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Luo H, Ma Y, Bi J, Li Z, Wang Y, Su Z, Gerstweiler L, Ren Y, Zhang S. Experimental and molecular dynamics simulation studies on the physical properties of three HBc-VLP derivatives as nanoparticle protein vaccine candidates. Vaccine 2024:S0264-410X(24)00599-1. [PMID: 38811268 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.05.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2024] [Revised: 05/19/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024]
Abstract
Self-assembling virus-like particles (VLPs) are promising platforms for vaccine development. However, the unpredictability of the physical properties, such as self-assembly capability, hydrophobicity, and overall stability in engineered protein particles fused with antigens, presents substantial challenges in their downstream processing. We envision that these challenges can be addressed by combining more precise computer-aided molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with experimental studies on the modified products, with more to-date forcefield descriptions and larger models closely resembling real assemblies, realized by rapid advancement in computing technology. In this study, three chimeric designs based on the hepatitis B core (HBc) protein as model vaccine candidates were constructed to study and compare the influence of inserted epitopes as well as insertion strategy on HBc modifications. Large partial VLP models containing 17 chains for the HBc chimeric model vaccines were constructed based on the wild-type (wt) HBc assembly template. The findings from our simulation analysis have demonstrated good consistency with experimental results, pertaining to the surface hydrophobicity and overall stability of the chimeric vaccine candidates. Furthermore, the different impact of foreign antigen insertions on the HBc scaffold was investigated through simulations. It was found that separately inserting two epitopes into the HBc platform at the N-terminal and the major immunogenic regions (MIR) yields better results compared to a serial insertion at MIR in terms of protein structural stability. This study substantiates that an MD-guided design approach can facilitate vaccine development and improve its manufacturing efficiency by predicting products with extreme surface hydrophobicity or structural instability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Luo
- School of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia; State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Preparation and Delivery (CAS), Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China; Institute of Pharmaceutical and Food Engineering, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Jinzhong 030619, PR China
| | - Yanyan Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Preparation and Delivery (CAS), Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China
| | - Jingxiu Bi
- School of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia
| | - Zhengjun Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Preparation and Delivery (CAS), Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China
| | - Yingli Wang
- Institute of Pharmaceutical and Food Engineering, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Jinzhong 030619, PR China
| | - Zhiguo Su
- State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Preparation and Delivery (CAS), Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China
| | - Lukas Gerstweiler
- School of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia.
| | - Ying Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Mesoscience and Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China; School of Chemical Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China.
| | - Songping Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Preparation and Delivery (CAS), Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China.
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Astrakas LG, Gousias C, Tzaphlidou M. Electric field effects on alanine tripeptide in sodium halide solutions. Electromagn Biol Med 2014; 34:361-9. [PMID: 25006865 DOI: 10.3109/15368378.2014.936065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
The electric field effects on conformational properties of trialanine in different halide solutions were explored with long-scale molecular dynamics simulations. NaF, NaCl, NaBr and NaI solutions of low (0.2 M) and high (2 M) concentrations were exposed to a constant electric field of 1000 V/m. Generally, the electric field does not disturb trialanine's structure. Large structural changes appear only in the case of the supersaturated 2.0 M NaF solution containing NaF crystals. Although the electric field affects in a complex way, all the ions-water-peptide interactions, it predominantly affects the electroselectivity effect, which describes specific interactions such as the ion-pair formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loukas G Astrakas
- a Laboratories of Medical Physics , Medical School, University of Ioannina , Ioannina , Greece
| | - Christos Gousias
- a Laboratories of Medical Physics , Medical School, University of Ioannina , Ioannina , Greece
| | - Margaret Tzaphlidou
- a Laboratories of Medical Physics , Medical School, University of Ioannina , Ioannina , Greece
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Ioannou F, Leontidis E, Archontis G. Helix Formation by Alanine-Based Peptides in Pure Water and Electrolyte Solutions: Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulations. J Phys Chem B 2013; 117:9866-76. [DOI: 10.1021/jp406231g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Filippos Ioannou
- Department
of Chemistry, and ‡Deparment of Physics, University of Cyprus, PO20537, CY1678, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Epameinondas Leontidis
- Department
of Chemistry, and ‡Deparment of Physics, University of Cyprus, PO20537, CY1678, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Georgios Archontis
- Department
of Chemistry, and ‡Deparment of Physics, University of Cyprus, PO20537, CY1678, Nicosia, Cyprus
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Ioannou F, Archontis G, Leontidis E. Specific interactions of sodium salts with alanine dipeptide and tetrapeptide in water: insights from molecular dynamics. J Phys Chem B 2011; 115:13389-400. [PMID: 21978277 DOI: 10.1021/jp207068m] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
We examine computationally the dipeptide and tetrapeptide of alanine in pure water and solutions of sodium chloride (NaCl) and iodide (NaI), with salt concentrations up to 3 M. Enhanced sampling of the configuration space is achieved by the replica exchange method. In agreement with other works, we observe preferential sodium interactions with the peptide carbonyl groups, which are enhanced in the NaI solutions due to the increased affinity of the less hydrophilic iodide anion for the peptide methyl side-chains and terminal blocking groups. These interactions have been associated with a decrease in the helicities of more complex peptides. In our simulations, both salts have a small effect on the dipeptide, but consistently stabilize the intramolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions and "α-helical" conformations of the tetrapeptide. This behavior, and an analysis of the intermolecular interaction energies show that ion-peptide interactions, or changes in the peptide hydration due to salts, are not sufficient determining factors of the peptide conformational preferences. Additional simulations suggest that the observed stabilizing effect is not due to the employed force-field, and that it is maintained in short peptides but is reversed in longer peptides. Thus, the peptide conformational preferences are determined by an interplay of energetic and entropic factors, arising from the peptide sequence and length and the composition of the solution.
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Kolombet VA. Calculation of the hydration energy of polyvalent metal ions by the RISM method. RUSS J INORG CHEM+ 2011. [DOI: 10.1134/s0036023611080110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Kolombet VA, Sergievskii VP. The special features of the thermodynamic characteristics of hydration of univalent ions according to the reference interaction site model. RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY A 2010. [DOI: 10.1134/s0036024410090025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Fedorov MV, Goodman JM, Schumm S. To Switch or Not To Switch: The Effects of Potassium and Sodium Ions on α-Poly-l-glutamate Conformations in Aqueous Solutions. J Am Chem Soc 2009; 131:10854-6. [DOI: 10.1021/ja9030374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maxim V. Fedorov
- Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, Inselstrasse 22, D04103 Leipzig, Germany, Department of Chemistry, Unilever Centre for Molecular Science Informatics, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K., and Unilever R&D Vlaardingen, Olivier van Noortlaan 120, 3133 AT Vlaardingen, The Netherlands
| | - Jonathan M. Goodman
- Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, Inselstrasse 22, D04103 Leipzig, Germany, Department of Chemistry, Unilever Centre for Molecular Science Informatics, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K., and Unilever R&D Vlaardingen, Olivier van Noortlaan 120, 3133 AT Vlaardingen, The Netherlands
| | - Stephan Schumm
- Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, Inselstrasse 22, D04103 Leipzig, Germany, Department of Chemistry, Unilever Centre for Molecular Science Informatics, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K., and Unilever R&D Vlaardingen, Olivier van Noortlaan 120, 3133 AT Vlaardingen, The Netherlands
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