1
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Liang F, Sun M, Xie L, Zhao X, Liu D, Zhao K, Zhang G. Recent advances and challenges in protein complex model accuracy estimation. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2024; 23:1824-1832. [PMID: 38707538 PMCID: PMC11066466 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2024.04.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2024] [Revised: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Estimation of model accuracy plays a crucial role in protein structure prediction, aiming to evaluate the quality of predicted protein structure models accurately and objectively. This process is not only key to screening candidate models that are close to the real structure, but also provides guidance for further optimization of protein structures. With the significant advancements made by AlphaFold2 in monomer structure, the problem of single-domain protein structure prediction has been widely solved. Correspondingly, the importance of assessing the quality of single-domain protein models decreased, and the research focus has shifted to estimation of model accuracy of protein complexes. In this review, our goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of the reference and statistical metrics, as well as representative methods, and the current challenges within four distinct facets (Topology Global Score, Interface Total Score, Interface Residue-Wise Score, and Tertiary Residue-Wise Score) in the field of complex EMA.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Lei Xie
- College of Information Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China
| | - Xuanfeng Zhao
- College of Information Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China
| | - Dong Liu
- College of Information Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China
| | - Kailong Zhao
- College of Information Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China
| | - Guijun Zhang
- College of Information Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China
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2
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Tripp A, Braun M, Wieser F, Oberdorfer G, Lechner H. Click, Compute, Create: A Review of Web-based Tools for Enzyme Engineering. Chembiochem 2024; 25:e202400092. [PMID: 38634409 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202400092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 04/14/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Enzyme engineering, though pivotal across various biotechnological domains, is often plagued by its time-consuming and labor-intensive nature. This review aims to offer an overview of supportive in silico methodologies for this demanding endeavor. Starting from methods to predict protein structures, to classification of their activity and even the discovery of new enzymes we continue with describing tools used to increase thermostability and production yields of selected targets. Subsequently, we discuss computational methods to modulate both, the activity as well as selectivity of enzymes. Last, we present recent approaches based on cutting-edge machine learning methods to redesign enzymes. With exception of the last chapter, there is a strong focus on methods easily accessible via web-interfaces or simple Python-scripts, therefore readily useable for a diverse and broad community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian Tripp
- Institute of Biochemistry, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12/2, 8010, Graz, Austria
| | - Markus Braun
- Institute of Biochemistry, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12/2, 8010, Graz, Austria
| | - Florian Wieser
- Institute of Biochemistry, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12/2, 8010, Graz, Austria
| | - Gustav Oberdorfer
- Institute of Biochemistry, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12/2, 8010, Graz, Austria
- BioTechMed, Graz, Austria
| | - Horst Lechner
- Institute of Biochemistry, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12/2, 8010, Graz, Austria
- BioTechMed, Graz, Austria
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3
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Durant G, Boyles F, Birchall K, Deane CM. The future of machine learning for small-molecule drug discovery will be driven by data. NATURE COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE 2024; 4:735-743. [PMID: 39407003 DOI: 10.1038/s43588-024-00699-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 09/03/2024] [Indexed: 10/25/2024]
Abstract
Many studies have prophesied that the integration of machine learning techniques into small-molecule therapeutics development will help to deliver a true leap forward in drug discovery. However, increasingly advanced algorithms and novel architectures have not always yielded substantial improvements in results. In this Perspective, we propose that a greater focus on the data for training and benchmarking these models is more likely to drive future improvement, and explore avenues for future research and strategies to address these data challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guy Durant
- Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Fergus Boyles
- Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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4
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Rosignoli S, Pacelli M, Manganiello F, Paiardini A. An outlook on structural biology after AlphaFold: tools, limits and perspectives. FEBS Open Bio 2024. [PMID: 39313455 DOI: 10.1002/2211-5463.13902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2024] [Revised: 08/19/2024] [Accepted: 09/13/2024] [Indexed: 09/25/2024] Open
Abstract
AlphaFold and similar groundbreaking, AI-based tools, have revolutionized the field of structural bioinformatics, with their remarkable accuracy in ab-initio protein structure prediction. This success has catalyzed the development of new software and pipelines aimed at incorporating AlphaFold's predictions, often focusing on addressing the algorithm's remaining challenges. Here, we present the current landscape of structural bioinformatics shaped by AlphaFold, and discuss how the field is dynamically responding to this revolution, with new software, methods, and pipelines. While the excitement around AI-based tools led to their widespread application, it is essential to acknowledge that their practical success hinges on their integration into established protocols within structural bioinformatics, often neglected in the context of AI-driven advancements. Indeed, user-driven intervention is still as pivotal in the structure prediction process as in complementing state-of-the-art algorithms with functional and biological knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serena Rosignoli
- Department of Biochemical sciences "A. Rossi Fanelli", Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy
| | - Maddalena Pacelli
- Department of Biochemical sciences "A. Rossi Fanelli", Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy
| | - Francesca Manganiello
- Department of Biochemical sciences "A. Rossi Fanelli", Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy
| | - Alessandro Paiardini
- Department of Biochemical sciences "A. Rossi Fanelli", Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy
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5
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Riccabona JR, Spoendlin FC, Fischer ALM, Loeffler JR, Quoika PK, Jenkins TP, Ferguson JA, Smorodina E, Laustsen AH, Greiff V, Forli S, Ward AB, Deane CM, Fernández-Quintero ML. Assessing AF2's ability to predict structural ensembles of proteins. Structure 2024:S0969-2126(24)00370-8. [PMID: 39332396 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2024.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2024] [Revised: 08/07/2024] [Accepted: 09/02/2024] [Indexed: 09/29/2024]
Abstract
Recent breakthroughs in protein structure prediction have enhanced the precision and speed at which protein configurations can be determined. Additionally, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations serve as a crucial tool for capturing the conformational space of proteins, providing valuable insights into their structural fluctuations. However, the scope of MD simulations is often limited by the accessible timescales and the computational resources available, posing challenges to comprehensively exploring protein behaviors. Recently emerging approaches have focused on expanding the capability of AlphaFold2 (AF2) to predict conformational substates of protein. Here, we benchmark the performance of various workflows that have adapted AF2 for ensemble prediction and compare the obtained structures with ensembles obtained from MD simulations and NMR. We provide an overview of the levels of performance and accessible timescales that can currently be achieved with machine learning (ML) based ensemble generation. Significant minima of the free energy surfaces remain undetected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob R Riccabona
- Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck, Department of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Fabian C Spoendlin
- Oxford Protein Informatics Group, Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3LB, UK
| | - Anna-Lena M Fischer
- Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck, Department of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Johannes R Loeffler
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Patrick K Quoika
- Center for Functional Protein Assemblies, Technical University of Munich, Ernst-Otto-Fischer-Str. 8, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Timothy P Jenkins
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - James A Ferguson
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Eva Smorodina
- Department of Immunology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Andreas H Laustsen
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Victor Greiff
- Department of Immunology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Stefano Forli
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Andrew B Ward
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
| | - Charlotte M Deane
- Oxford Protein Informatics Group, Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3LB, UK.
| | - Monica L Fernández-Quintero
- Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck, Department of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria; Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
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6
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Hu G, Moon J, Hayashi T. Protein Classes Predicted by Molecular Surface Chemical Features: Machine Learning-Assisted Classification of Cytosol and Secreted Proteins. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:8423-8436. [PMID: 39185763 PMCID: PMC11382266 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c02461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/27/2024]
Abstract
Chemical structures of protein surfaces govern intermolecular interaction, and protein functions include specific molecular recognition, transport, self-assembly, etc. Therefore, the relationship between the chemical structure and protein functions provides insights into the understanding of the mechanism underlying protein functions and developments of new biomaterials. In this study, we analyze protein surface features, including surface amino acid populations and secondary structure ratios, instead of entire sequences as input for the classifier, intending to provide deeper insights into the determination of protein classes (cytosol or secreted). We employed a random forest-based classifier for the prediction of protein locations. Our training and testing data sets consisting of secreted and cytosol proteins were constructed using filtered information from UniProt and 3D structures from AlphaFold. The classifier achieved a testing accuracy of 93.9% with a feature importance ranking and quantitative boundary values for the top three features. We discuss the significance of these features quantitatively and the hidden rules to determine the protein classes (cytosol or secreted).
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Affiliation(s)
- Guanghao Hu
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Materials Science and Chemical Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken 226-8502, Japan
| | - Jooa Moon
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Materials Science and Chemical Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken 226-8502, Japan
| | - Tomohiro Hayashi
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Materials Science and Chemical Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken 226-8502, Japan
- The Institute for Solid State Physics, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-0882, Japan
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7
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Fakhoury Z, Sosso GC, Habershon S. Contact-Map-Driven Exploration of Heterogeneous Protein-Folding Paths. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20. [PMID: 39228261 PMCID: PMC11428170 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2024] [Revised: 08/19/2024] [Accepted: 08/22/2024] [Indexed: 09/05/2024]
Abstract
We have recently shown how physically realizable protein-folding pathways can be generated using directed walks in the space of inter-residue contact-maps; combined with a back-transformation to move from protein contact-maps to Cartesian coordinates, we have demonstrated how this approach can generate protein-folding trajectory ensembles without recourse to molecular dynamics. In this article, we demonstrate that this framework can be used to study a challenging protein-folding problem that is known to exhibit two different folding paths which were previously identified through molecular dynamics simulation at several different temperatures. From the viewpoint of protein-folding mechanism prediction, this particular problem is extremely challenging to address, specifically involving folding to an identical nontrivial compact native structure along distinct pathways defined by heterogeneous secondary structural elements. Here, we show how our previously reported contact-map-based protein-folding strategy can be significantly enhanced to enable accurate and robust prediction of heterogeneous folding paths by (i) introducing a novel topologically informed metric for comparing two protein contact maps, (ii) reformulating our graph-represented folding path generation, and (iii) introducing a new and more reliable structural back-mapping algorithm. These changes improve the reliability of generating structurally sound folding intermediates and dramatically decrease the number of physically irrelevant folding intermediates generated by our previous simulation strategy. Most importantly, we demonstrate how our enhanced folding algorithm can successfully identify the alternative folding mechanisms of a multifolding-pathway protein, in line with direct molecular dynamics simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziad Fakhoury
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, U.K.
| | - Gabriele C. Sosso
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, U.K.
| | - Scott Habershon
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, U.K.
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8
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Lima CR, Antunes D, Caffarena E, Carels N. Structural Characterization of Heat Shock Protein 90β and Molecular Interactions with Geldanamycin and Ritonavir: A Computational Study. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:8782. [PMID: 39201468 PMCID: PMC11354266 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25168782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2024] [Revised: 08/07/2024] [Accepted: 08/09/2024] [Indexed: 09/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Drug repositioning is an important therapeutic strategy for treating breast cancer. Hsp90β chaperone is an attractive target for inhibiting cell progression. Its structure has a disordered and flexible linker region between the N-terminal and central domains. Geldanamycin was the first Hsp90β inhibitor to interact specifically at the N-terminal site. Owing to the toxicity of geldanamycin, we investigated the repositioning of ritonavir as an Hsp90β inhibitor, taking advantage of its proven efficacy against cancer. In this study, we used molecular modeling techniques to analyze the contribution of the Hsp90β linker region to the flexibility and interaction between the ligands geldanamycin, ritonavir, and Hsp90β. Our findings indicate that the linker region is responsible for the fluctuation and overall protein motion without disturbing the interaction between the inhibitors and the N-terminus. We also found that ritonavir established similar interactions with the substrate ATP triphosphate, filling the same pharmacophore zone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlyle Ribeiro Lima
- Laboratory of Biological System Modeling, Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Saúde (CDTS), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 21040-900, Brazil
| | - Deborah Antunes
- Laboratório de Genômica Aplicada e Bioinovações, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 21040-900, Brazil;
| | - Ernesto Caffarena
- Grupo de Biofísica Computacional e Modelagem Molecular, Programa de Computação Científica (PROCC), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 21040-900, Brazil;
| | - Nicolas Carels
- Laboratory of Biological System Modeling, Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Saúde (CDTS), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 21040-900, Brazil
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9
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Noda T, Takeichi T, Tanahashi K, Muro Y, Akiyama M. A case of pachyonychia congenita with a hotspot variant at Arg127 in KRT16: Disease severity assessment using AlphaMissense technology. J Dermatol 2024; 51:1134-1136. [PMID: 38963306 DOI: 10.1111/1346-8138.17367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2024] [Revised: 05/29/2024] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuhiro Noda
- Department of Dermatology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
| | - Takuya Takeichi
- Department of Dermatology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
- Nagoya University Institute for Advanced Research, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Kana Tanahashi
- Department of Dermatology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
| | - Yoshinao Muro
- Department of Dermatology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
| | - Masashi Akiyama
- Department of Dermatology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
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10
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Tucci F, Laurinavicius A, Kather JN, Eloy C. The digital revolution in pathology: Towards a smarter approach to research and treatment. TUMORI JOURNAL 2024; 110:241-251. [PMID: 38606831 DOI: 10.1177/03008916241231035] [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: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) applications in oncology are at the forefront of transforming healthcare during the Fourth Industrial Revolution, driven by the digital data explosion. This review provides an accessible introduction to the field of AI, presenting a concise yet structured overview of the foundations of AI, including expert systems, classical machine learning, and deep learning, along with their contextual application in clinical research and healthcare. We delve into the current applications of AI in oncology, with a particular focus on diagnostic imaging and pathology. Numerous AI tools have already received regulatory approval, and more are under active development, bringing clear benefits but not without challenges. We discuss the importance of data security, the need for transparent and interpretable models, and the ethical considerations that must guide AI development in healthcare. By providing a perspective on the opportunities and challenges, this review aims to inform and guide researchers, clinicians, and policymakers in the adoption of AI in oncology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Tucci
- School of Pathology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
- European Institute of Oncology (IEO) IRCCS, Milan, Italy
| | - Arvydas Laurinavicius
- Department of Pathology, Forensic Medicine and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
- National Centre of Pathology, Affiliate of Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Clinics, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Jakob Nikolas Kather
- Else Kroener Fresenius Center for Digital Health, Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Catarina Eloy
- Ipatimup - Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Medical Faculty, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
- i3S-Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Porto, Portugal
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11
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Chen L, Mondal A, Perez A, Miranda-Quintana RA. Protein Retrieval via Integrative Molecular Ensembles (PRIME) through Extended Similarity Indices. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:6303-6315. [PMID: 38978294 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are ideally suited to describe conformational ensembles of biomolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. Microsecond-long simulations are now routine, facilitated by the emergence of graphical processing units. Clustering, which groups objects based on structural similarity, is typically used to process ensembles, leading to different states, their populations, and the identification of representative structures. A popular pipeline combines hierarchical clustering for clustering and selecting the cluster centroid as representative of the cluster. Here, we propose to improve on this approach, by developing a module-Protein Retrieval via Integrative Molecular Ensembles (PRIME), that consists of tools to improve the prediction of the representative in the most populated cluster using extended continuous similarity. PRIME is integrated with our Molecular Dynamics Analysis with N-ary Clustering Ensembles (MDANCE) package and can be used as a postprocessing tool for arbitrary clustering algorithms, compatible with several MD suites. PRIME predictions produced structures that when aligned to the experimental structure were better superposed (lower RMSD). A further benefit of PRIME is its linear scaling─rather than the traditional O(N2) traditionally associated with comparisons of elements in a set.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lexin Chen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
- Quantum Theory Project, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
| | - Arup Mondal
- Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
- Quantum Theory Project, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
| | - Alberto Perez
- Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
- Quantum Theory Project, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
| | - Ramón Alain Miranda-Quintana
- Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
- Quantum Theory Project, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
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12
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Launay R, Chobert SC, Abby SS, Pierrel F, André I, Esque J. Structural Reconstruction of E. coli Ubi Metabolon Using an AlphaFold2-Based Computational Framework. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:5175-5193. [PMID: 38710096 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.4c00304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
Ubiquinone (UQ) is a redox polyisoprenoid lipid found in the membranes of bacteria and eukaryotes that has important roles, notably one in respiratory metabolism, which sustains cellular bioenergetics. In Escherichia coli, several steps of the UQ biosynthesis take place in the cytosol. To perform these reactions, a supramolecular assembly called Ubi metabolon is involved. This latter is composed of seven proteins (UbiE, UbiG, UbiF, UbiH, UbiI, UbiJ, and UbiK), and its structural organization is unknown as well as its protein stoichiometry. In this study, a computational framework has been designed to predict the structure of this macromolecular assembly. In several successive steps, we explored the possible protein interactions as well as the protein stoichiometry, to finally obtain a structural organization of the complex. The use of AlphaFold2-based methods combined with evolutionary information enabled us to predict several models whose quality and confidence were further analyzed using different metrics and scores. Our work led to the identification of a "core assembly" that will guide functional and structural characterization of the Ubi metabolon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romain Launay
- Toulouse Biotechnology Institute, TBI, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRAE, INSA, 31077 Toulouse, France
| | - Sophie-Carole Chobert
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, UMR 5525, VetAgro Sup, Grenoble INP, TIMC, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Sophie S Abby
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, UMR 5525, VetAgro Sup, Grenoble INP, TIMC, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Fabien Pierrel
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, UMR 5525, VetAgro Sup, Grenoble INP, TIMC, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Isabelle André
- Toulouse Biotechnology Institute, TBI, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRAE, INSA, 31077 Toulouse, France
| | - Jérémy Esque
- Toulouse Biotechnology Institute, TBI, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRAE, INSA, 31077 Toulouse, France
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13
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Reis PBPS, Clevert DA, Machuqueiro M. PypKa server: online pKa predictions and biomolecular structure preparation with precomputed data from PDB and AlphaFold DB. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:W294-W298. [PMID: 38619040 PMCID: PMC11223823 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2024] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024] Open
Abstract
When preparing biomolecular structures for molecular dynamics simulations, pKa calculations are required to provide at least a representative protonation state at a given pH value. Neglecting this step and adopting the reference protonation states of the amino acid residues in water, often leads to wrong electrostatics and nonphysical simulations. Fortunately, several methods have been developed to prepare structures considering the protonation preference of residues in their specific environments (pKa values), and some are even available for online usage. In this work, we present the PypKa server, which allows users to run physics-based, as well as ML-accelerated methods suitable for larger systems, to obtain pKa values, isoelectric points, titration curves, and structures with representative pH-dependent protonation states compatible with commonly used force fields (AMBER, CHARMM, GROMOS). The user may upload a custom structure or submit an identifier code from PBD or UniProtKB. The results for over 200k structures taken from the Protein Data Bank and the AlphaFold DB have been precomputed, and their data can be retrieved without extra calculations. All this information can also be obtained from an application programming interface (API) facilitating its usage and integration into existing pipelines as well as other web services. The web server is available at pypka.org.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro B P S Reis
- BioISI – Instituto de Biossistemas e Ciências Integrativas, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
- Machine Learning Research, Bayer AG, Müllerstraße 178, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Djork-Arné Clevert
- Machine Learning Research, Bayer AG, Müllerstraße 178, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Machine Learning Research, Pfizer, Berlin, Germany
| | - Miguel Machuqueiro
- BioISI – Instituto de Biossistemas e Ciências Integrativas, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
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14
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Saharkhiz S, Mostafavi M, Birashk A, Karimian S, Khalilollah S, Jaferian S, Yazdani Y, Alipourfard I, Huh YS, Farani MR, Akhavan-Sigari R. The State-of-the-Art Overview to Application of Deep Learning in Accurate Protein Design and Structure Prediction. Top Curr Chem (Cham) 2024; 382:23. [PMID: 38965117 PMCID: PMC11224075 DOI: 10.1007/s41061-024-00469-6] [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] [Received: 02/04/2024] [Accepted: 06/09/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
In recent years, there has been a notable increase in the scientific community's interest in rational protein design. The prospect of designing an amino acid sequence that can reliably fold into a desired three-dimensional structure and exhibit the intended function is captivating. However, a major challenge in this endeavor lies in accurately predicting the resulting protein structure. The exponential growth of protein databases has fueled the advancement of the field, while newly developed algorithms have pushed the boundaries of what was previously achievable in structure prediction. In particular, using deep learning methods instead of brute force approaches has emerged as a faster and more accurate strategy. These deep-learning techniques leverage the vast amount of data available in protein databases to extract meaningful patterns and predict protein structures with improved precision. In this article, we explore the recent developments in the field of protein structure prediction. We delve into the newly developed methods that leverage deep learning approaches, highlighting their significance and potential for advancing our understanding of protein design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saber Saharkhiz
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Mehrnaz Mostafavi
- Faculty of Allied Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Amin Birashk
- Department of Computer Science, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Shiva Karimian
- Electrical and Computer Research Center, Sanandaj Azad University, Sanandaj, Iran
| | - Shayan Khalilollah
- Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sohrab Jaferian
- Goergen Institute for Data Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Yalda Yazdani
- Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
| | - Iraj Alipourfard
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Marcina Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224, Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Yun Suk Huh
- Department of Biological Engineering, Inha University, Incheon, Republic of Korea
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15
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Sawada R, Sakajiri Y, Shibata T, Yamanishi Y. Predicting therapeutic and side effects from drug binding affinities to human proteome structures. iScience 2024; 27:110032. [PMID: 38868195 PMCID: PMC11167438 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2023] [Revised: 04/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Evaluation of the binding affinities of drugs to proteins is a crucial process for identifying drug pharmacological actions, but it requires three dimensional structures of proteins. Herein, we propose novel computational methods to predict the therapeutic indications and side effects of drug candidate compounds from the binding affinities to human protein structures on a proteome-wide scale. Large-scale docking simulations were performed for 7,582 drugs with 19,135 protein structures revealed by AlphaFold (including experimentally unresolved proteins), and machine learning models on the proteome-wide binding affinity score (PBAS) profiles were constructed. We demonstrated the usefulness of the method for predicting the therapeutic indications for 559 diseases and side effects for 285 toxicities. The method enabled to predict drug indications for which the related protein structures had not been experimentally determined and to successfully extract proteins eliciting the side effects. The proposed method will be useful in various applications in drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryusuke Sawada
- Department of Bioscience and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Iizuka, Japan
- Department of Pharmacology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan
| | - Yuko Sakajiri
- Department of Bioscience and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Iizuka, Japan
- Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Tomokazu Shibata
- Department of Bioscience and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Iizuka, Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Yamanishi
- Department of Bioscience and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Iizuka, Japan
- Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya, Japan
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16
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Shankar SS, Banarjee R, Jathar SM, Rajesh S, Ramasamy S, Kulkarni MJ. De novo structure prediction of meteorin and meteorin-like protein for identification of domains, functional receptor binding regions, and their high-risk missense variants. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024; 42:4522-4536. [PMID: 37288801 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2220804] [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] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Meteorin (Metrn) and Meteorin-like (Metrnl) are homologous secreted proteins involved in neural development and metabolic regulation. In this study, we have performed de novo structure prediction and analysis of both Metrn and Metrnl using Alphafold2 (AF2) and RoseTTAfold (RF). Based on the domain and structural homology analysis of the predicted structures, we have identified that these proteins are composed of two functional domains, a CUB domain and an NTR domain, connected by a hinge/loop region. We have identified the receptor binding regions of Metrn and Metrnl using the machine-learning tools ScanNet and Masif. These were further validated by docking Metrnl with its reported KIT receptor, thus establishing the role of each domain in the receptor interaction. Also, we have studied the effect of non-synonymous SNPs on the structure and function of these proteins using an array of bioinformatics tools and selected 16 missense variants in Metrn and 10 in Metrnl that can affect the protein stability. This is the first study to comprehensively characterize the functional domains of Metrn and Metrnl at their structural level and identify the functional domains, and protein binding regions. This study also highlights the interaction mechanism of the KIT receptor and Metrnl. The predicted deleterious SNPs will allow further understanding of the role of these variants in modulating the plasma levels of these proteins in disease conditions such as diabetes.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Shiva Shankar
- Proteomics Facility, Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
| | - Reema Banarjee
- Proteomics Facility, Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India
| | - Swaraj M Jathar
- Proteomics Facility, Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
| | - S Rajesh
- Proteomics Facility, Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India
| | - Sureshkumar Ramasamy
- Proteomics Facility, Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India
| | - Mahesh J Kulkarni
- Proteomics Facility, Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
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17
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Dahlström KM, Salminen TA. Apprehensions and emerging solutions in ML-based protein structure prediction. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2024; 86:102819. [PMID: 38631107 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2024.102819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/31/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
The three-dimensional structure of proteins determines their function in vital biological processes. Thus, when the structure is known, the molecular mechanism of protein function can be understood in more detail and obtained information utilized in biotechnological, diagnostics, and therapeutic applications. Over the past five years, machine learning (ML)-based modeling has pushed protein structure prediction to the next level with AlphaFold in the front line, predicting the structure for hundreds of millions of proteins. Further advances recently report promising ML-based approaches for solving remaining challenges by incorporating functionally important metals, co-factors, post-translational modifications, structural dynamics, and interdomain and multimer interactions in the structure prediction process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Käthe M Dahlström
- Structural Bioinformatics Laboratory, Biochemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, Tykistökatu 6A, 20520 Turku, Finland; InFLAMES Research Flagship Center, Åbo Akademi University, 20520 Turku, Finland
| | - Tiina A Salminen
- Structural Bioinformatics Laboratory, Biochemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, Tykistökatu 6A, 20520 Turku, Finland; InFLAMES Research Flagship Center, Åbo Akademi University, 20520 Turku, Finland.
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18
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Gren BA, Antczak M, Zok T, Sulkowska JI, Szachniuk M. Knotted artifacts in predicted 3D RNA structures. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1011959. [PMID: 38900780 PMCID: PMC11218946 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2024] [Revised: 07/02/2024] [Accepted: 06/01/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Unlike proteins, RNAs deposited in the Protein Data Bank do not contain topological knots. Recently, admittedly, the first trefoil knot and some lasso-type conformations have been found in experimental RNA structures, but these are still exceptional cases. Meanwhile, algorithms predicting 3D RNA models have happened to form knotted structures not so rarely. Interestingly, machine learning-based predictors seem to be more prone to generate knotted RNA folds than traditional methods. A similar situation is observed for the entanglements of structural elements. In this paper, we analyze all models submitted to the CASP15 competition in the 3D RNA structure prediction category. We show what types of topological knots and structure element entanglements appear in the submitted models and highlight what methods are behind the generation of such conformations. We also study the structural aspect of susceptibility to entanglement. We suggest that predictors take care of an evaluation of RNA models to avoid publishing structures with artifacts, such as unusual entanglements, that result from hallucinations of predictive algorithms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bartosz A. Gren
- Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Maciej Antczak
- Institute of Computing Science, Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland
- Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznan, Poland
| | - Tomasz Zok
- Institute of Computing Science, Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland
| | | | - Marta Szachniuk
- Institute of Computing Science, Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland
- Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznan, Poland
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19
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Boland DJ, Ayres NM. Cracking AlphaFold2: Leveraging the power of artificial intelligence in undergraduate biochemistry curriculums. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1012123. [PMID: 38935611 PMCID: PMC11210786 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/29/2024] Open
Abstract
AlphaFold2 is an Artificial Intelligence-based program developed to predict the 3D structure of proteins given only their amino acid sequence at atomic resolution. Due to the accuracy and efficiency at which AlphaFold2 can generate 3D structure predictions and its widespread adoption into various aspects of biochemical research, the technique of protein structure prediction should be considered for incorporation into the undergraduate biochemistry curriculum. A module for introducing AlphaFold2 into a senior-level biochemistry laboratory classroom was developed. The module's focus was to have students predict the structures of proteins from the MPOX 22 global outbreak virus isolate genome, which had no structures elucidated at that time. The goal of this study was to both determine the impact the module had on students and to develop a framework for introducing AlphaFold2 into the undergraduate curriculum so that instructors for biochemistry courses, regardless of their background in bioinformatics, could adapt the module into their classrooms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devon J. Boland
- Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - Nicola M. Ayres
- Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
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20
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Ghosh D, Biswas A, Radhakrishna M. Advanced computational approaches to understand protein aggregation. BIOPHYSICS REVIEWS 2024; 5:021302. [PMID: 38681860 PMCID: PMC11045254 DOI: 10.1063/5.0180691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
Protein aggregation is a widespread phenomenon implicated in debilitating diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and cataracts, presenting complex hurdles for the field of molecular biology. In this review, we explore the evolving realm of computational methods and bioinformatics tools that have revolutionized our comprehension of protein aggregation. Beginning with a discussion of the multifaceted challenges associated with understanding this process and emphasizing the critical need for precise predictive tools, we highlight how computational techniques have become indispensable for understanding protein aggregation. We focus on molecular simulations, notably molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, spanning from atomistic to coarse-grained levels, which have emerged as pivotal tools in unraveling the complex dynamics governing protein aggregation in diseases such as cataracts, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's. MD simulations provide microscopic insights into protein interactions and the subtleties of aggregation pathways, with advanced techniques like replica exchange molecular dynamics, Metadynamics (MetaD), and umbrella sampling enhancing our understanding by probing intricate energy landscapes and transition states. We delve into specific applications of MD simulations, elucidating the chaperone mechanism underlying cataract formation using Markov state modeling and the intricate pathways and interactions driving the toxic aggregate formation in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Transitioning we highlight how computational techniques, including bioinformatics, sequence analysis, structural data, machine learning algorithms, and artificial intelligence have become indispensable for predicting protein aggregation propensity and locating aggregation-prone regions within protein sequences. Throughout our exploration, we underscore the symbiotic relationship between computational approaches and empirical data, which has paved the way for potential therapeutic strategies against protein aggregation-related diseases. In conclusion, this review offers a comprehensive overview of advanced computational methodologies and bioinformatics tools that have catalyzed breakthroughs in unraveling the molecular basis of protein aggregation, with significant implications for clinical interventions, standing at the intersection of computational biology and experimental research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepshikha Ghosh
- Department of Biological Sciences and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar, Palaj, Gujarat 382355, India
| | - Anushka Biswas
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar, Palaj, Gujarat 382355, India
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21
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Schmidt B, Hildebrandt A. From GPUs to AI and quantum: three waves of acceleration in bioinformatics. Drug Discov Today 2024; 29:103990. [PMID: 38663581 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2024.103990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
The enormous growth in the amount of data generated by the life sciences is continuously shifting the field from model-driven science towards data-driven science. The need for efficient processing has led to the adoption of massively parallel accelerators such as graphics processing units (GPUs). Consequently, the development of bioinformatics methods nowadays often heavily depends on the effective use of these powerful technologies. Furthermore, progress in computational techniques and architectures continues to be highly dynamic, involving novel deep neural network models and artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators, and potentially quantum processing units in the future. These are expected to be disruptive for the life sciences as a whole and for drug discovery in particular. Here, we identify three waves of acceleration and their applications in a bioinformatics context: (i) GPU computing, (ii) AI and (iii) next-generation quantum computers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bertil Schmidt
- Institut für Informatik, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.
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22
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Guo HB, Huntington B, Perminov A, Smith K, Hastings N, Dennis P, Kelley-Loughnane N, Berry R. AlphaFold2 modeling and molecular dynamics simulations of an intrinsically disordered protein. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301866. [PMID: 38739602 PMCID: PMC11090348 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
We use AlphaFold2 (AF2) to model the monomer and dimer structures of an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP), Nvjp-1, assisted by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We observe relatively rigid dimeric structures of Nvjp-1 when compared with the monomer structures. We suggest that protein conformations from multiple AF2 models and those from MD trajectories exhibit a coherent trend: the conformations of an IDP are deviated from each other and the conformations of a well-folded protein are consistent with each other. We use a residue-residue interaction network (RIN) derived from the contact map which show that the residue-residue interactions in Nvjp-1 are mainly transient; however, those in a well-folded protein are mainly persistent. Despite the variation in 3D shapes, we show that the AF2 models of both disordered and ordered proteins exhibit highly consistent profiles of the pLDDT (predicted local distance difference test) scores. These results indicate a potential protocol to justify the IDPs based on multiple AF2 models and MD simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao-Bo Guo
- Material and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, WPAFB, Mason, OH, United States of America
- UES Inc., Dayton, OH, United States of America
| | - Baxter Huntington
- Material and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, WPAFB, Mason, OH, United States of America
- Miami University, Oxford, OH, United States of America
| | - Alexander Perminov
- Material and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, WPAFB, Mason, OH, United States of America
- Miami University, Oxford, OH, United States of America
| | - Kenya Smith
- United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, United States of America
| | - Nicholas Hastings
- United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, United States of America
| | - Patrick Dennis
- Material and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, WPAFB, Mason, OH, United States of America
| | - Nancy Kelley-Loughnane
- Material and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, WPAFB, Mason, OH, United States of America
| | - Rajiv Berry
- Material and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, WPAFB, Mason, OH, United States of America
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23
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Walter LJ, Quoika PK, Zacharias M. Structure-Based Protein Assembly Simulations Including Various Binding Sites and Conformations. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:3465-3476. [PMID: 38602938 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.4c00212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
Many biological functions are mediated by large complexes formed by multiple proteins and other cellular macromolecules. Recent progress in experimental structure determination, as well as in integrative modeling and protein structure prediction using deep learning approaches, has resulted in a rapid increase in the number of solved multiprotein assemblies. However, the assembly process of large complexes from their components is much less well-studied. We introduce a rapid computational structure-based (SB) model, GoCa, that allows to follow the assembly process of large multiprotein complexes based on a known native structure. Beyond existing SB Go̅-type models, it distinguishes between intra- and intersubunit interactions, allowing us to include coupled folding and binding. It accounts automatically for the permutation of identical subunits in a complex and allows the definition of multiple minima (native) structures in the case of proteins that undergo global transitions during assembly. The model is successfully tested on several multiprotein complexes. The source code of the GoCa program including a tutorial is publicly available on Github: https://github.com/ZachariasLab/GoCa. We also provide a web source that allows users to quickly generate the necessary input files for a GoCa simulation: https://goca.t38webservices.nat.tum.de.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis J Walter
- Center for Functional Protein Assemblies, Technical University of Munich, Ernst-Otto-Fischer-Str. 8, Garching 85748, Germany
| | - Patrick K Quoika
- Center for Functional Protein Assemblies, Technical University of Munich, Ernst-Otto-Fischer-Str. 8, Garching 85748, Germany
| | - Martin Zacharias
- Center for Functional Protein Assemblies, Technical University of Munich, Ernst-Otto-Fischer-Str. 8, Garching 85748, Germany
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24
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Abe F, Nakano A, Hirata I, Tanimoto K, Kato K. Structure and function of engineered stromal cell-derived factor-1α. Dent Mater J 2024; 43:286-293. [PMID: 38417858 DOI: 10.4012/dmj.2023-247] [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: 03/01/2024]
Abstract
To design biologically active, collagen-based scaffolds for bone tissue engineering, we have synthesized chimeric proteins consisting of stromal cell-derived factor-1α (SDF) and the von Willebrand factor A3 collagen-binding domain (CBD). The chimeric proteins were used to evaluate the effect of domain linkage and its order on the structure and function of the SDF and CBD. The structure of the chimeric proteins was analyzed by circular dichroism spectroscopy, while functional analysis was performed by a cell migration assay for the SDF domain and a collagen-binding assay for the CBD domain. Furthermore, computational structural prediction was conducted for the chimeric proteins to examine the consistency with the results of structural and functional analyses. Our structural and functional analyses as well as structural prediction revealed that linking two domains can affect their functions. However, their order had minor effects on the three-dimensional structure of CBD and SDF in the chimeric proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fumika Abe
- Department of Biomaterials, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University
- Department of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Developmental Biology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University
| | - Ayana Nakano
- Department of Biomaterials, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University
- Department of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Developmental Biology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University
| | - Isao Hirata
- Department of Biomaterials, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University
| | - Kotaro Tanimoto
- Department of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Developmental Biology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University
| | - Koichi Kato
- Department of Biomaterials, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University
- Nanomedicine Research Division, Research Institute for Nanodevices, Hiroshima University
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25
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Li Z, Fan H, Ding W. Solving protein structures by combining structure prediction, molecular replacement and direct-methods-aided model completion. IUCRJ 2024; 11:152-167. [PMID: 38214490 PMCID: PMC10916285 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252523010291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
Highly accurate protein structure prediction can generate accurate models of protein and protein-protein complexes in X-ray crystallography. However, the question of how to make more effective use of predicted models for completing structure analysis, and which strategies should be employed for the more challenging cases such as multi-helical structures, multimeric structures and extremely large structures, both in the model preparation and in the completion steps, remains open for discussion. In this paper, a new strategy is proposed based on the framework of direct methods and dual-space iteration, which can greatly simplify the pre-processing steps of predicted models both in normal and in challenging cases. Following this strategy, full-length models or the conservative structural domains could be used directly as the starting model, and the phase error and the model bias between the starting model and the real structure would be modified in the direct-methods-based dual-space iteration. Many challenging cases (from CASP14) have been tested for the general applicability of this constructive strategy, and almost complete models have been generated with reasonable statistics. The hybrid strategy therefore provides a meaningful scheme for X-ray structure determination using a predicted model as the starting point.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zengru Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, People’s Republic of China
- School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of China
| | - Haifu Fan
- Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, People’s Republic of China
| | - Wei Ding
- Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, People’s Republic of China
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26
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Sánchez-Arroyo A, Plaza-Vinuesa L, Abeijón-Mukdsi MC, de Las Rivas B, Mancheño JM, Muñoz R. A new and promiscuous α/β hydrolase from Acinetobacter tandoii DSM 14970 T inactivates the mycotoxin ochratoxin A. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2024; 108:230. [PMID: 38393350 PMCID: PMC10891195 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-024-13073-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 02/11/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
The presence of ochratoxin A (OTA) in food and feed represents a serious concern since it raises severe health implications. Bacterial strains of the Acinetobacter genus hydrolyse the amide bond of OTA yielding non-toxic OTα and L-β-phenylalanine; in particular, the carboxypeptidase PJ15_1540 from Acinetobacter sp. neg1 has been identified as an OTA-degrading enzyme. Here, we describe the ability to transform OTA of cell-free protein extracts from Acinetobacter tandoii DSM 14970 T, a strain isolated from sludge plants, and also report on the finding of a new and promiscuous α/β hydrolase (ABH), with close homologs highly distributed within the Acinetobacter genus. ABH from A. tandoii (AtABH) exhibited amidase activity against OTA and OTB mycotoxins, as well as against several carboxypeptidase substrates. The predicted structure of AtABH reveals an α/β hydrolase core composed of a parallel, six-stranded β-sheet, with a large cap domain similar to the marine esterase EprEst. Further biochemical analyses of AtABH reveal that it is an efficient esterase with a similar specificity profile as EprEst. Molecular docking studies rendered a consistent OTA-binding mode. We proposed a potential procedure for preparing new OTA-degrading enzymes starting from promiscuous α/β hydrolases based on our results. KEY POINTS: • AtABH is a promiscuous αβ hydrolase with both esterase and amidohydrolase activities • AtABH hydrolyses the amide bond of ochratoxin A rendering nontoxic OTα • Promiscuous αβ hydrolases are a possible source of new OTA-degrading enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Sánchez-Arroyo
- Bacterial Biotechnology, Institute of Food Science, Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN), CSIC, José Antonio Novais 6, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Laura Plaza-Vinuesa
- Bacterial Biotechnology, Institute of Food Science, Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN), CSIC, José Antonio Novais 6, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Claudia Abeijón-Mukdsi
- Bacterial Biotechnology, Institute of Food Science, Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN), CSIC, José Antonio Novais 6, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Blanca de Las Rivas
- Bacterial Biotechnology, Institute of Food Science, Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN), CSIC, José Antonio Novais 6, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - José Miguel Mancheño
- Department of Crystallography and Structural Biology, Institute of Physical Chemistry Blas Cabrera, CSIC, Serrano 119, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Rosario Muñoz
- Bacterial Biotechnology, Institute of Food Science, Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN), CSIC, José Antonio Novais 6, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
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27
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Corum MR, Venkannagari H, Hryc CF, Baker ML. Predictive modeling and cryo-EM: A synergistic approach to modeling macromolecular structure. Biophys J 2024; 123:435-450. [PMID: 38268190 PMCID: PMC10912932 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2024.01.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 01/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Over the last 15 years, structural biology has seen unprecedented development and improvement in two areas: electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) and predictive modeling. Once relegated to low resolutions, single-particle cryo-EM is now capable of achieving near-atomic resolutions of a wide variety of macromolecular complexes. Ushered in by AlphaFold, machine learning has powered the current generation of predictive modeling tools, which can accurately and reliably predict models for proteins and some complexes directly from the sequence alone. Although they offer new opportunities individually, there is an inherent synergy between these techniques, allowing for the construction of large, complex macromolecular models. Here, we give a brief overview of these approaches in addition to illustrating works that combine these techniques for model building. These examples provide insight into model building, assessment, and limitations when integrating predictive modeling with cryo-EM density maps. Together, these approaches offer the potential to greatly accelerate the generation of macromolecular structural insights, particularly when coupled with experimental data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael R Corum
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas
| | - Harikanth Venkannagari
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas
| | - Corey F Hryc
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas
| | - Matthew L Baker
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas.
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28
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Kalogeropoulos K, Bohn MF, Jenkins DE, Ledergerber J, Sørensen CV, Hofmann N, Wade J, Fryer T, Thi Tuyet Nguyen G, Auf dem Keller U, Laustsen AH, Jenkins TP. A comparative study of protein structure prediction tools for challenging targets: Snake venom toxins. Toxicon 2024; 238:107559. [PMID: 38113945 DOI: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2023.107559] [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] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
Protein structure determination is a critical aspect of biological research, enabling us to understand protein function and potential applications. Recent advances in deep learning and artificial intelligence have led to the development of several protein structure prediction tools, such as AlphaFold2 and ColabFold. However, their performance has primarily been evaluated on well-characterised proteins and their ability to predict sturtctures of proteins lacking experimental structures, such as many snake venom toxins, has been less scrutinised. In this study, we evaluated three modelling tools on their prediction of over 1000 snake venom toxin structures for which no experimental structures exist. Our findings show that AlphaFold2 (AF2) performed the best across all assessed parameters. We also observed that ColabFold (CF) only scored slightly worse than AF2, while being computationally less intensive. All tools struggled with regions of intrinsic disorder, such as loops and propeptide regions, and performed well in predicting the structure of functional domains. Overall, our study highlights the importance of exercising caution when working with proteins with no experimental structures available, particularly those that are large and contain flexible regions. Nonetheless, leveraging computational structure prediction tools can provide valuable insights into the modelling of protein interactions with different targets and reveal potential binding sites, active sites, and conformational changes, as well as into the design of potential molecular binders for reagent, diagnostic, or therapeutic purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Markus-Frederik Bohn
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | | | - Jann Ledergerber
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark; Department of Chemistry and Applied Bioscience, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christoffer V Sørensen
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Nils Hofmann
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Jack Wade
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Thomas Fryer
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Giang Thi Tuyet Nguyen
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Ulrich Auf dem Keller
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Andreas H Laustsen
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Timothy P Jenkins
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
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29
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Liu Y, Yang M, Fan L, He Y, Dai E, Liu M, Jiang L, Yang Z, Li S. Frameshift variants in the C-terminal of CTNNB1 cause familial exudative vitreoretinopathy by AXIN1-mediated ubiquitin-proteasome degradation condensation. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 258:128570. [PMID: 38096938 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.128570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Revised: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/25/2023]
Abstract
The β-catenin has two intrinsically disordered regions in both C- and N-terminal domains that trigger the formation of phase-separated condensates. Variants in its C-terminus are associated with familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR), yet the pathogenesis and the role of these variants in inducing abnormal condensates, are unclear. In this study, we identified a novel heterozygous frameshift variant, c.2104-2105insCC (p.Gln703ProfsTer33), in CTNNB1 from a FEVR-affected family. This variant encodes an unstable truncated protein that was unable to activate Wnt signal transduction, which could be rescued by the inhibition of proteasome or phosphorylation. Further functional experiments revealed the propensity of the Gln703ProfsTer33 variant to form cytoplasmic condensates, exhibiting a lower turnover rate after fluorescent bleaching due to enhanced interaction with AXIN1. LiCl, which specifically blocks GSK3β-mediated phosphorylation, restored signal transduction, cell proliferation, and junctional integrity in primary human retinal microvascular endothelial cells over-expressed with Gln703ProfsTer33. Finally, experiments on two reported FEVR-associated mutations in the C-terminal domain of β-catenin exhibited several functional defects similar to the Gln703ProfsTer33. Together, our findings unravel that the C-terminal region of β-catenin is pivotal for the regulation of AXIN1/β-catenin interaction, acting as a switch to mediate nucleic and cytosolic condensates formation that is implicated in the pathogenesis of FEVR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yining Liu
- Central Laboratory, the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Mu Yang
- Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study, Center for Medical Genetics and Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Research Unit for Blindness Prevention, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2019RU026), Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Jinfeng Laboratory, Chongqing, China
| | - Lin Fan
- Center for Natural Products Research, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yunqi He
- Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study, Center for Medical Genetics and Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Research Unit for Blindness Prevention, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2019RU026), Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Erkuan Dai
- Department of Ophthalmology, Xin Hua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Min Liu
- Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study, Center for Medical Genetics and Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Research Unit for Blindness Prevention, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2019RU026), Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Lei Jiang
- Central Laboratory, the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
| | - Zhenglin Yang
- Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study, Center for Medical Genetics and Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Research Unit for Blindness Prevention, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2019RU026), Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Jinfeng Laboratory, Chongqing, China; Center for Natural Products Research, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Shujin Li
- Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study, Center for Medical Genetics and Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Research Unit for Blindness Prevention, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2019RU026), Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Jinfeng Laboratory, Chongqing, China.
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30
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Amaya-Rodriguez CA, Carvajal-Zamorano K, Bustos D, Alegría-Arcos M, Castillo K. A journey from molecule to physiology and in silico tools for drug discovery targeting the transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) channel. Front Pharmacol 2024; 14:1251061. [PMID: 38328578 PMCID: PMC10847257 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1251061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
The heat and capsaicin receptor TRPV1 channel is widely expressed in nerve terminals of dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) and trigeminal ganglia innervating the body and face, respectively, as well as in other tissues and organs including central nervous system. The TRPV1 channel is a versatile receptor that detects harmful heat, pain, and various internal and external ligands. Hence, it operates as a polymodal sensory channel. Many pathological conditions including neuroinflammation, cancer, psychiatric disorders, and pathological pain, are linked to the abnormal functioning of the TRPV1 in peripheral tissues. Intense biomedical research is underway to discover compounds that can modulate the channel and provide pain relief. The molecular mechanisms underlying temperature sensing remain largely unknown, although they are closely linked to pain transduction. Prolonged exposure to capsaicin generates analgesia, hence numerous capsaicin analogs have been developed to discover efficient analgesics for pain relief. The emergence of in silico tools offered significant techniques for molecular modeling and machine learning algorithms to indentify druggable sites in the channel and for repositioning of current drugs aimed at TRPV1. Here we recapitulate the physiological and pathophysiological functions of the TRPV1 channel, including structural models obtained through cryo-EM, pharmacological compounds tested on TRPV1, and the in silico tools for drug discovery and repositioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cesar A. Amaya-Rodriguez
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
- Departamento de Fisiología y Comportamiento Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Exactas y Tecnología, Universidad de Panamá, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá
| | - Karina Carvajal-Zamorano
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Daniel Bustos
- Centro de Investigación de Estudios Avanzados del Maule (CIEAM), Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Postgrado Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
- Laboratorio de Bioinformática y Química Computacional, Departamento de Medicina Traslacional, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
| | - Melissa Alegría-Arcos
- Núcleo de Investigación en Data Science, Facultad de Ingeniería y Negocios, Universidad de las Américas, Santiago, Chile
| | - Karen Castillo
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
- Centro de Investigación de Estudios Avanzados del Maule (CIEAM), Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Postgrado Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
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31
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Yan Z, Wang J. Evolution shapes interaction patterns for epistasis and specific protein binding in a two-component signaling system. Commun Chem 2024; 7:13. [PMID: 38233668 PMCID: PMC10794238 DOI: 10.1038/s42004-024-01098-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The elegant design of protein sequence/structure/function relationships arises from the interaction patterns between amino acid positions. A central question is how evolutionary forces shape the interaction patterns that encode long-range epistasis and binding specificity. Here, we combined family-wide evolutionary analysis of natural homologous sequences and structure-oriented evolution simulation for two-component signaling (TCS) system. The magnitude-frequency relationship of coupling conservation between positions manifests a power-law-like distribution and the positions with highly coupling conservation are sparse but distributed intensely on the binding surfaces and hydrophobic core. The structure-specific interaction pattern involves further optimization of local frustrations at or near the binding surface to adapt the binding partner. The construction of family-wide conserved interaction patterns and structure-specific ones demonstrates that binding specificity is modulated by both direct intermolecular interactions and long-range epistasis across the binding complex. Evolution sculpts the interaction patterns via sequence variations at both family-wide and structure-specific levels for TCS system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqiang Yan
- Center for Theoretical Interdisciplinary Sciences, Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325001, PR China
| | - Jin Wang
- Department of Chemistry and Physics, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, 11790, USA.
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32
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Chen J, Potlapalli R, Quan H, Chen L, Xie Y, Pouriyeh S, Sakib N, Liu L, Xie Y. Exploring DNA Damage and Repair Mechanisms: A Review with Computational Insights. BIOTECH 2024; 13:3. [PMID: 38247733 PMCID: PMC10801582 DOI: 10.3390/biotech13010003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2023] [Revised: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
DNA damage is a critical factor contributing to genetic alterations, directly affecting human health, including developing diseases such as cancer and age-related disorders. DNA repair mechanisms play a pivotal role in safeguarding genetic integrity and preventing the onset of these ailments. Over the past decade, substantial progress and pivotal discoveries have been achieved in DNA damage and repair. This comprehensive review paper consolidates research efforts, focusing on DNA repair mechanisms, computational research methods, and associated databases. Our work is a valuable resource for scientists and researchers engaged in computational DNA research, offering the latest insights into DNA-related proteins, diseases, and cutting-edge methodologies. The review addresses key questions, including the major types of DNA damage, common DNA repair mechanisms, the availability of reliable databases for DNA damage and associated diseases, and the predominant computational research methods for enzymes involved in DNA damage and repair.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiawei Chen
- College of Letter and Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA;
| | - Ravi Potlapalli
- College of Computing and Software Engineering, Kennesaw State University, Marietta, GA 30060, USA; (L.C.); (R.P.); (Y.X.); (S.P.); (N.S.)
| | - Heng Quan
- Department of Civil and Urban Engineering, New York University, New York, NY 11201, USA;
| | - Lingtao Chen
- College of Computing and Software Engineering, Kennesaw State University, Marietta, GA 30060, USA; (L.C.); (R.P.); (Y.X.); (S.P.); (N.S.)
| | - Ying Xie
- College of Computing and Software Engineering, Kennesaw State University, Marietta, GA 30060, USA; (L.C.); (R.P.); (Y.X.); (S.P.); (N.S.)
| | - Seyedamin Pouriyeh
- College of Computing and Software Engineering, Kennesaw State University, Marietta, GA 30060, USA; (L.C.); (R.P.); (Y.X.); (S.P.); (N.S.)
| | - Nazmus Sakib
- College of Computing and Software Engineering, Kennesaw State University, Marietta, GA 30060, USA; (L.C.); (R.P.); (Y.X.); (S.P.); (N.S.)
| | - Lichao Liu
- Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA;
| | - Yixin Xie
- College of Computing and Software Engineering, Kennesaw State University, Marietta, GA 30060, USA; (L.C.); (R.P.); (Y.X.); (S.P.); (N.S.)
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33
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Tam B, Qin Z, Zhao B, Sinha S, Lei CL, Wang SM. Classification of MLH1 Missense VUS Using Protein Structure-Based Deep Learning-Ramachandran Plot-Molecular Dynamics Simulations Method. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:850. [PMID: 38255924 PMCID: PMC10815254 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25020850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Pathogenic variation in DNA mismatch repair (MMR) gene MLH1 is associated with Lynch syndrome (LS), an autosomal dominant hereditary cancer. Of the 3798 MLH1 germline variants collected in the ClinVar database, 38.7% (1469) were missense variants, of which 81.6% (1199) were classified as Variants of Uncertain Significance (VUS) due to the lack of functional evidence. Further determination of the impact of VUS on MLH1 function is important for the VUS carriers to take preventive action. We recently developed a protein structure-based method named "Deep Learning-Ramachandran Plot-Molecular Dynamics Simulation (DL-RP-MDS)" to evaluate the deleteriousness of MLH1 missense VUS. The method extracts protein structural information by using the Ramachandran plot-molecular dynamics simulation (RP-MDS) method, then combines the variation data with an unsupervised learning model composed of auto-encoder and neural network classifier to identify the variants causing significant change in protein structure. In this report, we applied the method to classify 447 MLH1 missense VUS. We predicted 126/447 (28.2%) MLH1 missense VUS were deleterious. Our study demonstrates that DL-RP-MDS is able to classify the missense VUS based solely on their impact on protein structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Tam
- Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Cancer Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
| | - Zixin Qin
- Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Cancer Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
| | - Bojin Zhao
- Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Cancer Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
| | - Siddharth Sinha
- Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Cancer Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
| | - Chon Lok Lei
- Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Cancer Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
| | - San Ming Wang
- Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Cancer Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
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Badaczewska-Dawid AE, Kuriata A, Pintado-Grima C, Garcia-Pardo J, Burdukiewicz M, Iglesias V, Kmiecik S, Ventura S. A3D Model Organism Database (A3D-MODB): a database for proteome aggregation predictions in model organisms. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:D360-D367. [PMID: 37897355 PMCID: PMC10767922 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Revised: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Protein aggregation has been associated with aging and different pathologies and represents a bottleneck in the industrial production of biotherapeutics. Numerous past studies performed in Escherichia coli and other model organisms have allowed to dissect the biophysical principles underlying this process. This knowledge fuelled the development of computational tools, such as Aggrescan 3D (A3D) to forecast and re-design protein aggregation. Here, we present the A3D Model Organism Database (A3D-MODB) http://biocomp.chem.uw.edu.pl/A3D2/MODB, a comprehensive resource for the study of structural protein aggregation in the proteomes of 12 key model species spanning distant biological clades. In addition to A3D predictions, this resource incorporates information useful for contextualizing protein aggregation, including membrane protein topology and structural model confidence, as an indirect reporter of protein disorder. The database is openly accessible without any need for registration. We foresee A3D-MOBD evolving into a central hub for conducting comprehensive, multi-species analyses of protein aggregation, fostering the development of protein-based solutions for medical, biotechnological, agricultural and industrial applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Aleksander Kuriata
- Biological and Chemical Research Center, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, Pasteura 1, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Carlos Pintado-Grima
- Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina (IBB) and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Javier Garcia-Pardo
- Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina (IBB) and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Michał Burdukiewicz
- Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina (IBB) and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
- Clinical Research Centre, Medical University of Białystok, Kilińskiego 1, 15-369, Białystok, Poland
| | - Valentín Iglesias
- Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina (IBB) and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sebastian Kmiecik
- Biological and Chemical Research Center, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, Pasteura 1, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Salvador Ventura
- Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina (IBB) and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
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35
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Schierholz L, Brown CR, Helena-Bueno K, Uversky VN, Hirt RP, Barandun J, Melnikov SV. A Conserved Ribosomal Protein Has Entirely Dissimilar Structures in Different Organisms. Mol Biol Evol 2024; 41:msad254. [PMID: 37987564 PMCID: PMC10764239 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msad254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Ribosomes from different species can markedly differ in their composition by including dozens of ribosomal proteins that are unique to specific lineages but absent in others. However, it remains unknown how ribosomes acquire new proteins throughout evolution. Here, to help answer this question, we describe the evolution of the ribosomal protein msL1/msL2 that was recently found in ribosomes from the parasitic microorganism clade, microsporidia. We show that this protein has a conserved location in the ribosome but entirely dissimilar structures in different organisms: in each of the analyzed species, msL1/msL2 exhibits an altered secondary structure, an inverted orientation of the N-termini and C-termini on the ribosomal binding surface, and a completely transformed 3D fold. We then show that this fold switching is likely caused by changes in the ribosomal msL1/msL2-binding site, specifically, by variations in rRNA. These observations allow us to infer an evolutionary scenario in which a small, positively charged, de novo-born unfolded protein was first captured by rRNA to become part of the ribosome and subsequently underwent complete fold switching to optimize its binding to its evolving ribosomal binding site. Overall, our work provides a striking example of how a protein can switch its fold in the context of a complex biological assembly, while retaining its specificity for its molecular partner. This finding will help us better understand the origin and evolution of new protein components of complex molecular assemblies-thereby enhancing our ability to engineer biological molecules, identify protein homologs, and peer into the history of life on Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Léon Schierholz
- Department of Molecular Biology, Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden, Umeå Centre for Microbial Research, Science for Life Laboratory, Umeå University, Umeå 901 87, Sweden
| | - Charlotte R Brown
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University School of Medicine, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Karla Helena-Bueno
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University School of Medicine, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Vladimir N Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
| | - Robert P Hirt
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University School of Medicine, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Jonas Barandun
- Department of Molecular Biology, Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden, Umeå Centre for Microbial Research, Science for Life Laboratory, Umeå University, Umeå 901 87, Sweden
| | - Sergey V Melnikov
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University School of Medicine, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
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36
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Zonta F, Mammano F, Pantano S. Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Permeation Through Connexin Channels. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2801:45-56. [PMID: 38578412 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3842-2_4] [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: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are a collection of computational tools that can be used to trace intermolecular interactions at the sub-nanometer level. They offer possibilities that are often unavailable to experimental methods, making MD an ideal complementary technique for the understanding a plethora of biological processes. Thanks to significant efforts by many groups of developers around the world, setting up and running MD simulations has become progressively simpler. However, simulating ionic permeation through membrane channels still presents significant caveats.MD simulations of connexin (Cx) hemichannels (HCs) are particularly problematic because HCs create wide pores in the plasma membrane, and the lateral sizes of the extracellular and intracellular regions are quite different. In this chapter, we provide a detailed instruction to perform MD simulations aimed at computationally modeling the permeation of inorganic ions and larger molecules through Cx HCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Zonta
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Science, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China.
| | - Fabio Mammano
- Department of Physics and Astronomy "G. Galilei", University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Italian National Research Council, Rome, Italy
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37
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Salgado B, Rivas RB, Pinto D, Sonstegard TS, Carlson DF, Martins K, Bostrom JR, Sinebo Y, Rowland RRR, Brandariz-Nuñez A. Genetically modified pigs lacking CD163 PSTII-domain-coding exon 13 are completely resistant to PRRSV infection. Antiviral Res 2024; 221:105793. [PMID: 38184111 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2024.105793] [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] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/08/2024]
Abstract
CD163 expressed on cell surface of porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs) serves as a cellular entry receptor for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). The extracellular portion of CD163 contains nine scavenger receptor cysteine-rich (SRCR) and two proline-serine-threonine (PST) domains. Genomic editing of pigs to remove the entire CD163 or just the SRCR5 domain confers resistance to infection with both PRRSV-1 and PRRSV-2 viruses. By performing a mutational analysis of CD163, previous in vitro infection experiments showed resistance to PRRSV infection following deletion of exon 13 which encodes the first 12 amino acids of the 16 amino acid PSTII domain. These findings predicted that removal of exon 13 can be used as a strategy to produce gene-edited pigs fully resistant to PRRSV infection. In this study, to determine whether the deletion of exon 13 is sufficient to confer resistance of pigs to PRRSV infection, we produced pigs possessing a defined CD163 exon 13 deletion (ΔExon13 pigs) and evaluated their susceptibility to viral infection. Wild type (WT) and CD163 modified pigs, placed in the same room, were infected with PRRSV-2. The modified pigs remained PCR and serologically negative for PRRSV throughout the study; whereas the WT pigs supported PRRSV infection and showed PRRSV related pathology. Importantly, our data also suggested that removal of exon 13 did not affect the main physiological function associated with CD163 in vivo. These results demonstrate that a modification of CD163 through a precise deletion of exon 13 provides a strategy for protection against PRRSV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brianna Salgado
- Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Rafael Bautista Rivas
- Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Derek Pinto
- Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Raymond R R Rowland
- Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Alberto Brandariz-Nuñez
- Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA.
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38
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Wayment-Steele HK, Ojoawo A, Otten R, Apitz JM, Pitsawong W, Hömberger M, Ovchinnikov S, Colwell L, Kern D. Predicting multiple conformations via sequence clustering and AlphaFold2. Nature 2024; 625:832-839. [PMID: 37956700 PMCID: PMC10808063 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06832-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 66.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
AlphaFold2 (ref. 1) has revolutionized structural biology by accurately predicting single structures of proteins. However, a protein's biological function often depends on multiple conformational substates2, and disease-causing point mutations often cause population changes within these substates3,4. We demonstrate that clustering a multiple-sequence alignment by sequence similarity enables AlphaFold2 to sample alternative states of known metamorphic proteins with high confidence. Using this method, named AF-Cluster, we investigated the evolutionary distribution of predicted structures for the metamorphic protein KaiB5 and found that predictions of both conformations were distributed in clusters across the KaiB family. We used nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to confirm an AF-Cluster prediction: a cyanobacteria KaiB variant is stabilized in the opposite state compared with the more widely studied variant. To test AF-Cluster's sensitivity to point mutations, we designed and experimentally verified a set of three mutations predicted to flip KaiB from Rhodobacter sphaeroides from the ground to the fold-switched state. Finally, screening for alternative states in protein families without known fold switching identified a putative alternative state for the oxidoreductase Mpt53 in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Further development of such bioinformatic methods in tandem with experiments will probably have a considerable impact on predicting protein energy landscapes, essential for illuminating biological function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah K Wayment-Steele
- Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Waltham, MA, USA
| | - Adedolapo Ojoawo
- Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Waltham, MA, USA
| | - Renee Otten
- Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Waltham, MA, USA
- Treeline Biosciences, Watertown, MA, USA
| | - Julia M Apitz
- Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Waltham, MA, USA
| | - Warintra Pitsawong
- Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Waltham, MA, USA
- Biomolecular Discovery, Relay Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Marc Hömberger
- Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Waltham, MA, USA
- Treeline Biosciences, Watertown, MA, USA
| | | | - Lucy Colwell
- Google Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
| | - Dorothee Kern
- Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Waltham, MA, USA.
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39
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Topitsch A, Schwede T, Pereira J. Outer membrane β-barrel structure prediction through the lens of AlphaFold2. Proteins 2024; 92:3-14. [PMID: 37465978 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2023] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/01/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
Most proteins found in the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria share a common domain: the transmembrane β-barrel. These outer membrane β-barrels (OMBBs) occur in multiple sizes and different families with a wide range of functions evolved independently by amplification from a pool of homologous ancestral ββ-hairpins. This is part of the reason why predicting their three-dimensional (3D) structure, especially by homology modeling, is a major challenge. Recently, DeepMind's AlphaFold v2 (AF2) became the first structure prediction method to reach close-to-experimental atomic accuracy in CASP even for difficult targets. However, membrane proteins, especially OMBBs, were not abundant during their training, raising the question of how accurate the predictions are for these families. In this study, we assessed the performance of AF2 in the prediction of OMBBs and OMBB-like folds of various topologies using an in-house-developed tool for the analysis of OMBB 3D structures, and barrOs. In agreement with previous studies on other membrane protein classes, our results indicate that AF2 predicts transmembrane β-barrel structures at high accuracy independently of the use of templates, even for novel topologies absent from the training set. These results provide confidence on the models generated by AF2 and open the door to the structural elucidation of novel transmembrane β-barrel topologies identified in high-throughput OMBB annotation studies or designed de novo.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Torsten Schwede
- Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Joana Pereira
- Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Basel, Switzerland
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40
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Banach M. Structural Outlier Detection and Zernike-Canterakis Moments for Molecular Surface Meshes-Fast Implementation in Python. Molecules 2023; 29:52. [PMID: 38202635 PMCID: PMC10779519 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29010052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Object retrieval systems measure the degree of similarity of the shape of 3D models. They search for the elements of the 3D model databases that resemble the query model. In structural bioinformatics, the query model is a protein tertiary/quaternary structure and the objective is to find similarly shaped molecules in the Protein Data Bank. With the ever-growing size of the PDB, a direct atomic coordinate comparison with all its members is impractical. To overcome this problem, the shape of the molecules can be encoded by fixed-length feature vectors. The distance of a protein to the entire PDB can be measured in this low-dimensional domain in linear time. The state-of-the-art approaches utilize Zernike-Canterakis moments for the shape encoding and supply the retrieval process with geometric data of the input structures. The BioZernike descriptors are a standard utility of the PDB since 2020. However, when trying to calculate the ZC moments locally, the issue of the deficiency of libraries readily available for use in custom programs (i.e., without relying on external binaries) is encountered, in particular programs written in Python. Here, a fast and well-documented Python implementation of the Pozo-Koehl algorithm is presented. In contrast to the more popular algorithm by Novotni and Klein, which is based on the voxelized volume, the PK algorithm produces ZC moments directly from the triangular surface meshes of 3D models. In particular, it can accept the molecular surfaces of proteins as its input. In the presented PK-Zernike library, owing to Numba's just-in-time compilation, a mesh with 50,000 facets is processed by a single thread in a second at the moment order 20. Since this is the first time the PK algorithm is used in structural bioinformatics, it is employed in a novel, simple, but efficient protein structure retrieval pipeline. The elimination of the outlying chain fragments via a fast PCA-based subroutine improves the discrimination ability, allowing for this pipeline to achieve an 0.961 area under the ROC curve in the BioZernike validation suite (0.997 for the assemblies). The correlation between the results of the proposed approach and of the 3D Surfer program attains values up to 0.99.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mateusz Banach
- Department of Bioinformatics and Telemedicine, Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Medyczna 7, 30-688 Kraków, Poland
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41
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Zhang Y, Zhang Z, Kagaya Y, Terashi G, Zhao B, Xiong Y, Kihara D. Distance-AF: Modifying Predicted Protein Structure Models by Alphafold2 with User-Specified Distance Constraints. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.01.569498. [PMID: 38106200 PMCID: PMC10723377 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.01.569498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
The three-dimensional structure of a protein plays a fundamental role in determining its function and has an essential impact on understanding biological processes. Despite significant progress in protein structure prediction, such as AlphaFold2, challenges remain on those hard targets that Alphafold2 does not often perform well due to the complex folding of protein and a large number of possible conformations. Here we present a modified version of the AlphaFold2, called Distance-AF, which aims to improve the performance of AlphaFold2 by including distance constraints as input information. Distance-AF uses AlphaFold2's predicted structure as a starting point and incorporates distance constraints between amino acids to adjust folding of the protein structure until it meets the constraints. Distance-AF can correct the domain orientation on challenging targets, leading to more accurate structures with a lower root mean square deviation (RMSD). The ability of Distance-AF is also useful in fitting protein structures into cryo-electron microscopy maps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanyuan Zhang
- Department of Computer Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907, USA
| | - Zicong Zhang
- Department of Computer Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907, USA
| | - Yuki Kagaya
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907, USA
| | - Genki Terashi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907, USA
| | - Bowen Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Yi Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Daisuke Kihara
- Department of Computer Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907, USA
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42
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Das R, Kretsch RC, Simpkin AJ, Mulvaney T, Pham P, Rangan R, Bu F, Keegan RM, Topf M, Rigden DJ, Miao Z, Westhof E. Assessment of three-dimensional RNA structure prediction in CASP15. Proteins 2023; 91:1747-1770. [PMID: 37876231 PMCID: PMC10841292 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023]
Abstract
The prediction of RNA three-dimensional structures remains an unsolved problem. Here, we report assessments of RNA structure predictions in CASP15, the first CASP exercise that involved RNA structure modeling. Forty-two predictor groups submitted models for at least one of twelve RNA-containing targets. These models were evaluated by the RNA-Puzzles organizers and, separately, by a CASP-recruited team using metrics (GDT, lDDT) and approaches (Z-score rankings) initially developed for assessment of proteins and generalized here for RNA assessment. The two assessments independently ranked the same predictor groups as first (AIchemy_RNA2), second (Chen), and third (RNAPolis and GeneSilico, tied); predictions from deep learning approaches were significantly worse than these top ranked groups, which did not use deep learning. Further analyses based on direct comparison of predicted models to cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) maps and x-ray diffraction data support these rankings. With the exception of two RNA-protein complexes, models submitted by CASP15 groups correctly predicted the global fold of the RNA targets. Comparisons of CASP15 submissions to designed RNA nanostructures as well as molecular replacement trials highlight the potential utility of current RNA modeling approaches for RNA nanotechnology and structural biology, respectively. Nevertheless, challenges remain in modeling fine details such as noncanonical pairs, in ranking among submitted models, and in prediction of multiple structures resolved by cryo-EM or crystallography.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rhiju Das
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA USA
- Biophysics Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, CA USA
| | | | - Adam J. Simpkin
- Institute of Systems, Molecular & Integrative Biology, The University of Liverpool, UK
| | - Thomas Mulvaney
- Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB), Leibniz-Institut für Virologie (LIV), Hamburg, Germany
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg, Germany
| | - Phillip Pham
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA USA
| | - Ramya Rangan
- Biophysics Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA USA
| | - Fan Bu
- Guangzhou Laboratory, Guangzhou International Bio Island, Guangzhou 510005, China
- Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230036, Anhui, China
| | - Ronan M. Keegan
- Institute of Systems, Molecular & Integrative Biology, The University of Liverpool, UK
- Life Science, Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science, UK
| | - Maya Topf
- Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB), Leibniz-Institut für Virologie (LIV), Hamburg, Germany
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg, Germany
| | - Daniel J. Rigden
- Institute of Systems, Molecular & Integrative Biology, The University of Liverpool, UK
| | - Zhichao Miao
- GMU-GIBH Joint School of Life Sciences, The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Joint Laboratory for Cell Fate Regulation and Diseases, Guangzhou National Laboratory, Guangzhou Medical University
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology and Brain Functional Modulation, Clinical Research Center for Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Translational Research Institute of Brain and Brain-Like Intelligence, Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 200434, China
| | - Eric Westhof
- Architecture et Réactivité de l’ARN, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, F-67084, Strasbourg, France
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43
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Simpkin AJ, Mesdaghi S, Sánchez Rodríguez F, Elliott L, Murphy DL, Kryshtafovych A, Keegan RM, Rigden DJ. Tertiary structure assessment at CASP15. Proteins 2023; 91:1616-1635. [PMID: 37746927 PMCID: PMC10792517 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Revised: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
The results of tertiary structure assessment at CASP15 are reported. For the first time, recognizing the outstanding performance of AlphaFold 2 (AF2) at CASP14, all single-chain predictions were assessed together, irrespective of whether a template was available. At CASP15, there was no single stand-out group, with most of the best-scoring groups-led by PEZYFoldings, UM-TBM, and Yang Server-employing AF2 in one way or another. Many top groups paid special attention to generating deep Multiple Sequence Alignments (MSAs) and testing variant MSAs, thereby allowing them to successfully address some of the hardest targets. Such difficult targets, as well as lacking templates, were typically proteins with few homologues. Local divergence between prediction and target correlated with localization at crystal lattice or chain interfaces, and with regions exhibiting high B-factor factors in crystal structure targets, and should not necessarily be considered as representing error in the prediction. However, analysis of exposed and buried side chain accuracy showed room for improvement even in the latter. Nevertheless, a majority of groups produced high-quality predictions for most targets, which are valuable for experimental structure determination, functional analysis, and many other tasks across biology. These include those applying methods similar to those used to generate major resources such as the AlphaFold Protein Structure Database and the ESM Metagenomic atlas: the confidence estimates of the former were also notably accurate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam J. Simpkin
- Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Systems BiologyInstitute of Structural, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of LiverpoolLiverpoolUK
| | - Shahram Mesdaghi
- Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Systems BiologyInstitute of Structural, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of LiverpoolLiverpoolUK
- Computational Biology Facility, MerseyBio, University of LiverpoolLiverpoolUK
| | - Filomeno Sánchez Rodríguez
- Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Systems BiologyInstitute of Structural, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of LiverpoolLiverpoolUK
- Life Science, Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation CampusOxfordshireUK
- Department of Chemistry, York Structural Biology LaboratoryUniversity of YorkYorkUK
| | - Luc Elliott
- Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Systems BiologyInstitute of Structural, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of LiverpoolLiverpoolUK
| | - David L. Murphy
- Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Systems BiologyInstitute of Structural, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of LiverpoolLiverpoolUK
| | | | - Ronan M. Keegan
- UKRI‐STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Research Complex at HarwellDidcotUK
| | - Daniel J. Rigden
- Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Systems BiologyInstitute of Structural, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of LiverpoolLiverpoolUK
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44
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Lee JW, Won JH, Jeon S, Choo Y, Yeon Y, Oh JS, Kim M, Kim S, Joung I, Jang C, Lee SJ, Kim TH, Jin KH, Song G, Kim ES, Yoo J, Paek E, Noh YK, Joo K. DeepFold: enhancing protein structure prediction through optimized loss functions, improved template features, and re-optimized energy function. Bioinformatics 2023; 39:btad712. [PMID: 37995286 PMCID: PMC10699847 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btad712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Predicting protein structures with high accuracy is a critical challenge for the broad community of life sciences and industry. Despite progress made by deep neural networks like AlphaFold2, there is a need for further improvements in the quality of detailed structures, such as side-chains, along with protein backbone structures. RESULTS Building upon the successes of AlphaFold2, the modifications we made include changing the losses of side-chain torsion angles and frame aligned point error, adding loss functions for side chain confidence and secondary structure prediction, and replacing template feature generation with a new alignment method based on conditional random fields. We also performed re-optimization by conformational space annealing using a molecular mechanics energy function which integrates the potential energies obtained from distogram and side-chain prediction. In the CASP15 blind test for single protein and domain modeling (109 domains), DeepFold ranked fourth among 132 groups with improvements in the details of the structure in terms of backbone, side-chain, and Molprobity. In terms of protein backbone accuracy, DeepFold achieved a median GDT-TS score of 88.64 compared with 85.88 of AlphaFold2. For TBM-easy/hard targets, DeepFold ranked at the top based on Z-scores for GDT-TS. This shows its practical value to the structural biology community, which demands highly accurate structures. In addition, a thorough analysis of 55 domains from 39 targets with publicly available structures indicates that DeepFold shows superior side-chain accuracy and Molprobity scores among the top-performing groups. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION DeepFold tools are open-source software available at https://github.com/newtonjoo/deepfold.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jae-Won Lee
- Department of Computer Science, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
- Center for Advanced Computation, Korea Institute for Advanced Study, Seoul 02455, Korea
| | - Jong-Hyun Won
- Department of Computer Science, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
- Center for Advanced Computation, Korea Institute for Advanced Study, Seoul 02455, Korea
| | - Seonggwang Jeon
- Department of Computer Science, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
- Center for Advanced Computation, Korea Institute for Advanced Study, Seoul 02455, Korea
| | - Yujin Choo
- Center for Advanced Computation, Korea Institute for Advanced Study, Seoul 02455, Korea
- Department of Artificial intelligence, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
| | - Yubin Yeon
- Department of Computer Science, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
- Center for Advanced Computation, Korea Institute for Advanced Study, Seoul 02455, Korea
| | - Jin-Seon Oh
- Center for Advanced Computation, Korea Institute for Advanced Study, Seoul 02455, Korea
- Department of Artificial intelligence, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
| | - Minsoo Kim
- Department of Physics, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea
| | - SeonHwa Kim
- School of Electrical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
| | | | - Cheongjae Jang
- Artificial Intelligence Institute, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
| | - Sung Jong Lee
- Basic Science Research Institute, Changwon National University, Changwon 51140, Korea
| | - Tae Hyun Kim
- Department of Computer Science, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
| | - Kyong Hwan Jin
- School of Electrical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
| | - Giltae Song
- School of Computer Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea
| | - Eun-Sol Kim
- Department of Computer Science, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
| | - Jejoong Yoo
- Department of Physics, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea
| | - Eunok Paek
- Department of Computer Science, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
| | - Yung-Kyun Noh
- Department of Computer Science, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
- School of Computational Sciences, Korea Institute for Advanced Study, Seoul 02455, Korea
| | - Keehyoung Joo
- Center for Advanced Computation, Korea Institute for Advanced Study, Seoul 02455, Korea
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45
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Kryshtafovych A, Montelione GT, Rigden DJ, Mesdaghi S, Karaca E, Moult J. Breaking the conformational ensemble barrier: Ensemble structure modeling challenges in CASP15. Proteins 2023; 91:1903-1911. [PMID: 37872703 PMCID: PMC10840738 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
For the first time, the 2022 CASP (Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction) community experiment included a section on computing multiple conformations for protein and RNA structures. There was full or partial success in reproducing the ensembles for four of the nine targets, an encouraging result. For protein structures, enhanced sampling with variations of the AlphaFold2 deep learning method was by far the most effective approach. One substantial conformational change caused by a single mutation across a complex interface was accurately reproduced. In two other assembly modeling cases, methods succeeded in sampling conformations near to the experimental ones even though environmental factors were not included in the calculations. An experimentally derived flexibility ensemble allowed a single accurate RNA structure model to be identified. Difficulties included how to handle sparse or low-resolution experimental data and the current lack of effective methods for modeling RNA/protein complexes. However, these and other obstacles appear addressable.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gaetano T Montelione
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA
| | - Daniel J Rigden
- Institute of Systems, Molecular, and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Shahram Mesdaghi
- Institute of Systems, Molecular, and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
- Computational Biology Facility, MerseyBio, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Ezgi Karaca
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, Izmir, Turkey
- Izmir International Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey
| | - John Moult
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, Rockville, Maryland, USA
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
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46
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Oda T. Improving protein structure prediction with extended sequence similarity searches and deep-learning-based refinement in CASP15. Proteins 2023; 91:1712-1723. [PMID: 37485822 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
The human predictor team PEZYFoldings got first place with the assessor's formulae (3rd place with Global Distance Test Total Score [GDT-TS]) in the single-domain category and 10th place in the multimer category in Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction 15. In this paper, I describe the exact method used by PEZYFoldings in the competition. As AlphaFold2 and AlphaFold-Multimer, developed by DeepMind, were state-of-the-art structure prediction tools, it was assumed that enhancing the input and output of the tools was an effective strategy to obtain the highest accuracy for structure prediction. Therefore, I used additional tools and databases to collect evolutionarily related sequences and introduced a deep-learning-based model in the refinement step. In addition to these modifications, manual interventions were performed to address various tasks. Detailed analyses were performed after the competition to identify the main contributors to performance. Comparing the number of evolutionarily related sequences I used with those of the other teams that provided AlphaFold2's baseline predictions revealed that an extensive sequence similarity search was one of the main contributors. Nonetheless, there were specific targets for which I could not identify any evolutionarily related sequences, resulting in my inability to construct accurate structures for these targets. Notably, I noticed that I had gained large Z-scores with the subunits of H1137, for which I performed manual domain parsing considering the interfaces between the subunits. This finding implies that the manual intervention contributed to my performance. The influence of the refinement model on the accuracy of structure prediction was minimal. I could have predicted structures with a similar level of accuracy without employing the refinement model. However, from the perspective of accuracy self-estimate, many structures demonstrated improvement after refinement. This improvement likely had a substantial influence on improving my position in the assessor's formulae rankings. These results highlight the opportunities for improvement in (1) multimer prediction, (2) building of larger and more diverse databases, and (3) developing tools to predict structures from primary sequences alone. In addition, transferring the manual intervention process to automation is a future concern.
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47
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Edmunds NS, Alharbi SMA, Genc AG, Adiyaman R, McGuffin LJ. Estimation of model accuracy in CASP15 using the ModFOLDdock server. Proteins 2023; 91:1871-1878. [PMID: 37314190 PMCID: PMC10952711 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In CASP15, there was a greater emphasis on multimeric modeling than in previous experiments, with assembly structures nearly doubling in number (41 up from 22) since the previous round. CASP15 also included a new estimation of model accuracy (EMA) category in recognition of the importance of objective quality assessment (QA) for quaternary structure models. ModFOLDdock is a multimeric model QA server developed by the McGuffin group at the University of Reading, which brings together a range of single-model, clustering, and deep learning methods to form a consensus of approaches. For CASP15, three variants of ModFOLDdock were developed to optimize for the different facets of the quality estimation problem. The standard ModFOLDdock variant produced predicted scores optimized for positive linear correlations with the observed scores. The ModFOLDdockR variant produced predicted scores optimized for ranking, that is, the top-ranked models have the highest accuracy. In addition, the ModFOLDdockS variant used a quasi-single model approach to score each model on an individual basis. The scores from all three variants achieved strongly positive Pearson correlation coefficients with the CASP observed scores (oligo-lDDT) in excess of 0.70, which were maintained across both homomeric and heteromeric model populations. In addition, at least one of the ModFOLDdock variants was consistently ranked in the top two methods across all three EMA categories. Specifically, for overall global fold prediction accuracy, ModFOLDdock placed second and ModFOLDdockR placed third; for overall interface quality prediction accuracy, ModFOLDdockR, ModFOLDdock, and ModFOLDdockS were placed above all other predictor methods, and ModFOLDdockR and ModFOLDdockS were placed second and third respectively for individual residue confidence scores. The ModFOLDdock server is available at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/bioinf/ModFOLDdock/. ModFOLDdock is also available as part of the MultiFOLD docker package: https://hub.docker.com/r/mcguffin/multifold.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ahmet G. Genc
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of ReadingReadingUK
| | - Recep Adiyaman
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of ReadingReadingUK
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48
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Stahl K, Graziadei A, Dau T, Brock O, Rappsilber J. Protein structure prediction with in-cell photo-crosslinking mass spectrometry and deep learning. Nat Biotechnol 2023; 41:1810-1819. [PMID: 36941363 PMCID: PMC10713450 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-023-01704-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 47.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023]
Abstract
While AlphaFold2 can predict accurate protein structures from the primary sequence, challenges remain for proteins that undergo conformational changes or for which few homologous sequences are known. Here we introduce AlphaLink, a modified version of the AlphaFold2 algorithm that incorporates experimental distance restraint information into its network architecture. By employing sparse experimental contacts as anchor points, AlphaLink improves on the performance of AlphaFold2 in predicting challenging targets. We confirm this experimentally by using the noncanonical amino acid photo-leucine to obtain information on residue-residue contacts inside cells by crosslinking mass spectrometry. The program can predict distinct conformations of proteins on the basis of the distance restraints provided, demonstrating the value of experimental data in driving protein structure prediction. The noise-tolerant framework for integrating data in protein structure prediction presented here opens a path to accurate characterization of protein structures from in-cell data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kolja Stahl
- Robotics and Biology Laboratory, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andrea Graziadei
- Technische Universität Berlin, Chair of Bioanalytics, Berlin, Germany
| | - Therese Dau
- Technische Universität Berlin, Chair of Bioanalytics, Berlin, Germany
- Fritz Lipmann Institute, Leibniz Institute on Aging, Jena, Germany
| | - Oliver Brock
- Robotics and Biology Laboratory, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- Science of Intelligence, Research Cluster of Excellence, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Juri Rappsilber
- Technische Universität Berlin, Chair of Bioanalytics, Berlin, Germany.
- Si-M/'Der Simulierte Mensch', a Science Framework of Technische Universität Berlin and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
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Acharya R, Shetty SS, Pavan G, Monteiro F, Munikumar M, Naresh S, Kumari NS. AI-Based Homology Modelling of Fatty Acid Transport Protein 1 Using AlphaFold: Structural Elucidation and Molecular Dynamics Exploration. Biomolecules 2023; 13:1670. [PMID: 38002353 PMCID: PMC10669040 DOI: 10.3390/biom13111670] [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] [Received: 09/23/2023] [Revised: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Fatty acid transport protein 1 (FATP1) is an integral transmembrane protein that is involved in facilitating the translocation of long-chain fatty acids (LCFA) across the plasma membrane, thereby orchestrating the importation of LCFA into the cell. FATP1 also functions as an acyl-CoA ligase, catalyzing the ATP-dependent formation of fatty acyl-CoA using LCFA and VLCFA (very-long-chain fatty acids) as substrates. It is expressed in various types of tissues and is involved in the regulation of crucial signalling pathways, thus playing a vital role in numerous physiological and pathological conditions. Structural insight about FATP1 is, thus, extremely important for understanding the mechanism of action of this protein and developing efficient treatments against its anomalous expression and dysregulation, which are often associated with pathological conditions such as breast cancer. As of now, there has been no prior prediction or evaluation of the 3D configuration of the human FATP1 protein, hindering a comprehensive understanding of the distinct functional roles of its individual domains. In our pursuit to unravel the structure of the most commonly expressed isoforms of FATP1, we employed the cutting-edge ALPHAFOLD 2 model for an initial prediction of the entire protein's structure. This prediction was complemented by molecular dynamics simulations, focusing on the most promising model. We predicted the structure of FATP1 in silico and thoroughly refined and validated it using coarse and molecular dynamics in the absence of the complete crystal structure. Their relative dynamics revealed the different properties of the characteristic FATP1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ranjitha Acharya
- Department of Biochemistry, KS Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte (Deemed to be University), Mangalore 575018, India; (R.A.); (F.M.); (S.N.)
| | - Shilpa S. Shetty
- Central Research Laboratory, KS Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte (Deemed to be University), Mangalore 575018, India; (S.S.S.); (G.P.)
| | - Gollapalli Pavan
- Central Research Laboratory, KS Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte (Deemed to be University), Mangalore 575018, India; (S.S.S.); (G.P.)
| | - Flama Monteiro
- Department of Biochemistry, KS Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte (Deemed to be University), Mangalore 575018, India; (R.A.); (F.M.); (S.N.)
| | - Manne Munikumar
- Clinical Division, ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition, Jamai-Osmania (Post), Hyderabad 500007, India;
| | - Sriram Naresh
- Department of Biochemistry, KS Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte (Deemed to be University), Mangalore 575018, India; (R.A.); (F.M.); (S.N.)
| | - Nalilu Suchetha Kumari
- Department of Biochemistry, KS Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte (Deemed to be University), Mangalore 575018, India; (R.A.); (F.M.); (S.N.)
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50
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Nguyen TL, Samuel Leon Magdaleno J, Rajjak Shaikh A, Choowongkomon K, Li V, Lee Y, Kim H. Designing a multi-epitope candidate vaccine by employing immunoinformatics approaches to control African swine fever spread. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:10214-10229. [PMID: 36510707 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2153922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The African swine fever virus has been circulating for decades and is highly infectious, often fatal to farmed and wild pigs. There is currently no approved vaccine or treatment for the disease, making prevention even more difficult. Therefore, vaccine development is necessary and urgent to limit the consequences of ASF and ensure the food chain and sustainability of the swine industry. This research study was conducted to design a multi-epitope vaccine for controlling veterinary diseases caused by the African swine fever virus. We employed the immunoinformatics approaches to reveal 37 epitopes from different viral proteins of ASFV. These epitopes were linked to adjuvants and linkers to form a full-fledged immunogenic vaccine construct. The tertiary structure of the final vaccine was predicted using a deep-learning approach. The molecular docking and molecular dynamics predicted stable interactions between the vaccine and immune receptor TLR5 of Sus scrofa (Pig). The MD simulation studies reflect that the calculated parameters like RMSD, RMSF, number of hydrogen bonds, and finally, the buried interface surface area for the complex remained stable throughout the simulation time. This analysis suggests the stability of interface interactions between the TLR5 and the multi-epitope vaccine construct. Further, the physiochemical analysis demonstrated that our designed vaccine construct was expected to have high stability and prolonged half-life time in mammalian cells. Traditional vaccine design experiments require significant time and financial input from the development stage to the final product. Studies like this can assist in accelerating vaccine development while minimizing the cost.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Truc Ly Nguyen
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jorge Samuel Leon Magdaleno
- Department of Research and Innovation, STEMskills Research and Education Lab Private Limited, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Abdul Rajjak Shaikh
- Department of Research and Innovation, STEMskills Research and Education Lab Private Limited, Faridabad, Haryana, India
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | | | - Vladimir Li
- Interdisciplinary Program in Bioinformatics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Youngho Lee
- Interdisciplinary Program in Bioinformatics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Heebal Kim
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Interdisciplinary Program in Bioinformatics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- eGnome, Inc., Seoul, Republic of Korea
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