Modeling the dynamics of the solvated SL1 domain of HIV-1 genomic RNA

Molecular statistics of cytochrome c: structural plasticity and molecular environment

Nuclear magnetic resonance experiments performed on yeast mitochondrial cytochrome c (Cytc), a paradigmatic electron transfer protein, reveal that the two oxidation states have similar structures, but different mobility: despite the few structural differences compared with the reduced form, the oxidized form displays a larger unfolding propensity. Molecular dynamics simulations performed on both NMR reduced and NMR oxidized forms show that the reduced form has a larger solvent-accessible surface area (SASA). Starting from this observation, a molecular statistical approach was then applied in order to correlate the molecular surface to molecular mobility. Simulations started from biased initial conditions corresponding to different molecular sizes were combined with the maximal constrained entropy method. The NMR structure of oxidized Cytc is more suited to expose a smaller SASA than the NMR structure of the reduced form, but the accessible conformational landscape at 300 K around the NMR oxidized structure is flatter than for the NMR reduced structure. Protein configurations of smaller SASA and size display larger plasticity when they resemble the NMR oxidized structure, whereas they are more rigid when they resemble the NMR reduced structure. Implications of the results for the protein properties during its functional process are discussed.

Hyaluronan chain conformation and dynamics

An overview of the present state of research in the field of hyaluronan chain conformational aspects is presented. The relationship between structure and dynamics are illustrated for a series of hyaluronan oligomers. Conformational characteristics of hyaluronan chains are discussed, together with the dynamic chain patterns, evaluated by using a theoretical approach to diffusive polymer dynamics. The dependence of correlation times and NMR relaxation parameters from the chain dimension are investigated. Topological features and dimensional properties are related to the structural determinants by using classical computational methods of molecular mechanics and Monte Carlo simulation.

Modeling the backbone dynamics of reduced and oxidized solvated rat microsomal cytochrome b5

In this article, a description of the statistics and dynamics of cytochrome b(5) in both reduced and oxidized forms is given. Results of molecular dynamics computer simulations in the explicit solvent have been combined with mode-coupling diffusion models including and neglecting the molecule-solvent correlations. R(1) and R(1 rho) nuclear magnetic relaxation parameters of (15)N in the protein backbone have been calculated and compared with experiments. Slight changes in charge density in the heme upon oxidation produces a cascade of changes in charge distributions from heme propionates up to charged residues approximately 1.5 nm from Fe. These changes in charge distributions modify the molecular surface and the water shell surrounding the protein. The statistical changes upon oxidation can be included in diffusive models that physically explain the upper and lower limits of R(1 rho) relaxation parameters at high off-resonance fields.