1
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Ghosh S, Prabhu NP. Heterogeneous Macromolecular crowding effect on nucleation-independent fibril formation of Lysozyme: Spectroscopic analysis of Structure, Stability, and fibrillation rate. SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA. PART A, MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY 2024; 315:124276. [PMID: 38626673 DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2024.124276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/18/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Subhasree Ghosh
- Department of Biotechnology & Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500046, India
| | - N Prakash Prabhu
- Department of Biotechnology & Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500046, India.
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2
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Raczyłło E, Gołowicz D, Skóra T, Kazimierczuk K, Kondrat S. Size Sensitivity of Metabolite Diffusion in Macromolecular Crowds. NANO LETTERS 2024; 24. [PMID: 38607288 PMCID: PMC11057039 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c05100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2023] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
Metabolites play crucial roles in cellular processes, yet their diffusion in the densely packed interiors of cells remains poorly understood, compounded by conflicting reports in existing studies. Here, we employ pulsed-gradient stimulated-echo NMR and Brownian/Stokesian dynamics simulations to elucidate the behavior of nano- and subnanometer-sized tracers in crowded environments. Using Ficoll as a crowder, we observe a linear decrease in tracer diffusivity with increasing occupied volume fraction, persisting─somewhat surprisingly─up to volume fractions of 30-40%. While simulations suggest a linear correlation between diffusivity slowdown and particle size, experimental findings hint at a more intricate relationship, possibly influenced by Ficoll's porosity. Simulations and numerical calculations of tracer diffusivity in the E. coli cytoplasm show a nonlinear yet monotonic diffusion slowdown with particle size. We discuss our results in the context of nanoviscosity and discrepancies with existing studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edyta Raczyłło
- Institute
of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
- Department
of Theoretical Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty
of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Skłodowska
University in Lublin, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
| | - Dariusz Gołowicz
- Institute
of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Tomasz Skóra
- Institute
of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
- Scientific
Computing and Imaging Institute, University
of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
| | | | - Svyatoslav Kondrat
- Institute
of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
- Institute
for Computational Physics, University of
Stuttgart 70569, Stuttgart, Germany
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3
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Chandrasekaran A, Graham K, Stachowiak JC, Rangamani P. Kinetic trapping organizes actin filaments within liquid-like protein droplets. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3139. [PMID: 38605007 PMCID: PMC11009352 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46726-6] [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: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Several actin-binding proteins (ABPs) phase separate to form condensates capable of curating the actin network shapes. Here, we use computational modeling to understand the principles of actin network organization within VASP condensate droplets. Our simulations reveal that the different actin shapes, namely shells, rings, and mixture states are highly dependent on the kinetics of VASP-actin interactions, suggesting that they arise from kinetic trapping. Specifically, we show that reducing the residence time of VASP on actin filaments reduces degree of bundling, thereby promoting assembly of shells rather than rings. We validate the model predictions experimentally using a VASP-mutant with decreased bundling capability. Finally, we investigate the ring opening within deformed droplets and found that the sphere-to-ellipsoid transition is favored under a wide range of filament lengths while the ellipsoid-to-rod transition is only permitted when filaments have a specific range of lengths. Our findings highlight key mechanisms of actin organization within phase-separated ABPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aravind Chandrasekaran
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0411, USA
| | - Kristin Graham
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Jeanne C Stachowiak
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
| | - Padmini Rangamani
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0411, USA.
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4
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Grassmann G, Miotto M, Desantis F, Di Rienzo L, Tartaglia GG, Pastore A, Ruocco G, Monti M, Milanetti E. Computational Approaches to Predict Protein-Protein Interactions in Crowded Cellular Environments. Chem Rev 2024; 124:3932-3977. [PMID: 38535831 PMCID: PMC11009965 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00550] [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: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Investigating protein-protein interactions is crucial for understanding cellular biological processes because proteins often function within molecular complexes rather than in isolation. While experimental and computational methods have provided valuable insights into these interactions, they often overlook a critical factor: the crowded cellular environment. This environment significantly impacts protein behavior, including structural stability, diffusion, and ultimately the nature of binding. In this review, we discuss theoretical and computational approaches that allow the modeling of biological systems to guide and complement experiments and can thus significantly advance the investigation, and possibly the predictions, of protein-protein interactions in the crowded environment of cell cytoplasm. We explore topics such as statistical mechanics for lattice simulations, hydrodynamic interactions, diffusion processes in high-viscosity environments, and several methods based on molecular dynamics simulations. By synergistically leveraging methods from biophysics and computational biology, we review the state of the art of computational methods to study the impact of molecular crowding on protein-protein interactions and discuss its potential revolutionizing effects on the characterization of the human interactome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Greta Grassmann
- Department
of Biochemical Sciences “Alessandro Rossi Fanelli”, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00185, Italy
- Center
for Life Nano & Neuro Science, Istituto
Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome 00161, Italy
| | - Mattia Miotto
- Center
for Life Nano & Neuro Science, Istituto
Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome 00161, Italy
| | - Fausta Desantis
- Center
for Life Nano & Neuro Science, Istituto
Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome 00161, Italy
- The
Open University Affiliated Research Centre at Istituto Italiano di
Tecnologia, Genoa 16163, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Di Rienzo
- Center
for Life Nano & Neuro Science, Istituto
Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome 00161, Italy
| | - Gian Gaetano Tartaglia
- Center
for Life Nano & Neuro Science, Istituto
Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome 00161, Italy
- Department
of Neuroscience and Brain Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa 16163, Italy
- Center
for Human Technologies, Genoa 16152, Italy
| | - Annalisa Pastore
- Experiment
Division, European Synchrotron Radiation
Facility, Grenoble 38043, France
| | - Giancarlo Ruocco
- Center
for Life Nano & Neuro Science, Istituto
Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome 00161, Italy
- Department
of Physics, Sapienza University, Rome 00185, Italy
| | - Michele Monti
- RNA
System Biology Lab, Department of Neuroscience and Brain Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa 16163, Italy
| | - Edoardo Milanetti
- Center
for Life Nano & Neuro Science, Istituto
Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome 00161, Italy
- Department
of Physics, Sapienza University, Rome 00185, Italy
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5
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Dandekar BR, Majumdar BB, Mondal J. Nonmonotonic Modulation of the Protein-Ligand Recognition Event by Inert Crowders. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:7449-7461. [PMID: 37590118 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c03946] [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: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
The ubiquitous event of a protein recognizing small molecules or ligands at its native binding site is crucial for initiating major biological processes. However, how a crowded environment, as is typically represented by a cellular interior, would modulate the protein-ligand search process is largely debated. Excluded volume-based theory suggests that the presence of an inert crowder would reinforce a steady stabilization and enhancement of the protein-ligand recognition process. Here, we counter this long-held perspective via the molecular dynamics simulation and Markov state model of the protein-ligand recognition event in the presence of inert crowders. Specifically, we demonstrate that, depending on concentration, even purely inert crowders can exert a nonmonotonic effect via either stabilizing or destabilizing the protein-ligand binding event. Analysis of the kinetic network of binding pathways reveals that the crowders would either modulate precedent non-native on-pathway intermediates or would devise additional ones in a multistate recognition event across a wide range of concentrations. As an important insight, crowders gradually shift the relative transitional preference of these intermediates toward a native-bound state, with ligand residence time at the binding pocket dictating the trend of nonmonotonic concentration dependence by simple inert crowders.
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6
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Nayar D. Molecular Crowders Can Induce Collapse in Hydrophilic Polymers via Soft Attractive Interactions. J Phys Chem B 2023. [PMID: 37410958 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c01319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
A comprehensive understanding of protein folding and biomolecular self-assembly in the intracellular environment requires obtaining a microscopic view of the crowding effects. The classical view of crowding explains biomolecular collapse in such an environment in terms of the entropic solvent excluded volume effects subjected to hard-core repulsions exerted by the inert crowders, neglecting their soft chemical interactions. In this study, the effects of nonspecific, soft interactions of molecular crowders in regulating the conformational equilibrium of hydrophilic (charged) polymers are examined. Using advanced molecular dynamics simulations, collapse free energies of an uncharged, a negatively charged, and a charge-neutral 32-mer generic polymer are computed. The strength of the polymer-crowder dispersion energy is modulated to examine its effect on polymer collapse. The results show that the crowders preferentially adsorb and drive the collapse of all three polymers. The uncharged polymer collapse is opposed by the change in solute-solvent interaction energy but is overcompensated by the favorable change in the solute-solvent entropy as observed in hydrophobic collapse. However, the negatively charged polymer collapses with a favorable change in solute-solvent interaction energy due to reduction in the dehydration energy penalty as the crowders partition to the polymer interface and shield the charged beads. The collapse of a charge-neutral polymer is opposed by the solute-solvent interaction energy but is overcompensated by the solute-solvent entropy change. However, for the strongly interacting crowders, the overall energetic penalty decreases since the crowders interact with polymer beads via cohesive bridging attractions to induce polymer collapse. These bridging attractions are found to be sensitive to the binding sites of the polymer, since they are absent in the negatively charged or uncharged polymers. These interesting differences in thermodynamic driving forces highlight the crucial role of the chemical nature of the macromolecule as well as of the crowder in determining the conformational equilibria in a crowded milieu. The results emphasize that the chemical interactions of the crowders should be explicitly considered to account for the crowding effects. The findings have implications in understanding the crowding effects on the protein free energy landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Divya Nayar
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India
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7
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Demosthene B, Lee M, Marracino RR, Heidings JB, Kang EH. Molecular Basis for Actin Polymerization Kinetics Modulated by Solution Crowding. Biomolecules 2023; 13:biom13050786. [PMID: 37238656 DOI: 10.3390/biom13050786] [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: 03/04/2023] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Actin polymerization drives cell movement and provides cells with structural integrity. Intracellular environments contain high concentrations of solutes, including organic compounds, macromolecules, and proteins. Macromolecular crowding has been shown to affect actin filament stability and bulk polymerization kinetics. However, the molecular mechanisms behind how crowding influences individual actin filament assembly are not well understood. In this study, we investigated how crowding modulates filament assembly kinetics using total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy imaging and pyrene fluorescence assays. The elongation rates of individual actin filaments analyzed from TIRF imaging depended on the type of crowding agent (polyethylene glycol, bovine serum albumin, and sucrose) as well as their concentrations. Further, we utilized all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to evaluate the effects of crowding molecules on the diffusion of actin monomers during filament assembly. Taken together, our data suggest that solution crowding can regulate actin assembly kinetics at the molecular level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan Demosthene
- NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32826, USA
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32827, USA
| | - Myeongsang Lee
- NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32826, USA
| | - Ryan R Marracino
- NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32826, USA
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32827, USA
| | - James B Heidings
- NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32826, USA
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32827, USA
| | - Ellen Hyeran Kang
- NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32826, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA
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8
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Zembrzycki K, Pawłowska S, Pierini F, Kowalewski TA. Brownian Motion in Optical Tweezers, a Comparison between MD Simulations and Experimental Data in the Ballistic Regime. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:polym15030787. [PMID: 36772088 PMCID: PMC9920121 DOI: 10.3390/polym15030787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The four most popular water models in molecular dynamics were studied in large-scale simulations of Brownian motion of colloidal particles in optical tweezers and then compared with experimental measurements in the same time scale. We present the most direct comparison of colloidal polystyrene particle diffusion in molecular dynamics simulations and experimental data on the same time scales in the ballistic regime. The four most popular water models, all of which take into account electrostatic interactions, are tested and compared based on yielded results and resources required. Three different conditions were simulated: a freely moving particle and one in a potential force field with two different strengths based on 1 pN/nm and 10 pN/nm. In all cases, the diameter of the colloidal particle was 50 nm. The acquired data were compared with experimental measurements performed using optical tweezers with position capture rates as high as 125 MHz. The experiments were performed in pure water on polystyrene particles with a 1 μm diameter in special microchannel cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krzysztof Zembrzycki
- Department of Biosystem and Soft Matter, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Pawinskiego 5B, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland
- Correspondence: (K.Z.); (F.P.)
| | - Sylwia Pawłowska
- Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdańsk University of Technology, ul. G. Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Filippo Pierini
- Department of Biosystem and Soft Matter, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Pawinskiego 5B, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland
- Correspondence: (K.Z.); (F.P.)
| | - Tomasz Aleksander Kowalewski
- Department of Biosystem and Soft Matter, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Pawinskiego 5B, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland
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9
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Monte Carlo Simulation of Static and Dynamic Properties of Linear Polymer in a Crowded Environment. ADVANCES IN POLYMER TECHNOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1155/2022/6707429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In this paper, we investigate the static and dynamic properties of linear polymer in the presence of obstacles. A Monte Carlo (MC) simulation method in two dimensions with a bond fluctuation model (BFM) was used to achieve this goal. To overcome the entropic barrier, we put the middle monomer of the polymer in the middle of the pore, which is placed between ordered and disordered obstacles. We probed the static properties of the polymer by calculating the mean square of the radius of gyration and the mean square end-to-end distance of the polymer, and we found that the scaling exponents of both the mean square end-to-end distance
and the mean square radius of gyration
as a function of the polymer length
vary with the area fraction of crowding agents,
. The dynamic properties have also been studied by exploring the translocation of the polymer. Our current research shows that the escape time
increases as
increases. Moreover, in the power-law relation of escape time
as a function of polymer length
, the scaling exponent (
) changes with
. Furthermore, the study has shown that the translocation of the polymer favors the disordered barriers.
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10
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Topological digestion drives time-varying rheology of entangled DNA fluids. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4389. [PMID: 35902575 PMCID: PMC9334285 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31828-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding and controlling the rheology of polymeric complex fluids that are pushed out-of-equilibrium is a fundamental problem in both industry and biology. For example, to package, repair, and replicate DNA, cells use enzymes to constantly manipulate DNA topology, length, and structure. Inspired by this feat, here we engineer and study DNA-based complex fluids that undergo enzymatically-driven topological and architectural alterations via restriction endonuclease (RE) reactions. We show that these systems display time-dependent rheological properties that depend on the concentrations and properties of the comprising DNA and REs. Through time-resolved microrheology experiments and Brownian Dynamics simulations, we show that conversion of supercoiled to linear DNA topology leads to a monotonic increase in viscosity. On the other hand, the viscosity of entangled linear DNA undergoing fragmentation displays a universal decrease that we rationalise using living polymer theory. Finally, to showcase the tunability of these behaviours, we design a DNA fluid that exhibits a time-dependent increase, followed by a temporally-gated decrease, of its viscosity. Our results present a class of polymeric fluids that leverage naturally occurring enzymes to drive diverse time-varying rheology by performing architectural alterations to the constituents. Understanding and controlling the rheology of polymeric complex fluids is of fundamental importance in both industry and biology. Here, Michieletto et al. show how to achieve time-dependent rheology of DNA solutions via enzymatically-driven architectural alterations by restriction endonucleases.
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11
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Majumdar BB, Mondal J. Impact of Inert Crowders on Host-Guest Recognition Process. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:4200-4215. [PMID: 35654414 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c01539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Biological environments typically contain high concentrations (300-400 mg/mL) of different macromolecules at volume fractions as large as 30%-40%. Biomolecular recognition processes, a ubiquitous biological phenomena, occurring in such crowded heterogeneous media would differ significantly compared to the dilute buffer solutions. Here we quantify the potential impact of inert crowders on prototypical host-guest recognition process by explicit-solvent molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in atomic resolution. We demonstrate that the crowders, when smaller in size, would facilitate the binding process of the guest molecule by decreasing the free energy barrier for binding via excluded volume effect and desolvation of the host receptor. However, the extent of crowder-induced stabilization of a host-guest complex is found to be significantly higher when the guest molecule is sterically constricted to approach the host along a centrosymmetric direction, compared to its unrestricted, freely diffusive movement. A kinetic analysis of the recognition process reveals that the origin of a relatively stronger crowder impact during constricted movement of guest molecule lies in the relatively enhanced residence time of the guest inside the host by crowders. Together, our results suggest that the extent of impact of crowding on recognition processes would be contingent upon the presence or absence of constriction on ligand movement.
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12
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Liu D, Qiu Y, Li Q, Zhang H. Atomistic Simulation of Lysozyme in Solutions Crowded by Tetraethylene Glycol: Force Field Dependence. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27072110. [PMID: 35408509 PMCID: PMC9000840 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27072110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Revised: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The behavior of biomolecules in crowded environments remains largely unknown due to the accuracy of simulation models and the limited experimental data for comparison. Here we chose a small crowder of tetraethylene glycol (PEG-4) to investigate the self-crowding of PEG-4 solutions and molecular crowding effects on the structure and diffusion of lysozyme at varied concentrations from dilute water to pure PEG-4 liquid. Two Amber-like force fields of Amber14SB and a99SB-disp were examined with TIP3P (fast diffusivity and low viscosity) and a99SB-disp (slow diffusivity and high viscosity) water models, respectively. Compared to the Amber14SB protein simulations, the a99SB-disp model yields more coordinated water and less PEG-4 molecules, less intramolecular hydrogen bonds (HBs), more protein-water HBs, and less protein-PEG HBs as well as stronger interactions and more hydrophilic and less hydrophobic contacts with solvent molecules. The a99SB-disp model offers comparable protein-solvent interactions in concentrated PEG-4 solutions to that in pure water. The PEG-4 crowding leads to a slow-down in the diffusivity of water, PEG-4, and protein, and the decline in the diffusion from atomistic simulations is close to or faster than the hard sphere model that neglects attractive interactions. Despite these differences, the overall structure of lysozyme appears to be maintained well at different PEG-4 concentrations for both force fields, except a slightly large deviation at 370 K at low concentrations with the a99SB-disp model. This is mainly attributed to the strong intramolecular interactions of the protein in the Amber14SB force field and to the large viscosity of the a99SB-disp water model. The results indicate that the protein force fields and the viscosity of crowder solutions affect the simulation of biomolecules under crowding conditions.
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13
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Cheng YH, Mu DC, Feng YY, Xu Z, Wen L, Chen ML, Ye J. Glycosylation of rice protein with dextran via the Maillard reaction in a macromolecular crowding condition to improve solubility. J Cereal Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jcs.2021.103374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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14
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Lee S. Operator algebraic methods in the theory of
diffusion‐influenced
reaction kinetics. B KOREAN CHEM SOC 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/bkcs.12448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sangyoub Lee
- Professor Sangyoub Lee, Department of Chemistry Seoul National University Seoul South Korea
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15
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Tan Z, Calandrini V, Dhont JKG, Nägele G, Winkler RG. Hydrodynamics of immiscible binary fluids with viscosity contrast: a multiparticle collision dynamics approach. SOFT MATTER 2021; 17:7978-7990. [PMID: 34378623 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm00541c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
We present a multiparticle collision dynamics (MPC) implementation of layered immiscible fluids A and B of different shear viscosities separated by planar interfaces. The simulated flow profile for imposed steady shear motion and the time-dependent shear stress functions are in excellent agreement with our continuum hydrodynamics results for the composite fluid. The wave-vector dependent transverse velocity auto-correlation functions (TVAF) in the bulk-fluid regions of the layers decay exponentially, and agree with those of single-phase isotropic MPC fluids. In addition, we determine the hydrodynamic mobilities of an embedded colloidal sphere moving steadily parallel or transverse to a fluid-fluid interface, as functions of the distance from the interface. The obtained mobilities are in good agreement with hydrodynamic force multipoles calculations, for a no-slip sphere moving under creeping flow conditions near a clean, ideally flat interface. The proposed MPC fluid-layer model can be straightforwardly implemented, and it is computationally very efficient. Yet, owing to the spatial discretization inherent to the MPC method, the model can not reproduce all hydrodynamic features of an ideally flat interface between immiscible fluids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zihan Tan
- Biomacromolecular Systems and Processes, Institute of Biological Information Processing, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52428 Jülich, Germany.
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16
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Nesterov SV, Ilyinsky NS, Uversky VN. Liquid-liquid phase separation as a common organizing principle of intracellular space and biomembranes providing dynamic adaptive responses. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-MOLECULAR CELL RESEARCH 2021; 1868:119102. [PMID: 34293345 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2021.119102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
This work is devoted to the phenomenon of liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), which has come to be recognized as fundamental organizing principle of living cells. We distinguish separation processes with different dimensions. Well-known 3D-condensation occurs in aqueous solution and leads to membraneless organelle (MLOs) formation. 2D-films may be formed near membrane surfaces and lateral phase separation (membrane rafts) occurs within the membranes themselves. LLPS may also occur on 1D structures like DNA and the cyto- and nucleoskeleton. Phase separation provides efficient transport and sorting of proteins and metabolites, accelerates the assembly of metabolic and signaling complexes, and mediates stress responses. In this work, we propose a model in which the processes of polymerization (1D structures), phase separation in membranes (2D structures), and LLPS in the volume (3D structures) influence each other. Disordered proteins and whole condensates may provide membrane raft separation or polymerization of specific proteins. On the other hand, 1D and 2D structures with special composition or embedded IDRs can nucleate condensates. We hypothesized that environmental change may trigger a LLPS which can propagate within the cell interior moving along the cytoskeleton or as an autowave. New phase propagation quickly and using a low amount of energy adjusts cell signaling and metabolic systems to new demands. Cumulatively, the interconnected phase separation phenomena in different dimensions represent a previously unexplored system of intracellular communication and regulation which cannot be ignored when considering both physiological and pathological cell processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Semen V Nesterov
- Research Center for Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Age-Related Diseases, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Institutskiy pereulok, 9, Dolgoprudny 141700, Russia; Kurchatov Complex of NBICS-Technologies, National Research Center Kurchatov Institute, Moscow 123182, Russia.
| | - Nikolay S Ilyinsky
- Research Center for Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Age-Related Diseases, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Institutskiy pereulok, 9, Dolgoprudny 141700, Russia
| | - Vladimir N Uversky
- Research Center for Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Age-Related Diseases, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Institutskiy pereulok, 9, Dolgoprudny 141700, Russia; Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MDC07, Tampa, FL 33612, USA.
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17
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Štrympl O, Vohlídal J, Hermannová M, Maldonado-Domínguez M, Brandejsová M, Kopecká K, Velebný V, Huerta-Ángeles G. Oleate-modified hyaluronan: Controlling the number and distribution of side chains by varying the reaction conditions. Carbohydr Polym 2021; 267:118197. [PMID: 34119164 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.118197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Revised: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
In this work, low molecular weight hyaluronan was chemically modified by oleoyl moieties utilising mixed anhydrides methodology. The activation of oleic acid with benzoyl chloride in organic solvents miscible with water was followed by NMR spectroscopy. The product selectivity correlates with the solvent's Hildebrand solubility parameter. Furthermore, the effect of the solvent for the mixed anhydride formation was elucidated by density functional theory (DFT) and showed that the reactions are faster in acetonitrile or alcohols than in hexane. Furthermore, the solvent demonstrated to control the substituent distribution pattern along HA chain during esterification. An even distribution of substituents was observed in reactions performed in water mixed with ethers. The substituent distribution pattern clearly influenced the aggregation behaviour of amphiphilic HA, controlling the stability of the delivery system, while increasing the encapsulation capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ondřej Štrympl
- Contipro a.s., Dolni Dobrouč 401, 561 02 Dolní Dobrouč, Czech Republic; Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Hlavova 2030/8, 128 40 Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Vohlídal
- Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Hlavova 2030/8, 128 40 Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | | | - Mauricio Maldonado-Domínguez
- Department of Computational Chemistry, J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Dolejškova 2155/3, 182 23 Prague 8, Czech Republic
| | | | - Kateřina Kopecká
- Contipro a.s., Dolni Dobrouč 401, 561 02 Dolní Dobrouč, Czech Republic
| | - Vladimír Velebný
- Contipro a.s., Dolni Dobrouč 401, 561 02 Dolní Dobrouč, Czech Republic
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18
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Enlo-Scott Z, Bäckström E, Mudway I, Forbes B. Drug metabolism in the lungs: opportunities for optimising inhaled medicines. Expert Opin Drug Metab Toxicol 2021; 17:611-625. [DOI: 10.1080/17425255.2021.1908262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zachary Enlo-Scott
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Erica Bäckström
- Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Research and Early Development, Respiratory and Immunology (R&I), BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Ian Mudway
- MRC Centre for Environment and Health, School of Population Health & Environmental Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; National Institute for Health Research, Health Protection Research Units in Chemical and Radiation Threats and Hazards and Environmental Exposures and Health, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Ben Forbes
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK
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19
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Matsumoto S, Sugimoto N. New Insights into the Functions of Nucleic Acids Controlled by Cellular Microenvironments. Top Curr Chem (Cham) 2021; 379:17. [PMID: 33782792 DOI: 10.1007/s41061-021-00329-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The right-handed double-helical B-form structure (B-form duplex) has been widely recognized as the canonical structure of nucleic acids since it was first proposed by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953. This B-form duplex model has a monochronic and static structure and codes genetic information within a sequence. Interestingly, DNA and RNA can form various non-canonical structures, such as hairpin loops, left-handed helices, triplexes, tetraplexes of G-quadruplex and i-motif, and branched junctions, in addition to the canonical structure. The formation of non-canonical structures depends not only on sequence but also on the surrounding environment. Importantly, these non-canonical structures may exhibit a wide variety of biological roles by changing their structures and stabilities in response to the surrounding environments, which undergo vast changes at specific locations and at specific times in cells. Here, we review recent progress regarding the interesting behaviors and functions of nucleic acids controlled by molecularly crowded cellular conditions. New insights gained from recent studies suggest that nucleic acids not only code genetic information in sequences but also have unknown functions regarding their structures and stabilities through drastic structural changes in cellular environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saki Matsumoto
- Frontier Institute for Biomolecular Engineering Research (FIBER), Konan University, 7-1-20 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Kobe, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Naoki Sugimoto
- Frontier Institute for Biomolecular Engineering Research (FIBER), Konan University, 7-1-20 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Kobe, 650-0047, Japan. .,Graduate School of Frontiers of Innovative Research in Science and Technology (FIRST), Konan University, 7-1-20 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Kobe, 650-0047, Japan.
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20
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Yuan B, Cademartiri L. Growth of Colloidal Nanocrystals by Liquid-Like Coalescence*. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021; 60:6667-6672. [PMID: 33326683 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202014275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2020] [Revised: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
We here describe, model, and predict the growth kinetics of amine-capped PbS colloidal nanoparticles in the absence of supersaturation. The particles grow by coalescence rather than by Ostwald ripening. A comparison of different models indicates that the effective activation energy of coalescence (67.65 kJ mol-1 ) is associated with two terms: a term proportional to the contact area between the ligand shells of two colliding particles, and a constant term. Our Brownian dynamics simulations show (i) how the remarkably low activation energy (or large rate constants) are most likely due to the large difference in size between the particles and their mean free path of diffusion, and (ii) how the low polydispersity is the likely result of the suppression of collision rates between rare populations due to crowding. The model successfully predicts the growth kinetics of nanoparticles, therefore enabling the precise control of the average particle size without the need of supersaturation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Yuan
- Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, 2220 Hoover Hall, Ames, IA, 50011, USA.,Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Sweeney Hall, Ames, IA, 50011, USA.,Current address: Mechanical Engineering Department, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Ludovico Cademartiri
- Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, 2220 Hoover Hall, Ames, IA, 50011, USA.,Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Sweeney Hall, Ames, IA, 50011, USA.,Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Ames, IA, 50011, USA.,Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences, and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze, 17/A, 43124, Parma, Italy
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21
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Yuan B, Cademartiri L. Growth of Colloidal Nanocrystals by Liquid‐Like Coalescence**. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.202014275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bin Yuan
- Department of Materials Science & Engineering Iowa State University of Science and Technology 2220 Hoover Hall Ames IA 50011 USA
- Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering Iowa State University of Science and Technology Sweeney Hall Ames IA 50011 USA
- Current address: Mechanical Engineering Department Carnegie Mellon University 5000 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh PA 15213 USA
| | - Ludovico Cademartiri
- Department of Materials Science & Engineering Iowa State University of Science and Technology 2220 Hoover Hall Ames IA 50011 USA
- Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering Iowa State University of Science and Technology Sweeney Hall Ames IA 50011 USA
- Ames Laboratory U.S. Department of Energy Ames IA 50011 USA
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences, and Environmental Sustainability University of Parma Parco Area delle Scienze, 17/A 43124 Parma Italy
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22
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Concentration sensing in crowded environments. Biophys J 2021; 120:1718-1731. [PMID: 33675760 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2021.02.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Revised: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Signal transduction within crowded cellular compartments is essential for the physiological function of cells. Although the accuracy with which receptors can probe the concentration of ligands has been thoroughly investigated in dilute systems, the effect of macromolecular crowding on the inference of concentration remains unclear. In this work, we develop an algorithm to simulate reversible reactions between reacting Brownian particles. Our algorithm facilitates the calculation of reaction rates and correlation times for ligand-receptor systems in the presence of macromolecular crowding. Using this method, we show that it is possible for crowding to increase the accuracy of estimated ligand concentration based on receptor occupancy. In particular, we find that crowding can enhance the effective association rates between small ligands and receptors to a degree sufficient to overcome the increased chance of rebinding due to caging by crowding molecules. For larger ligands, crowding decreases the accuracy of the receptor's estimate primarily by decreasing the microscopic association and dissociation rates.
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23
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Johnson ME, Chen A, Faeder JR, Henning P, Moraru II, Meier-Schellersheim M, Murphy RF, Prüstel T, Theriot JA, Uhrmacher AM. Quantifying the roles of space and stochasticity in computer simulations for cell biology and cellular biochemistry. Mol Biol Cell 2021; 32:186-210. [PMID: 33237849 PMCID: PMC8120688 DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e20-08-0530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Revised: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Most of the fascinating phenomena studied in cell biology emerge from interactions among highly organized multimolecular structures embedded into complex and frequently dynamic cellular morphologies. For the exploration of such systems, computer simulation has proved to be an invaluable tool, and many researchers in this field have developed sophisticated computational models for application to specific cell biological questions. However, it is often difficult to reconcile conflicting computational results that use different approaches to describe the same phenomenon. To address this issue systematically, we have defined a series of computational test cases ranging from very simple to moderately complex, varying key features of dimensionality, reaction type, reaction speed, crowding, and cell size. We then quantified how explicit spatial and/or stochastic implementations alter outcomes, even when all methods use the same reaction network, rates, and concentrations. For simple cases, we generally find minor differences in solutions of the same problem. However, we observe increasing discordance as the effects of localization, dimensionality reduction, and irreversible enzymatic reactions are combined. We discuss the strengths and limitations of commonly used computational approaches for exploring cell biological questions and provide a framework for decision making by researchers developing new models. As computational power and speed continue to increase at a remarkable rate, the dream of a fully comprehensive computational model of a living cell may be drawing closer to reality, but our analysis demonstrates that it will be crucial to evaluate the accuracy of such models critically and systematically.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. E. Johnson
- Thomas C. Jenkins Department of Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218
| | - A. Chen
- Thomas C. Jenkins Department of Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218
| | - J. R. Faeder
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260
| | - P. Henning
- Institute for Visual and Analytic Computing, University of Rostock, 18055 Rostock, Germany
| | - I. I. Moraru
- Department of Cell Biology, Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030
| | - M. Meier-Schellersheim
- Laboratory of Immune System Biology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - R. F. Murphy
- Computational Biology Department, Department of Biological Sciences, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Machine Learning Department, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15289
| | - T. Prüstel
- Laboratory of Immune System Biology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - J. A. Theriot
- Department of Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - A. M. Uhrmacher
- Institute for Visual and Analytic Computing, University of Rostock, 18055 Rostock, Germany
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24
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Lee K, Lee S. Interplay of reactive interference and crowding effects in the diffusion-influenced reaction kinetics. J Chem Phys 2020; 153:044129. [PMID: 32752726 DOI: 10.1063/5.0016269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigate the interplay of reactive interference and crowding effects in the irreversible diffusion-influenced bimolecular reactions of the type A+B→P+B by using the Brownian dynamics simulation method. It is known that the presence of nonreactive crowding agents retards the reaction rate when the volume fraction of the crowding agents is large enough. On the other hand, a high concentration of B is known to increase the reaction rate more than expected from the mass action law, although the B's may also act as crowders. Therefore, it would be interesting to see which effect dominates when the number density of B as well as the number density of the crowders increases. We will present an approximate theory that provides a reasonable account for the Brownian dynamics simulation results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyusup Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-747, South Korea
| | - Sangyoub Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-747, South Korea
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25
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Liu P, Zhang H, Wang Y, Chen X, Jin L, Xu L, Xiao M. Screening and characterization of an α-L-fucosidase from Bacteroides fragilis NCTC9343 for synthesis of fucosyl-N-acetylglucosamine disaccharides. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 104:7827-7840. [PMID: 32715363 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-020-10759-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2020] [Revised: 06/18/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Fucosyl-N-acetylglucosamine disaccharides are present in many biologically important oligosaccharides, such as human milk oligosaccharides, Lewis carbohydrate antigens, and glycans on cell-surface glycoconjugate receptors, and thus have vast potential for infant formulas, prebiotics, and pharmaceutical applications. In this work, in order to screen biocatalysts for enzymatic synthesis of fucosyl-N-acetylglucosamine disaccharides, we performed sequence analysis of 12 putative and one known α-L-fucosidases of Bacteroides fragilis NCTC9343 and constructed a phylogenetic tree of the nine GH29 α-L-fucosidases. After that, five GH29A α-L-fucosidases were cloned, and four of them were successfully heterogeneous expressed and screened for transglycosylation activity, and a GH29A α-L-fucosidase (BF3242) that synthesized a mix of Fuc-α-1,3/1,6-GlcNAc disaccharides using pNPαFuc as donor and GlcNAc as acceptor was characterized. The effects of initial substrate concentration, pH, temperature, and reaction time on its transglycosylation activity were studied in detail. Under the optimum conditions of 0.05 U/mL enzyme, 20 mM pNPαFuc, and 500 mM GlcNAc in sodium buffer (pH 7.5) at 37 °C for 45 min, BF3242 efficiently synthesized Fuc-α-1,3/1,6-GlcNAc at a maximum yield of 79.0% with the ratio of 0.48 for 1,3/1,6. The molecular dynamics simulation analysis revealed that Loop-4 (His220-Ser245) in the putative 3D model of BF3242 displayed significant changes throughout the thermal simulations, might being responsible for the changes in the ratio of two regioisomeric products at different temperatures. This work provided not only a potential synthetic tool for enzymatic synthesis of fucosyl-N-acetylglucosamine disaccharides but also a possibility for the formation of regioisomeric products in glycosidase-catalyzed transglycosylation. KEY POINTS: • Sequence analysis of α-L-fucosidases of Bacteroides fragilis NCTC9343 • Obtainment of an α-L-fucosidase with high transglycosylation activity • Explanation why temperature affected the ratio of two regioisomeric products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Liu
- State Key Lab of Microbial Technology, National Glycoengineering Research Center, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Glycobiology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Huaqin Zhang
- State Key Lab of Microbial Technology, National Glycoengineering Research Center, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Glycobiology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuying Wang
- State Key Lab of Microbial Technology, National Glycoengineering Research Center, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Glycobiology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaodi Chen
- State Key Lab of Microbial Technology, National Glycoengineering Research Center, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Glycobiology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China.,Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Jinan Maternity and Child Care Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, 250001, People's Republic of China
| | - Lan Jin
- State Key Lab of Microbial Technology, National Glycoengineering Research Center, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Glycobiology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Li Xu
- State Key Lab of Microbial Technology, National Glycoengineering Research Center, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Glycobiology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China.
| | - Min Xiao
- State Key Lab of Microbial Technology, National Glycoengineering Research Center, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Glycobiology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China.
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26
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Andrews SS. Effects of surfaces and macromolecular crowding on bimolecular reaction rates. Phys Biol 2020; 17:045001. [DOI: 10.1088/1478-3975/ab7f51] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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27
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Pavlovic M, Plucinski A, Zhang J, Antonietti M, Zeininger L, Schmidt BVKJ. Cascade Kinetics in an Enzyme-Loaded Aqueous Two-Phase System. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2020; 36:1401-1408. [PMID: 31977224 PMCID: PMC7307955 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c00186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Macromolecular crowding plays a critical role in the kinetics of enzymatic reactions. Dynamic compartmentalization of biological components in living cells due to liquid-liquid phase separation represents an important cell regulatory mechanism that can increase enzyme concentration locally and influence the diffusion of substrates. In the present study, we probed partitioning of two enzymes (horseradish-peroxidase and urate-oxidase) in a poly(ethylene glycol)-dextran aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) as a function of salt concentration and ion position in the Hofmeister series. Moreover, we investigated enzymatic cascade reactions and their kinetics within the ATPS, which revealed a strong influence of the ion hydration stemming from the background electrolyte on the partitioning coefficients of proteins following the Hofmeister series. As a result, we were able to realize cross-partitioning of two enzymes because of different protein net charges at a chosen pH. Our study reveals a strong dependency of the enzyme activity on the substrate type and crowding agent interaction on the final kinetics of enzymatic reactions in the ATPS and therefore provides substantial implications en route toward dynamic regulation of reactivity in synthetic protocells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marko Pavlovic
- Department
of Colloid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute
of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Alexander Plucinski
- Department
of Colloid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute
of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
- School
of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Joseph Black Building, G128QQ Glasgow, U.K.
| | - Jianrui Zhang
- Department
of Colloid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute
of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Markus Antonietti
- Department
of Colloid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute
of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Lukas Zeininger
- Department
of Colloid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute
of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
- E-mail: (L.Z.)
| | - Bernhard V. K. J. Schmidt
- Department
of Colloid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute
of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
- School
of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Joseph Black Building, G128QQ Glasgow, U.K.
- E-mail: (B.V.K.J.S.)
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28
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Gotlib IY, Victorov AI. Association kinetics and equilibrium in solutions of cross-associating chains that contain inactive spacers. POLYMER 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2019.122085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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29
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Bashardanesh Z, Elf J, Zhang H, van der Spoel D. Rotational and Translational Diffusion of Proteins as a Function of Concentration. ACS OMEGA 2019; 4:20654-20664. [PMID: 31858051 PMCID: PMC6906769 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.9b02835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2019] [Accepted: 11/14/2019] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Atomistic simulations of three different proteins at different concentrations are performed to obtain insight into protein mobility as a function of protein concentration. We report on simulations of proteins from diluted to the physiological water concentration (about 70% of the mass). First, the viscosity was computed and found to increase by a factor of 7-9 going from pure water to the highest protein concentration, in excellent agreement with in vivo nuclear magnetic resonance results. At a physiological concentration of proteins, the translational diffusion is found to be slowed down to about 30% of the in vitro values. The slow-down of diffusion found here using atomistic models is slightly more than that of a hard sphere model that neglects the electrostatic interactions. Interestingly, rotational diffusion of proteins is slowed down somewhat more (by about 80-95% compared to in vitro values) than translational diffusion, in line with experimental findings and consistent with the increased viscosity. The finding that rotation is retarded more than translation is attributed to solvent-separated clustering. No direct interactions between the proteins are found, and the clustering can likely be attributed to dispersion interactions that are stronger between proteins than between protein and water. Based on these simulations, we can also conclude that the internal dynamics of the proteins in our study are affected only marginally under crowding conditions, and the proteins become somewhat more stable at higher concentrations. Simulations were performed using a force field that was tuned for dealing with crowding conditions by strengthening the protein-water interactions. This force field seems to lead to a reproducible partial unfolding of an α-helix in one of the proteins, an effect that was not observed in the unmodified force field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahedeh Bashardanesh
- Uppsala
Center for Computational Chemistry, Science for Life Laboratory, Department
of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3, Box
596, SE-75124 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Johan Elf
- Uppsala
Center for Computational Chemistry, Science for Life Laboratory, Department
of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3, Box
596, SE-75124 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Haiyang Zhang
- Department
of Biological Science and Engineering, School of Chemistry and Biological
Engineering, University of Science and Technology
Beijing, 100083 Beijing, China
| | - David van der Spoel
- Uppsala
Center for Computational Chemistry, Science for Life Laboratory, Department
of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3, Box
596, SE-75124 Uppsala, Sweden
- E-mail: . Phone: +46 18 4714205
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30
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Cui M, Zhou X, Chen X, Zheng W, Bian L, Li Z, Zheng B. Rapid and room temperature detection of single nucleotide variation with enhanced discrimination by crowding assisted allele specific extension. Chem Commun (Camb) 2019; 55:12052-12055. [PMID: 31535680 DOI: 10.1039/c9cc06229g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
In this paper we report the kinetics based detection of single nucleotide variation (SNV) at room temperature by allele specific extension with different concentrations and types of crowding agents. In general, the crowding conditions enhanced the specificity in the detection of SNV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miao Cui
- Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China. and Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiaoyu Zhou
- Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Xiaoyu Chen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
| | - Weihao Zheng
- School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China
| | - Liming Bian
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
| | - Zigang Li
- School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China
| | - Bo Zheng
- Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China.
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31
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Ge X, Xu J. Macromolecular crowding effects on transcription and translation are regulated by free magnesium ion. Biotechnol Appl Biochem 2019; 67:117-122. [PMID: 31576614 DOI: 10.1002/bab.1827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 09/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Cell-free metabolic engineering is an emerging and promising alternative platform for the production of fuels and chemicals. In recent years, macromolecular crowding effect, which is an important function in living cells but ignored in cell-free systems, has been transferred to cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS). However, inhibitory effects of crowding agents on CFPS were frequently observed, and the mechanism is unclear. In this study, free Mg2+ was found to be a key factor that can regulate the macromolecular crowding effect on in vitro transcription, in vitro translation, and coupled transcript/translation. Addition of crowding agents (20% of Ficoll-70 or Ficoll-400) enhanced in vitro transcription at an index of free Mg2+ concentration (IFMC) below 2 mM but inhibited the transcription when the IFMC was higher than 2 mM. Similarly, Ficoll-400 enhanced in vitro translation and coupled transcription/translation at a lower IFMC (0.1-2 mM) and inhibited the reactions at higher IFMC (>2 mM). Based on the results, CFPS systems could be further optimized by adjusting the content of crowding agents and the IFMC. Besides, the results also indicate that macromolecular crowding effect is important for maintaining the efficiency of in vivo transcription and translation which occur at a low intracellular IFMC (<1 mM).
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Affiliation(s)
- Xumeng Ge
- Arkansas Biosciences Institute and College of Agriculture and Technology, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR, USA.,Quasar Energy Group, Independence, OH, USA
| | - Jianfeng Xu
- Arkansas Biosciences Institute and College of Agriculture and Technology, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR, USA
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32
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Kim DM, Yao X, Vanam RP, Marlow MS. Measuring the effects of macromolecular crowding on antibody function with biolayer interferometry. MAbs 2019; 11:1319-1330. [PMID: 31401928 PMCID: PMC6748605 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2019.1647744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Biotherapeutic proteins are commonly dosed at high concentrations into the blood, which is an inherently complex, crowded solution with substantial protein content. The effects of macromolecular crowding may lead to an appreciable level of non-specific hetero-association in this physiological environment. Therefore, developing a method to characterize the diverse consequences of non-specific interactions between proteins under such non-ideal, crowded conditions, which deviate substantially from those commonly employed for in vitro characterization, is vital to achieving a more complete picture of antibody function in a biological context. In this study, we investigated non-specific interactions between human serum albumin (HSA) and two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) by static light scattering and determined these interactions are both ionic strength-dependent and mAb-dependent. Using biolayer interferometry (BLI), we assessed the effect of HSA on antigen binding by mAbs, demonstrating that these non-specific interactions have a functional impact on mAb:antigen interactions, particularly at low ionic strength. While this effect is mitigated at physiological ionic strength, our in vitro data support the notion that HSA in the blood may lead to non-specific interactions with mAbs in vivo, with a potential impact on their interactions with antigen. Furthermore, the BLI method offers a high-throughput advantage compared to orthogonal techniques such as analytical ultracentrifugation and is amenable to a greater variety of solution conditions compared to nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Our study demonstrates that BLI is a viable technology for examining the impact of non-specific interactions on specific biologically relevant interactions, providing a direct method to assess binding events in crowded conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorothy M Kim
- Pre-Clinical Development and Protein Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc ., Tarrytown , NY , USA
| | - Xiao Yao
- Pre-Clinical Development and Protein Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc ., Tarrytown , NY , USA
| | - Ram P Vanam
- Pre-Clinical Development and Protein Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc ., Tarrytown , NY , USA
| | - Michael S Marlow
- Pre-Clinical Development and Protein Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc ., Tarrytown , NY , USA.,Biotherapeutics Discovery, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc ., Ridgefield , CT , USA
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33
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Scott S, Shaheen C, McGuinness B, Metera K, Kouzine F, Levens D, Benham CJ, Leslie S. Single-molecule visualization of the effects of ionic strength and crowding on structure-mediated interactions in supercoiled DNA molecules. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 47:6360-6368. [PMID: 31106378 PMCID: PMC6614806 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2019] [Revised: 05/02/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA unwinding is an important cellular process involved in DNA replication, transcription and repair. In cells, molecular crowding caused by the presence of organelles, proteins, and other molecules affects numerous internal cellular structures. Here, we visualize plasmid DNA unwinding and binding dynamics to an oligonucleotide probe as functions of ionic strength, crowding agent concentration, and crowding agent species using single-molecule CLiC microscopy. We demonstrate increased probe–plasmid interaction over time with increasing concentration of 8 kDa polyethylene glycol (PEG), a crowding agent. We show decreased probe–plasmid interactions as ionic strength is increased without crowding. However, when crowding is introduced via 10% 8 kDa PEG, interactions between plasmids and oligos are enhanced. This is beyond what is expected for normal in vitro conditions, and may be a critically important, but as of yet unknown, factor in DNA’s proper biological function in vivo. Our results show that crowding has a strong effect on the initial concentration of unwound plasmids. In the dilute conditions used in these experiments, crowding does not impact probe–plasmid interactions once the site is unwound.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shane Scott
- Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2T8
| | - Cynthia Shaheen
- Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2T8
| | - Brendon McGuinness
- Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2T8
| | - Kimberly Metera
- Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2T8
| | - Fedor Kouzine
- Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MS 20892, USA
| | - David Levens
- Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MS 20892, USA
| | - Craig J Benham
- Genome Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Sabrina Leslie
- Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2T8
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34
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Petersen CF, Franosch T. Anomalous transport in the soft-sphere Lorentz model. SOFT MATTER 2019; 15:3906-3913. [PMID: 30998231 DOI: 10.1039/c9sm00442d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The sensitivity of anomalous transport in crowded media to the form of the inter-particle interactions is investigated through computer simulations. We extend the highly simplified Lorentz model towards realistic natural systems by modeling the interactions between the tracer and the obstacles with a smooth potential. We find that the anomalous transport at the critical point happens to be governed by the same universal exponent as for hard exclusion interactions, although the mechanism of how narrow channels are probed is rather different. The scaling behavior of simulations close to the critical point confirm this exponent. Our result indicates that the simple Lorentz model may be applicable to describing the fundamental properties of long-range transport in real crowded environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte F Petersen
- Institut für Theoretische Physik, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstraße 21A, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
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35
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Polydispersity and negative charge are key modulators of extracellular matrix deposition under macromolecular crowding conditions. Acta Biomater 2019; 88:197-210. [PMID: 30831324 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2019.02.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2017] [Revised: 02/15/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Macromolecular crowding is a biophysical phenomenon that stems from the volume excluded by macromolecules, as they undergo steric repulsion and electrostatic interactions. The excluded volume depends on the shape, size, charge and polydispersity of the molecules. Although theoretical/computational models have been used to assess the influence of macromolecular crowding in biological media, real-time experiments are scarce. Herein, we evaluated the influence of hydrodynamic radius, charge and polydispersity of (a) various concentrations of different crowders (carrageenan, Ficoll™ and dextran sulphate); (b) various molecular weights of different crowders (70, 400 and 100 kDa of Ficoll™ and 10, 100 and 500 kDa of dextran sulphate) and (c) various cocktails of the same crowders (cocktails of various concentrations of different molecular weights Ficoll™ and dextran sulphate) on extracellular matrix deposition in human dermal fibroblast culture. The use of crowding cocktails with different molecular weight/concentrations of Ficoll™ or dextran sulphate molecules led to increased polydispersity and enhanced collagen type I deposition in comparison to their mono-domain counterparts. Carrageenan, however, induced the highest deposition of collagen type I due to its negative charge and inherent polydispersity. Our data contribute to a better understanding of the influence of the biophysical properties of the crowders on extracellular matrix deposition in vitro. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Macromolecular crowding is a biophysical phenomenon that accelerates and enhances extracellular matrix deposition in cell culture systems. Herein, we demonstrate that negatively charged and polydispersed macromolecules or cocktails of macromolecules, as opposed to neutral and monodomain macromolecules, induce highest extracellular matrix deposition in human dermal fibroblast cultures.
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36
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Crowe CD, Keating CD. Liquid-liquid phase separation in artificial cells. Interface Focus 2018; 8:20180032. [PMID: 30443328 PMCID: PMC6227770 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2018.0032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) in biology is a recently appreciated means of intracellular compartmentalization. Because the mechanisms driving phase separations are grounded in physical interactions, they can be recreated within less complex systems consisting of only a few simple components, to serve as artificial microcompartments. Within these simple systems, the effect of compartmentalization and microenvironments upon biological reactions and processes can be studied. This review will explore several approaches to incorporating LLPS as artificial cytoplasms and in artificial cells, including both segregative and associative phase separation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christine D. Keating
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
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37
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Ramirez SA, Leidy C. Effect of the Organization of Rhodopsin on the Association between Transducin and a Photoactivated Receptor. J Phys Chem B 2018; 122:8872-8879. [PMID: 30156842 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b07401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
After photoactivation, rhodopsin (R), a G-protein-coupled receptor, rapidly activates multiple transducin G-proteins (G) in an initial amplification step of phototransduction. G-protein activation requires diffusion-mediated association with an active rhodopsin (R*) at the rod disk membrane. Different organizations of R within the membrane have been revealded by several microscopy studies, including static and freely diffusing situations. However, it is unclear how such different scenarios influence the activation rate of G proteins. Through Monte Carlo simulations, we study the association reaction between a photoactivated rhodopsin and transducin under different reported receptor organizations including (a) R monomers diffusing freely, (b) R forming static dispersed crystalline domains made of rows of dimers, and (c) R arranged in static tracks formed by two adjacent rows of dimers. A key parameter in our simulations is the probability of binding following a collision ( p). For high p, the association rate between R* and G is higher in the freely diffusive system than in the static organizations, but for low collision efficiencies, the static organizations can result in faster association rates than the mobile system. We also observe that with low p, increasing the concentration of R increases the association rate significantly in the dispersed crystals configuration and just slightly in the free diffusive system. In summary, the lateral organization of rhodopsin influences the association rate between R* and G in a manner strongly dependent on the collision efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel A Ramirez
- Department of Pharmacology , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill , North Carolina 27599 ; United States
| | - Chad Leidy
- Department of Physics , Universidad de los Andes , Bogotá 111711 , Colombia
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38
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Molina JE, Vasquez-Echeverri A, Schwartz DC, Hernández-Ortiz JP. Discrete and Continuum Models for the Salt in Crowded Environments of Suspended Charged Particles. J Chem Theory Comput 2018; 14:4901-4913. [PMID: 30044624 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.8b00221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Electrostatic forces greatly affect the overall dynamics and diffusional activities of suspended charged particles in crowded environments. Accordingly, the concentration of counter- or co-ions in a fluid-''the salt"-determines the range, strength, and order of electrostatic interactions between particles. This environment fosters engineering routes for controlling directed assembly of particles at both the micro- and nanoscale. Here, we analyzed two computational modeling schemes that considered salt within suspensions of charged particles, or polyelectrolytes: discrete and continuum. Electrostatic interactions were included through a Green's function formalism, where the confined fundamental solution for Poisson's equation is resolved by the general geometry Ewald-like method. For the discrete model, the salt was considered as regularized point-charges with a specific valence and size, while concentration fields were defined for each ionic species for the continuum model. These considerations were evolved using Brownian dynamics of the suspended charged particles and the discrete salt ions, while a convection-diffusion transport equation, including the Nernst-Planck diffusion mechanism, accounted for the dynamics of the concentration fields. The salt/particle models were considered as suspensions under slit-confinement conditions for creating crowded "macro-ions", where density distributions and radial distribution functions were used to compare and differentiate computational models. Importantly, our analysis shows that disparate length scales or increased system size presented by the salt and suspended particles are best dealt with using concentration fields to model the ions. These findings were then validated by novel simulations of a semipermeable polyelectrolyte membrane, at the mesoscale, from which ionic channels emerged and enable ion conduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jarol E Molina
- Departamento de Materiales y Nanotecnología , Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Medellín , Medellín 050034 , Colombia
| | - Alejandro Vasquez-Echeverri
- Departamento de Materiales y Nanotecnología , Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Medellín , Medellín 050034 , Colombia
| | - David C Schwartz
- Laboratory for Molecular and Computational Genomics, Department of Chemistry, Laboratory of Genetics , University of Wisconsin-Madison , Madison , Wisconsin 53706-1396 , United States.,The Biotechnology Center , University of Wisconsin-Madison , Madison , Wisconsin 53706-1396 , United States
| | - Juan P Hernández-Ortiz
- Departamento de Materiales y Nanotecnología , Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Medellín , Medellín 050034 , Colombia.,The Biotechnology Center , University of Wisconsin-Madison , Madison , Wisconsin 53706-1396 , United States.,Institute for Molecular Engineering , University of Chicago , Chicago , Illinois 60637 , United States
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39
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Jaworek MW, Schuabb V, Winter R. Pressure and cosolvent modulation of the catalytic activity of amyloid fibrils. Chem Commun (Camb) 2018; 54:5696-5699. [PMID: 29691524 DOI: 10.1039/c8cc00699g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
We report on the effects of pressure and cosolvents on the catalytic activity of a designed amyloid fibril by applying a high-pressure stopped-flow methodology with rapid spectroscopic detection. FTIR spectroscopic data revealed a remarkable pressure and temperature stability of the fibrillar catalyst. The activity is further enhanced by osmolytes and macromolecular crowding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michel W Jaworek
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Str. 4a, 44227 Dortmund, Germany.
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40
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Roa R, Siegl T, Kim WK, Dzubiella J. Product interactions and feedback in diffusion-controlled reactions. J Chem Phys 2018; 148:064705. [PMID: 29448770 DOI: 10.1063/1.5016608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Steric or attractive interactions among reactants or between reactants and inert crowders can substantially influence the total rate of a diffusion-influenced reaction in the liquid phase. However, the role of the product species, which has typically different physical properties than the reactant species, has been disregarded so far. Here we study the effects of reactant-product and product-product interactions as well as asymmetric diffusion properties on the rate of diffusion-controlled reactions in the classical Smoluchowski-setup for chemical transformations at a perfect catalytic sphere. For this, we solve the diffusion equation with appropriate boundary conditions coupled by a mean-field approach on the second virial level to account for the particle interactions. We find that all particle spatial distributions and the total rate can change significantly, depending on the diffusion and interaction properties of the accumulated products. Complex competing and self-regulating (homeostatic) or self-amplifying effects are observed for the system, leading to both decrease and increase in the rates, as the presence of interacting products feeds back to the reactant flux and thus the rate with which the products are generated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Roa
- Física Aplicada I, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain
| | - Toni Siegl
- Institut für Weiche Materie und Funktionale Materialien, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, 14109 Berlin, Germany
| | - Won Kyu Kim
- Institut für Weiche Materie und Funktionale Materialien, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, 14109 Berlin, Germany
| | - Joachim Dzubiella
- Institut für Weiche Materie und Funktionale Materialien, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, 14109 Berlin, Germany
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41
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Norred SE, Caveney PM, Chauhan G, Collier LK, Collier CP, Abel SM, Simpson ML. Macromolecular Crowding Induces Spatial Correlations That Control Gene Expression Bursting Patterns. ACS Synth Biol 2018; 7:1251-1258. [PMID: 29687993 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.8b00139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Recent superresolution microscopy studies in E. coli demonstrate that the cytoplasm has highly variable local concentrations where macromolecular crowding plays a central role in establishing membrane-less compartmentalization. This spatial inhomogeneity significantly influences molecular transport and association processes central to gene expression. Yet, little is known about how macromolecular crowding influences gene expression bursting-the episodic process where mRNA and proteins are produced in bursts. Here, we simultaneously measured mRNA and protein reporters in cell-free systems, showing that macromolecular crowding decoupled the well-known relationship between fluctuations in the protein population (noise) and mRNA population statistics. Crowded environments led to a 10-fold increase in protein noise even though there were only modest changes in the mRNA population and fluctuations. Instead, cell-like macromolecular crowding created an inhomogeneous spatial distribution of mRNA ("spatial noise") that led to large variability in the protein production burst size. As a result, the mRNA spatial noise created large temporal fluctuations in the protein population. These results highlight the interplay between macromolecular crowding, spatial inhomogeneities, and the resulting dynamics of gene expression, and provide insights into using these organizational principles in both cell-based and cell-free synthetic biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Elizabeth Norred
- Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences , Oak Ridge National Laboratory , Oak Ridge , Tennessee 37831 , United States
- Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education , University of Tennessee Knoxville and Oak Ridge National Laboratory , Knoxville , Tennessee 37996 , United States
| | - Patrick M Caveney
- Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences , Oak Ridge National Laboratory , Oak Ridge , Tennessee 37831 , United States
- Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education , University of Tennessee Knoxville and Oak Ridge National Laboratory , Knoxville , Tennessee 37996 , United States
| | - Gaurav Chauhan
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department , University of Tennessee Knoxville , Knoxville , Tennessee 37996 , United States
| | - Lauren K Collier
- Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences , Oak Ridge National Laboratory , Oak Ridge , Tennessee 37831 , United States
| | - C Patrick Collier
- Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences , Oak Ridge National Laboratory , Oak Ridge , Tennessee 37831 , United States
| | - Steven M Abel
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department , University of Tennessee Knoxville , Knoxville , Tennessee 37996 , United States
| | - Michael L Simpson
- Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences , Oak Ridge National Laboratory , Oak Ridge , Tennessee 37831 , United States
- Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education , University of Tennessee Knoxville and Oak Ridge National Laboratory , Knoxville , Tennessee 37996 , United States
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42
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Benny P, Raghunath M. Making microenvironments: A look into incorporating macromolecular crowding into in vitro experiments, to generate biomimetic microenvironments which are capable of directing cell function for tissue engineering applications. J Tissue Eng 2017; 8:2041731417730467. [PMID: 29051808 PMCID: PMC5638150 DOI: 10.1177/2041731417730467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2017] [Accepted: 08/09/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Biomimetic microenvironments are key components to successful cell culture and tissue engineering in vitro. One of the most accurate biomimetic microenvironments is that made by the cells themselves. Cell-made microenvironments are most similar to the in vivo state as they are cell-specific and produced by the actual cells which reside in that specific microenvironment. However, cell-made microenvironments have been challenging to re-create in vitro due to the lack of extracellular matrix composition, volume and complexity which are required. By applying macromolecular crowding to current cell culture protocols, cell-made microenvironments, or cell-derived matrices, can be generated at significant rates in vitro. In this review, we will examine the causes and effects of macromolecular crowding and how it has been applied in several in vitro systems including tissue engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Benny
- Department of Biochemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Michael Raghunath
- Department of Biochemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore.,Institute of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Wädenswil, Switzerland
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43
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Machiyama H, Morikawa TJ, Okamoto K, Watanabe TM, Fujita H. The use of a genetically encoded molecular crowding sensor in various biological phenomena. Biophys Physicobiol 2017; 14:119-125. [PMID: 28900589 PMCID: PMC5590787 DOI: 10.2142/biophysico.14.0_119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2017] [Accepted: 07/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
We evaluated usability of a previously developed genetically encoded molecular crowding sensor in various biological phenomena. Molecular crowding refers to intracellular regions that are occupied more by proteins and nucleotides than by water molecules and is thought to have a strong effect on protein function. To evaluate intracellular molecular crowding, usually the diffusion coefficient of a probe is used because it is related to mobility of the surrounding molecular crowding agents. Recently, genetically encoded molecular crowding sensors based on Förster resonance energy transfer were reported. In the present study, to evaluate the usability of a genetically encoded molecular crowding sensor, molecular crowding was monitored during several biological events. Changes in molecular crowding during stem cell differentiation, cell division, and focal adhesion development and difference in molecular crowding in filopodia locations were examined. The results show usefulness of the genetically encoded molecular crowding sensor for understanding the biological phenomena relating to molecular crowding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroaki Machiyama
- Quantitative Biology Center, RIKEN, Suita, Osaka 565-0874, Japan.,Department of Immunology, Tokyo Medical University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8402, Japan
| | | | - Kazuko Okamoto
- Quantitative Biology Center, RIKEN, Suita, Osaka 565-0874, Japan
| | | | - Hideaki Fujita
- Quantitative Biology Center, RIKEN, Suita, Osaka 565-0874, Japan.,Waseda Bioscience Research Institute in Singapore (WABIOS), Helios, Singapore 138667, Republic of Singapore
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44
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Gomez D, Klumpp S. Facilitated diffusion in the presence of obstacles on the DNA. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2017; 18:11184-92. [PMID: 27048915 DOI: 10.1039/c6cp00307a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Biological functions of DNA depend on the sequence-specific binding of DNA-binding proteins to their corresponding binding sites. Binding of these proteins to their binding sites occurs through a facilitated diffusion process that combines three-dimensional diffusion in the cytoplasm with one-dimensional diffusion (sliding) along the DNA. In this work, we use a lattice model of facilitated diffusion to study how the dynamics of binding of a protein to a specific site (e.g., binding of an RNA polymerase to a promoter or of a transcription factor to its operator site) is affected by the presence of other proteins bound to the DNA, which act as 'obstacles' in the sliding process. Different types of these obstacles with different dynamics are implemented. While all types impair facilitated diffusion, the extent of the hindrance depends on the type of obstacle. As a consequence of hindrance by obstacles, more excursions into the cytoplasm are required for optimal target binding compared to the case without obstacles.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Gomez
- Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Science Park Golm, 14424 Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Stefan Klumpp
- Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Science Park Golm, 14424 Potsdam, Germany. and Institute for Nonlinear Dynamics, Georg-August University Göttingen, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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45
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Poshyvailo L, von Lieres E, Kondrat S. Does metabolite channeling accelerate enzyme-catalyzed cascade reactions? PLoS One 2017; 12:e0172673. [PMID: 28234973 PMCID: PMC5325314 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2016] [Accepted: 02/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Metabolite or substrate channeling is a direct transfer of metabolites from one enzyme to the next enzyme in a cascade. Among many potential advantages of substrate channeling, acceleration of the total reaction rate is considered as one of the most important and self-evident. However, using a simple model, supported by stochastic simulations, we show that it is not always the case; particularly at long times (i.e. in steady state) and high substrate concentrations, a channeled reaction cannot be faster, and can even be slower, than the original non-channeled cascade reaction. In addition we show that increasing the degree of channeling may lead to an increase of the metabolite pool size. We substantiate that the main advantage of channeling likely lies in protecting metabolites from degradation or competing side reactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liubov Poshyvailo
- Forschungszentrum Jülich, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Jülich, Germany
- Forschungszentrum Jülich, IEK-7: Institute of Energy and Climate Research, Jülich, Germany
| | - Eric von Lieres
- Forschungszentrum Jülich, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Jülich, Germany
| | - Svyatoslav Kondrat
- Forschungszentrum Jülich, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Jülich, Germany
- * E-mail: ,
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46
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Abbina S, Vappala S, Kumar P, Siren EMJ, La CC, Abbasi U, Brooks DE, Kizhakkedathu JN. Hyperbranched polyglycerols: recent advances in synthesis, biocompatibility and biomedical applications. J Mater Chem B 2017; 5:9249-9277. [DOI: 10.1039/c7tb02515g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Hyperbranched polyglycerol is one of the most widely studied biocompatible dendritic polymer and showed promising applications. Here, we summarized the recent advancements in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srinivas Abbina
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
- University of British Columbia
- Vancouver
- Canada
- Center for Blood Research
| | - Sreeparna Vappala
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
- University of British Columbia
- Vancouver
- Canada
- Center for Blood Research
| | - Prashant Kumar
- Center for Blood Research
- University of British Columbia
- Vancouver
- Canada
- Department of Chemistry
| | - Erika M. J. Siren
- Center for Blood Research
- University of British Columbia
- Vancouver
- Canada
- Department of Chemistry
| | - Chanel C. La
- Center for Blood Research
- University of British Columbia
- Vancouver
- Canada
- Department of Chemistry
| | - Usama Abbasi
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
- University of British Columbia
- Vancouver
- Canada
- Center for Blood Research
| | - Donald E. Brooks
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
- University of British Columbia
- Vancouver
- Canada
- Center for Blood Research
| | - Jayachandran N. Kizhakkedathu
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
- University of British Columbia
- Vancouver
- Canada
- Center for Blood Research
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47
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Liu L, Kou R, Liu G. Ion specificities of artificial macromolecules. SOFT MATTER 2016; 13:68-80. [PMID: 27906410 DOI: 10.1039/c6sm01773h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Artificial macromolecules are well-defined synthetic polymers, with a relatively simple structure as compared to naturally occurring macromolecules. This review focuses on the ion specificities of artifical macromolecules. Ion specificities are influenced by solvent-mediated indirect ion-macromolecule interactions and also by direct ion-macromolecule interactions. In aqueous solutions, the role of water-mediated indirect ion-macromolecule interactions will be discussed. The addition of organic solvents to aqueous solutions significantly changes the ion specificities due to the formation of water-organic solvent complexes. For direct ion-macromolecule interactions, we will discuss specific ion-pairing interactions for charged macromolecules and specific ion-neutral site interactions for uncharged macromolecules. When the medium conditions change from dilute solutions to crowded environments, the ion specificities can be modified by either the volume exclusion effect, the variation of dielectric constant, or the interactions between ions, macromolecules, and crowding agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lvdan Liu
- Department of Chemical Physics, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, P. R. China 230026.
| | - Ran Kou
- Department of Chemical Physics, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, P. R. China 230026.
| | - Guangming Liu
- Department of Chemical Physics, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, P. R. China 230026.
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48
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Bellesia G, Bales BB. Population dynamics, information transfer, and spatial organization in a chemical reaction network under spatial confinement and crowding conditions. Phys Rev E 2016; 94:042306. [PMID: 27841639 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.94.042306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
We investigate, via Brownian dynamics simulations, the reaction dynamics of a generic, nonlinear chemical network under spatial confinement and crowding conditions. In detail, the Willamowski-Rossler chemical reaction system has been "extended" and considered as a prototype reaction-diffusion system. Our results are potentially relevant to a number of open problems in biophysics and biochemistry, such as the synthesis of primitive cellular units (protocells) and the definition of their role in the chemical origin of life and the characterization of vesicle-mediated drug delivery processes. More generally, the computational approach presented in this work makes the case for the use of spatial stochastic simulation methods for the study of biochemical networks in vivo where the "well-mixed" approximation is invalid and both thermal and intrinsic fluctuations linked to the possible presence of molecular species in low number copies cannot be averaged out.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Bellesia
- Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - Benjamin B Bales
- Department of Computer Science, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
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49
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Ross DS, Deamer D. Dry/Wet Cycling and the Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Prebiotic Polymer Synthesis. Life (Basel) 2016; 6:life6030028. [PMID: 27472365 PMCID: PMC5041004 DOI: 10.3390/life6030028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2016] [Revised: 06/30/2016] [Accepted: 07/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The endoergic nature of protein and nucleic acid assembly in aqueous media presents two questions that are fundamental to the understanding of life’s origins: (i) how did the polymers arise in an aqueous prebiotic world; and (ii) once formed in some manner, how were they sufficiently persistent to engage in further chemistry. We propose here a quantitative resolution of these issues that evolved from recent accounts in which RNA-like polymers were produced in evaporation/rehydration cycles. The equilibrium Nm + Nn ↔ Nm+n + H2O is endoergic by about 3.3 kcal/mol for polynucleotide formation, and the system thus lies far to the left in the starting solutions. Kinetic simulations of the evaporation showed that simple Le Châtelier’s principle shifts were insufficient, but the introduction of oligomer-stabilizing factors of 5–10 kcal/mol both moved the process to the right and respectively boosted and retarded the elongation and hydrolysis rates. Molecular crowding and excluded volume effects in present-day cells yield stabilizing factors of that order, and we argue here that the crowded conditions in the evaporites generate similar effects. Oligomer formation is thus energetically preferred in those settings, but the process is thwarted in each evaporation step as diffusion becomes rate limiting. Rehydration dissipates disordered oligomer clusters in the evaporites, however, and subsequent dry/wet cycling accordingly “ratchets up” the system to an ultimate population of kinetically trappedthermodynamically preferred biopolymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- David S Ross
- Retired, Formerly SRI International, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA.
| | - David Deamer
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
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50
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Kekenes-Huskey PM, Scott CE, Atalay S. Quantifying the Influence of the Crowded Cytoplasm on Small Molecule Diffusion. J Phys Chem B 2016; 120:8696-706. [PMID: 27327486 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b03887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Cytosolic crowding can influence the thermodynamics and kinetics of in vivo chemical reactions. Most significantly, proteins and nucleic acid crowders reduce the accessible volume fraction, ϕ, available to a diffusing substrate, thereby reducing its effective diffusion rate, Deff, relative to its rate in bulk solution. However, Deff can be further hindered or even enhanced, when long-range crowder/diffuser interactions are significant. To probe these effects, we numerically estimated Deff values for small, charged molecules in representative, cytosolic protein lattices up to 0.1 × 0.1 × 0.1 μm(3) in volume via the homogenized Smoluchowski electro-diffusion equation. We further validated our predictions against Deff estimates from ϕ-dependent analytical relationships, such as the Maxwell-Garnett (MG) bound, as well as explicit solutions of the time-dependent electro-diffusion equation. We find that in typical, moderately crowded cell cytoplasm (ϕ ≈ 0.8), Deff is primarily determined by ϕ; in other words, diverse protein shapes and heterogeneous distributions only modestly impact Deff. However, electrostatic interactions between diffusers and crowders, particularly at low electrolyte ionic strengths, can substantially modulate Deff. These findings help delineate the extent that cytoplasmic crowders influence small molecule diffusion, which ultimately may shape the efficiency and timing of intracellular signaling pathways. More generally, the quantitative agreement between computationally expensive solutions of the time-dependent electro-diffusion equation and its comparatively cheaper homogenized form suggest that the latter is a broadly effective model for diffusion in wide-ranging, crowded biological media.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter M Kekenes-Huskey
- Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky , Lexington, Kentucky 40506, United States
| | - Caitlin E Scott
- Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky , Lexington, Kentucky 40506, United States
| | - Selcuk Atalay
- Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky , Lexington, Kentucky 40506, United States
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