Macromolecular interactions in vitro, comparing classical and novel approaches

Improving binding entropy by higher ligand symmetry? - A case study with human matriptase

Understanding different contributions to the binding entropy of ligands is of utmost interest to better predict affinity and the thermodynamic binding profiles of protein-ligand interactions and to develop new strategies for ligand optimization. To these means, the largely neglected effects of introducing higher ligand symmetry, thereby reducing the number of energetically distinguishable binding modes on binding entropy using the human matriptase as a model system, were investigated. A set of new trivalent phloroglucinol-based inhibitors that address the roughly symmetric binding site of the enzyme was designed, synthesized, and subjected to isothermal titration calorimetry. These highly symmetric ligands that can adopt multiple indistinguishable binding modes exhibited high entropy-driven affinity in line with affinity-change predictions.

Thermodynamic characterization of a macrocyclic Zika virus NS2B/NS3 protease inhibitor and its acyclic analogs

Cyclization of small molecules is a widely applied strategy in drug design for ligand optimization to improve affinity, as it eliminates the putative need for structural preorganization of the ligand before binding, or to improve pharmacokinetic properties. In this work, we provide a deeper insight into the binding thermodynamics of a macrocyclic Zika virus NS2B/NS3 protease inhibitor and its linear analogs. Characterization of the thermodynamic binding profiles by isothermal titration calorimetry experiments revealed an unfavorable entropy of the macrocycle compared to the open linear reference ligands. Molecular dynamic simulations and X-ray crystal structure analysis indicated only minor benefits from macrocyclization to fixate a favorable conformation, while linear ligands retained some flexibility even in the protein-bound complex structure, possibly explaining the initially surprising effect of a higher entropic penalty for the macrocyclic ligand.

The Multifaceted Roles of Ku70/80

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are accidental lesions generated by various endogenous or exogenous stresses. DSBs are also genetically programmed events during the V(D)J recombination process, meiosis, or other genome rearrangements, and they are intentionally generated to kill cancer during chemo- and radiotherapy. Most DSBs are processed in mammalian cells by the classical nonhomologous end-joining (c-NHEJ) pathway. Understanding the molecular basis of c-NHEJ has major outcomes in several fields, including radiobiology, cancer therapy, immune disease, and genome editing. The heterodimer Ku70/80 (Ku) is a central actor of the c-NHEJ as it rapidly recognizes broken DNA ends in the cell and protects them from nuclease activity. It subsequently recruits many c-NHEJ effectors, including nucleases, polymerases, and the DNA ligase 4 complex. Beyond its DNA repair function, Ku is also involved in several other DNA metabolism processes. Here, we review the structural and functional data on the DNA and RNA recognition properties of Ku implicated in DNA repair and in telomeres maintenance.