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Li Y, Nam K. Repulsive Soft-Core Potentials for Efficient Alchemical Free Energy Calculations. J Chem Theory Comput 2020; 16:4776-4789. [PMID: 32559374 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.0c00163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
In alchemical free energy (FE) simulations, annihilation and creation of atoms are generally achieved with the soft-core potential that shifts the interparticle separations. While this soft-core potential eliminates the numerical instability occurring near the two end states of the transformation, it makes the hybrid Hamiltonian vary nonlinearly with respect to the parameter λ, which interpolates between the Hamiltonians representing the two end states. This complicates FE estimation by Bennett acceptance ratio (BAR), free energy perturbation (FEP), and thermodynamic integration (TI) methods, thus reducing their calculation efficiency. In this work, we develop a new type of repulsive soft-core potential, called Gaussian soft-core (GSC) potential, with two parameters controlling its maximum and width. The main advantage of this potential is the linearity of the hybrid Hamiltonian with respect to λ, thus permitting the direct application of BAR, FEP, TI, and other variant FE methods. The accuracy and efficiency of the GSC potential are demonstrated by comparing the free energies of annihilation determined for 13 small molecules and an alchemical mutation of a protein side chain. In addition, in combination with a TI integrand (∂H/∂λ) estimation strategy, we show that GSC can considerably reduce the number of λ simulations compared to the commonly used separation-shifted soft-core potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaozong Li
- Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Kwangho Nam
- Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden.,Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas 76019-0065, United States
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2
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Jing Z, Qi R, Thibonnier M, Ren P. Molecular Dynamics Study of the Hybridization between RNA and Modified Oligonucleotides. J Chem Theory Comput 2019; 15:6422-6432. [PMID: 31553600 PMCID: PMC6889957 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.9b00519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are attractive drug candidates for many diseases as they can modulate the expression of gene networks. Recently, we discovered that DNAs targeting microRNA-22-3p (miR-22-3p) hold the potential for treating obesity and related metabolic disorders (type 2 diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)) by turning fat-storing white adipocytes into fat-burning adipocytes. In this work, we explored the effects of chemical modifications, including phosphorothioate (PS), locked nucleic acid (LNA), and peptide nucleic acid (PNA), on the structure and energy of DNA analogs by using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. To achieve a reliable prediction of the hybridization free energy, the AMOEBA polarizable force field and the free energy perturbation technique were employed. The calculated hybridization free energies are generally compatible with previous experiments. For LNA and PNA, the enhanced duplex stability can be explained by the preorganization mechanism, i.e., the single strands adopt stable helical structures similar to those in the duplex. For PS, the S and R isomers (Sp and Rp) have preferences for C2'-endo and C3'-endo sugar puckering conformations, respectively, and therefore Sp is less stable than Rp in DNA/RNA hybrids. In addition, the solvation penalty of Rp accounts for its destabilization effect. PS-LNA is similar to LNA as the sugar puckering is dominated by the locked sugar ring. This work demonstrated that MD simulations with polarizable force fields are useful for the understanding and design of modified nucleic acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhifeng Jing
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712
| | - Rui Qi
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712
| | | | - Pengyu Ren
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712
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3
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Nilsson L, Villa A. Modeling and Simulation of Oligonucleotide Hybrids: Outlining a Strategy. Methods Mol Biol 2019; 2036:113-126. [PMID: 31410793 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9670-4_6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Molecular dynamics simulations with a state-of-the-art force field provide an atomistic detailed description of the structural and thermodynamic features of biomolecules. Effects of chemical modifications and of the environment such as sequence, solvent, and ionic strength can explicitly be taken into account. Molecular simulation techniques can also provide insight in change in binding affinity, in protonation (pKa shift) and tautomeric propensity due to changes in the environment or in the molecular system. The quality and reliability of a simulation depend on the quality of the force field and on the reproducibility of the data, and validation depends on the availability of suitable experimental data. Here, we describe the workflow to investigate oligonucleotide hybrids using molecular simulation including hardware and software information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lennart Nilsson
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Alessandra Villa
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.
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Hartono YD, Xu Y, Karshikoff A, Nilsson L, Villa A. Modeling p K Shift in DNA Triplexes Containing Locked Nucleic Acids. J Chem Inf Model 2018. [PMID: 29537270 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.7b00741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The protonation states for nucleic acid bases are difficult to assess experimentally. In the context of DNA triplex, the protonation state of cytidine in the third strand is particularly important, because it needs to be protonated in order to form Hoogsteen hydrogen bonds. A sugar modification, locked nucleic acid (LNA), is widely used in triplex forming oligonucleotides to target sites in the human genome. In this study, the parameters for LNA are developed in line with the CHARMM nucleic acid force field and validated toward the available structural experimental data. In conjunction, two computational methods were used to calculate the protonation state of the third strand cytidine in various DNA triplex environments: λ-dynamics and multiple pH regime. Both approaches predict p K of this cytidine shifted above physiological pH when cytidine is in the third strand in a triplex environment. Both methods show an upshift due to cytidine methylation, and a small downshift when the sugar configuration is locked. The predicted p K values for cytidine in DNA triplex environment can inform the design of better-binding oligonucleotides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yossa Dwi Hartono
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition , Karolinska Institutet , SE-141 83 Huddinge , Sweden.,Division of Structural Biology and Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences , Nanyang Technological University , 60 Nanyang Drive , Singapore 637551
| | - You Xu
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition , Karolinska Institutet , SE-141 83 Huddinge , Sweden
| | - Andrey Karshikoff
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition , Karolinska Institutet , SE-141 83 Huddinge , Sweden
| | - Lennart Nilsson
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition , Karolinska Institutet , SE-141 83 Huddinge , Sweden
| | - Alessandra Villa
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition , Karolinska Institutet , SE-141 83 Huddinge , Sweden
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Manjari SR, Banavali NK. Structural Articulation of Biochemical Reactions Using Restrained Geometries and Topology Switching. J Chem Inf Model 2018; 58:453-463. [PMID: 29357231 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.7b00699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
A strategy named "restrained geometries and topology switching" (RGATS) is presented to obtain detailed trajectories for complex biochemical reactions using molecular mechanics (MM) methods. It enables prediction of realistic dynamical pathways for chemical reactions, especially for accurately characterizing the structural adjustments of highly complex environments to any proximal biochemical reaction. It can be used to generate reactive conformations, model stepwise or concerted reactions in complex environments, and probe the influence of changes in the environment. Its ability to take reactively nonoptimal conformations and generate favorable starting conformations for a biochemical reaction is illustrated for a proton transfer between two model compounds. Its ability to study concerted reactions in explicit solvent is illustrated using proton transfers between an ammonium ion and two conserved histidines in an ammonia transporter channel embedded in a lipid membrane. Its ability to characterize the changes induced by subtle differences in the active site environment is illustrated using nucleotide addition by a DNA polymerase in the presence of two versus three Mg2+ ions. RGATS can be employed within any MM program and requires no additional software implementation. This allows the full assortment of computational methods implemented in all available MM programs to be used to tackle virtually any question about biochemical reactions that is answerable without using a quantum mechanical (QM) model. It can also be applied to generate reasonable starting structures for more detailed and expensive QM or QM/MM methods. In particular, this strategy enables rapid prediction of reactant, intermediary, or product state structures in any macromolecular context, with the only requirement being that the structure in any one of these states is either known or can be accurately modeled.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swati R Manjari
- Laboratory of Computational and Structural Biology, Division of Genetics, NYS Department of Health , CMS 2008, Biggs Laboratory, Wadsworth Center, Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12201-0509, United States
| | - Nilesh K Banavali
- Laboratory of Computational and Structural Biology, Division of Genetics, NYS Department of Health , CMS 2008, Biggs Laboratory, Wadsworth Center, Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12201-0509, United States.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, State University of New York at Albany , Albany, New York 12222, United States
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Xiao SR, Xu GD, Wei WJ, Peng B, Deng YB. Antiviral effect of hepatitis B virus S gene-specific anti-gene locked nucleic acid in hepatitis B virus transgenic mice. Shijie Huaren Xiaohua Zazhi 2017; 25:2782-2790. [DOI: 10.11569/wcjd.v25.i31.2782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
AIM To investigate the antiviral effect of hepatitis B virus (HBV) S gene-specific anti-gene locked nucleic acid (LNA) in transgenic mice.
METHODS Thirty HBV transgenic mice were randomly divided into 5 groups (n = 6 each): blank control group, negative control group (unrelated sequence), lamivudine group, antisense-LNA treatment group, and anti-gene LNA treatment group. LNA was injected into transgenic mice via the tail vein, and lamivudine was given by gavage. Serum HBV DNA was tested by real-time PCR; serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was determined by ELISA; the mRNA level of HBV S gene was detected by RT-PCR; and the positive rate of HBsAg in liver cells was detected by immunohistochemistry.
RESULTS On 3, 5, and 7 d after anti-gene LNA treatment, HBV DNA was reduced by 37.18%, 50.27%, and 61.46%, respectively, and HBsAg was reduced by 30.17%, 44%, and 57.76%, respectively; there was a significant difference in HBV DNA and HBsAg compared with those before administration (P < 0.05) or compared with control groups (blank control, negative control, lamivudine, and antisense-LNA) (P < 0.05). The mRNA level of HBV S gene (0.33) and the HBsAg positive rate of liver cells (31%) were significantly reduced compared with control groups (P < 0.05). The function of liver and kidney tests and tissue HE staining showed no abnormal changes.
CONCLUSION Anti-gene LNA targeting the S gene has a strong inhibitory effect on HBV replication and expression in HBV transgenic mice, and this provides experimental basis for gene therapy of HBV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Rong Xiao
- Center for Medical Laboratory Science, the Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical College for Nationalities, Baise 533000, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Gui-Dan Xu
- Center for Medical Laboratory Science, the Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical College for Nationalities, Baise 533000, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Wu-Jun Wei
- Center for Medical Laboratory Science, the Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical College for Nationalities, Baise 533000, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Bin Peng
- Center for Medical Laboratory Science, the Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical College for Nationalities, Baise 533000, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Yi-Bin Deng
- Center for Medical Laboratory Science, the Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical College for Nationalities, Baise 533000, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
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Hagedorn PH, Persson R, Funder ED, Albæk N, Diemer SL, Hansen DJ, Møller MR, Papargyri N, Christiansen H, Hansen BR, Hansen HF, Jensen MA, Koch T. Locked nucleic acid: modality, diversity, and drug discovery. Drug Discov Today 2017; 23:101-114. [PMID: 28988994 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2017.09.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 143] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2017] [Revised: 09/01/2017] [Accepted: 09/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Over the past 20 years, the field of RNA-targeted therapeutics has advanced based on discoveries of modified oligonucleotide chemistries, and an ever-increasing understanding of how to apply cellular assays to identify oligonucleotides with improved pharmacological properties in vivo. Locked nucleic acid (LNA), which exhibits high binding affinity and potency, is widely used for this purpose. Our understanding of RNA biology has also expanded tremendously, resulting in new approaches to engage RNA as a therapeutic target. Recent observations indicate that each oligonucleotide is a unique entity, and small structural differences between oligonucleotides can often lead to substantial differences in their pharmacological properties. Here, we outline new principles for drug discovery exploiting oligonucleotide diversity to identify rare molecules with unique pharmacological properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter H Hagedorn
- Therapeutic Modalities, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen, 2970 Hørsholm, Denmark
| | - Robert Persson
- Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen, 2970 Hørsholm, Denmark
| | - Erik D Funder
- Therapeutic Modalities, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen, 2970 Hørsholm, Denmark
| | - Nanna Albæk
- Therapeutic Modalities, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen, 2970 Hørsholm, Denmark
| | - Sanna L Diemer
- Therapeutic Modalities, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen, 2970 Hørsholm, Denmark
| | - Dennis J Hansen
- Therapeutic Modalities, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen, 2970 Hørsholm, Denmark
| | - Marianne R Møller
- Therapeutic Modalities, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen, 2970 Hørsholm, Denmark
| | - Natalia Papargyri
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Helle Christiansen
- Therapeutic Modalities, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen, 2970 Hørsholm, Denmark
| | - Bo R Hansen
- Therapeutic Modalities, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen, 2970 Hørsholm, Denmark
| | - Henrik F Hansen
- Therapeutic Modalities, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen, 2970 Hørsholm, Denmark
| | - Mads A Jensen
- Therapeutic Modalities, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen, 2970 Hørsholm, Denmark
| | - Troels Koch
- Therapeutic Modalities, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen, 2970 Hørsholm, Denmark.
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Hirst J, Im W, Shea JE. Simulating Biomolecules: Festschrift to commemorate the 60th birthday of Charles L. Brooks III. J Comput Chem 2017; 38:1111-1113. [DOI: 10.1002/jcc.24790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Hirst
- School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham; Nottingham NG7 2RD United Kingdom
| | - Wonpil Im
- Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering Program; Lehigh University; Pennsylvania
| | - Joan-Emma Shea
- Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Physics; University of California; Santa Barbara California
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9
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Xu Y, Villa A, Nilsson L. The free energy of locking a ring: Changing a deoxyribonucleoside to a locked nucleic acid. J Comput Chem 2017; 38:1147-1157. [PMID: 28101966 PMCID: PMC5434909 DOI: 10.1002/jcc.24692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2016] [Revised: 11/01/2016] [Accepted: 11/08/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Locked nucleic acid (LNA), a modified nucleoside which contains a bridging group across the ribose ring, improves the stability of DNA/RNA duplexes significantly, and therefore is of interest in biotechnology and gene therapy applications. In this study, we investigate the free energy change between LNA and DNA nucleosides. The transformation requires the breaking of the bridging group across the ribose ring, a problematic transformation in free energy calculations. To address this, we have developed a 3-step (easy to implement) and a 1-step protocol (more efficient, but more complicated to setup), for single and dual topologies in classical molecular dynamics simulations, using the Bennett Acceptance Ratio method to calculate the free energy. We validate the approach on the solvation free energy difference for the nucleosides thymidine, cytosine, and 5-methyl-cytosine. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Computational Chemistry Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- You Xu
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, SE-141 83, Sweden
| | - Alessandra Villa
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, SE-141 83, Sweden
| | - Lennart Nilsson
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, SE-141 83, Sweden
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