101
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Jonniya NA, Kar P. Functional Loop Dynamics and Characterization of the Inactive State of the NS2B-NS3 Dengue Protease due to Allosteric Inhibitor Binding. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:3800-3813. [PMID: 35950997 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Dengue virus, a flavivirus that causes dengue shock syndrome and dengue hemorrhagic fever, is currently prevalent worldwide. A two-component protease (NS2B-NS3) is essential for maturation, representing an important target for designing anti-flavivirus drugs. Previously, consideration has been centered on developing active-site inhibitors of NS2B-NS3pro. However, the flat and charged nature of its active site renders difficulties in developing inhibitors, suggesting an alternative strategy for identifying allosteric inhibitors. The allosterically sensitive site of the dengue protease is located near Ala125, between the 120s loop and 150s loop. Using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, we have explored the protease's conformational dynamics upon binding of an allosteric inhibitor. Furthermore, characterization of the inherent flexible loops (71-75s loop, 120s loop, and 150s loop) is carried out for allosteric-inhibitor-bound wild-type and mutant A125C variants and a comparison is performed with its unbound state to extract the structural changes describing the inactive state of the protease. Our study reveals that compared to the unliganded system, the inhibitor-bound system shows large structural changes in the 120s loop and 150s loop in contrast to the rigid 71-75s loop. The unliganded system shows a closed-state pocket in contrast to the open state for the wild-type complex that locks the protease into the open and inactive-state conformations. However, the mutant complex fluctuates between open and closed states. Also, we tried to see how mutation and binding of an allosteric inhibitor perturb the connectivity in a protein structure network (PSN) at contact levels. Altogether, our study reveals the mechanism of conformational rearrangements of loops at the molecular level, locking the protein in an inactive conformation, which may be useful for developing allosteric inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nisha Amarnath Jonniya
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Khandwa Road, Indore, Madhya Pradesh 453552, India
| | - Parimal Kar
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Khandwa Road, Indore, Madhya Pradesh 453552, India
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102
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Shekarappa SB, Rimac H, Lee J. In Silico Screening of Quorum Sensing Inhibitor Candidates Obtained by Chemical Similarity Search. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27154887. [PMID: 35956838 PMCID: PMC9369968 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27154887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Quorum sensing (QS) is a bacterial communication using signal molecules, by which they sense population density of their own species, leading to group behavior such as biofilm formation and virulence. Autoinducer-2 (AI2) is a QS signal molecule universally used by both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Inhibition of QS mediated by AI2 is important for various practical applications, including prevention of gum-disease caused by biofilm formation of oral bacteria. In this research, molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed for molecules that are chemically similar to known AI2 inhibitors that might have a potential to be quorum sensing inhibitors. The molecules that form stable complexes with the AI2 receptor protein were found, suggesting that they could be developed as a novel AI2 inhibitors after further in vitro validation. The result suggests that combination of ligand-based drug design and computational methods such as MD simulation, and experimental verification, may lead to development of novel AI inhibitor, with a broad range of practical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hrvoje Rimac
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia;
| | - Julian Lee
- Department of Bioinformatics and Life Science, Soongsil University, Seoul 06978, Korea;
- Correspondence:
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103
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Priya P, Basit A, Bandyopadhyay P. A strategy to optimize the peptide-based inhibitors against different mutants of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022:1-12. [PMID: 35881159 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2103587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 virus has caused high-priority health concerns at a global level. Vaccines have stalled the proliferation of viruses to some extent. Yet, the emergence of newer, potentially more infectious, and dangerous mutants such as Delta and Omicron are among the major challenges in finding a more permanent solution for this pandemic. The effectiveness of antivirals Molnupiravir and Paxlovid, authorized for emergency use by the FDA, are yet to be assessed on a larger population. Patients with a high risk of disease progression have received treatment with antibody-cocktail. Most of the mutations leading to the new lineage of SARS-CoV-2 are found in the spike protein of this virus that plays a key role in facilitating host entry. The current study has investigated how to modify a promising peptide-based inhibitor of spike protein, LCB3, against common mutations, N501Y and K417N in the target protein so that it retains its efficacy against the spike protein. LCB3 being a prototype for protein-based inhibitors is an ideal testing system to learn about protein-based inhibitors. This study proposes the substitutions of amino acid residues of LCB3 inhibitor using a structure-based approach that considers free energy decomposition of residues, the distance between atoms, and the interaction among amino acids. The binding free energy calculations suggest a possible improvement in the binding affinity of existing inhibitor LCB3 to the mutant forms of the S-protein using simple substitutions at specific positions of the inhibitor. This approach, being general, can be used in different inhibitors and other mutations and help in fighting against SARS-CoV-2.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prerna Priya
- Department of Botany, Purnea Mahila College, Purnea University, Purnia, Bihar, India
| | - Abdul Basit
- School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Pradipta Bandyopadhyay
- School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
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104
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Singh A, Mishra A. Molecular modelling study to discover novel JAK2 signaling pathway inhibitor. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022:1-12. [PMID: 35838147 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2097314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
The JAK2/STAT signaling cascades facilitates receptor signals which is responsible for cell growth, survival and homeostasis. Ligand binding to JAKs causes phosphorylation other proteins known as STATs, which translocate to the nucleus and regulate transcription of several important proteins. Growth hormone, prolactin and γ-interferon known agonists of JAK STAT receptors, signal to the nucleus by a more direct manner than the receptor tyrosine kinases. Mutations in JAKs may be responsible for immunodeficiency and myeloproliferative disorders because of its important role in cytokine signaling and making the pathway a therapeutic target for various disease. The present study screened Zinc database to find novel JAK2 inhibitors using virtual high throughput screening techniques. Selection of compound for further study was on the basis of docking score, free energy and binding pattern of the compound. Molecular simulation and MM/GBSA free energy was evaluated for the binding interactions and the stability of docked conformations. Several parameters which determine protein ligand interaction like RMSD, RMSF, Rg and binding pattern were observed. Hydrogen bonds (Glu 930, 932 and Asp 994) after 150 ns simulation were observed between identified compound INC000096136346 and it was similar to known inhibitor ruxolitinib. MM/GBSA free energy was comparable to known inhibitor ruxolitinib. ZINC000096136346 qualify Lipinski's rule of five, rule of three, WDI like rule and there is one violation in lead like rule.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit Singh
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
| | - Abha Mishra
- School of Biochemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, India
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105
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Zhao X, Xiong D, Luo S, Duan L. Molecular investigation of the dual inhibition mechanism for targeted P53 regulator MDM2/MDMX inhibitors. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:16799-16815. [PMID: 35775962 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp01780f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Inhibitors that competitively bind MDM2/MDMX can block the inhibition of P53 by MDM2/MDMX and restart its tumor-suppressive effect. Molecular studies targeting MDM2/MDMX inhibitors have always been a hot topic in anticancer drug design. Although numerous inhibitors have been designed previously against MDM2/MDMX, their dual inhibition efficacy has not been demonstrated, and few studies assessed the general causes affecting the dual inhibition of MDM2/MDMX by these inhibitors. Here, molecular dynamics simulations and alanine scanning combined with the interaction entropy method were employed to precisely investigate whether 16 inhibitors could dually inhibit MDM2/MDMX and the similarities and differences in the interaction modes. Thereby addressing the key residue sites affecting dual inhibition. Residues L54/M53, I61/60, M62/61, Y67/66, and V93/92 of MDM2/MDMX, which are in corresponding positions in both protein structures, provide significant conditions for these inhibitors to bind to MDM2/MDMX tightly. In addition, most of these inhibitors prefer to bind MDM2 than MDMX, and residues H96 and I99 in MDM2 are attractive targets for inhibitors, resulting in inhibitors binding to MDM2/MDMX with different affinity. These key residues should be considered in the development of dual inhibitors. For these 16 inhibitors, most have dual inhibitory potential for MDM2/MDMX based on the binding affinity of the complexes. Still, it is questionable whether they can exert excellent dual inhibition considering the assessment of the hot-spots. At least their binding affinity for MDMX is not superior to that for MDM2 due to the difference in energy of the van der Waals interactions at the key sites. Furthermore, based on the analysis of three representative inhibitors (TUZ/HRH and HRQ with different binding preferences for MDM2/MDMX), 3-chloropyridine in TUZ leads to the differential binding affinity between the inhibitor and MDM2/MDMX. It readily forms hydrophobic interactions with the surrounding residues H96 and I99. But this phenomenon does not occur in the TUZ-MDMX system, implying the critical role of residues H96/P95 and I99/L98. And the completely different binding mechanism of HRQ binding to MDM2/MDMX explains its inability to inhibit MDM2 well. Thus, we are cautious about its dual inhibitory ability. Besides, HRH is more prone to strong van der Waals interactions with MDM2 than MDMX whereas its 2-chlorofluorobenzene is detrimental to this. We hope that these findings will provide reliable molecular insights for the screening and optimization of targeting MDM2/MDMX dual inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyu Zhao
- School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, China.
| | - Danyang Xiong
- School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, China.
| | - Song Luo
- School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, China.
| | - Lili Duan
- School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, China.
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106
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Mishra A, Kaur U, Singh A. Fisetin 8-C-glucoside as entry inhibitor in SARS CoV-2 infection: molecular modelling study. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022; 40:5128-5137. [PMID: 33382023 PMCID: PMC7784833 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2020.1868335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Coronaviruses are RNA viruses that infect varied species including humans. TMPRSS2 is gateway for SARS CoV-2 entry into the host cell. It causes proteolytic activation of spike protein and discharge of the peptide into host cell. The TMPRSS2 inhibition could be one of the approaches to stop the viral entry, therefore, interaction pattern and binding energies for Fisetin and TMPRSS2 have been explored in the present study. TMPRSS2 peptide was used for homology modelling and then for further study. Molecular docking score and MMGBSA Binding energy of Fisetin was better than Nafamostat, a known inhibitor of TMPRSS2. Post docking MM-GBSA free energy for Fisetin and Nafamostat was -42.78 and -21.11 kcal/mol, respectively. Fisetin forms H bond with Val 25, His 41, Lys 42, Lys 45, Glu 44, Ser186. Nafamostat formed H bonds with Lys 85, Asp 90, Asp 203. RMSD plots of TMPRSS2, TMPRSS2-Fisetin and TMPRSS2-Nafamostat complex showed stable profile with very small fluctuation during entire simulation of 150 ns. Significant decrease in TMPRSS2-Fisetin and TMPRSS2-Nafamostat complex fluctuation occurred around His 41, Glu 44, Gly 136, Ser 186 in RMSF study. During simulation Fisetin interaction was observed with residues Val 25, His 41, Glu 44, Lys 45, Lys 87, Gly 136, Gln 183, Ser 186 likewise interaction of Nafamostat with Lys 85, Asp 90, Asn 163, Asp 203 and Ser 205. Post simulation MM-GBSA free energy was found to be -51.87 ± 4.3 and -48.23 ± 4.39 kcal/mol for TMPRSS2 with Fisetin and Nafamostat, respectively.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abha Mishra
- School of Biochemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
| | - Upinder Kaur
- Department of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Gorakhpur, India
| | - Amit Singh
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
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107
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Dittrich J, Brethauer C, Goncharenko L, Bührmann J, Zeisler-Diehl V, Pariyar S, Jakob F, Kurkina T, Schreiber L, Schwaneberg U, Gohlke H. Rational Design Yields Molecular Insights on Leaf-Binding of Anchor Peptides. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:28412-28426. [PMID: 35604777 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c00648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In times of a constantly growing world population and increasing demand for food, sustainable agriculture is crucial. The rainfastness of plant protection agents is of pivotal importance to reduce the amount of applied nutrients, herbicides, and fungicides. As a result of protective agent wash-off, plant protection is lost, and soils and groundwater are severely polluted. To date, rainfastness of plant protection products has been achieved by adding polymeric adjuvants to the agrochemicals. However, polymeric adjuvants will be regarded as microplastics in the future, and environmentally friendly alternatives are needed. Anchor peptides (APs) are promising biobased and biodegradable adhesion promoters. Although the adhesion of anchor peptides to artificial surfaces, such as polymers, has already been investigated in theory and experimentally, exploiting the adhesion to biological surfaces remains challenging. The complex nature and composition of biological surfaces such as plant leaves and fruit surfaces complicate the generation of accurate models. Here, we present the first detailed three-layered atomistic model of the surface of apple leaves and use it to compute free energy profiles of the adhesion and desorption of APs to and from that surface. Our model is validated by a novel fluorescence-based microtiter plate (MTP) assay that mimics these complex processes and allows for quantifying them. For the AP Macaque Histatin, we demonstrate that aromatic and positively charged amino acids are essential for binding to the waxy apple leaf surface. The established protocols should generally be applicable for tailoring the binding properties of APs to biological interfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Dittrich
- Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich 52425, Germany
- Institute for Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - Christin Brethauer
- Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich 52425, Germany
- Institute of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52074, German
- DWI - Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials, Aachen 52074, Germany
| | - Liudmyla Goncharenko
- Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich 52425, Germany
- Institute of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52074, German
- DWI - Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials, Aachen 52074, Germany
| | - Jens Bührmann
- Institute of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52074, German
| | | | - Shyam Pariyar
- Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich 52425, Germany
- Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation, University of Bonn, Bonn 53115, Germany
| | - Felix Jakob
- Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich 52425, Germany
- Institute of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52074, German
- DWI - Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials, Aachen 52074, Germany
| | - Tetiana Kurkina
- Institute of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52074, German
| | - Lukas Schreiber
- Department of Ecophysiology, University of Bonn, Bonn 53115, Germany
| | - Ulrich Schwaneberg
- Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich 52425, Germany
- Institute of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52074, German
- DWI - Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials, Aachen 52074, Germany
| | - Holger Gohlke
- Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich 52425, Germany
- Institute for Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf 40225, Germany
- John von Neumann Institute for Computing (NIC), Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC), Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-7: Structural Biochemistry), and Institute of Bio- and Geosciences (IBG-4: Bioinformatics), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich 52425, Germany
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108
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Cain S, Risheh A, Forouzesh N. A Physics-Guided Neural Network for Predicting Protein–Ligand Binding Free Energy: From Host–Guest Systems to the PDBbind Database. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12070919. [PMID: 35883475 PMCID: PMC9312865 DOI: 10.3390/biom12070919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 06/26/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Calculation of protein–ligand binding affinity is a cornerstone of drug discovery. Classic implicit solvent models, which have been widely used to accomplish this task, lack accuracy compared to experimental references. Emerging data-driven models, on the other hand, are often accurate yet not fully interpretable and also likely to be overfitted. In this research, we explore the application of Theory-Guided Data Science in studying protein–ligand binding. A hybrid model is introduced by integrating Graph Convolutional Network (data-driven model) with the GBNSR6 implicit solvent (physics-based model). The proposed physics-data model is tested on a dataset of 368 complexes from the PDBbind refined set and 72 host–guest systems. Results demonstrate that the proposed Physics-Guided Neural Network can successfully improve the “accuracy” of the pure data-driven model. In addition, the “interpretability” and “transferability” of our model have boosted compared to the purely data-driven model. Further analyses include evaluating model robustness and understanding relationships between the physical features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sahar Cain
- Department of Computer Science, California State University, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA;
| | - Ali Risheh
- Department of Computer Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran 15914, Iran;
| | - Negin Forouzesh
- Department of Computer Science, California State University, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA;
- Correspondence:
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109
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da Costa RA, da Rocha JAP, Pinheiro AS, da Costa ADSS, da Rocha ECM, Silva RC, Gonçalves ADS, Santos CBR, Brasil DDSB. A Computational Approach Applied to the Study of Potential Allosteric Inhibitors Protease NS2B/NS3 from Dengue Virus. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27134118. [PMID: 35807364 PMCID: PMC9268547 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27134118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Dengue virus (DENV) is a danger to more than 400 million people in the world, and there is no specific treatment. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop an effective method to combat this pathology. NS2B/NS3 protease is an important biological target due it being necessary for viral replication and the fact that it promotes the spread of the infection. Thus, this study aimed to design DENV NS2B/NS3pro allosteric inhibitors from a matrix compound. The search was conducted using the Swiss Similarity tool. The compounds were subjected to molecular docking calculations, molecular dynamics simulations (MD) and free energy calculations. The molecular docking results showed that two compounds, ZINC000001680989 and ZINC000001679427, were promising and performed important hydrogen interactions with the Asn152, Leu149 and Ala164 residues, showing the same interactions obtained in the literature. In the MD, the results indicated that five residues, Lys74, Leu76, Asn152, Leu149 and Ala166, contribute to the stability of the ligand at the allosteric site for all of the simulated systems. Hydrophobic, electrostatic and van der Waals interactions had significant effects on binding affinity. Physicochemical properties, lipophilicity, water solubility, pharmacokinetics, druglikeness and medicinal chemistry were evaluated for four compounds that were more promising, showed negative indices for the potential penetration of the Blood Brain Barrier and expressed high human intestinal absorption, indicating a low risk of central nervous system depression or drowsiness as the the side effects. The compound ZINC000006694490 exhibited an alert with a plausible level of toxicity for the purine base chemical moiety, indicating hepatotoxicity and chromosome damage in vivo in mouse, rat and human organisms. All of the compounds selected in this study showed a synthetic accessibility (SA) score lower than 4, suggesting the ease of new syntheses. The results corroborate with other studies in the literature, and the computational approach used here can contribute to the discovery of new and potent anti-dengue agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renato A. da Costa
- Graduate Program in Science and Environment, Institute of Exact and Natural Sciences, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Belém 66075-110, PA, Brazil; (A.S.P.); (A.d.S.S.d.C.); (D.d.S.B.B.)
- Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Pará Campus Castanhal, Castanhal 68740-970, PA, Brazil
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +55-91-985484622
| | - João A. P. da Rocha
- Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Pará—Campus Bragança, Bragança 68600-000, PA, Brazil; (J.A.P.d.R.); (E.C.M.d.R.)
| | - Alan S. Pinheiro
- Graduate Program in Science and Environment, Institute of Exact and Natural Sciences, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Belém 66075-110, PA, Brazil; (A.S.P.); (A.d.S.S.d.C.); (D.d.S.B.B.)
| | - Andréia do S. S. da Costa
- Graduate Program in Science and Environment, Institute of Exact and Natural Sciences, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Belém 66075-110, PA, Brazil; (A.S.P.); (A.d.S.S.d.C.); (D.d.S.B.B.)
| | - Elaine C. M. da Rocha
- Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Pará—Campus Bragança, Bragança 68600-000, PA, Brazil; (J.A.P.d.R.); (E.C.M.d.R.)
| | - Rai. C. Silva
- Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-901, SP, Brazil;
| | - Arlan da S. Gonçalves
- Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Espírito Santo, Vila Velha 29106-010, ES, Brazil;
| | - Cleydson B. R. Santos
- Laboratory of Modeling and Computational Chemistry, Department of Biological and Health Sciences, Federal University of Amapá, Macapá 68902-280, AP, Brazil;
| | - Davi do S. B. Brasil
- Graduate Program in Science and Environment, Institute of Exact and Natural Sciences, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Belém 66075-110, PA, Brazil; (A.S.P.); (A.d.S.S.d.C.); (D.d.S.B.B.)
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110
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Wu J, Zhou Y, Zhang J, Zhang HX, Jia R. Molecular Dynamics Simulation Investigation of the Binding and Interaction of the EphA6-Odin Protein Complex. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:4914-4924. [PMID: 35732074 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c01492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Protein-protein interaction plays an important role in the development of almost all cells. Elucidating the dynamic binding and affinity of a protein-protein complex is essential for understanding the biological functions of proteins. EphA6 and Odin proteins are members of the Eph (erythropoietin-producing hepatocyte) receptor family and the Anks (ankyrin repeat and sterile α motif domain-containing) family, respectively. Odin significantly functions in regulating endocytosis, degradation, and stability of EphA receptors. In this work, the key residues of the interaction interface were determined through a hydrogen bond, root-mean-square deviation (RMSD), root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF), and dynamic correlation analysis of the conventional molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The calculated standard binding free energy, -7.92 kcal/mol, between EphA6 and Odin is quite consistent with the experimental measurement value, -8.73 kcal/mol. By the combination of several MD simulation techniques, our investigation of the binding process reveals the detailed representative characteristics of the entire binding pathway at the molecular level. Based on the obtained potential of the mean force (PMF) curve, the analysis of the simulation trajectories shows that the residue Arg1013 in the receptor EphA6 is responsible for capturing Asp739 and Asp740 in the ligand Odin during the initial stage of binding. In the later stage of binding, the hydrogen bonds and salt bridges between a series of residues Lys973, Leu1007, Gly1009, His1010, and Arg1012 in the receptor and residues Leu735, Asn736, Asp739, Asp740, and Asp753 in the ligand mainly contribute to the stability of the protein complex. In addition, the specific change process of the receptor-ligand-binding mode is also clarified during the binding process. Our present simulation will promote a deep understanding of the protein-protein interaction, and the identified key interresidue interaction will be theoretical guidance for the design of protein drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianhua Wu
- Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, Jilin, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu Zhou
- Department of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130041, Jilin, People's Republic of China
| | - Jilong Zhang
- Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, Jilin, People's Republic of China
| | - Hong-Xing Zhang
- Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, Jilin, People's Republic of China
| | - Ran Jia
- Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, Jilin, People's Republic of China
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111
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Singh S, Sahadevan R, Roy R, Biswas M, Ghosh P, Kar P, Sonawane A, Sadhukhan S. Structure-based design and synthesis of a novel long-chain 4''-alkyl ether derivative of EGCG as potent EGFR inhibitor: in vitro and in silico studies. RSC Adv 2022; 12:17821-17836. [PMID: 35765335 PMCID: PMC9201511 DOI: 10.1039/d2ra01919a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Herein, we report the discovery of a novel long-chain ether derivative of (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a major green tea polyphenol as a potent EGFR inhibitor. A series of 4′′-alkyl EGCG derivatives have been synthesized via regio-selectively alkylating the 4′′ hydroxyl group in the D-ring of EGCG and tested for their antiproliferative activities against high (A431), moderate (HeLa), and low (MCF-7) EGFR-expressing cancer cell lines. The most potent compound, 4′′-C14 EGCG showed the lowest IC50 values across all the tested cell lines. 4′′-C14 EGCG was also found to be significantly more stable than EGCG under physiological conditions (PBS at pH 7.4). Further western blot analysis and imaging data revealed that 4′′-C14 EGCG induced cell death in A431 cells with shrunken nuclei, nuclear fragmentation, membrane blebbing, and increased population of apoptotic cells where BAX upregulation and BCLXL downregulation were observed. In addition, autophosphorylation of EGFR and its downstream signalling proteins Akt and ERK were markedly inhibited by 4′′-C14 EGCG. MD simulation and the MM/PBSA analysis disclosed the binding mode of 4′′-C14 EGCG in the ATP-binding site of EGFR kinase domain. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that 4′′-C14 EGCG can act as a promising potent EGFR inhibitor with enhanced stability. Among the synthesized 4′′-alkyl EGCG derivatives, 4′′-C14 EGCG inhibited EGF stimulated phosphorylation of EGFR and its downstream signaling pathways, ERK and Akt. 4′′-C14 EGCG showed significantly improved stability than EGCG and induced apoptosis.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Satyam Singh
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore Madhya Pradesh 453 552 India
| | - Revathy Sahadevan
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad Kerala 678 623 India
| | - Rajarshi Roy
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore Madhya Pradesh 453 552 India
| | - Mainak Biswas
- School of Biotechnology, KIIT Deemed to be University Bhubaneswar Orissa 751 024 India
| | - Priya Ghosh
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore Madhya Pradesh 453 552 India
| | - Parimal Kar
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore Madhya Pradesh 453 552 India
| | - Avinash Sonawane
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore Madhya Pradesh 453 552 India
| | - Sushabhan Sadhukhan
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad Kerala 678 623 India .,Physical & Chemical Biology Laboratory, Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad Kerala 678 623 India.,Department of Biological Sciences & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad Kerala 678 623 India
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112
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Zhang Q, Zhang L, Jin J, Fan Y, Wang X, Hu H, Ye X, Wang L, Cao C, Ye F. Identification of PRMT5 inhibitors with novel scaffold structures through virtual screening and biological evaluations. J Mol Model 2022; 28:184. [PMID: 35680707 DOI: 10.1007/s00894-022-05125-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5), an important member in PRMT family, has been validated as a promising anticancer target. In this study, through the combination of virtual screening and biological experiments, we have identified two PRMT5 inhibitors with novel scaffold structures. Among them, compound Y2431 showed moderate activity with IC50 value of 10.09 μM and displayed good selectivity against other methyltransferases. The molecular docking analysis and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations suggested that the compound occupied the substrate-arginine binding site. Furthermore, Y2431 exhibited anti-proliferative activity to leukemia cells by inducing cell cycle arrest. Overall, the hit compound could provide a novel scaffold for further optimization of small-molecule PRMT5 inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Zhang
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lun Zhang
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jia Jin
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yaohua Fan
- Department of Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Jia Xing University, Jiaxing, China
| | - Xiaoguang Wang
- Department of Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Jia Xing University, Jiaxing, China
| | - Haofeng Hu
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoqing Ye
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China.,Drug Discovery and Design Center, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materta Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Lei Wang
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chenxi Cao
- Department of Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Jia Xing University, Jiaxing, China.
| | - Fei Ye
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China.
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113
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Mishra A, Singh A. Discovery of Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Using Molecular Modeling and Free Energy Calculations. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:18786-18794. [PMID: 35694501 PMCID: PMC9178742 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c01572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
The histone acetylation-deacetylation at lysine regulates the functions of many cellular proteins. An increased expression of HDAC6 can cause an increased amount of deacetylated histones, which leads to an inhibition of gene expression and has been associated with cancer cell proliferation. The present study screened the ZINC database to find novel HDAC6 inhibitors using virtual high-throughput screening techniques. The docking score, free energy, and binding pattern of the complexes were used to select a best ligand for further study. Molecular dynamic simulations, binding interactions, and the stability of docked conformations were investigated. Several parameters that determine protein-ligand interactions, such as root-mean-square deviation (RMSD), root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF), radius of gyration (Rg), and binding pattern, were observed. Hydrogen bonds were observed at His 573 and Gly 582 after a 150 ns simulation with identified compound ZINC000002845205, and they were similar to known inhibitor Panobinostat. The molecular mechanics with generalised Born and surface area solvation (MM/GBSA) free energy was comparable to known inhibitor Panobinostat. ZINC000002845205 qualifies drug-likeness according to Lipinski's rule-of-five, rule-of-three, and the World Drug Index (WDI)-like rule, but there is one violation in the lead-like rule.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abha Mishra
- School
of Biochemical Engineering, Indian Institute
of Technology (BHU), Varanasi 221005, India
| | - Amit Singh
- Department
of Pharmacology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India
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114
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Kandagalla S, Rimac H, Gurushankar K, Novak J, Grishina M, Potemkin V. Withasomniferol C, a new potential SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitor from the Withania somnifera plant proposed by in silico approaches. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13374. [PMID: 35673392 PMCID: PMC9167582 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Exploring potent herbal medicine candidates is a promising strategy for combating a pandemic in the present global health crisis. In Ayurveda (a traditional medicine system in India), Withania somnifera (WS) is one of the most important herbs and it has been used for millennia as Rasayana (a type of juice) for its wide-ranging health benefits. WS phytocompounds display a broad spectrum of biological activities (such as antioxidant, anticancer and antimicrobial) modulate detoxifying enzymes, and enhance immunity. Inspired by the numerous biological actions of WS phytocompounds, the present investigation explored the potential of the WS phytocompounds against the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (3CLpro). We selected 11 specific withanolide compounds, such as withaphysalin, withasomniferol, and withafastuosin, through manual literature curation against 3CLpro. A molecular similarity analysis showed their similarity with compounds that have an established inhibitory activity against the SARS-CoV-2. In silico molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations elucidated withasomniferol C (WS11) as a potential candidate against SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro. Additionally, the present work also presents a new method of validating docking poses using the AlteQ method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shivananada Kandagalla
- Higher Medical & Biological School, Laboratory of Computational Modeling of Drugs, South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, Chelyabinsk, Russia
| | - Hrvoje Rimac
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Zagreb Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Krishnamoorthy Gurushankar
- Higher Medical & Biological School, Laboratory of Computational Modeling of Drugs, South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, Chelyabinsk, Russia,Department of Physics, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Krishnankoil, Tamilnadu, India
| | - Jurica Novak
- Higher Medical & Biological School, Laboratory of Computational Modeling of Drugs, South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, Chelyabinsk, Russia
| | - Maria Grishina
- Higher Medical & Biological School, Laboratory of Computational Modeling of Drugs, South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, Chelyabinsk, Russia
| | - Vladimir Potemkin
- Higher Medical & Biological School, Laboratory of Computational Modeling of Drugs, South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, Chelyabinsk, Russia
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115
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Arendse M, Khan S, Wani MY, Aqlan FM, Al-Bogami AS, Ahmad A. Quorum Sensing and Biofilm Disrupting Potential of Imidazole Derivatives in Chromobacterium violaceum Using Antimicrobial and Drug Discovery Approaches. Braz J Microbiol 2022; 53:565-582. [PMID: 35301694 PMCID: PMC9151946 DOI: 10.1007/s42770-022-00702-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Population of drug-resistant bacteria have increased at an alarming rate in the past few decades. The major reason for increasing drug resistance is the lack of new antibiotics and limited drug targets. It has therefore been a vital task to develop new antibiotics with different drug targets. Two such targets are biofilm formation and quorum sensing. Quorum sensing is cell to cell communication used by bacteria that initiates many important survival processes and aids in establishing pathogenesis. Both biofilm and quorum sensing are inter-related processes and play a major role in physiological and pathogenesis processes. In this study, five novel imidazole derivatives (IMA-1-IMA-5) were synthesised and tested for their antibacterial and anti-quorum sensing activities against Chromobacterium violaceum using different in silico and in vitro techniques following the standard protocols. In silico results revealed that all compounds were able to effectively bind to and interact sufficiently with the target protein CviR. CviR is a protein to which autoinducers bind to initiate the quorum sensing process. In silico results also revealed that the compounds generated favourable structural dynamics implying that the compounds would be able to effectively bind to CviR and inhibit quorum sensing. Susceptibility results revealed that IMA-1 is the most active of all the derivatives against both planktonic cells and biofilms. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of anti-quorum sensing activity at sub-inhibitory concentrations of these compounds also revealed high activity for IMA-1. Down-regulation of most of the quorum sensing genes when cells were treated with the test compounds affirmed the high anti-quorum sensing activities of these compounds. The results from this study are promising and urges on the use of anti-quorum sensing and biofilm disrupting molecules to combat multi-drug resistance problem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madison Arendse
- Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, School of Pathology, Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2193, South Africa
| | - Shama Khan
- Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, School of Pathology, Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2193, South Africa
| | - Mohmmad Younus Wani
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, 21589, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
| | - Faisal Mohammed Aqlan
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, 21589, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdullah Saad Al-Bogami
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, 21589, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Aijaz Ahmad
- Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, School of Pathology, Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2193, South Africa. .,Infection Control, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, 2193, South Africa.
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116
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Structural dynamics of the cooperative binding of small inhibitors in human cytochrome P450 2C9. J Mol Graph Model 2022; 113:108151. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jmgm.2022.108151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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117
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Bhowmick S, AlFaris NA, Zaidan ALTamimi J, ALOthman ZA, Patil PC, Aldayel TS, Wabaidur SM, Saha A. Identification of bio-active food compounds as potential SARS-CoV-2 PLpro inhibitors-modulators via negative image-based screening and computational simulations. Comput Biol Med 2022; 145:105474. [PMID: 35395517 PMCID: PMC8973019 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2022.105474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Despite significant studies on the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists around the world are still battling to find a definitive therapy against the ongoing severe global health crisis. In this study, advanced computational approaches have been employed to identify bioactive food constituents as potential SARS-CoV-2 PLpro inhibitors-modulators. As a validated antiviral drug target, PLpro has gained tremendous attention for therapeutics developments. Therefore, targeting the multifunctional SARS-CoV-2 PLpro protein, ∼1039 bioactive dietary compounds have been screened extensively through novel techniques like negative image-based (NIB) screening and molecular docking approaches. In particular, the three different models of NIB screening have been generated and used to re-score the dietary compounds based on the negative image which is created by reversing the shape and electrostatics features of PLpro protein's ligand-binding cavity. Further, 100 ns molecular dynamics simulation has been performed and MM-GBSA based binding free energies have been estimated for the final proposed four dietary compounds (PC000550, PC000361, PC000558, and PC000573) as potential inhibitors/modulators of SARS-CoV-2 PLpro protein. Employed computational study outcome also has been compared with respect to the earlier experimentally investigated compound GRL0617 against SARS-CoV-2 PLpro protein, which suggests much greater interaction potential in terms of binding affinity and other energetic contributions for the proposed dietary compounds. Hence, the present study suggests that proposed dietary compounds can be suitable chemical entities for modulating the activity of PLpro protein or can be further utilized for optimizing or screening of novel chemical surrogates, however also needs experimental evaluation for entry in clinical studies for better assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shovonlal Bhowmick
- Department of Chemical Technology, University of Calcutta, 92 A.P.C. Road, Kolkata, India
| | - Nora Abdullah AlFaris
- Nutrition and Food Science, Department of Physical Sport Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,Corresponding author
| | - Jozaa Zaidan ALTamimi
- Nutrition and Food Science, Department of Physical Sport Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Zeid A. ALOthman
- Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Pritee Chunarkar Patil
- Department of Bioinformatics, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of IT and Biotechnology, Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University, Pune-Satara Road, Pune, India
| | - Tahany Saleh Aldayel
- Nutrition and Food Science, Department of Physical Sport Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Achintya Saha
- Department of Chemical Technology, University of Calcutta, 92 A.P.C. Road, Kolkata, India,Corresponding author
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118
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Wang L, Wang L, Yan F. Understanding the molecular mechanism of endothelin ETA receptor selecting isopeptides endothelin-1 and -3. Biophys J 2022; 121:2490-2502. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2022.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Revised: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022] Open
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119
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Guimond S, Mycroft-West CJ, Gandhi NS, Tree JA, Le TT, Spalluto CM, Humbert MV, Buttigieg KR, Coombes N, Elmore MJ, Wand M, Nyström K, Said J, Setoh YX, Amarilla AA, Modhiran N, Sng JDJ, Chhabra M, Young PR, Rawle DJ, Lima MA, Yates EA, Karlsson R, Miller RL, Chen YH, Bagdonaite I, Yang Z, Stewart J, Nguyen D, Laidlaw S, Hammond E, Dredge K, Wilkinson TMA, Watterson D, Khromykh AA, Suhrbier A, Carroll MW, Trybala E, Bergström T, Ferro V, Skidmore MA, Turnbull JE. Synthetic Heparan Sulfate Mimetic Pixatimod (PG545) Potently Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 by Disrupting the Spike-ACE2 Interaction. ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE 2022; 8:527-545. [PMID: 35647275 PMCID: PMC9136977 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.1c01293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Heparan sulfate (HS) is a cell surface polysaccharide recently identified as a coreceptor with the ACE2 protein for the S1 spike protein on SARS-CoV-2 virus, providing a tractable new therapeutic target. Clinically used heparins demonstrate an inhibitory activity but have an anticoagulant activity and are supply-limited, necessitating alternative solutions. Here, we show that synthetic HS mimetic pixatimod (PG545), a cancer drug candidate, binds and destabilizes the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor binding domain and directly inhibits its binding to ACE2, consistent with molecular modeling identification of multiple molecular contacts and overlapping pixatimod and ACE2 binding sites. Assays with multiple clinical isolates of SARS-CoV-2 virus show that pixatimod potently inhibits the infection of monkey Vero E6 cells and physiologically relevant human bronchial epithelial cells at safe therapeutic concentrations. Pixatimod also retained broad potency against variants of concern (VOC) including B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), B.1.617.2 (Delta), and B.1.1.529 (Omicron). Furthermore, in a K18-hACE2 mouse model, pixatimod significantly reduced SARS-CoV-2 viral titers in the upper respiratory tract and virus-induced weight loss. This demonstration of potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity tolerant to emerging mutations establishes proof-of-concept for targeting the HS-Spike protein-ACE2 axis with synthetic HS mimetics and provides a strong rationale for clinical investigation of pixatimod as a potential multimodal therapeutic for COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott
E. Guimond
- Centre
for Glycoscience, School of Life Sciences, Keele University, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
| | - Courtney J. Mycroft-West
- Centre
for Glycoscience, School of Life Sciences, Keele University, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
| | - Neha S. Gandhi
- School
of Chemistry and Physics, Centre for Genomics and Personalized Health, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, Queensland 4000, Australia
| | - Julia A. Tree
- National
Infection Service, UK Health Security Agency, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP4
0JG, United Kingdom
| | - Thuy T. Le
- QIMR
Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland 4029, Australia
| | - C. Mirella Spalluto
- School
of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University
of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
| | - Maria V. Humbert
- School
of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University
of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
| | - Karen R. Buttigieg
- National
Infection Service, UK Health Security Agency, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP4
0JG, United Kingdom
| | - Naomi Coombes
- National
Infection Service, UK Health Security Agency, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP4
0JG, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J. Elmore
- National
Infection Service, UK Health Security Agency, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP4
0JG, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew Wand
- National
Infection Service, UK Health Security Agency, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP4
0JG, United Kingdom
| | - Kristina Nyström
- Department
of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Guldhedsgatan 10B, S-413 46 Goteborg, Sweden
| | - Joanna Said
- Department
of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Guldhedsgatan 10B, S-413 46 Goteborg, Sweden
| | - Yin Xiang Setoh
- School
of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Australian
Infectious Diseases Research Centre, GVN
Center of Excellence, Brisbane, Queensland 4072/4079, Australia
| | - Alberto A. Amarilla
- School
of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Australian
Infectious Diseases Research Centre, GVN
Center of Excellence, Brisbane, Queensland 4072/4079, Australia
| | - Naphak Modhiran
- School
of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Australian
Infectious Diseases Research Centre, GVN
Center of Excellence, Brisbane, Queensland 4072/4079, Australia
| | - Julian D. J. Sng
- School
of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Australian
Infectious Diseases Research Centre, GVN
Center of Excellence, Brisbane, Queensland 4072/4079, Australia
| | - Mohit Chhabra
- School
of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Australian
Infectious Diseases Research Centre, GVN
Center of Excellence, Brisbane, Queensland 4072/4079, Australia
| | - Paul R. Young
- School
of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Australian
Infectious Diseases Research Centre, GVN
Center of Excellence, Brisbane, Queensland 4072/4079, Australia
| | - Daniel J. Rawle
- QIMR
Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland 4029, Australia
| | - Marcelo A. Lima
- Centre
for Glycoscience, School of Life Sciences, Keele University, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
| | - Edwin A. Yates
- Department
of Biochemistry and Systems Biology, Institute of Systems, Molecular
and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Karlsson
- Copenhagen
Center for Glycomics, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen N 2200, Denmark
| | - Rebecca L. Miller
- Copenhagen
Center for Glycomics, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen N 2200, Denmark
| | - Yen-Hsi Chen
- Copenhagen
Center for Glycomics, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen N 2200, Denmark
| | - Ieva Bagdonaite
- Copenhagen
Center for Glycomics, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen N 2200, Denmark
| | - Zhang Yang
- Copenhagen
Center for Glycomics, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen N 2200, Denmark
| | - James Stewart
- Department
of Infection Biology & Microbiomes, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Dung Nguyen
- Wellcome
Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, Oxford University, Roosevelt Drive, Headington, Oxford OX3 7BN, United
Kingdom
| | - Stephen Laidlaw
- Wellcome
Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, Oxford University, Roosevelt Drive, Headington, Oxford OX3 7BN, United
Kingdom
| | - Edward Hammond
- Zucero Therapeutics Ltd, 1 Westlink Court, Brisbane, Queensland 4076, Australia
| | - Keith Dredge
- Zucero Therapeutics Ltd, 1 Westlink Court, Brisbane, Queensland 4076, Australia
| | - Tom M. A. Wilkinson
- School
of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University
of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
- NIHR
Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel Watterson
- School
of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Australian
Infectious Diseases Research Centre, GVN
Center of Excellence, Brisbane, Queensland 4072/4079, Australia
| | - Alexander A. Khromykh
- School
of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Australian
Infectious Diseases Research Centre, GVN
Center of Excellence, Brisbane, Queensland 4072/4079, Australia
| | - Andreas Suhrbier
- QIMR
Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland 4029, Australia
| | - Miles W. Carroll
- National
Infection Service, UK Health Security Agency, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP4
0JG, United Kingdom
- Wellcome
Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, Oxford University, Roosevelt Drive, Headington, Oxford OX3 7BN, United
Kingdom
| | - Edward Trybala
- Department
of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Guldhedsgatan 10B, S-413 46 Goteborg, Sweden
| | - Tomas Bergström
- Department
of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Guldhedsgatan 10B, S-413 46 Goteborg, Sweden
| | - Vito Ferro
- School
of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Australian
Infectious Diseases Research Centre, GVN
Center of Excellence, Brisbane, Queensland 4072/4079, Australia
| | - Mark A. Skidmore
- Centre
for Glycoscience, School of Life Sciences, Keele University, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
| | - Jeremy E. Turnbull
- Centre
for Glycoscience, School of Life Sciences, Keele University, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
- Department
of Biochemistry and Systems Biology, Institute of Systems, Molecular
and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
- Copenhagen
Center for Glycomics, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen N 2200, Denmark
- ;
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120
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Yang H, Mei J, Xu W, Ma X, Sun B, Ai H. Identification of the probable structure of the sAPPα-GABA BR1a complex and theoretical solutions for such cases. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:12267-12280. [PMID: 35543350 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp00569g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Amyloid precursor protein (APP) is the core of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Existing studies have shown that the soluble secreted APP (sAPPα) fragment obtained from the hydrolysis of APP by α-secretase has a synaptic function. Thereinto, a nine-residue fragment (APP9mer) of the extension domain region of sAPPα can bind directly and selectively to the N-terminal sushi1 domain (SD1) of the γ-aminobutyric acid type B receptor subunit 1a (GABABR1a) protein, which can influence synaptic transmission and plasticity by changing the GABABR1a conformation. APP9mer is a highly flexible, disordered region, and as such it is difficult to experimentally determine the optimal APPmer-SD1 binding complex. In this study we constructed two types of APP9mer-SD1 complexes through molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation, aiming to explore the recognition function and mechanism of the specific binding of APP9mer with SD1, from which the most probable APPmer-SD1 model conformation is predicted. All the data from the analyses of RMSD, RMSF, PCA, DCCM and MM/PBSA binding energy as well as comparison with the experimental dissociation constant Kd suggest that 2NC is the most likely conformation to restore the crystal structure of the experimental APP9mer-SD1 complex. Of note, the key recognition residues of APP9mer are D24, D25, D27, W29 and W30, which mainly act on the 9-45 residue domain of SD1 (consisting of two loops and three short β-chains at the N-terminus of SD1). The mini-model with key residues identified establishes the molecular basis with deep insight into the interaction between APP and GABABR1a and provides a target for the development of therapeutic strategies for modulating GABABR1a-specific signaling in neurological and psychiatric disorders. More importantly, the study offers a theoretical solution for how to determine a biomolecular structure with a highly flexible, disordered fragment embedded within. The flexible fragment involved in a protein structure has to be deserted usually during the structural determination with experimental methods (e.g. X-ray crystallography, etc.).
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Affiliation(s)
- Huijuan Yang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, P. R. China.
| | - Jinfei Mei
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, P. R. China.
| | - Wen Xu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, P. R. China.
| | - Xiaohong Ma
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, P. R. China.
| | - Bo Sun
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, P. R. China.
| | - Hongqi Ai
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, P. R. China.
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Basit A, Yadav AK, Bandyopadhyay P. Calcium Ion Binding to the Mutants of Calmodulin: A Structure-Based Computational Predictive Model of Binding Affinity Using a Charge Scaling Approach in Molecular Dynamics Simulation. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:2821-2834. [PMID: 35608259 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The binding of calcium ions (Ca2+) to the calcium-binding proteins (CBPs) controls a plethora of regulatory processes. Among the roles played by CBPs in several diseases, the onset and progress of some cardiovascular diseases are caused by mutations in calmodulin (CaM), an important member of CBPs. Rationalization and prediction of the binding affinity of Ca2+ ions to the CaM can play important roles in understanding the origin of cardiovascular diseases. However, there is no robust structure-based computational method for predicting the binding affinity of Ca2+ ions to the different forms of CBPs in general and CaM in particular. In the current work, we have devised a fast yet accurate computational technique to accurately calculate the binding affinity of Ca2+ to the different forms of CaM. This method combines the well-known molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) method and a charge scaling approach developed by previous authors that takes care of the polarization of CaM and Ca2+ ions. Our detailed analysis of the different components of binding free energy shows that subtle changes in electrostatics and van der Waals contribute to the difference in the binding affinity of mutants from that of the wild type (WT), and the charge scaling approach is superior in calculating these subtle changes in electrostatics as compared to the nonpolarizable force field used in this work. A statistically significant regression model made from our binding free energy calculations gives a correlation coefficient close to 0.8 to the experimental results. This structure-based predictive model can open up a new strategy to understand and predict the binding of Ca2+ to the mutants of CBPs, in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdul Basit
- School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Ajeet Kumar Yadav
- School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Pradipta Bandyopadhyay
- School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
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Dusek CO, Dash RC, McPherson KS, Calhoun JT, Bezsonova I, Korzhnev DM, Hadden MK. DNA Sequence Specificity Reveals a Role of the HLTF HIRAN Domain in the Recognition of Trinucleotide Repeats. Biochemistry 2022; 61:10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00027. [PMID: 35608245 PMCID: PMC9684356 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
DNA damage tolerance (DDT) pathways enable cells to cope with a variety of replication blocks that threaten their ability to complete DNA replication. Helicase-like transcription factor (HLTF) plays a central role in the error-free DDT pathway, template switching (TS), by serving as a ubiquitin ligase to polyubiquitinate the DNA sliding clamp PCNA, which promotes TS initiation. HLTF also serves as an ATP-dependent DNA translocase facilitating replication fork remodeling. The HIP116, Rad5p N-terminal (HIRAN) domain of HLTF specifically recognizes the unmodified 3'-end of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) at stalled replication forks to promote fork regression. Several crystal structures of the HIRAN domain in complex with ssDNA have been reported; however, optimal ssDNA sequences for high-affinity binding with the domain have not been described. Here we elucidated DNA sequence preferences of HLTF HIRAN through systematic studies of its binding to ssDNA substrates using fluorescence polarization assays and a computational analysis of the ssDNA:HIRAN interaction. These studies reveal that the HLTF HIRAN domain preferentially recognizes a (T/C)TG sequence at the 3'-hydroxyl ssDNA end, which occurs in the CTG trinucleotide repeat (TNR) regions that are susceptible to expansion and deletion mutations identified in neuromuscular and neurodegenerative disorders. These findings support a role for HLTF in maintaining the stability of difficult to replicate TNR microsatellite regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher O Dusek
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Connecticut, 69 North Eagleville Road, Unit 3092, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3092, United States
| | - Radha Charan Dash
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Connecticut, 69 North Eagleville Road, Unit 3092, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3092, United States
| | - Kerry S McPherson
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06030, United States
| | - Jackson T Calhoun
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Connecticut, 69 North Eagleville Road, Unit 3092, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3092, United States
| | - Irina Bezsonova
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06030, United States
| | - Dmitry M Korzhnev
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06030, United States
| | - M Kyle Hadden
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Connecticut, 69 North Eagleville Road, Unit 3092, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3092, United States
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Kashyap D, Roy R, Kar P, Jha HC. Plant-derived active compounds as a potential nucleocapsid protein inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2: an in-silico study. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022:1-16. [PMID: 35532092 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2072951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by SARS-CoV-2. This virus has a high mismatch repair proofreading ability due to its unique exonuclease activity, making it knotty to treat. The nucleocapsid protein can serve as a potential antiviral drug target, as this protein is responsible for multiple captious functions during the viral life cycle. Herein, we have investigated the potential to repurpose active antiviral compounds of plant origins for treating the SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the present study, we followed the molecular docking methodology to screen druggable natural plants' active compounds against the nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2. The virtual screening of all 68 compounds revealed that the top seven active compounds, such as withanolide D, hypericin, silymarin, oxyacanthine, withaferin A, Acetyl aleuritolic acid, and rhein, exhibit good binding affinity with druggable ADME properties, toxicity, and Pass prediction. The stability of the docked complexes was studied by conducting molecular simulations of 100 ns. MM-GBSA calculated the binding free energy uncovered that withanolide D, hypericin, and silymarin result in highly stable binding conformations in three different sites of the nucleocapsid protein. However, further investigation is needed in order to validate the candidacy of these inhibitors for clinical trials. HighlightsNatural plants' active compounds may aid in the inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 replication and COVID-19 therapeutics.Hypericin, silymarin, withanolide D, oxyacanthine, withaferin A, Acetyl aleuritolic acid, and rhein are effective against SARS-CoV-2 N protein.Studied natural plants' active compounds could be useful against COVID-19 and its associated organs comorbidities.ADMET properties of selected compounds favor these compounds as druggable candidates.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dharmendra Kashyap
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Rajarshi Roy
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Parimal Kar
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Hem Chandra Jha
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
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Singh A, Mishra A. Investigation of molecular mechanism leading to gefitinib and osimertinib resistance against EGFR tyrosine kinase: molecular dynamics and binding free energy calculation. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022:1-15. [PMID: 35510318 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2068650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Tyrosine kinase (TK) is an important protein responsible for phosphorylation of variety of proteins that helps in signal transduction process in transferring signal to regulate various physiological and biochemical processes. Drugs inhibiting signal transduction pathways can be a very rational approach to inhibit cellular physiological and biochemical process. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors are a wide family of drugs that have been used successfully in cancer chemotherapy. Certain mutations around the catalytic cleft may cause conformational changes at binding site and leads to decrease in inhibitor sensitivity to TK mutants. EGFRT790M mutation is the first recognized acquired resistance after tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy that leads to resistant to first generation TKI in about 50% of non-small cell lung carcinoma patients. Third generation EGFR-TKIs bind irreversibly to the C797, which is present in the ATP-binding pocket. The present work provides a molecular mechanism for understanding the Gefitinib and Osimertinib sensitivities with the EGFRWILD, EGFRL858R, EGFRT790M, EGFRT790M+C797S mutants using molecular modelling techniques. Changes in response against Gefitinib and Osimertinib were observed with the change of amino acids at the tyrosine kinase domain of EGFRWILD and its mutants (EGFRL858R, EGFRT790M, EGFRT790M+C797S). RMSD, RMSF and binding energies calculation well correlates with the change in clinical observation.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit Singh
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
| | - Abha Mishra
- School of Biochemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, India
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Liu J, Zhou T, Li R, Tian Z. Structural insights into the discrepant synergistic activity of Codlemone and (Z)-8-dodecenol towards Grapholita molesta pheromones. PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2022; 78:1953-1962. [PMID: 35085422 DOI: 10.1002/ps.6813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Insect pheromone synergists have been widely used to produce potent pheromone products for environment-friendly pest control. Codlemone (Cod) and (Z)-8-dodecenol (Dod) are two major Grapholita molesta pheromone synergists, with Cod having greater synergism and affinity for G. molesta pheromone binding protein 2 (GmolPBP2). Uncovering structural information key to the different binding affinity of Cod and Dod to GmolPBP2 would gain insights into what causes their synergy activity discrepancy. RESULTS Binding modes of the two synergists in the binding pocket of GmolPBP2 were analyzed and compared by molecular dynamics-based approaches. Although Cod and Dod were stabilized in a similar hydrophobic pocket, their interaction details with GmolPBP2 were divergent due to the extra double bond (C10═C11) in Cod. The C10═C11 improved the hydrophobic interactions of Cod with around residues. Such hydrophobic interaction improvement was also reflected in the raised importance of Phe11 in the GmolPBP2-Cod interaction. Not only that, the increased hydrophobic forces introduced by the C10═C11 changed the CH2-OH orientation in the GmolPBP2-Cod complex, which improved the H-bond interaction. Electrostatic complementarity analysis further indicated the positive role of C10═C11 in optimizing GmolPBP2-Cod interaction. CONCLUSION The C10═C11 is thought to contribute greatly to Cod's stronger synergy as a group key to the higher GmolPBP2-affinity, based on which the improvement directions for Cod and Dod were addressed as well. Our findings will aid in the development and optimization of more effective pheromone synergists, resulting in more effective pheromone-based pest management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiyuan Liu
- Key Laboratory of Plant Protection Resources & Pest Management of the Ministry of Education, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
| | - Tong Zhou
- College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
| | - Ruichi Li
- Key Laboratory of Plant Protection Resources & Pest Management of the Ministry of Education, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
| | - Zhen Tian
- Key Laboratory of Plant Protection Resources & Pest Management of the Ministry of Education, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
- College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
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Computational Insight into Biotransformation Profiles of Organophosphorus Flame Retardants to Their Diester Metabolites by Cytochrome P450. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27092799. [PMID: 35566150 PMCID: PMC9102461 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27092799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 04/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Biotransformation of organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs) mediated by cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) has a potential correlation with their toxicological effects on humans. In this work, we employed five typical OPFRs including tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP), tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCIPP), tri(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), triethyl phosphate (TEP), and 2-ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate (EHDPHP), and performed density functional theory (DFT) calculations to clarify the CYP-catalyzed biotransformation of five OPFRs to their diester metabolites. The DFT results show that the reaction mechanism consists of Cα-hydroxylation and O-dealkylation steps, and the biotransformation activities of five OPFRs may follow the order of TCEP ≈ TEP ≈ EHDPHP > TCIPP > TDCIPP. We further performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to unravel the binding interactions of five OPFRs in the CYP3A4 isoform. Binding mode analyses demonstrate that CYP3A4-mediated metabolism of TDCIPP, TCIPP, TCEP, and TEP can produce the diester metabolites, while EHDPHP metabolism may generate para-hydroxyEHDPHP as the primary metabolite. Moreover, the EHDPHP and TDCIPP have higher binding potential to CYP3A4 than TCIPP, TCEP, and TEP. This work reports the biotransformation profiles and binding features of five OPFRs in CYP, which can provide meaningful clues for the further studies of the metabolic fates of OPFRs and toxicological effects associated with the relevant metabolites.
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Dalal V, Golemi-Kotra D, Kumar P. Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics Studies on the Catalytic Mechanism of a Novel Esterase (FmtA) of Staphylococcus aureus. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:2409-2420. [PMID: 35475370 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
FmtA is a novel esterase that shares the penicillin-binding protein (PBP) core structural folding but found to hydrolyze the removal of d-Ala from teichoic acids. Molecular docking, dynamics, and MM-GBSA of FmtA and its variants S127A, K130A, Y211A, D213A, and K130AY211A, in the presence or absence of wall teichoic acid (WTA), suggest that active site residues S127, K130, Y211, D213, N343, and G344 play a role in substrate binding. Quantum mechanics (QM)/molecular mechanics (MM) calculations reveal that during WTA catalysis, K130 deprotonates S127, and the nucleophilic S127 attacks the carbonyl carbon of d-Ala bound to WTA. The tetrahedral intermediate (TI) complex is stabilized by hydrogen bonding to the oxyanion holes. The TI complex displays a high energy gap and collapses to an energetically favorable acyl-enzyme complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vikram Dalal
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttrakhand 247667, India
| | - Dasantila Golemi-Kotra
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Pravindra Kumar
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttrakhand 247667, India
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Khavani M, Mehranfar A, Vahid H. Application of amino acid ionic liquids for increasing the stability of DNA in long term storage. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022:1-15. [PMID: 35467487 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2067239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The structural stability of DNA is important because of its biological activity. DNAs due to their inherent chemical properties are not stable in an aqueous solution, therefore, a long period of storage of DNA at the ambient condition in bioscience is of importance. Ionic liquids (ILs) as interesting alternatives compared to organic solvents and water due to their considerable properties can be used as new agents to increase the stability of DNA for a long period of storage. In this article, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and quantum chemistry calculations were applied to investigate the effects of amino acid ionic liquids ([BMIM][Ala], [BMIM][Gly], [BMIM][Val], [BMIM][Pro] and [BMIM][Leu]) on the dynamical behavior and the structural stability of calf thymus DNA. Based on the obtained MD results ILs enter into the solvation shell of the DNA and push away the water molecules from the DNA surface. Structural analysis shows that [BMIM]+ cations can occupy the DNA minor groove without disturbing the double-helical structure of DNA. ILs due to strong electrostatic and van der Waals (vdW) interactions with the DNA structure contribute to the stability of the double-helical structure. Quantum chemistry calculations indicate that the interactions between the [BMIM]+ cation and DNA structure has an electrostatic character. Moreover, this cation forms a more stable complex with the CGCG region of the DNA in comparison with AATT base pairs. Overall, the results of this study can provide new insight into the application of ILs for maintaining DNA stability during long-term storage.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Khavani
- Department of Chemistry and Materials Science, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, Aalto, Finland.,Molecular Cell Biomechanics Laboratory, Departments of Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Aliyeh Mehranfar
- Department of Chemistry and Materials Science, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, Aalto, Finland
| | - Hossein Vahid
- Department of Chemistry and Materials Science, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, Aalto, Finland.,Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University, Aalto, Finland
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129
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Zhao X, Xiong D, Luo S, Duan L. Origin of the tight binding mode to ACE2 triggered by multi-point mutations in the omicron variant: a dynamic insight. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:8724-8737. [PMID: 35373810 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp00449f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The continuous spread of the newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) has become an important reason for the surge in COVID-19 infections. Its numerous mutated residues containing key sites on the receptor-binding domain (RBD) undoubtedly pose new challenges for epidemic control. Although the preventive measures are becoming more sophisticated, the effects of mutations on the binding of the virus to the receptor protein remain to be elucidated. Here, we used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the differences in the binding mode between the Omicron variant and the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) compared to the wild-type strain (WT). Multi-point mutations in the Omicron variant RBD could cause the conformation shift in the large Loop (where T478K and E484A are located), which makes it easier to wrap the N-terminal helix of ACE2 and form tighter contacts. The stronger electrostatic interaction was the main reason for its enhanced binding affinity as compared to WT. This was due to the large number of positively charged patches (N440K, T478K, Q493R, Q498R, and Y505H) formed by the substitution of neutral amino acids at multiple sites. The appearance of these highly polar hydrophilic amino acids may cause local perturbations and affect the electrostatic complementarity of RBD with the ACE2, and further mediate conformational changes. Thus, a more extensive interaction network was found in the mutation system and the complex interaction cluster was formed near E37@ACE2, which was essential for the stable binding of the two. In addition, we speculated that these mutations may affect the electrostatic complementarity with the four potential antibodies to reduce the sensitivity of the virus to antibodies. This study reveals the key details of the Omicron variant binding to ACE2 and provides important theoretical views for the enhanced infectivity of this variant. We hope that these observations can provide timely molecular insights for responding to the Omicron variant pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyu Zhao
- School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, China.
| | - Danyang Xiong
- School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, China.
| | - Song Luo
- School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, China.
| | - Lili Duan
- School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, China.
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Palli V, Leonis G, Zoupanou N, Georgiou N, Chountoulesi M, Naziris N, Tzeli D, Demetzos C, Valsami G, Marousis KD, Spyroulias GA, Mavromoustakos T. Losartan Interactions with 2-Hydroxypropyl-β-CD. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27082421. [PMID: 35458617 PMCID: PMC9027256 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27082421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Revised: 04/03/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Losartan potassium salt (LSR) is a well-known antihypertensive drug with proven beneficial effects on human health. Its formulation with the non-toxic 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (2-HP-β-CD) could improve its pharmacological profile. Thus, its molecular interactions are studied using a combination of Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Molecular Dynamics (MD). First, its complexation is shown through Differential Scanning Calorimetry as lyophilization provided distinct thermal properties in comparison to the mixture. The complexation is further proved by utilizing the chemical shift changes in the complexation and T1 values. Furthermore, the reversible favorable complexation was shown by MD calculations. Such physical chemical properties provide evidence that this formulation must be further explored through biological experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasiliki Palli
- Department of Chemistry, School of Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece; (V.P.); (G.L.); (N.Z.); (N.G.); (D.T.)
| | - Georgios Leonis
- Department of Chemistry, School of Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece; (V.P.); (G.L.); (N.Z.); (N.G.); (D.T.)
| | - Nikoletta Zoupanou
- Department of Chemistry, School of Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece; (V.P.); (G.L.); (N.Z.); (N.G.); (D.T.)
| | - Nikitas Georgiou
- Department of Chemistry, School of Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece; (V.P.); (G.L.); (N.Z.); (N.G.); (D.T.)
| | - Maria Chountoulesi
- Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece; (M.C.); (N.N.); (C.D.)
| | - Nikolaos Naziris
- Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece; (M.C.); (N.N.); (C.D.)
- Department of General Biophysics, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland
| | - Demeter Tzeli
- Department of Chemistry, School of Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece; (V.P.); (G.L.); (N.Z.); (N.G.); (D.T.)
- Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 48 Vassileos Constantinou Ave., 11635 Athens, Greece
| | - Costas Demetzos
- Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece; (M.C.); (N.N.); (C.D.)
| | - Georgia Valsami
- Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece; (M.C.); (N.N.); (C.D.)
- Correspondence: (G.V.); (T.M.)
| | | | | | - Thomas Mavromoustakos
- Department of Chemistry, School of Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece; (V.P.); (G.L.); (N.Z.); (N.G.); (D.T.)
- Correspondence: (G.V.); (T.M.)
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Jain N, Sk MF, Mishra A, Kar P, Kumar A. Identification of novel Efflux pump inhibitors for Neisseria gonorrhoeae via multiple ligand-based pharmacophores, e-pharmacophore, molecular docking, density functional theory, and Molecular dynamics approaches. Comput Biol Chem 2022; 98:107682. [DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2022.107682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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132
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Poje G, Pessanha de Carvalho L, Held J, Moita D, Prudêncio M, Perković I, Tandarić T, Vianello R, Rajić Z. Design and synthesis of harmiquins, harmine and chloroquine hybrids as potent antiplasmodial agents. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 238:114408. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2022] [Revised: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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133
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In silico evaluation of atazanavir as a potential HIV main protease inhibitor and its comparison with new designed analogs. Comput Biol Med 2022; 145:105523. [DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2022.105523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 04/09/2022] [Accepted: 04/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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134
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Zhang J, Wang T, Geng X, Liu L, Gao J. Identification of Trovafloxacin, Ozanimod, and Ozenoxacin as potent c-Myc G-quadruplex stabilizers to suppress c-Myc transcription and myeloma growth. Mol Inform 2022; 41:e2200011. [PMID: 35355429 DOI: 10.1002/minf.202200011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
c-Myc is a major oncogene that is estimated to result in almost all human cancers and the c-Myc downregulation has become an attractive strategy for cancer treatment. For it is hard to design compounds that can directly interact with the c-Myc protein, the DNA G-quadruplex (G4) was discovered in its promoter region which was referred to as a potential drug target for controlling c-Myc expression. In this study, a combined strategy of molecular docking-based virtual screening, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, and molecular mechanics/generalized Born surface area (MM/GBSA) free energy calculation was conducted on the existing FDA-Approved Drugs Library, eight compounds were selected for further experimental assay. Among them, five compounds exhibited dose-dependently anticancer activities against RPMI-8226 cells with IC50 values less than 18.4 μM. Further experiments showed that Trovafloxacin, Ozanimod, and Ozenoxacin decreased c-Myc mRNA level obviously and downregulated c-Myc expression significantly. In summary, compounds Trovafloxacin, Ozanimod, and Ozenoxacin might be regarded as new c-Myc G4 stabilizers for the treatment of c-Myc related cancers in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tao Wang
- Xuzhou Medical University, CHINA
| | | | | | - Jian Gao
- Xuzhou Medical University, CHINA
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135
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Singh A, Saini R, Mishra A. Novel allosteric inhibitor to target drug resistance in EGFR mutant: molecular modelling and free energy approach. MOLECULAR SIMULATION 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/08927022.2022.2055012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Amit Singh
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
| | - Ravi Saini
- School of Biochemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, India
| | - Abha Mishra
- School of Biochemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, India
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136
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sVmKTx, a transcriptome analysis-based synthetic peptide analogue of Vm24, inhibits Kv1.3 channels of human T cells with improved selectivity. Biochem Pharmacol 2022; 199:115023. [PMID: 35358481 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2022.115023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Kv1.3 K+ channels play a central role in the regulation of T cell activation and Ca2+ signaling under physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Peptide toxins targeting Kv1.3 have a significant therapeutic potential in the treatment of autoimmune diseases; thus, the discovery of new toxins is highly motivated. Based on the transcriptome analysis of the venom gland of V. mexicanus smithi a novel synthetic peptide, sVmKTx was generated, containing 36 amino acid residues. sVmKTx shows high sequence similarity to Vm24, a previously characterized peptide from the same species, but contains a Glu at position 32 as opposed to Lys32 in Vm24. Vm24 inhibits Kv1.3 with high affinity (Kd = 2.9 pM). However, it has limited selectivity (~1,500-fold) for Kv1.3 over hKv1.2, hKCa3.1, and mKv1.1. sVmKTx displays reduced Kv1.3 affinity (Kd = 770 pM) but increased selectivity for Kv1.3 over hKv1.2 (~9,000-fold) as compared to Vm24, other channels tested in the panel (hKCa3.1, hKv1.1, hKv1.4, hKv1.5, rKv2.1, hKv11.1, hKCa1.1, hNav1.5) were practically insensitive to the toxin at 2.5 μM. Molecular dynamics simulations showed that introduction of a Glu instead of Lys at position 32 led to a decreased structural fluctuation of the N-terminal segment of sVmKTx, which may explain its increased selectivity for Kv1.3. sVmKTx at 100 nM concentration decreased the expression level of the Ca2+ -dependent T cell activation marker, CD40 ligand. The high affinity block of Kv1.3 and increased selectivity over the natural peptide makes sVmKTx a potential candidate for Kv1.3 blockade-mediated treatment of autoimmune diseases.
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137
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Jiang Y, Yan B, Chen Y, Juarez RJ, Yang ZJ. Molecular Dynamics-Derived Descriptor Informs the Impact of Mutation on the Catalytic Turnover Number in Lactonase Across Substrates. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:2486-2495. [PMID: 35324218 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c00142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Molecular dynamics simulations have been extensively employed to reveal the roles of protein dynamics in mediating enzyme catalysis. However, simulation-derived predictive descriptors that inform the impacts of mutations on catalytic turnover numbers remain largely unexplored. In this work, we report the identification of molecular modeling-derived descriptors to predict mutation effect on the turnover number of lactonase SsoPox with both native and non-native substrates. The study consists of 10 enzyme-substrate complexes resulting from a combination of five enzyme variants with two substrates. For each complex, we derived 15 descriptors from molecular dynamics simulations and applied principal component analysis to rank the predictive capability of the descriptors. A top-ranked descriptor was identified, which is the solvent-accessible surface area (SASA) ratio of the substrate to the active site pocket. A uniform volcano-shaped plot was observed in the distribution of experimental activation free energy against the SASA ratio. To achieve efficient lactonase hydrolysis, a non-native substrate-bound enzyme variant needs to involve a similar range of the SASA ratio to the native substrate-bound wild-type enzyme. The descriptor reflects how well the enzyme active site pocket accommodates a substrate for reaction, which has the potential of guiding optimization of enzyme reaction turnover for non-native chemical transformations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaoyukun Jiang
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, United States
| | - Bailu Yan
- Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, United States
| | - Yu Chen
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023, China
| | - Reecan J Juarez
- Chemical and Physical Biology Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, United States
| | - Zhongyue J Yang
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, United States.,Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, United States.,Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, United States.,Data Science Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, United States
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138
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Folate Conjugated Polyethylene Glycol Probe for Tumor-Targeted Drug Delivery of 5-Fluorouracil. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27061780. [PMID: 35335144 PMCID: PMC8954791 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27061780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Revised: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
A targeted delivery system is primarily intended to carry a potent anticancer drug to specific tumor sites within the bodily tissues. In the present study, a carrier system has been designed using folic acid (FA), bis-amine polyethylene glycol (PEG), and an anticancer drug, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). FA and PEG were joined via an amide bond, and the resulting FA-PEG-NH2 was coupled to 5-FU producing folate-polyethylene glycol conjugated 5-fluorouracil (FA-PEG-5-FU). Spectroscopic techniques (UV-Vis, 1HNMR, FTIR, and HPLC) were used for the characterization of products. Prodrug (FA-PEG-5-FU) was analyzed for drug release profile (in vitro) up to 10 days and compared to a standard anticancer drug (5-FU). Folate conjugate was also analyzed to study its folate receptors (FR) mediated transport and in vitro cytotoxicity assays using HeLa cancer cells/Vero cells, respectively, and antitumor activity in tumor-bearing mice models. Folate conjugate showed steady drug release patterns and improved uptake in the HeLa cancer cells than Vero cells. Folate conjugate treated mice group showed smaller tumor volumes; specifically after the 15th day post-treatment, tumor sizes were decreased significantly compared to the standard drug group (5-FU). Molecular docking findings demonstrated importance of Trp138, Trp140, and Lys136 in the stabilization of flexible loop flanking the active site. The folic acid conjugated probe has shown the potential of targeted drug delivery and sustained release of anticancer drug to tumor lesions with intact antitumor efficacy.
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139
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Synthesis, molecular docking and dynamics study of novel epoxide derivatives of 1,2,4-trioxanes as antimalarial agents. Struct Chem 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s11224-022-01885-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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140
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Reorienting Mechanism of Harderoheme in Coproheme Decarboxylase-A Computational Study. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23052564. [PMID: 35269706 PMCID: PMC8910490 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23052564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Coproheme decarboxylase (ChdC) is an important enzyme in the coproporphyrin-dependent pathway (CPD) of Gram-positive bacteria that decarboxylates coproheme on two propionates at position 2 and position 4 sequentially to generate heme b by using H2O2 as an oxidant. This work focused on the ChdC from Geobacillus stearothermophilus (GsChdC) to elucidate the mechanism of its sequential two-step decarboxylation of coproheme. The models of GsChdC in a complex with substrate and reaction intermediate were built to investigate the reorienting mechanism of harderoheme. Targeted molecular dynamics simulations on these models validated that harderoheme is able to rotate in the active site of GsChdC with a 19.06-kcal·mol-1 energy barrier after the first step of decarboxylation to bring the propionate at position 4 in proximity of Tyr145 to continue the second decarboxylation step. The harderoheme rotation mechanism is confirmed to be much easier than the release-rebinding mechanism. In the active site of GsChdC, Trp157 and Trp198 comprise a "gate" construction to regulate the clockwise rotation of the harderoheme. Lys149 plays a critical role in the rotation mechanism, which not only keeps the Trp157-Trp198 "gate" from being closed but also guides the propionate at position 4 through the gap between Trp157 and Trp198 through a salt bridge interaction.
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141
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Barbosa Da Silva E, Sharma V, Hernandez-Alvarez L, Tang AH, Stoye A, O’Donoghue AJ, Gerwick WH, Payne RJ, McKerrow JH, Podust LM. Intramolecular Interactions Enhance the Potency of Gallinamide A Analogues against Trypanosoma cruzi. J Med Chem 2022; 65:4255-4269. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c02063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Elany Barbosa Da Silva
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Vandna Sharma
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Lilian Hernandez-Alvarez
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Departamento de Física, Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, CEP 15054-000, Brazil
| | - Arthur H. Tang
- School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Alexander Stoye
- School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Anthony J. O’Donoghue
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - William H. Gerwick
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Richard J. Payne
- School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - James H. McKerrow
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Larissa M. Podust
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
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142
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Li M, Xu Y, Guo J. Insights into the negative regulation of EGFR upon the binding of an allosteric inhibitor. Chem Biol Drug Des 2022; 99:650-661. [DOI: 10.1111/cbdd.14033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Revised: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 01/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Miaomiao Li
- College of Life Sciences Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing 210095 China
| | - Yan Xu
- College of Life Sciences Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing 210095 China
| | - Jingjing Guo
- College of Life Sciences Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing 210095 China
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143
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Wan S, Bhati AP, Wade AD, Alfè D, Coveney PV. Thermodynamic and structural insights into the repurposing of drugs that bind to SARS-CoV-2 main protease. MOLECULAR SYSTEMS DESIGN & ENGINEERING 2022; 7:123-131. [PMID: 35223088 PMCID: PMC8820189 DOI: 10.1039/d1me00124h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Although researchers have been working tirelessly since the COVID-19 outbreak, so far only three drugs - remdesivir, ronapreve and molnupiravir - have been approved for use in some countries which directly target the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Given the slow pace and substantial costs of new drug discovery and development, together with the urgency of the matter, repurposing of existing drugs for the ongoing disease is an attractive proposition. In a recent study, a high-throughput X-ray crystallographic screen was performed for a selection of drugs which have been approved or are in clinical trials. Thirty-seven compounds have been identified from drug libraries all of which bind to the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (3CLpro). In the current study, we use molecular dynamics simulation and an ensemble-based free energy approach, namely, enhanced sampling of molecular dynamics with approximation of continuum solvent (ESMACS), to investigate a subset of the aforementioned compounds. The drugs studied here are highly diverse, interacting with different binding sites and/or subsites of 3CLpro. The predicted free energies are compared with experimental results wherever they are available and they are found to be in excellent agreement. Our study also provides detailed energetic insights into the nature of the associated drug-protein binding, in turn shedding light on the design and discovery of potential drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunzhou Wan
- Centre for Computational Science, Department of Chemistry, University College London UK
| | - Agastya P Bhati
- Centre for Computational Science, Department of Chemistry, University College London UK
| | - Alexander D Wade
- Centre for Computational Science, Department of Chemistry, University College London UK
| | - Dario Alfè
- Department of Earth Sciences, London Centre for Nanotechnology and Thomas Young Centre at University College London, University College London UK
- Dipartimento di Fisica Ettore Pancini, Università di Napoli Federico II Italy
| | - Peter V Coveney
- Centre for Computational Science, Department of Chemistry, University College London UK
- Institute for Informatics, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam The Netherlands
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144
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Jonniya NA, Sk MF, Roy R, Kar P. Discovery of potential competitive inhibitors against With-No-Lysine kinase 1 for treating hypertension by virtual screening, inverse pharmacophore-based lead optimization, and molecular dynamics simulations. SAR AND QSAR IN ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 33:63-87. [PMID: 35078380 DOI: 10.1080/1062936x.2021.2023218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The With-No-Lysine (WNK) has received attention because of its involvement in hypertension. Genetic mutation in the genes of WNK, leading to its overexpression, has been reported in Familial Hyperkalaemic Hypertension, and thus WNK is considered a potential drug target. Herein, we have performed a high-throughput virtual screening of ~11,000 compounds, mainly the natural phytochemical compounds and kinase inhibitory libraries, to find potential competitive inhibitors against WNK1. Initially, candidates with a docking score of ~ -10.0 kcal/mol or less were selected to further screen their good pharmacological properties by applying absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET). Finally, six docked compounds bearing appreciable binding affinities and WNK1 selectivity were complimented with 500 ns long all-atom molecular dynamic simulations. Subsequently, the MMPBSA scheme (Molecular Mechanics Poisson Boltzmann Surface Area) suggested three phytochemical compounds, C00000947, C00020451, and C00005031, with favourable binding affinity against WNK1. Among them, C00000947 acts as the most potent competitive inhibitor of WNK1. Further, inverse pharmacophore-based lead optimization of the C00000947 leads to one potential compound, meciadanol, which shows better binding affinity and specificity than C00000947 towards WNK1, which may be further exploited to develop effective therapeutics against WNK1-associated hypertension after in vitro and in vivo validation.
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Affiliation(s)
- N A Jonniya
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Indore, India
| | - M F Sk
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Indore, India
| | - R Roy
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Indore, India
| | - P Kar
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Indore, India
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145
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Feng X, Li F, Ding M, Zhang R, Shi T, Lu Y, Jiang W. Molecular dynamic simulation: Study on the recognition mechanism of linear β-(1 → 3)-D-glucan by Dectin-1. Carbohydr Polym 2022; 286:119276. [DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Revised: 02/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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146
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Zhuge XL, Xie T, Du X, Zhang XX, Hu JP, Yang HL. Non-synonymous substitution of evolutionarily conserved residue in Tau class glutathione transferases alters structural and catalytic features. Int J Biol Macromol 2022; 197:39-48. [PMID: 34896469 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.12.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Plant-specific tau glutathione transferases (GSTs) are basically involved in catalysing γ-glutathione (GSH)-dependent conjugation reactions with pesticides and herbicides, which play an important role in the detoxification of pollutants. Given the lack of systematic biochemical and structural information on tau GSTs, the study of their mediated defence mechanisms against toxic compounds has been greatly hindered. Here, we reveal the importance of the Ile residue closely interacting with GSH for the structural stability and catalytic function of GST. Evolutionary conservation analysis indicated that the crucial G-site Ile55 in the SbGSTU6 was converted to Thr53 of SbGSTU7. The comparative biochemical data on SbGSTU6, SbGSTU7 and their mutants showed that the substitution of Ile by Thr caused significant decrease in the affinity and catalytic efficiency of the GSTs. The unfavourable structural flexibility and pKa distribution of the active cavity residues were also demonstrated. Crystallography studies and molecular dynamics simulations showed that the conversion resulted in the hydrogen bond recombination with GSH and conformational rearrangement of GST active cavity, in which the Ile residue was more conducive to the formation of enzyme substrate complexes. The extensive biochemical and structural data not only reveal the critical role of the conserved G-site Ile residue in catalysing GSH-conjugate reactions but also provide valuable resources for the development of GST engineering in analytical and agricultural biotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang-Lin Zhuge
- The Tree and Ornamental Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Institute of Tree Development and Genome Editing, College of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Tao Xie
- School of Pharmacy, Sichuan Industrial Institute of Antibiotics, Key Laboratory of Medicinal and Edible Plants Resources Development of Sichuan Education Department, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China
| | - Xin Du
- The Tree and Ornamental Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Institute of Tree Development and Genome Editing, College of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Xiu-Xing Zhang
- The Tree and Ornamental Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Institute of Tree Development and Genome Editing, College of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Jian-Ping Hu
- School of Pharmacy, Sichuan Industrial Institute of Antibiotics, Key Laboratory of Medicinal and Edible Plants Resources Development of Sichuan Education Department, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China
| | - Hai-Ling Yang
- The Tree and Ornamental Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Institute of Tree Development and Genome Editing, College of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
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147
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Biswas S, Mahmud S, Mita MA, Afrose S, Hasan MR, Sultana Shimu MS, Saleh MA, Mostafa-Hedeab G, Alqarni M, Obaidullah AJ, Batiha GES. Molecular Docking and Dynamics Studies to Explore Effective Inhibitory Peptides Against the Spike Receptor Binding Domain of SARS-CoV-2. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 8:791642. [PMID: 35187069 PMCID: PMC8851422 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.791642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a pandemic due to the high transmission and mortality rate of this virus. The world health and economic sectors have been severely affected by this deadly virus, exacerbated by the lack of sufficient efficient vaccines. The design of effective drug candidates and their rapid development is necessary to combat this virus. In this study, we selected 23 antimicrobial peptides from the literature and predicted their structure using PEP-FOLD 3.5. In addition, we docked them to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) to study their capability to inhibit the RBD, which plays a significant role in virus binding, fusion and entry into the host cell. We used several docking programs including HDOCK, HPEPDOCK, ClusPro, and HawkDock to calculate the binding energy of the protein-peptide complexes. We identified four peptides with high binding free energy and docking scores. The docking results were further verified by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to characterize the protein-peptide complexes in terms of their root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF), root-mean-square deviation (RMSD), radius of gyration (Rg), solvent-accessible surface area (SASA), and hydrogen bond formation. Allergenicity and toxicity predictions suggested that the peptides we identified were non-allergenic and non-toxic. This study suggests that these four antimicrobial peptides could inhibit the RBD of SARS-CoV-2. Future in vitro and in vivo studies are necessary to confirm this.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suvro Biswas
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
| | - Shafi Mahmud
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
| | - Mohasana Akter Mita
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
| | - Shamima Afrose
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
| | - Md. Robiul Hasan
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
| | | | - Md. Abu Saleh
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
| | - Gomaa Mostafa-Hedeab
- Pharmacology Department and Health Research Unit-medical College, Jouf University, Jouf, Saudi Arabia
- Pharmacology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni Suef, Egypt
| | - Mohammed Alqarni
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmad J. Obaidullah
- Drug Exploration and Development Chair (DEDC), Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Gaber El-Saber Batiha
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Damanhour University, Damanhour, Egypt
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148
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Hernández González JE, Eberle RJ, Willbold D, Coronado MA. A Computer-Aided Approach for the Discovery of D-Peptides as Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 8:816166. [PMID: 35187076 PMCID: PMC8852625 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.816166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 main protease, also known as 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro), is a cysteine protease responsible for the cleavage of viral polyproteins pp1a and pp1ab, at least, at eleven conserved sites, which leads to the formation of mature nonstructural proteins essential for the replication of the virus. Due to its essential role, numerous studies have been conducted so far, which have confirmed 3CLpro as an attractive drug target to combat Covid-19 and have reported a vast number of inhibitors and their co-crystal structures. Despite all the ongoing efforts, D-peptides, which possess key advantages over L-peptides as therapeutic agents, have not been explored as potential drug candidates against 3CLpro. The current work fills this gap by reporting an in silico approach for the discovery of D-peptides capable of inhibiting 3CLpro that involves structure-based virtual screening (SBVS) of an in-house library of D-tripeptides and D-tetrapeptides into the protease active site and subsequent rescoring steps, including Molecular Mechanics Generalized-Born Surface Area (MM-GBSA) free energy calculations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In vitro enzymatic assays conducted for the four top-scoring D-tetrapeptides at 20 μM showed that all of them caused 55–85% inhibition of 3CLpro activity, thus highlighting the suitability of the devised approach. Overall, our results present a promising computational strategy to identify D-peptides capable of inhibiting 3CLpro, with broader application in problems involving protein inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge E. Hernández González
- Multiuser Center for Biomolecular Innovation, IBILCE, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), São Jose do Rio Preto, Brazil
- Laboratory for Molecular Modeling and Dynamics, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Cidade Universitária Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Raphael J. Eberle
- Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-7, Structural Biochemistry), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Institut für Physikalische Biologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Dieter Willbold
- Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-7, Structural Biochemistry), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Institut für Physikalische Biologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße, Düsseldorf, Germany
- JuStruct: Jülich Centre for Structural Biology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Mônika A. Coronado
- Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-7, Structural Biochemistry), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- *Correspondence: Mônika A. Coronado,
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149
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Xiao X, Sarma S, Menegatti S, Crook N, Magness ST, Hall CK. In Silico Identification and Experimental Validation of Peptide-Based Inhibitors Targeting Clostridium difficile Toxin A. ACS Chem Biol 2022; 17:118-128. [PMID: 34965093 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.1c00743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Clostridium difficile infection is mediated by two major exotoxins: toxins A (TcdA) and B (TcdB). Inhibiting the biocatalytic activities of these toxins with targeted peptide-based drugs can reduce the risk of C. difficile infection. In this work, we used a computational strategy that integrates a peptide binding design (PepBD) algorithm and explicit-solvent atomistic molecular dynamics simulation to determine promising toxin A-targeting peptides that can recognize and bind to the catalytic site of the TcdA glucosyltransferase domain (GTD). Our simulation results revealed that two out of three in silico discovered peptides, viz. the neutralizing peptides A (NPA) and B (NPB), exhibit lower binding free energies when bound to the TcdA GTD than the phage-display discovered peptide, viz. the reference peptide (RP). These peptides may serve as potential inhibitors against C. difficile infection. The efficacy of the peptides RP, NPA, and NPB to neutralize the cytopathic effects of TcdA was tested in vitro in human jejunum cells. Both phage-display peptide RP and in silico peptide NPA were found to exhibit strong toxin-neutralizing properties, thereby preventing the TcdA toxicity. However, the in silico peptide NPB demonstrates a relatively low efficacy against TcdA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingqing Xiao
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | - Sudeep Sarma
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | - Stefano Menegatti
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
- Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC), North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | - Nathan Crook
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | - Scott T Magness
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514, United States
| | - Carol K Hall
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
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150
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Indari O, Sk MF, Jakhmola S, Jonniya NA, Jha HC, Kar P. Decoding the Host-Parasite Protein Interactions Involved in Cerebral Malaria Through Glares of Molecular Dynamics Simulations. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:387-402. [PMID: 34989590 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c07850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Malaria causes millions of deaths every year. The malaria parasite spends a substantial part of its life cycle inside human erythrocytes. Inside erythrocytes, it synthesizes and displays various proteins onto the erythrocyte surface, such as Plasmodium falciparum erythrocytic membrane protein-1 (PfEMP1). This protein contains cysteine-rich interdomain region (CIDR) domains which have many subtypes based on sequence diversity and can cross-talk with host molecules. The CIDRα1.4 subtype can attach host endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR). This interaction facilitates infected erythrocyte adherence to brain endothelium and subsequent development of cerebral malaria. Through molecular dynamics simulations in conjunction with the molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MM/PBSA) method, we explored the mechanism of interaction in the CIDRα1-EPCR complex. We examined the structural behavior of two CIDRα1 molecules (encoded by HB3-isolate var03-gene and IT4-isolate var07-gene) with EPCR unbound and bound (complex) forms. HB3var03CIDRα1 in apo and complexed with EPCR was comparatively more stable than IT4var07CIDRα1. Both of the complexes adopted two distinct conformational energy states. The hydrophobic residues played a crucial role in the binding of both complexes. For HB3var03CIDRα1-EPCR, the dominant energetic components were total polar interactions, while in IT4var07CIDRα1-EPCR, the primary interaction was van der Waals and nonpolar solvation energy. The study also revealed details such as correlated conformational motions and secondary structure evolution. Further, it elucidated various hotspot residues involved in protein-protein recognition. Overall, our study provides additional information on the structural behavior of CIDR molecules in unbound and receptor-bound states, which will help to design potent inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omkar Indari
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Khandwa Road, Indore, MP 453552, India
| | - Md Fulbabu Sk
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Khandwa Road, Indore, MP 453552, India
| | - Shweta Jakhmola
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Khandwa Road, Indore, MP 453552, India
| | - Nisha Amarnath Jonniya
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Khandwa Road, Indore, MP 453552, India
| | - Hem Chandra Jha
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Khandwa Road, Indore, MP 453552, India
| | - Parimal Kar
- Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Khandwa Road, Indore, MP 453552, India
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