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Farré-Gil D, Arcon JP, Laughton CA, Orozco M. CGeNArate: a sequence-dependent coarse-grained model of DNA for accurate atomistic MD simulations of kb-long duplexes. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:6791-6801. [PMID: 38813824 PMCID: PMC11229373 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 05/01/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024] Open
Abstract
We present CGeNArate, a new model for molecular dynamics simulations of very long segments of B-DNA in the context of biotechnological or chromatin studies. The developed method uses a coarse-grained Hamiltonian with trajectories that are back-mapped to the atomistic resolution level with extreme accuracy by means of Machine Learning Approaches. The method is sequence-dependent and reproduces very well not only local, but also global physical properties of DNA. The efficiency of the method allows us to recover with a reduced computational effort high-quality atomic-resolution ensembles of segments containing many kilobases of DNA, entering into the gene range or even the entire DNA of certain cellular organelles.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Farré-Gil
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10-12, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Juan Pablo Arcon
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10-12, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Charles A Laughton
- School of Pharmacy and Biodiscovery Institute, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Modesto Orozco
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10-12, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedicine, University of Barcelona, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
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Yang H, Mei J, Xu W, Ma X, Sun B, Ai H. Identification of the probable structure of the sAPPα-GABA BR1a complex and theoretical solutions for such cases. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:12267-12280. [PMID: 35543350 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp00569g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Amyloid precursor protein (APP) is the core of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Existing studies have shown that the soluble secreted APP (sAPPα) fragment obtained from the hydrolysis of APP by α-secretase has a synaptic function. Thereinto, a nine-residue fragment (APP9mer) of the extension domain region of sAPPα can bind directly and selectively to the N-terminal sushi1 domain (SD1) of the γ-aminobutyric acid type B receptor subunit 1a (GABABR1a) protein, which can influence synaptic transmission and plasticity by changing the GABABR1a conformation. APP9mer is a highly flexible, disordered region, and as such it is difficult to experimentally determine the optimal APPmer-SD1 binding complex. In this study we constructed two types of APP9mer-SD1 complexes through molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation, aiming to explore the recognition function and mechanism of the specific binding of APP9mer with SD1, from which the most probable APPmer-SD1 model conformation is predicted. All the data from the analyses of RMSD, RMSF, PCA, DCCM and MM/PBSA binding energy as well as comparison with the experimental dissociation constant Kd suggest that 2NC is the most likely conformation to restore the crystal structure of the experimental APP9mer-SD1 complex. Of note, the key recognition residues of APP9mer are D24, D25, D27, W29 and W30, which mainly act on the 9-45 residue domain of SD1 (consisting of two loops and three short β-chains at the N-terminus of SD1). The mini-model with key residues identified establishes the molecular basis with deep insight into the interaction between APP and GABABR1a and provides a target for the development of therapeutic strategies for modulating GABABR1a-specific signaling in neurological and psychiatric disorders. More importantly, the study offers a theoretical solution for how to determine a biomolecular structure with a highly flexible, disordered fragment embedded within. The flexible fragment involved in a protein structure has to be deserted usually during the structural determination with experimental methods (e.g. X-ray crystallography, etc.).
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Affiliation(s)
- Huijuan Yang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, P. R. China.
| | - Jinfei Mei
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, P. R. China.
| | - Wen Xu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, P. R. China.
| | - Xiaohong Ma
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, P. R. China.
| | - Bo Sun
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, P. R. China.
| | - Hongqi Ai
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, P. R. China.
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Martin B, Dans PD, Wieczór M, Villegas N, Brun-Heath I, Battistini F, Terrazas M, Orozco M. Molecular basis of Arginine and Lysine DNA sequence-dependent thermo-stability modulation. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1009749. [PMID: 35007284 PMCID: PMC8782489 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
We have used a variety of theoretical and experimental techniques to study the role of four basic amino acids-Arginine, Lysine, Ornithine and L-2,4-Diaminobutyric acid-on the structure, flexibility and sequence-dependent stability of DNA. We found that the presence of organic ions stabilizes the duplexes and significantly reduces the difference in stability between AT- and GC-rich duplexes with respect to the control conditions. This suggests that these amino acids, ingredients of the primordial soup during abiogenesis, could have helped to equalize the stability of AT- and GC-rich DNA oligomers, facilitating a general non-catalysed self-replication of DNA. Experiments and simulations demonstrate that organic ions have an effect that goes beyond the general electrostatic screening, involving specific interactions along the grooves of the double helix. We conclude that organic ions, largely ignored in the DNA world, should be reconsidered as crucial structural elements far from mimics of small inorganic cations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Martin
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Bioengineering, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Pablo D. Dans
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Biological Sciences, CENUR Litoral Norte, Universidad de la República (UdelaR), Salto, Uruguay
- Functional Genomics Unit, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Milosz Wieczór
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Nuria Villegas
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Isabelle Brun-Heath
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Federica Battistini
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Montserrat Terrazas
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Modesto Orozco
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedicine, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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Romanos N, Megariotis G, Theodorou DN. Molecular dynamics simulations of stretch‐induced crystallization in layered polyethylene. POLYMER CRYSTALLIZATION 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/pcr2.10172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nikolaos Romanos
- School of Chemical Engineering National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) Athens Greece
| | - Grigorios Megariotis
- School of Chemical Engineering National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) Athens Greece
| | - Doros N. Theodorou
- School of Chemical Engineering National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) Athens Greece
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Zerze GH, Stillinger FH, Debenedetti PG. Thermodynamics of DNA Hybridization from Atomistic Simulations. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:771-779. [PMID: 33434025 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c09237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Studying DNA hybridization equilibrium at atomistic length scales, either via molecular dynamics (MD) or through commonly used advanced sampling approaches, is notoriously difficult. In this work, we describe an order-parameter-based advanced sampling technique to calculate the free energy of hybridization, and estimate the melting temperature of DNA oligomers at atomistic resolution. The free energy landscapes are reported as a function of a native-topology-based order parameter for the Drew-Dickerson dodecamer and for a range of DNA decamer sequences of different GC content. Our estimated melting temperatures match the experimental numbers within ±15 °C. As a test of the numerical reliability of the procedures employed, it was verified that the predicted free energy surfaces and melting temperatures of the d- and l-enantiomers of the Drew-Dickerson dodecamer were indistinguishable within numerical accuracy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gül H Zerze
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
| | - Frank H Stillinger
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
| | - Pablo G Debenedetti
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
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Yang YJ, Dong HL, Qiang XW, Fu H, Zhou EC, Zhang C, Yin L, Chen XF, Jia FC, Dai L, Tan ZJ, Zhang XH. Cytosine Methylation Enhances DNA Condensation Revealed by Equilibrium Measurements Using Magnetic Tweezers. J Am Chem Soc 2020; 142:9203-9209. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.9b11957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ya-Jun Yang
- College of Life Sciences, the Institute for Advanced Studies, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Hai-Long Dong
- Department of Physics and Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro & Nano-structures of Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Xiao-Wei Qiang
- Department of Physics and Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro & Nano-structures of Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Hang Fu
- College of Life Sciences, the Institute for Advanced Studies, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Er-Chi Zhou
- College of Life Sciences, the Institute for Advanced Studies, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Chen Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, the Institute for Advanced Studies, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Lei Yin
- College of Life Sciences, the Institute for Advanced Studies, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Xue-Feng Chen
- College of Life Sciences, the Institute for Advanced Studies, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Fu-Chao Jia
- Laboratory of Functional Molecules and Materials, School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255000, China
| | - Liang Dai
- Department of Physics, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Zhi-Jie Tan
- Department of Physics and Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro & Nano-structures of Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Xing-Hua Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, the Institute for Advanced Studies, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
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Hospital A, Battistini F, Soliva R, Gelpí JL, Orozco M. Surviving the deluge of biosimulation data. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR SCIENCE 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/wcms.1449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Adam Hospital
- Institut de Recerca Biomèdica, IRB Barcelona, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology Joint IRB‐BSC Program in Computational Biology Barcelona Spain
| | - Federica Battistini
- Institut de Recerca Biomèdica, IRB Barcelona, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology Joint IRB‐BSC Program in Computational Biology Barcelona Spain
| | | | - Josep Lluis Gelpí
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center Join IRB‐BSC Program in Computational Biology Barcelona Spain
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biomedicina Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona Spain
| | - Modesto Orozco
- Institut de Recerca Biomèdica, IRB Barcelona, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology Joint IRB‐BSC Program in Computational Biology Barcelona Spain
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biomedicina Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona Spain
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8
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How B-DNA Dynamics Decipher Sequence-Selective Protein Recognition. J Mol Biol 2019; 431:3845-3859. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2019.07.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Revised: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 07/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Ekesan Ş, York DM. Framework for Conducting and Analyzing Crystal Simulations of Nucleic Acids to Aid in Modern Force Field Evaluation. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:4611-4624. [PMID: 31002511 PMCID: PMC6614744 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b11923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Crystal simulations provide useful tools, along with solution simulations, to test nucleic acid force fields, but should be interpreted with care owing to the difficulty of establishing the environmental conditions needed to reproduce experimental crystal packing. These challenges underscore the need to construct proper protocols for carrying out crystal simulations and analyzing results to identify the origin of deviations from crystallographic data. Toward this end, we introduce a novel framework for B-factor decomposition into additive intramolecular, rotational, and translational atomic fluctuation components and partitioning of each of these components into individual asymmetric unit and lattice contributions. We apply the framework to a benchmark set of A-DNA, Z-DNA, and B-DNA double helix systems of various chain lengths. Overall, the intramolecular deviations from the crystal were quite small (≤1.0 Å), suggesting high accuracy of the force field, whereas crystal packing was not well reproduced. The present work establishes a framework to conduct and analyze crystal simulations that ultimately take on issues of crystal packing and can provide insight into nucleic acid force fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Şölen Ekesan
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology , Rutgers University , Piscataway , New Jersey 08854 , United States
| | - Darrin M York
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology , Rutgers University , Piscataway , New Jersey 08854 , United States
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