 2021 · PreprintSystems Biology