1
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Sarkar D, Surpeta B, Brezovsky J. Incorporating Prior Knowledge in the Seeds of Adaptive Sampling Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Ligand Transport in Enzymes with Buried Active Sites. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:5807-5819. [PMID: 38978395 PMCID: PMC11270739 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00452] [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: 04/05/2024] [Revised: 06/26/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Because most proteins have buried active sites, protein tunnels or channels play a crucial role in the transport of small molecules into buried cavities for enzymatic catalysis. Tunnels can critically modulate the biological process of protein-ligand recognition. Various molecular dynamics methods have been developed for exploring and exploiting the protein-ligand conformational space to extract high-resolution details of the binding processes, a recent example being energetically unbiased high-throughput adaptive sampling simulations. The current study systematically contrasted the role of integrating prior knowledge while generating useful initial protein-ligand configurations, called seeds, for these simulations. Using a nontrivial system of a haloalkane dehalogenase mutant with multiple transport tunnels leading to a deeply buried active site, simulations were employed to derive kinetic models describing the process of association and dissociation of the substrate molecule. The most knowledge-based seed generation enabled high-throughput simulations that could more consistently capture the entire transport process, explore the complex network of transport tunnels, and predict equilibrium dissociation constants, koff/kon, on the same order of magnitude as experimental measurements. Overall, the infusion of more knowledge into the initial seeds of adaptive sampling simulations could render analyses of transport mechanisms in enzymes more consistent even for very complex biomolecular systems, thereby promoting drug development efforts and the rational design of enzymes with buried active sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dheeraj
Kumar Sarkar
- Laboratory
of Biomolecular Interactions and Transport, Department of Gene Expression,
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznanskiego 6, Poznan 61-614, Poland
- International
Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, Ks Trojdena 4, Warsaw 02-109, Poland
| | - Bartlomiej Surpeta
- Laboratory
of Biomolecular Interactions and Transport, Department of Gene Expression,
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznanskiego 6, Poznan 61-614, Poland
- International
Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, Ks Trojdena 4, Warsaw 02-109, Poland
| | - Jan Brezovsky
- Laboratory
of Biomolecular Interactions and Transport, Department of Gene Expression,
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznanskiego 6, Poznan 61-614, Poland
- International
Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, Ks Trojdena 4, Warsaw 02-109, Poland
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2
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Stampelou M, Ladds G, Kolocouris A. Computational Workflow for Refining AlphaFold Models in Drug Design Using Kinetic and Thermodynamic Binding Calculations: A Case Study for the Unresolved Inactive Human Adenosine A 3 Receptor. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:914-936. [PMID: 38236582 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c05986] [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: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
A structure-based drug design pipeline that considers both thermodynamic and kinetic binding data of ligands against a receptor will enable the computational design of improved drug molecules. For unresolved GPCR-ligand complexes, a workflow that can apply both thermodynamic and kinetic binding data in combination with alpha-fold (AF)-derived or other homology models and experimentally resolved binding modes of relevant ligands in GPCR-homologs needs to be tested. Here, as test case, we studied a congeneric set of ligands that bind to a structurally unresolved G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), the inactive human adenosine A3 receptor (hA3R). We tested three available homology models from which two have been generated from experimental structures of hA1R or hA2AR and one model was a multistate alphafold 2 (AF2)-derived model. We applied alchemical calculations with thermodynamic integration coupled with molecular dynamics (TI/MD) simulations to calculate the experimental relative binding free energies and residence time (τ)-random accelerated MD (τ-RAMD) simulations to calculate the relative residence times (RTs) for antagonists. While the TI/MD calculations produced, for the three homology models, good Pearson correlation coefficients, correspondingly, r = 0.74, 0.62, and 0.67 and mean unsigned error (mue) values of 0.94, 1.31, and 0.81 kcal mol-1, the τ-RAMD method showed r = 0.92 and 0.52 for the first two models but failed to produce accurate results for the multistate AF2-derived model. With subsequent optimization of the AF2-derived model by reorientation of the side chain of R1735.34 located in the extracellular loop 2 (EL2) that blocked ligand's unbinding, the computational model showed r = 0.84 for kinetic data and improved performance for thermodynamic data (r = 0.81, mue = 0.56 kcal mol-1). Overall, after refining the multistate AF2 model with physics-based tools, we were able to show a strong correlation between predicted and experimental ligand relative residence times and affinities, achieving a level of accuracy comparable to an experimental structure. The computational workflow used can be applied to other receptors, helping to rank candidate drugs in a congeneric series and enabling the prioritization of leads with stronger binding affinities and longer residence times.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margarita Stampelou
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Section of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis-Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece
| | - Graham Ladds
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1PD, U.K
| | - Antonios Kolocouris
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Section of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis-Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece
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3
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Chen J, Wang W, Sun H, He W. Roles of Accelerated Molecular Dynamics Simulations in Predictions of Binding Kinetic Parameters. Mini Rev Med Chem 2024; 24:1323-1333. [PMID: 38265367 DOI: 10.2174/0113895575252165231122095555] [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: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Rational predictions on binding kinetics parameters of drugs to targets play significant roles in future drug designs. Full conformational samplings of targets are requisite for accurate predictions of binding kinetic parameters. In this review, we mainly focus on the applications of enhanced sampling technologies in calculations of binding kinetics parameters and residence time of drugs. The methods involved in molecular dynamics simulations are applied to not only probe conformational changes of targets but also reveal calculations of residence time that is significant for drug efficiency. For this review, special attention are paid to accelerated molecular dynamics (aMD) and Gaussian aMD (GaMD) simulations that have been adopted to predict the association or disassociation rate constant. We also expect that this review can provide useful information for future drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianzhong Chen
- School of Science, Shandong Jiaotong University, Jinan-250357, China
| | - Wei Wang
- School of Science, Shandong Jiaotong University, Jinan-250357, China
| | - Haibo Sun
- School of Science, Shandong Jiaotong University, Jinan-250357, China
| | - Weikai He
- School of Science, Shandong Jiaotong University, Jinan-250357, China
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4
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Rubina, Moin ST. Attempting Well-Tempered Funnel Metadynamics Simulations for the Evaluation of the Binding Kinetics of Methionine Aminopeptidase-II Inhibitors. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:7729-7743. [PMID: 38059911 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c01130] [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: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the unbinding kinetics of protein-ligand complexes is considered a significant approach for the design of ligands with desired specificity and safety. In recent years, enhanced sampling methods have emerged as effective tools for studying the unbinding kinetics of protein-ligand complexes at the atomistic level. MetAP-II is a target for the treatment of cancer for which not a single effective drug is available yet. The identification of the dissociation rate of ligands from the complexes often serves as a better predictor for in vivo efficacy than the ligands' binding affinity. Here, funnel-based restraint well-tempered metadynamics simulations were applied to predict the residence time of two ligands bound to MetAP-II, along with the ligand association and dissociation mechanism involving the identification of the binding hotspot during ligand egress. The ligand-egressing route revealed by metadynamics simulations also correlated with the identified pathways from the CAVER analysis and by the enhanced sampling simulation using PLUMED. Ligand 1 formed a strong H-bond interaction with GLU364 estimating a higher residence time of 28.22 ± 5.29 ns in contrast to ligand 2 with a residence time of 19.05 ± 3.58 ns, which easily dissociated from the binding pocket of MetAP-II. The results obtained from the simulations were consistent to reveal ligand 1 being superior to ligand 2; however, the experimental data related to residence time were close for both ligands, and no kinetic data were available for ligand 2. The current study could be considered the first attempt to apply an enhanced sampling method for the evaluation of the binding kinetics and thermodynamics of two different classes of ligands to a binuclear metalloprotein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rubina
- Third World Center for Science and Technology H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry, International Center for Chemical and Biological Science University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan
| | - Syed Tarique Moin
- Third World Center for Science and Technology H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry, International Center for Chemical and Biological Science University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan
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5
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Kasahara K, Masayama R, Okita K, Matubayasi N. Elucidating protein-ligand binding kinetics based on returning probability theory. J Chem Phys 2023; 159:134103. [PMID: 37787130 DOI: 10.1063/5.0165692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The returning probability (RP) theory, a rigorous diffusion-influenced reaction theory, enables us to analyze the binding process systematically in terms of thermodynamics and kinetics using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Recently, the theory was extended to atomistically describe binding processes by adopting the host-guest interaction energy as the reaction coordinate. The binding rate constants can be estimated by computing the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of the reactive state existing in the binding processes. Here, we propose a methodology based on the RP theory in conjunction with the energy representation theory of solution, applicable to complex binding phenomena, such as protein-ligand binding. The derived scheme of calculating the equilibrium constant between the reactive and dissociate states, required in the RP theory, can be used for arbitrary types of reactive states. We apply the present method to the bindings of small fragment molecules [4-hydroxy-2-butanone (BUT) and methyl methylthiomethyl sulphoxide (DSS)] to FK506 binding protein (FKBP) in an aqueous solution. Estimated binding rate constants are consistent with those obtained from long-timescale MD simulations. Furthermore, by decomposing the rate constants to the thermodynamic and kinetic contributions, we clarify that the higher thermodynamic stability of the reactive state for DSS causes the faster binding kinetics compared with BUT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kento Kasahara
- Division of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan
| | - Ren Masayama
- Division of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan
| | - Kazuya Okita
- Division of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan
| | - Nobuyuki Matubayasi
- Division of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan
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6
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Conflitti P, Raniolo S, Limongelli V. Perspectives on Ligand/Protein Binding Kinetics Simulations: Force Fields, Machine Learning, Sampling, and User-Friendliness. J Chem Theory Comput 2023; 19:6047-6061. [PMID: 37656199 PMCID: PMC10536999 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c00641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
Computational techniques applied to drug discovery have gained considerable popularity for their ability to filter potentially active drugs from inactive ones, reducing the time scale and costs of preclinical investigations. The main focus of these studies has historically been the search for compounds endowed with high affinity for a specific molecular target to ensure the formation of stable and long-lasting complexes. Recent evidence has also correlated the in vivo drug efficacy with its binding kinetics, thus opening new fascinating scenarios for ligand/protein binding kinetic simulations in drug discovery. The present article examines the state of the art in the field, providing a brief summary of the most popular and advanced ligand/protein binding kinetics techniques and evaluating their current limitations and the potential solutions to reach more accurate kinetic models. Particular emphasis is put on the need for a paradigm change in the present methodologies toward ligand and protein parametrization, the force field problem, characterization of the transition states, the sampling issue, and algorithms' performance, user-friendliness, and data openness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Conflitti
- Faculty
of Biomedical Sciences, Euler Institute, Universitá della Svizzera italiana (USI), 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Stefano Raniolo
- Faculty
of Biomedical Sciences, Euler Institute, Universitá della Svizzera italiana (USI), 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Vittorio Limongelli
- Faculty
of Biomedical Sciences, Euler Institute, Universitá della Svizzera italiana (USI), 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
- Department
of Pharmacy, University of Naples “Federico
II”, 80131 Naples, Italy
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7
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Pieroni M, Madeddu F, Di Martino J, Arcieri M, Parisi V, Bottoni P, Castrignanò T. MD-Ligand-Receptor: A High-Performance Computing Tool for Characterizing Ligand-Receptor Binding Interactions in Molecular Dynamics Trajectories. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:11671. [PMID: 37511429 PMCID: PMC10380688 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241411671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 07/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Molecular dynamics simulation is a widely employed computational technique for studying the dynamic behavior of molecular systems over time. By simulating macromolecular biological systems consisting of a drug, a receptor and a solvated environment with thousands of water molecules, MD allows for realistic ligand-receptor binding interactions (lrbi) to be studied. In this study, we present MD-ligand-receptor (MDLR), a state-of-the-art software designed to explore the intricate interactions between ligands and receptors over time using molecular dynamics trajectories. Unlike traditional static analysis tools, MDLR goes beyond simply taking a snapshot of ligand-receptor binding interactions (lrbi), uncovering long-lasting molecular interactions and predicting the time-dependent inhibitory activity of specific drugs. With MDLR, researchers can gain insights into the dynamic behavior of complex ligand-receptor systems. Our pipeline is optimized for high-performance computing, capable of efficiently processing vast molecular dynamics trajectories on multicore Linux servers or even multinode HPC clusters. In the latter case, MDLR allows the user to analyze large trajectories in a very short time. To facilitate the exploration and visualization of lrbi, we provide an intuitive Python notebook (Jupyter), which allows users to examine and interpret the results through various graphical representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Pieroni
- Department of Computer Science, "Sapienza" University of Rome, V. le Regina Elena 295, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesco Madeddu
- Department of Computer Science, "Sapienza" University of Rome, V. le Regina Elena 295, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Jessica Di Martino
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Viale dell'Università s.n.c., 01100 Viterbo, Italy
| | - Manuel Arcieri
- Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Anker Engelunds Vej 101, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Valerio Parisi
- Department of Physics, "Sapienza" University of Rome, P. le Aldo Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Bottoni
- Department of Computer Science, "Sapienza" University of Rome, V. le Regina Elena 295, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Tiziana Castrignanò
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Viale dell'Università s.n.c., 01100 Viterbo, Italy
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8
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Fan D, Bajgiran SR, Samghabadi FS, Dutta C, Gillett E, Rossky PJ, Conrad JC, Marciel AB, Landes CF. Imaging Heterogeneous 3D Dynamics of Individual Solutes in a Polyelectrolyte Brush. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2023. [PMID: 37290000 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c00868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Understanding molecular transport in polyelectrolyte brushes (PEBs) is crucial for applications such as separations, drug delivery, anti-fouling, and biosensors, where structural features of the polymer control intermolecular interactions. The complex structure and local heterogeneity of PEBs, while theoretically predicted, are not easily accessed with conventional experimental methods. In this work, we use 3D single-molecule tracking to understand transport behavior within a cationic poly(2-(N,N-dimethylamino)ethyl acrylate) (PDMAEA) brush using an anionic dye, Alexa Fluor 546, as the probe. The analysis is done by a parallelized, unbiased 3D tracking algorithm. Our results explicitly demonstrate that spatial heterogeneity within the brush manifests as heterogeneity of single-molecule displacements. Two distinct populations of probe motion are identified, with anticorrelated axial and lateral transport confinement, which we believe to correspond to intra- vs inter-chain probe motion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongyu Fan
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Shahryar Ramezani Bajgiran
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Farshad Safi Samghabadi
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, United States
| | - Chayan Dutta
- Department of Chemistry, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30302, United States
| | - Emil Gillett
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Peter J Rossky
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
- Smalley Curl Institute, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Jacinta C Conrad
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, United States
| | - Amanda B Marciel
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Christy F Landes
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
- Smalley Curl Institute, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
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9
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Wolf S. Predicting Protein-Ligand Binding and Unbinding Kinetics with Biased MD Simulations and Coarse-Graining of Dynamics: Current State and Challenges. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:2902-2910. [PMID: 37133392 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The prediction of drug-target binding and unbinding kinetics that occur on time scales between milliseconds and several hours is a prime challenge for biased molecular dynamics simulation approaches. This Perspective gives a concise summary of the theory and the current state-of-the-art of such predictions via biased simulations, of insights into the molecular mechanisms defining binding and unbinding kinetics as well as of the extraordinary challenges predictions of ligand kinetics pose in comparison to binding free energy predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen Wolf
- Biomolecular Dynamics, Institute of Physics, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
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10
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Voss JH, Crüsemann M, Bartling CR, Kehraus S, Inoue A, König GM, Strømgaard K, Müller CE. Structure-affinity and structure-residence time relationships of macrocyclic Gα q protein inhibitors. iScience 2023; 26:106492. [PMID: 37091255 PMCID: PMC10119753 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106492] [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: 01/21/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The macrocyclic depsipeptides YM-254890 (YM) and FR900359 (FR) are potent inhibitors of Gαq/11 proteins. They are important pharmacological tools and have potential as therapeutic drugs. The hydrogenated, tritium-labeled YM and FR derivatives display largely different residence times despite similar structures. In the present study we established a competition-association binding assay to determine the dissociation kinetics of unlabeled Gq protein inhibitors. Structure-affinity and structure-residence time relationships were analyzed. Small structural modifications had a large impact on residence time. YM and FR exhibited 4- to 10-fold higher residence times than their hydrogenated derivatives. While FR showed pseudo-irreversible binding, YM displayed much faster dissociation from its target. The isopropyl anchor present in FR and some derivatives was essential for slow dissociation. These data provide a basis for future drug design toward modulating residence times of macrocyclic Gq protein inhibitors, which has been recognized as a crucial determinant for therapeutic outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan H. Voss
- PharmaCenter Bonn, Pharmaceutical Institute, Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of Bonn, An der Immenburg 4, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
| | - Max Crüsemann
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 6, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Christian R.O. Bartling
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Center for Biopharmaceuticals, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Stefan Kehraus
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 6, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Asuka Inoue
- Tohoku University, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan
| | - Gabriele M. König
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 6, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Kristian Strømgaard
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Center for Biopharmaceuticals, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Christa E. Müller
- PharmaCenter Bonn, Pharmaceutical Institute, Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of Bonn, An der Immenburg 4, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
- Corresponding author
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11
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Wang J, Do HN, Koirala K, Miao Y. Predicting Biomolecular Binding Kinetics: A Review. J Chem Theory Comput 2023; 19:2135-2148. [PMID: 36989090 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c01085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
Biomolecular binding kinetics including the association (kon) and dissociation (koff) rates are critical parameters for therapeutic design of small-molecule drugs, peptides, and antibodies. Notably, the drug molecule residence time or dissociation rate has been shown to correlate with their efficacies better than binding affinities. A wide range of modeling approaches including quantitative structure-kinetic relationship models, Molecular Dynamics simulations, enhanced sampling, and Machine Learning has been developed to explore biomolecular binding and dissociation mechanisms and predict binding kinetic rates. Here, we review recent advances in computational modeling of biomolecular binding kinetics, with an outlook for future improvements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinan Wang
- Center for Computational Biology and Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66047, United States
| | - Hung N Do
- Center for Computational Biology and Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66047, United States
| | - Kushal Koirala
- Center for Computational Biology and Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66047, United States
| | - Yinglong Miao
- Center for Computational Biology and Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66047, United States
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12
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Chen W, He H, Wang J, Wang J, Chang CEA. Uncovering water effects in protein-ligand recognition: importance in the second hydration shell and binding kinetics. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:2098-2109. [PMID: 36562309 PMCID: PMC9970846 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp04584b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Developing a ligand with high affinity for a specific protein target is essential for drug design, and water molecules are well known to play a key role in protein-drug recognition. However, predicting the role of particularly ordered water molecules in drug binding remains challenging. Furthermore, hydration free energy contributed from the water network, including the second shell of water molecules, is far from being well studied. In this research we focused on these aspects to accurately and efficiently evaluate water effects in protein-ligand binding affinity. We developed a new strategy using a free-energy calculation method, VM2. We successfully predicted the stable ordered water molecules in a number of protein systems: PDE 10a, HSP90, tryptophan synthase (TRPS), CDK2 and Factor Xa. In some of these, the second shell of water molecules appeared to be critical in protein-ligand binding. We also applied the strategy to largely improve binding free energy calculation using the MM/PBSA method. When applying MM/PBSA alone for two systems, CDK2 and Factor Xa, the computed binding free energy resulted in poor to moderate R2 values with experimental data. However, including water free energy correction greatly improved the free energy calculation. Furthermore, our work helped to explain how xk263 is a 1000 times faster binder to HIVp than ritonavir, a potentially useful tool for investigating binding kinetics. Our studies reveal the importance of fully considering water effects in therapeutic developments in pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and for fundamental research in protein-ligand recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Chen
- School of Pharmacy, Fuzhou Medical College of NanChang University, Fuzhou, JiangXi 344000, P. R. China.
| | - Huan He
- School of Pharmacy, Fuzhou Medical College of NanChang University, Fuzhou, JiangXi 344000, P. R. China.
| | - Jing Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Fuzhou Medical College of NanChang University, Fuzhou, JiangXi 344000, P. R. China.
| | - Jiahui Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Fuzhou Medical College of NanChang University, Fuzhou, JiangXi 344000, P. R. China.
| | - Chia-en A. Chang
- Department of Chemistry, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA,Corresponding Authors Wei Chen: School of Pharmacy, Fuzhou Medical College of NanChang University, Fuzhou, JiangXi 344000, China. , Chia-en A. Chang: Department of Chemistry, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
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13
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Sohraby F, Nunes-Alves A. Advances in computational methods for ligand binding kinetics. Trends Biochem Sci 2022; 48:437-449. [PMID: 36566088 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2022.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Binding kinetic parameters can be correlated with drug efficacy, which in recent years led to the development of various computational methods for predicting binding kinetic rates and gaining insight into protein-drug binding paths and mechanisms. In this review, we introduce and compare computational methods recently developed and applied to two systems, trypsin-benzamidine and kinase-inhibitor complexes. Methods involving enhanced sampling in molecular dynamics simulations or machine learning can be used not only to predict kinetic rates, but also to reveal factors modulating the duration of residence times, selectivity, and drug resistance to mutations. Methods which require less computational time to make predictions are highlighted, and suggestions to reduce the error of computed kinetic rates are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farzin Sohraby
- Institute of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Ariane Nunes-Alves
- Institute of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany.
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14
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Pavan M, Menin S, Bassani D, Sturlese M, Moro S. Qualitative Estimation of Protein-Ligand Complex Stability through Thermal Titration Molecular Dynamics Simulations. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:5715-5728. [PMID: 36315402 PMCID: PMC9709921 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The prediction of ligand efficacy has long been linked to thermodynamic properties such as the equilibrium dissociation constant, which considers both the association and the dissociation rates of a defined protein-ligand complex. In the last 15 years, there has been a paradigm shift, with an increased interest in the determination of kinetic properties such as the drug-target residence time since they better correlate with ligand efficacy compared to other parameters. In this article, we present thermal titration molecular dynamics (TTMD), an alternative computational method that combines a series of molecular dynamics simulations performed at progressively increasing temperatures with a scoring function based on protein-ligand interaction fingerprints for the qualitative estimation of protein-ligand-binding stability. The protocol has been applied to four different pharmaceutically relevant test cases, including protein kinase CK1δ, protein kinase CK2, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 2, and SARS-CoV-2 main protease, on a variety of ligands with different sizes, structures, and experimentally determined affinity values. In all four cases, TTMD was successfully able to distinguish between high-affinity compounds (low nanomolar range) and low-affinity ones (micromolar), proving to be a useful screening tool for the prioritization of compounds in a drug discovery campaign.
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15
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Ziada S, Diharce J, Raimbaud E, Aci-Sèche S, Ducrot P, Bonnet P. Estimation of Drug-Target Residence Time by Targeted Molecular Dynamics Simulations. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:5536-5549. [PMID: 36350238 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Drug-target residence time has emerged as a key selection factor in drug discovery since the binding duration of a drug molecule to its protein target can significantly impact its in vivo efficacy. The challenge in studying the residence time, in early drug discovery stages, lies in how to cost-effectively determine the residence time for the systematic assessment of compounds. Currently, there is still a lack of computational protocols to quickly estimate such a measure, particularly for large and flexible protein targets and drugs. Here, we report an efficient computational protocol, based on targeted molecular dynamics, to rank drug candidates by their residence time and to obtain insights into ligand-target dissociation mechanisms. The method was assessed on a dataset of 10 arylpyrazole inhibitors of CDK8, a large, flexible, and clinically important target, for which the experimental residence time of the inhibitors ranges from minutes to hours. The compounds were correctly ranked according to their estimated residence time scores compared to their experimental values. The analysis of protein-ligand interactions along the dissociation trajectories highlighted the favorable contribution of hydrophobic contacts to residence time and revealed key residues that strongly affect compound residence time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Ziada
- Institut de Chimie Organique et Analytique (ICOA), UMR CNRS-Université d'Orléans 7311, Université d'Orléans BP 6759, Orléans Cedex 245067, France
| | - Julien Diharce
- Institut de Chimie Organique et Analytique (ICOA), UMR CNRS-Université d'Orléans 7311, Université d'Orléans BP 6759, Orléans Cedex 245067, France
| | - Eric Raimbaud
- Institut de Recherches Servier, 125 Chemin de Ronde, Croissy-sur-Seine78290, France
| | - Samia Aci-Sèche
- Institut de Chimie Organique et Analytique (ICOA), UMR CNRS-Université d'Orléans 7311, Université d'Orléans BP 6759, Orléans Cedex 245067, France
| | - Pierre Ducrot
- Institut de Recherches Servier, 125 Chemin de Ronde, Croissy-sur-Seine78290, France
| | - Pascal Bonnet
- Institut de Chimie Organique et Analytique (ICOA), UMR CNRS-Université d'Orléans 7311, Université d'Orléans BP 6759, Orléans Cedex 245067, France
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16
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Ruzmetov T, Montes R, Sun J, Chen SH, Tang Z, Chang CEA. Binding Kinetics Toolkit for Analyzing Transient Molecular Conformations and Computing Free Energy Landscapes. J Phys Chem A 2022; 126:8761-8770. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.2c05499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Talant Ruzmetov
- Department of Chemistry, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, California92521, United States
| | - Ruben Montes
- Department of Chemistry, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, California92521, United States
| | - Jianan Sun
- Department of Chemistry, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, California92521, United States
| | - Si-Han Chen
- Department of Chemistry, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, California92521, United States
| | - Zhiye Tang
- Department of Chemistry, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, California92521, United States
| | - Chia-en A. Chang
- Department of Chemistry, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, California92521, United States
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17
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Bray S, Tänzel V, Wolf S. Ligand Unbinding Pathway and Mechanism Analysis Assisted by Machine Learning and Graph Methods. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:4591-4604. [PMID: 36176219 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
We present two methods to reveal protein-ligand unbinding mechanisms in biased unbinding simulations by clustering trajectories into ensembles representing unbinding paths. The first approach is based on a contact principal component analysis for reducing the dimensionality of the input data, followed by identification of unbinding paths and training a machine learning model for trajectory clustering. The second approach clusters trajectories according to their pairwise mean Euclidean distance employing the neighbor-net algorithm, which takes into account input data bias in the distances set and is superior to dendrogram construction. Finally, we describe a more complex case where the reaction coordinate relevant for path identification is a single intraligand hydrogen bond, highlighting the challenges involved in unbinding path reaction coordinate detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Bray
- Biomolecular Dynamics, Institute of Physics, University of Freiburg, 79104Freiburg, Germany.,Bioinformatics Group, Institute of Informatics, University of Freiburg, 79110Freiburg, Germany
| | - Victor Tänzel
- Biomolecular Dynamics, Institute of Physics, University of Freiburg, 79104Freiburg, Germany
| | - Steffen Wolf
- Biomolecular Dynamics, Institute of Physics, University of Freiburg, 79104Freiburg, Germany
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18
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Bai F, Jiang H. Computationally Elucidating the Binding Kinetics for Different AChE Inhibitors to Access the Rationale for Improving the Drug Efficacy. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:7797-7805. [PMID: 36170055 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c03632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Traditional drug discovery is based on a binding affinity (thermodynamics)-driven paradigm. Numerous examples, however, demonstrated that drug efficacy does not always depend only on binding affinity but positively correlates with binding kinetics, that is, the dissociation rate constant (koff). Binding free energy landscape (BFEL) constructor is a computational binding kinetics prediction method, previously developed by us, that estimates the binding kinetics for ligand-protein based on their constructed binding free energy landscape, but it also reveals the detailed molecular mechanism of the binding event, hence, providing the position of transition states at the molecular level to modify/improve the binding kinetics. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is a well-known Alzheimer's disease (AD) target for which there is still not an ideal drug on the market. Therefore, to improve the drug design strategy for AD, the binding kinetics and binding molecular mechanisms of the four inhibitors of AChE, that is, E2020 (Aricept), HupA, Rivastigmine, and Galantamine, were studied. Also, the differentiation of the binding kinetics between mAChE and TcAChE was studied to evaluate the sensitiveness of BFEL constructor. The flexibility of molecules has a noticeable effect on the nature of BFEL. To the same target, flexible molecules (i.e., E2020 and Rivastigmine) which contain more rotatable bonds tend to have more complicated BFELs reflecting more complicated molecular action mechanisms than the rigid ones (i.e., HupA and Galantamine), which therefore could be more challenging to be optimized. The binding kinetics is highly dependent on the structure of the molecules, such as the length and the functional groups. Therefore, E2020 presents better binding kinetic and thermodynamic properties with either TcAChE or mAChE. Therefore, it is the most promising lead drug for binding kinetics-based drug design. In addition, the binding kinetics of a drug may present different values in the proteins of different organisms because the residue compositions of the binding gorges of the targets are variant, that is, E2020 shows lower binding affinity and association energy barrier in binding with mAChE than TcAChE. However, HupA presents a better binding property with TcAChE than mAChE.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hualiang Jiang
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 555 Zuchongzhi Road, Pudong Shanghai 201203, China
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19
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Liu W, Jiang J, Lin Y, You Q, Wang L. Insight into Thermodynamic and Kinetic Profiles in Small-Molecule Optimization. J Med Chem 2022; 65:10809-10847. [PMID: 35969687 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c00682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Structure-activity relationships (SARs) and structure-property relationships (SPRs) have been considered the most important factors during the drug optimization process. For medicinal chemists, improvements in the potencies and druglike properties of small molecules are regarded as their major goals. Among them, the binding affinity and selectivity of small molecules on their targets are the most important indicators. In recent years, there has been growing interest in using thermodynamic and kinetic profiles to analyze ligand-receptor interactions, which could provide not only binding affinities but also detailed binding parameters for small-molecule optimization. In this perspective, we are trying to provide an insight into thermodynamic and kinetic profiles in small-molecule optimization. Through a highlight of strategies on the small-molecule optimization with specific cases, we aim to put forward the importance of structure-thermodynamic relationships (STRs) and structure-kinetic relationships (SKRs), which could provide more guidance to find safe and effective small-molecule drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Optimization, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.,Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Jingsheng Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Yating Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Optimization, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.,Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Qidong You
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Optimization, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.,Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Lei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Optimization, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.,Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
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20
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Votapka LW, Stokely AM, Ojha AA, Amaro RE. SEEKR2: Versatile Multiscale Milestoning Utilizing the OpenMM Molecular Dynamics Engine. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:3253-3262. [PMID: 35759413 PMCID: PMC9277580 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
![]()
We present SEEKR2
(simulation-enabled estimation of kinetic rates
version 2)—the latest iteration in the family of SEEKR programs
for using multiscale simulation methods to computationally estimate
the kinetics and thermodynamics of molecular processes, in particular,
ligand-receptor binding. SEEKR2 generates equivalent, or improved,
results compared to the earlier versions of SEEKR but with significant
increases in speed and capabilities. SEEKR2 has also been built with
greater ease of usability and with extensible features to enable future
expansions of the method. Now, in addition to supporting simulations
using NAMD, calculations may be run with the fast and extensible OpenMM
simulation engine. The Brownian dynamics portion of the calculation
has also been upgraded to Browndye 2. Furthermore, this version of
SEEKR supports hydrogen mass repartitioning, which significantly reduces
computational cost, while showing little, if any, loss of accuracy
in the predicted kinetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lane W Votapka
- University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Andrew M Stokely
- University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Anupam A Ojha
- University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Rommie E Amaro
- University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, California 92093, United States
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21
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Marques S, Slanska M, Chmelova K, Chaloupkova R, Marek M, Clark S, Damborsky J, Kool ET, Bednar D, Prokop Z. Mechanism-Based Strategy for Optimizing HaloTag Protein Labeling. JACS AU 2022; 2:1324-1337. [PMID: 35783171 PMCID: PMC9241015 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.2c00002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2022] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
HaloTag labeling technology has introduced unrivaled potential in protein chemistry and molecular and cellular biology. A wide variety of ligands have been developed to meet the specific needs of diverse applications, but only a single protein tag, DhaAHT, is routinely used for their incorporation. Following a systematic kinetic and computational analysis of different reporters, a tetramethylrhodamine- and three 4-stilbazolium-based fluorescent ligands, we showed that the mechanism of incorporating different ligands depends both on the binding step and the efficiency of the chemical reaction. By studying the different haloalkane dehalogenases DhaA, LinB, and DmmA, we found that the architecture of the access tunnels is critical for the kinetics of both steps and the ligand specificity. We showed that highly efficient labeling with specific ligands is achievable with natural dehalogenases. We propose a simple protocol for selecting the optimal protein tag for a specific ligand from the wide pool of available enzymes with diverse access tunnel architectures. The application of this protocol eliminates the need for expensive and laborious protein engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sérgio
M. Marques
- Loschmidt
Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty
of Science, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- International
Clinical Research Center, St. Anne’s
University Hospital, 656
91 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Michaela Slanska
- Loschmidt
Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty
of Science, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Klaudia Chmelova
- Loschmidt
Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty
of Science, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- International
Clinical Research Center, St. Anne’s
University Hospital, 656
91 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Radka Chaloupkova
- Loschmidt
Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty
of Science, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- Enantis
Ltd., Biotechnology Incubator INBIT, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Marek
- Loschmidt
Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty
of Science, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- International
Clinical Research Center, St. Anne’s
University Hospital, 656
91 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Spencer Clark
- Department
of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Jiri Damborsky
- Loschmidt
Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty
of Science, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- International
Clinical Research Center, St. Anne’s
University Hospital, 656
91 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Eric T. Kool
- Department
of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - David Bednar
- Loschmidt
Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty
of Science, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Zbynek Prokop
- Loschmidt
Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty
of Science, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- International
Clinical Research Center, St. Anne’s
University Hospital, 656
91 Brno, Czech Republic
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22
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Ahmad K, Rizzi A, Capelli R, Mandelli D, Lyu W, Carloni P. Enhanced-Sampling Simulations for the Estimation of Ligand Binding Kinetics: Current Status and Perspective. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:899805. [PMID: 35755817 PMCID: PMC9216551 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.899805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The dissociation rate (k off) associated with ligand unbinding events from proteins is a parameter of fundamental importance in drug design. Here we review recent major advancements in molecular simulation methodologies for the prediction of k off. Next, we discuss the impact of the potential energy function models on the accuracy of calculated k off values. Finally, we provide a perspective from high-performance computing and machine learning which might help improve such predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katya Ahmad
- Computational Biomedicine (IAS-5/INM-9), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Andrea Rizzi
- Computational Biomedicine (IAS-5/INM-9), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Atomistic Simulations, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Riccardo Capelli
- Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
| | - Davide Mandelli
- Computational Biomedicine (IAS-5/INM-9), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Wenping Lyu
- Warshel Institute for Computational Biology, School of Life and Health Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), Shenzhen, China
- School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Paolo Carloni
- Computational Biomedicine (IAS-5/INM-9), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (INM-11), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
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23
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Liu H, Su M, Lin HX, Wang R, Li Y. Public Data Set of Protein-Ligand Dissociation Kinetic Constants for Quantitative Structure-Kinetics Relationship Studies. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:18985-18996. [PMID: 35694511 PMCID: PMC9178723 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c02156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Protein-ligand binding affinity reflects the equilibrium thermodynamics of the protein-ligand binding process. Binding/unbinding kinetics is the other side of the coin. Computational models for interpreting the quantitative structure-kinetics relationship (QSKR) aim at predicting protein-ligand binding/unbinding kinetics based on protein structure, ligand structure, or their complex structure, which in principle can provide a more rational basis for structure-based drug design. Thus far, most of the public data sets used for deriving such QSKR models are rather limited in sample size and structural diversity. To tackle this problem, we have compiled a set of 680 protein-ligand complexes with experimental dissociation rate constants (k off), which were mainly curated from the references accumulated for updating our PDBbind database. Three-dimensional structure of each protein-ligand complex in this data set was either retrieved from the Protein Data Bank or carefully modeled based on a proper template. The entire data set covers 155 types of protein, with their dissociation kinetic constants (k off) spanning nearly 10 orders of magnitude. To the best of our knowledge, this data set is the largest of its kind reported publicly. Utilizing this data set, we derived a random forest (RF) model based on protein-ligand atom pair descriptors for predicting k off values. We also demonstrated that utilizing modeled structures as additional training samples will benefit the model performance. The RF model with mixed structures can serve as a baseline for testifying other more sophisticated QSKR models. The whole data set, namely, PDBbind-koff-2020, is available for free download at our PDBbind-CN web site (http://www.pdbbind.org.cn/download.php).
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Affiliation(s)
- Huisi Liu
- Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences, Shanghai University, 99 Shangda Road, Shanghai 200444, People's Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory of Bioorganic and Natural Products Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, People's Republic of China
| | - Minyi Su
- State Key Laboratory of Bioorganic and Natural Products Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, People's Republic of China
| | - Hai-Xia Lin
- Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences, Shanghai University, 99 Shangda Road, Shanghai 200444, People's Republic of China
| | - Renxiao Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China
| | - Yan Li
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China
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24
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Nguyen HL, Thai NQ, Li MS. Determination of Multidirectional Pathways for Ligand Release from the Receptor: A New Approach Based on Differential Evolution. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:3860-3872. [PMID: 35512104 PMCID: PMC9202309 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c01158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
![]()
Steered molecular
dynamics (SMD) simulation is a powerful method
in computer-aided drug design as it can be used to access the relative
binding affinity with high precision but with low computational cost.
The success of SMD depends on the choice of the direction along which
the ligand is pulled from the receptor-binding site. In most simulations,
the unidirectional pathway was used, but in some cases, this choice
resulted in the ligand colliding with the complex surface of the exit
tunnel. To overcome this difficulty, several variants of SMD with
multidirectional pulling have been proposed, but they are not completely
devoid of disadvantages. Here, we have proposed to determine the direction
of pulling with a simple scoring function that minimizes the receptor–ligand
interaction, and an optimization algorithm called differential evolution
is used for energy minimization. The effectiveness of our protocol
was demonstrated by finding expulsion pathways of Huperzine A and
camphor from the binding site of Torpedo California acetylcholinesterase
and P450cam proteins, respectively, and comparing them with the previous
results obtained using memetic sampling and random acceleration molecular
dynamics. In addition, by applying this protocol to a set of ligands
bound with LSD1 (lysine specific demethylase 1), we obtained a much
higher correlation between the work of pulling force and experimental
data on the inhibition constant IC50 compared to that obtained using
the unidirectional approach based on minimal steric hindrance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hoang Linh Nguyen
- Life Science Lab, Institute for Computational Science and Technology, QuangTrung Software City, Tan Chanh Hiep Ward, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City 729110, Vietnam.,Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), Ho Chi Minh City 740500, Vietnam.,Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City 71300, Vietnam
| | - Nguyen Quoc Thai
- Life Science Lab, Institute for Computational Science and Technology, QuangTrung Software City, Tan Chanh Hiep Ward, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City 729110, Vietnam.,Dong Thap University, 783 Pham Huu Lau Street, Ward 6, Cao Lanh City, Dong Thap 81100, Vietnam
| | - Mai Suan Li
- Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotnikow 32/46, Warsaw 02-668, Poland
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25
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Shinobu A, Re S, Sugita Y. Practical Protocols for Efficient Sampling of Kinase-Inhibitor Binding Pathways Using Two-Dimensional Replica-Exchange Molecular Dynamics. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:878830. [PMID: 35573746 PMCID: PMC9099257 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.878830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are increasingly used to study various biological processes such as protein folding, conformational changes, and ligand binding. These processes generally involve slow dynamics that occur on the millisecond or longer timescale, which are difficult to simulate by conventional atomistic MD. Recently, we applied a two-dimensional (2D) replica-exchange MD (REMD) method, which combines the generalized replica exchange with solute tempering (gREST) with the replica-exchange umbrella sampling (REUS) in kinase-inhibitor binding simulations, and successfully observed multiple ligand binding/unbinding events. To efficiently apply the gREST/REUS method to other kinase-inhibitor systems, we establish modified, practical protocols with non-trivial simulation parameter tuning. The current gREST/REUS simulation protocols are tested for three kinase-inhibitor systems: c-Src kinase with PP1, c-Src kinase with Dasatinib, and c-Abl kinase with Imatinib. We optimized the definition of kinase-ligand distance as a collective variable (CV), the solute temperatures in gREST, and replica distributions and umbrella forces in the REUS simulations. Also, the initial structures of each replica in the 2D replica space were prepared carefully by pulling each ligand from and toward the protein binding sites for keeping stable kinase conformations. These optimizations were carried out individually in multiple short MD simulations. The current gREST/REUS simulation protocol ensures good random walks in 2D replica spaces, which are required for enhanced sampling of inhibitor dynamics around a target kinase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ai Shinobu
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Japan
| | - Suyong Re
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Japan
- Artificial Intelligence Center for Health and Biomedical Research, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health, and Nutrition, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Yuji Sugita
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Japan
- Theoretical Molecular Science Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, Saitama, Japan
- RIKEN Center for Computational Science, Kobe, Japan
- *Correspondence: Yuji Sugita,
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26
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Ge Y, Voelz VA. Estimation of binding rates and affinities from multiensemble Markov models and ligand decoupling. J Chem Phys 2022; 156:134115. [PMID: 35395889 PMCID: PMC8993428 DOI: 10.1063/5.0088024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Accurate and efficient simulation of the thermodynamics and kinetics of protein-ligand interactions is crucial for computational drug discovery. Multiensemble Markov Model (MEMM) estimators can provide estimates of both binding rates and affinities from collections of short trajectories but have not been systematically explored for situations when a ligand is decoupled through scaling of non-bonded interactions. In this work, we compare the performance of two MEMM approaches for estimating ligand binding affinities and rates: (1) the transition-based reweighting analysis method (TRAM) and (2) a Maximum Caliber (MaxCal) based method. As a test system, we construct a small host-guest system where the ligand is a single uncharged Lennard-Jones (LJ) particle, and the receptor is an 11-particle icosahedral pocket made from the same atom type. To realistically mimic a protein-ligand binding system, the LJ ϵ parameter was tuned, and the system was placed in a periodic box with 860 TIP3P water molecules. A benchmark was performed using over 80 µs of unbiased simulation, and an 18-state Markov state model was used to estimate reference binding affinities and rates. We then tested the performance of TRAM and MaxCal when challenged with limited data. Both TRAM and MaxCal approaches perform better than conventional Markov state models, with TRAM showing better convergence and accuracy. We find that subsampling of trajectories to remove time correlation improves the accuracy of both TRAM and MaxCal and that in most cases, only a single biased ensemble to enhance sampled transitions is required to make accurate estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunhui Ge
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, USA
| | - Vincent A Voelz
- Department of Chemistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, USA
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27
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Debnath J, Parrinello M. Computing Rates and Understanding Unbinding Mechanisms in Host-Guest Systems. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:1314-1319. [PMID: 35200023 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c01075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The long time scale associated with ligand residence times renders their computation challenging. Therefore, the influence of factors like solvation and steric hindrance on residence times is not fully understood. Here, we demonstrate in a set of model host-guest systems that the recently developed Gaussian mixture based enhanced sampling allows residence times to be computed and enables an understanding of their unbinding mechanism. We observe that guest unbinding often proceeds via a series of intermediate states that can be labeled by the number of water molecules present in the binding cavity. In several cases the residence time is correlated to the water trapping times in the cavity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayashrita Debnath
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.,Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, 16163 Genova, Italy
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28
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Badaoui M, Buigues PJ, Berta D, Mandana GM, Gu H, Földes T, Dickson CJ, Hornak V, Kato M, Molteni C, Parsons S, Rosta E. Combined Free-Energy Calculation and Machine Learning Methods for Understanding Ligand Unbinding Kinetics. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:2543-2555. [PMID: 35195418 PMCID: PMC9097281 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
![]()
The
determination of drug residence times, which define the time
an inhibitor is in complex with its target, is a fundamental part
of the drug discovery process. Synthesis and experimental measurements
of kinetic rate constants are, however, expensive and time consuming.
In this work, we aimed to obtain drug residence times computationally.
Furthermore, we propose a novel algorithm to identify molecular design
objectives based on ligand unbinding kinetics. We designed an enhanced
sampling technique to accurately predict the free-energy profiles
of the ligand unbinding process, focusing on the free-energy barrier
for unbinding. Our method first identifies unbinding paths determining
a corresponding set of internal coordinates (ICs) that form contacts
between the protein and the ligand; it then iteratively updates these
interactions during a series of biased molecular dynamics (MD) simulations
to reveal the ICs that are important for the whole of the unbinding
process. Subsequently, we performed finite-temperature string simulations
to obtain the free-energy barrier for unbinding using the set of ICs
as a complex reaction coordinate. Importantly, we also aimed to enable
the further design of drugs focusing on improved residence times.
To this end, we developed a supervised machine learning (ML) approach
with inputs from unbiased “downhill” trajectories initiated
near the transition state (TS) ensemble of the string unbinding path.
We demonstrate that our ML method can identify key ligand–protein
interactions driving the system through the TS. Some of the most important
drugs for cancer treatment are kinase inhibitors. One of these kinase
targets is cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2), an appealing target for
anticancer drug development. Here, we tested our method using two
different CDK2 inhibitors for the potential further development of
these compounds. We compared the free-energy barriers obtained from
our calculations with those observed in available experimental data.
We highlighted important interactions at the distal ends of the ligands
that can be targeted for improved residence times. Our method provides
a new tool to determine unbinding rates and to identify key structural
features of the inhibitors that can be used as starting points for
novel design strategies in drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magd Badaoui
- Department of Chemistry, King's College London, London SE1 1DB, United Kingdom.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Pedro J Buigues
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Dénes Berta
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Gaurav M Mandana
- Department of Chemistry, King's College London, London SE1 1DB, United Kingdom
| | - Hankang Gu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Tamás Földes
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Callum J Dickson
- Computer-Aided Drug Discovery, Global Discovery Chemistry, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 181 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Viktor Hornak
- Computer-Aided Drug Discovery, Global Discovery Chemistry, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 181 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Mitsunori Kato
- Computer-Aided Drug Discovery, Global Discovery Chemistry, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 181 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Carla Molteni
- Department of Physics, King's College London, London WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom
| | - Simon Parsons
- School of Computer Science, University of Lincoln, Lincoln LN6 7TS, United Kingdom
| | - Edina Rosta
- Department of Chemistry, King's College London, London SE1 1DB, United Kingdom.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
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29
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Lee KE, Bharadwaj S, Sahoo AK, Yadava U, Kang SG. Determination of tyrosinase-cyanidin-3-O-glucoside and (-/+)-catechin binding modes reveal mechanistic differences in tyrosinase inhibition. Sci Rep 2021; 11:24494. [PMID: 34969954 PMCID: PMC8718538 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-03569-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Tyrosinase, exquisitely catalyzes the phenolic compounds into brown or black pigment, inhibition is used as a treatment for dermatological or neurodegenerative disorders. Natural products, such as cyanidin-3-O-glucoside and (-/+)-catechin, are considered safe and non-toxic food additives in tyrosinase inhibition but their ambiguous inhibitory mechanism against tyrosinase is still elusive. Thus, we presented the mechanistic insights into tyrosinase with cyanidin-3-O-glucoside and (-/+)-catechin using computational simulations and in vitro assessment. Initial molecular docking results predicted ideal docked poses (- 9.346 to - 5.795 kcal/mol) for tyrosinase with selected flavonoids. Furthermore, 100 ns molecular dynamics simulations and post-simulation analysis of docked poses established their stability and oxidation of flavonoids as substrate by tyrosinase. Particularly, metal chelation via catechol group linked with the free 3-OH group on the unconjugated dihydropyran heterocycle chain was elucidated to contribute to tyrosinase inhibition by (-/+)-catechin against cyanidin-3-O-glucoside. Also, predicted binding free energy using molecular mechanics/generalized Born surface area for each docked pose was consistent with in vitro enzyme inhibition for both mushroom and murine tyrosinases. Conclusively, (-/+)-catechin was observed for substantial tyrosinase inhibition and advocated for further investigation for drug development against tyrosinase-associated diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyung Eun Lee
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Biotechnology, College of Life and Applied Sciences, Yeungnam University, 280 Daehak-Ro, Gyeongsan, 38541, Gyeongbuk, Korea.
- Stemforce, 313 Institute of Industrial Technology, Yeungnam University, 280 Daehak-Ro, Gyeongsan, 38541, Gyeongbuk, Korea.
| | - Shiv Bharadwaj
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Biotechnology, College of Life and Applied Sciences, Yeungnam University, 280 Daehak-Ro, Gyeongsan, 38541, Gyeongbuk, Korea.
- Laboratory of Ligand Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV Research Center, Vestec, Czech Republic.
| | - Amaresh Kumar Sahoo
- Department of Applied Sciences, Indian Institute of Information Technology Allahabad, Allahabad, 211015, Uttar Pradesh, India.
| | - Umesh Yadava
- Department of Physics, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, India.
| | - Sang Gu Kang
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Biotechnology, College of Life and Applied Sciences, Yeungnam University, 280 Daehak-Ro, Gyeongsan, 38541, Gyeongbuk, Korea.
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30
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Jäger M, Koslowski T, Wolf S. Predicting Ion Channel Conductance via Dissipation-Corrected Targeted Molecular Dynamics and Langevin Equation Simulations. J Chem Theory Comput 2021; 18:494-502. [PMID: 34928150 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Ion channels are important proteins for physiological information transfer and functional control. To predict the microscopic origins of their voltage-conductance characteristics, here we applied dissipation-corrected targeted molecular dynamics in combination with Langevin equation simulations to potassium diffusion through the gramicidin A channel as a test system. Performing a nonequilibrium principal component analysis on backbone dihedral angles, we find coupled protein-ion dynamics to occur during ion transfer. The dissipation-corrected free energy profiles correspond well to predictions from other biased simulation methods. The incorporation of an external electric field in Langevin simulations enables the prediction of macroscopic observables in the form of I-V characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Jäger
- Biomolecular Dynamics, Institute of Physics, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Thorsten Koslowski
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Steffen Wolf
- Biomolecular Dynamics, Institute of Physics, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
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31
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Zhang Q, Zhao N, Meng X, Yu F, Yao X, Liu H. The prediction of protein-ligand unbinding for modern drug discovery. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2021; 17:191-205. [PMID: 34731059 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2022.2002298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Drug-target thermodynamic and kinetic information have perennially important roles in drug design. The prediction of protein-ligand unbinding, which can provide important kinetic information, in experiments continues to face great challenges. Uncovering protein-ligand unbinding through molecular dynamics simulations has become efficient and inexpensive with the progress and enhancement of computing power and sampling methods. AREAS COVERED In this review, various sampling methods for protein-ligand unbinding and their basic principles are firstly briefly introduced. Then, their applications in predicting aspects of protein-ligand unbinding, including unbinding pathways, dissociation rate constants, residence time and binding affinity, are discussed. EXPERT OPINION Although various sampling methods have been successfully applied in numerous systems, they still have shortcomings and deficiencies. Most enhanced sampling methods require researchers to possess a wealth of prior knowledge of collective variables or reaction coordinates. In addition, most systems studied at present are relatively simple, and the study of complex systems in real drug research remains greatly challenging. Through the combination of machine learning and enhanced sampling methods, prediction accuracy can be further improved, and some problems encountered in complex systems also may be solved.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nannan Zhao
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Xiaoxiao Meng
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Fansen Yu
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Xiaojun Yao
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.,Dr. Neher's Biophysics Laboratory for Innovative Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China
| | - Huanxiang Liu
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
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32
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Sadiq SK, Muñiz Chicharro A, Friedrich P, Wade RC. Multiscale Approach for Computing Gated Ligand Binding from Molecular Dynamics and Brownian Dynamics Simulations. J Chem Theory Comput 2021; 17:7912-7929. [PMID: 34739248 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
We develop an approach to characterize the effects of gating by a multiconformation protein consisting of macrostate conformations that are either accessible or inaccessible to ligand binding. We first construct a Markov state model of the apo-protein from atomistic molecular dynamics simulations from which we identify macrostates and their conformations, compute their relative macrostate populations and interchange kinetics, and structurally characterize them in terms of ligand accessibility. We insert the calculated first-order rate constants for conformational transitions into a multistate gating theory from which we derive a gating factor γ that quantifies the degree of conformational gating. Applied to HIV-1 protease, our approach yields a kinetic network of three accessible (semi-open, open, and wide-open) and two inaccessible (closed and a newly identified, "parted") macrostate conformations. The parted conformation sterically partitions the active site, suggesting a possible role in product release. We find that the binding kinetics of drugs and drug-like inhibitors to HIV-1 protease falls in the slow gating regime. However, because γ = 0.75, conformational gating only modestly slows ligand binding. Brownian dynamics simulations of the diffusional association of eight inhibitors to the protease─having a wide range of experimental association constants (∼104-1010 M-1 s-1)─yields gated rate constants in the range of ∼0.5-5.7 × 108 M-1 s-1. This indicates that, whereas the association rate of some inhibitors could be described by the model, for many inhibitors either subsequent conformational transitions or alternate binding mechanisms may be rate-limiting. For systems known to be modulated by conformational gating, the approach could be scaled computationally efficiently to screen association kinetics for a large number of ligands.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Kashif Sadiq
- Molecular and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, 69118 Heidelberg, Germany.,Genome Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.,Infection Biology Unit, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), C/Doctor Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Abraham Muñiz Chicharro
- Molecular and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, 69118 Heidelberg, Germany.,Faculty of Biosciences, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 234, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Patrick Friedrich
- Molecular and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, 69118 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Rebecca C Wade
- Molecular and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, 69118 Heidelberg, Germany.,Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.,Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR), Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 205, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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33
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Maximova E, Postnikov EB, Lavrova AI, Farafonov V, Nerukh D. Protein-Ligand Dissociation Rate Constant from All-Atom Simulation. J Phys Chem Lett 2021; 12:10631-10636. [PMID: 34704768 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c02952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Dissociation of a ligand isoniazid from a protein catalase was investigated using all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Random acceleration MD (τ-RAMD) was used, in which a random artificial force applied to the ligand facilitates its dissociation. We have suggested a novel approach to extrapolate such obtained dissociation times to the zero-force limit assuming never before attempted universal exponential dependence of the bond strength on the applied force, allowing direct comparison with experimentally measured values. We have found that our calculated dissociation time was equal to 36.1 s with statistically significant values distributed in the interval of 0.2-72.0 s, which quantitatively matches the experimental value of 50 ± 8 s despite the extrapolation over 9 orders of magnitude in time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ekaterina Maximova
- Department of Nanobiotechnology, Alferov University, Khlopina Street, 8/3 A, 194021 Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering, Technische Universität Dresden, Helmholtzstr. 10, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Eugene B Postnikov
- Department of Theoretical Physics, Kursk State University, Radishcheva Street, 33, 305000 Kursk, Russia
| | - Anastasia I Lavrova
- Saint-Petersburg State University, 7/9 Universitetskaya Emb., 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Saint-Petersburg State Research Institute of Phthisiopulmonology, 2-4 Ligovskiy Avenue, 194064 Saint-Petersburg, Russia
| | - Vladimir Farafonov
- V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, 4 Svobody sq., Kharkiv 61022, Ukraine
| | - Dmitry Nerukh
- Department of Mathematics, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, U.K
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34
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Edwards T, Foloppe N, Harris SA, Wells G. The future of biomolecular simulation in the pharmaceutical industry: what we can learn from aerodynamics modelling and weather prediction. Part 1. understanding the physical and computational complexity of in silico drug design. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2021; 77:1348-1356. [PMID: 34726163 PMCID: PMC8561735 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798321009712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The predictive power of simulation has become embedded in the infrastructure of modern economies. Computer-aided design is ubiquitous throughout industry. In aeronautical engineering, built infrastructure and materials manufacturing, simulations are routinely used to compute the performance of potential designs before construction. The ability to predict the behaviour of products is a driver of innovation by reducing the cost barrier to new designs, but also because radically novel ideas can be piloted with relatively little risk. Accurate weather forecasting is essential to guide domestic and military flight paths, and therefore the underpinning simulations are critical enough to have implications for national security. However, in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries, the application of computer simulations remains limited by the capabilities of the technology with respect to the complexity of molecular biology and human physiology. Over the last 30 years, molecular-modelling tools have gradually gained a degree of acceptance in the pharmaceutical industry. Drug discovery has begun to benefit from physics-based simulations. While such simulations have great potential for improved molecular design, much scepticism remains about their value. The motivations for such reservations in industry and areas where simulations show promise for efficiency gains in preclinical research are discussed. In this, the first of two complementary papers, the scientific and technical progress that needs to be made to improve the predictive power of biomolecular simulations, and how this might be achieved, is firstly discussed (Part 1). In Part 2, the status of computer simulations in pharma is contrasted with aerodynamics modelling and weather forecasting, and comments are made on the cultural changes needed for equivalent computational technologies to become integrated into life-science industries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Edwards
- School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
- Astbury Centre for Structural and Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | | | - Sarah Anne Harris
- Astbury Centre for Structural and Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Geoff Wells
- School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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35
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Kokh DB, Wade RC. G Protein-Coupled Receptor-Ligand Dissociation Rates and Mechanisms from τRAMD Simulations. J Chem Theory Comput 2021; 17:6610-6623. [PMID: 34495672 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
There is a growing appreciation of the importance of drug-target binding kinetics for lead optimization. For G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which mediate signaling over a wide range of time scales, the drug dissociation rate is often a better predictor of in vivo efficacy than binding affinity, although it is more challenging to compute. Here, we assess the ability of the τ-Random Acceleration Molecular Dynamics (τRAMD) approach to reproduce relative residence times and reveal dissociation mechanisms and the effects of allosteric modulation for two important membrane-embedded drug targets: the β2-adrenergic receptor and the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M2. The dissociation mechanisms observed in the relatively short RAMD simulations (in which molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed using an additional force with an adaptively assigned random orientation applied to the ligand) are in general agreement with much more computationally intensive conventional MD and metadynamics simulations. Remarkably, although decreasing the magnitude of the random force generally reduces the number of egress routes observed, the ranking of ligands by dissociation rate is hardly affected and agrees well with experiment. The simulations also reproduce changes in residence time due to allosteric modulation and reveal associated changes in ligand dissociation pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daria B Kokh
- Molecular and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, 69118 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Rebecca C Wade
- Molecular and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, 69118 Heidelberg, Germany.,Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.,Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR), Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 205, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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36
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Bianciotto M, Gkeka P, Kokh DB, Wade RC, Minoux H. Contact Map Fingerprints of Protein-Ligand Unbinding Trajectories Reveal Mechanisms Determining Residence Times Computed from Scaled Molecular Dynamics. J Chem Theory Comput 2021; 17:6522-6535. [PMID: 34494849 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The binding kinetic properties of potential drugs may significantly influence their subsequent clinical efficacy. Predictions of these properties based on computer simulations provide a useful alternative to their expensive and time-consuming experimental counterparts, even at an early drug discovery stage. Herein, we perform scaled molecular dynamics (ScaledMD) simulations on a set of 27 ligands of HSP90 belonging to more than seven chemical series to estimate their relative residence times. We introduce two new techniques for the analysis and the classification of the simulated unbinding trajectories. The first technique, which helps in estimating the limits of the free energy well around the bound state, and the second one, based on a new contact map fingerprint, allow the description and the comparison of the paths that lead to unbinding. Using these analyses, we find that ScaledMD's relative residence time generally enables the identification of the slowest unbinders. We propose an explanation for the underestimation of the residence times of a subset of compounds, and we investigate how the biasing in ScaledMD can affect the mechanistic insights that can be gained from the simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Bianciotto
- Molecular Design Sciences, Sanofi R&D, 94403 Vitry-sur-Seine, France
| | - Paraskevi Gkeka
- Molecular Design Sciences, Sanofi R&D, 91 385 Chilly-Mazarin, France
| | - Daria B Kokh
- Molecular and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, 69118 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Rebecca C Wade
- Molecular and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, 69118 Heidelberg, Germany.,Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.,Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR), Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Hervé Minoux
- Data and Data Science, Sanofi R&D, 91 385 Chilly-Mazarin, France
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37
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Voss JH, Nagel J, Rafehi M, Guixà-González R, Malfacini D, Patt J, Kehraus S, Inoue A, König GM, Kostenis E, Deupi X, Namasivayam V, Müller CE. Unraveling binding mechanism and kinetics of macrocyclic Gα q protein inhibitors. Pharmacol Res 2021; 173:105880. [PMID: 34506902 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2021.105880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/05/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
G proteins represent intracellular switches that transduce signals relayed from G protein-coupled receptors. The structurally related macrocyclic depsipeptides FR900359 (FR) and YM-254890 (YM) are potent, selective inhibitors of the Gαq protein family. We recently discovered that radiolabeled FR and YM display strongly divergent residence times, which translates into significantly longer antiasthmatic effects of FR. The present study is aimed at investigating the molecular basis for this observed disparity. Based on docking studies, we mutated amino acid residues of the Gαq protein predicted to interact with FR or YM, and recombinantly expressed the mutated Gαq proteins in cells in which the native Gαq proteins had been knocked out by CRISPR-Cas9. Both radioligands showed similar association kinetics, and their binding followed a conformational selection mechanism, which was rationalized by molecular dynamics simulation studies. Several mutations of amino acid residues near the putative binding site of the "lipophilic anchors" of FR, especially those predicted to interact with the isopropyl group present in FR but not in YM, led to dramatically accelerated dissociation kinetics. Our data indicate that the long residence time of FR depends on lipophilic interactions within its binding site. The observed structure-kinetic relationships point to a complex binding mechanism of FR, which likely involves snap-lock- or dowel-like conformational changes of either ligand or protein, or both. These experimental data will be useful for the design of compounds with a desired residence time, a parameter that has now been recognized to be of utmost importance in drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan H Voss
- PharmaCenter Bonn, Pharmaceutical Institute, Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of Bonn, An der Immenburg 4, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
| | - Jessica Nagel
- PharmaCenter Bonn, Pharmaceutical Institute, Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of Bonn, An der Immenburg 4, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
| | - Muhammad Rafehi
- PharmaCenter Bonn, Pharmaceutical Institute, Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of Bonn, An der Immenburg 4, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
| | - Ramon Guixà-González
- Condensed Matter Theory Group, Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen 5232, Switzerland
| | - Davide Malfacini
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 6, 53113 Bonn, Germany
| | - Julian Patt
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 6, 53113 Bonn, Germany
| | - Stefan Kehraus
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 6, 53113 Bonn, Germany
| | - Asuka Inoue
- Tohoku University, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578 Japan
| | - Gabriele M König
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 6, 53113 Bonn, Germany
| | - Evi Kostenis
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 6, 53113 Bonn, Germany
| | - Xavier Deupi
- Condensed Matter Theory Group, Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen 5232, Switzerland; Laboratory of Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen 5232, Switzerland
| | - Vigneshwaran Namasivayam
- PharmaCenter Bonn, Pharmaceutical Institute, Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of Bonn, An der Immenburg 4, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
| | - Christa E Müller
- PharmaCenter Bonn, Pharmaceutical Institute, Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of Bonn, An der Immenburg 4, D-53121 Bonn, Germany.
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38
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Kaur R, Kaur Saini R, Singh P, Goyal B. Unveiling the inhibitory mechanism of peptidomimetic inhibitor against Aβ42 aggregation and protofibril disaggregation by molecular dynamics. J Mol Liq 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2021.116474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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39
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Pham HA, Truong DT, Li MS. Dependence of Work on the Pulling Speed in Mechanical Ligand Unbinding. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:8325-8330. [PMID: 34292743 PMCID: PMC8389893 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c01818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
In single-molecule force spectroscopy, the rupture force Fmax required for mechanical unfolding of a biomolecule or for pulling a ligand out of a binding site depends on the pulling speed V and, in the linear Bell-Evans regime, Fmax ∼ ln(V). Recently, it has been found that non-equilibrium work W is better than Fmax in describing relative ligand binding affinity, but the dependence of W on V remains unknown. In this paper, we developed an analytical theory showing that in the linear regime, W ∼ c1 ln(V) + c2 ln2(V), where c1 and c2 are constants. This quadratic dependence was also confirmed by all-atom steered molecular dynamics simulations of protein-ligand complexes. Although our theory was developed for ligand unbinding, it is also applicable to other processes, such as mechanical unfolding of proteins and other biomolecules, due to its universality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong An Pham
- Institute for Computational Science and Technology, QuangTrung Software City, Tan Chanh, Hiep Ward, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
| | - Duc Toan Truong
- Institute for Computational Science and Technology, QuangTrung Software City, Tan Chanh, Hiep Ward, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
| | - Mai Suan Li
- Institute of Physics, Polish Academy Science, Al. Lotnikow 32/46, Warsaw 02-668, Poland
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40
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Bolnykh V, Rossetti G, Rothlisberger U, Carloni P. Expanding the boundaries of ligand–target modeling by exascale calculations. WIRES COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/wcms.1535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Viacheslav Bolnykh
- Laboratory of Computational Chemistry and Biochemistry École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Lausanne Switzerland
- Computational Biomedicine, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM‐9)/Institute for Advanced Simulations (IAS‐5) Forschungszentrum Jülich Jülich Germany
| | - Giulia Rossetti
- Computational Biomedicine, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM‐9)/Institute for Advanced Simulations (IAS‐5) Forschungszentrum Jülich Jülich Germany
- Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) Forschungszentrum Jülich Jülich Germany
- Department of Hematology, Oncology, Hemostaseology and Stem Cell Transplantation University Hospital Aachen RWTH Aachen University Aachen Germany
| | - Ursula Rothlisberger
- Laboratory of Computational Chemistry and Biochemistry École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Paolo Carloni
- Institute for Neuroscience and Medicine and Institute for Advanced Simulations (IAS‐5/INM‐9) “Computational Biomedicine” Forschungszentrum Jülich Jülich Germany
- JARA‐Institute INM‐11 “Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging” Forschungszentrum Jülich Jülich Germany
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41
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Computational-Driven Epitope Verification and Affinity Maturation of TLR4-Targeting Antibodies. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22115989. [PMID: 34206009 PMCID: PMC8198660 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22115989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling plays a critical role in the induction and progression of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematous, experimental autoimmune encephalitis, type 1 diabetes mellitus and neurodegenerative diseases. Deciphering antigen recognition by antibodies provides insights and defines the mechanism of action into the progression of immune responses. Multiple strategies, including phage display and hybridoma technologies, have been used to enhance the affinity of antibodies for their respective epitopes. Here, we investigate the TLR4 antibody-binding epitope by computational-driven approach. We demonstrate that three important residues, i.e., Y328, N329, and K349 of TLR4 antibody binding epitope identified upon in silico mutagenesis, affect not only the interaction and binding affinity of antibody but also influence the structural integrity of TLR4. Furthermore, we predict a novel epitope at the TLR4-MD2 interface which can be targeted and explored for therapeutic antibodies and small molecules. This technique provides an in-depth insight into antibody-antigen interactions at the resolution and will be beneficial for the development of new monoclonal antibodies. Computational techniques, if coupled with experimental methods, will shorten the duration of rational design and development of antibody therapeutics.
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42
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Balogh G, Gyöngyösi T, Timári I, Herczeg M, Borbás A, Sadiq SK, Fehér K, Kövér KE. Conformational Analysis of Heparin-Analogue Pentasaccharides by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Molecular Dynamics Simulations. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:2926-2936. [PMID: 34029080 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Elucidation and improvement of the blood coagulant properties of heparin are the focus of intense research. In this study, we performed conformational analysis using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on the heparin pentasaccharide analogue idraparinux, its disulfonatomethyl analogue, which features a slightly improved blood coagulation property, and a trisulfonatomethyl analogue, in which the activity has been totally abolished. As the ring conformation of the G subunit has been suggested as a major determinant of the biological properties, we analyzed the sugar ring conformations and dynamics of the interglycosidic linkages. We found that the conformation of the G ring is dominated by the 2SO skewed boat next to the 1C4 chair in all three derivatives. Both the thermodynamics and the kinetics of the conformational states were found to be highly similar in the three derivatives. Molecular kinetic analysis showed that the 2SO skewed boat state of the G ring is equally favorable in the three analogues, resulting in similar 2SO populations. Also, the transition kinetics from the 1C4 chair to the 2SO skewed boat was found to be comparable in the derivatives, which indicates a similar energy barrier between the two states of the G subunit. We also identified a slower conformational transition between the dominant 4C1 chair and the boat conformations on the E subunit. Both G and E ring flips are also accompanied by changes along the interglycosidic linkages, which take place highly synchronously with the ring flips. These findings indicate that conformational plasticity of the G ring and the dominance of the 2SO skewed boat populations do not necessarily warrant the biological activity of the derivatives and hence the impact of other factors also needs to be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gábor Balogh
- Division of Clinical Laboratory Science, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei krt. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Tamás Gyöngyösi
- Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary.,MTA-DE Molecular Recognition and Interaction Research Group, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - István Timári
- Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Mihály Herczeg
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary.,Research Group for Oligosaccharide Chemistry of Hungarian Academy of Sciences, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Anikó Borbás
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - S Kashif Sadiq
- Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, 69118 Heidelberg, Germany.,European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Krisztina Fehér
- MTA-DE Molecular Recognition and Interaction Research Group, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Katalin E Kövér
- Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary.,MTA-DE Molecular Recognition and Interaction Research Group, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
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43
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Ge Y, Zhang S, Erdelyi M, Voelz VA. Solution-State Preorganization of Cyclic β-Hairpin Ligands Determines Binding Mechanism and Affinities for MDM2. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:2353-2367. [PMID: 33905247 PMCID: PMC9960209 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Understanding mechanisms of protein folding and binding is crucial to designing their molecular function. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and Markov state model (MSM) approaches provide a powerful way to understand complex conformational change that occurs over long time scales. Such dynamics are important for the design of therapeutic peptidomimetic ligands, whose affinity and binding mechanism are dictated by a combination of folding and binding. To examine the role of preorganization in peptide binding to protein targets, we performed massively parallel explicit-solvent MD simulations of cyclic β-hairpin ligands designed to mimic the p53 transactivation domain and competitively bind mouse double minute 2 homologue (MDM2). Disrupting the MDM2-p53 interaction is a therapeutic strategy to prevent degradation of the p53 tumor suppressor in cancer cells. MSM analysis of over 3 ms of aggregate trajectory data enabled us to build a detailed mechanistic model of coupled folding and binding of four cyclic peptides which we compare to experimental binding affinities and rates. The results show a striking relationship between the relative preorganization of each ligand in solution and its affinity for MDM2. Specifically, changes in peptide conformational populations predicted by the MSMs suggest that entropy loss upon binding is the main factor influencing affinity. The MSMs also enable detailed examination of non-native interactions which lead to misfolded states and comparison of structural ensembles with experimental NMR measurements. In contrast to an MSM study of p53 transactivation domain (TAD) binding to MDM2, MSMs of cyclic β-hairpin binding show a conformational selection mechanism. Finally, we make progress toward predicting accurate off rates of cyclic peptides using multiensemble Markov models (MEMMs) constructed from unbiased and biased simulated trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunui Ge
- Department of Chemistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
| | - Si Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
| | - Mate Erdelyi
- Department of Chemistry - BMC, Uppsala University, SE-75123 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Vincent A. Voelz
- Department of Chemistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
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44
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Sun B, Kekenes-Huskey PM. Assessing the Role of Calmodulin's Linker Flexibility in Target Binding. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22094990. [PMID: 34066691 PMCID: PMC8125811 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22094990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Revised: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Calmodulin (CaM) is a highly-expressed Ca2+ binding protein known to bind hundreds of protein targets. Its binding selectivity to many of these targets is partially attributed to the protein’s flexible alpha helical linker that connects its N- and C-domains. It is not well established how its linker mediates CaM’s binding to regulatory targets yet. Insights into this would be invaluable to understanding its regulation of diverse cellular signaling pathways. Therefore, we utilized Martini coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics simulations to probe CaM/target assembly for a model system: CaM binding to the calcineurin (CaN) regulatory domain. The simulations were conducted assuming a ‘wild-type’ calmodulin with normal flexibility of its linker, as well as a labile, highly-flexible linker variant to emulate structural changes that could be induced, for instance, by post-translational modifications. For the wild-type model, 98% of the 600 simulations across three ionic strengths adopted a bound complex within 2 μs of simulation time; of these, 1.7% sampled the fully-bound state observed in the experimentally-determined crystallographic structure. By calculating the mean-first-passage-time for these simulations, we estimated the association rate to be ka= 8.7 × 108 M−1 s−1, which is similar to the diffusion-limited, experimentally-determined rate of 2.2 × 108 M−1 s−1. Furthermore, our simulations recapitulated its well-known inverse relationship between the association rate and the solution ionic strength. In contrast, although over 97% of the labile linker simulations formed tightly-bound complexes, only 0.3% achieved the fully-bound configuration. This effect appears to stem from a difference in the ensembles of extended and collapsed states which are controlled by the linker flexibility. Therefore, our simulations suggest that variations in the CaM linker’s propensity for alpha helical secondary structure can modulate the kinetics of target binding.
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45
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Nunes-Alves A, Kokh DB, Wade RC. Ligand unbinding mechanisms and kinetics for T4 lysozyme mutants from τRAMD simulations. Curr Res Struct Biol 2021; 3:106-111. [PMID: 34235490 PMCID: PMC8244441 DOI: 10.1016/j.crstbi.2021.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 04/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The protein-ligand residence time, τ, influences molecular function in biological networks and has been recognized as an important determinant of drug efficacy. To predict τ, computational methods must overcome the problem that τ often exceeds the timescales accessible to conventional molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Here, we apply the τ-Random Acceleration Molecular Dynamics (τRAMD) method to a set of kinetically characterized complexes of T4 lysozyme mutants with small, engineered binding cavities. τRAMD yields relative ligand dissociation rates in good accordance with experiments across this diverse set of complexes that differ with regard to measurement temperature, ligand identity, protein mutation and binding cavity. τRAMD thereby allows a comprehensive characterization of the ligand egress routes and determinants of τ. Although ligand dissociation by multiple egress routes is observed, we find that egress via the predominant route determines the value of τ. We also find that the presence of a greater number of metastable states along egress pathways leads to slower protein-ligand dissociation. These physical insights could be exploited in the rational optimization of the kinetic properties of drug candidates. Relative residence times are computed for T4 lysozyme mutant-ligand complexes. τ-Random Acceleration Molecular Dynamics provide efficient sampling of unbinding. Computed dissociation rates show good agreement with all available measured values. Ligand egress via the predominant route determines the value of the residence time. The presence of metastable states along egress pathways slows down dissociation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariane Nunes-Alves
- Molecular and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, 69118, Heidelberg, Germany.,Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Daria B Kokh
- Molecular and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, 69118, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Rebecca C Wade
- Molecular and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, 69118, Heidelberg, Germany.,Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.,Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR), Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 205, Heidelberg, Germany
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46
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Souza PCT, Limongelli V, Wu S, Marrink SJ, Monticelli L. Perspectives on High-Throughput Ligand/Protein Docking With Martini MD Simulations. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 8:657222. [PMID: 33855050 PMCID: PMC8039319 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.657222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Molecular docking is central to rational drug design. Current docking techniques suffer, however, from limitations in protein flexibility and solvation models and by the use of simplified scoring functions. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations, on the other hand, feature a realistic representation of protein flexibility and solvent, but require knowledge of the binding site. Recently we showed that coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, based on the most recent version of the Martini force field, can be used to predict protein/ligand binding sites and pathways, without requiring any a priori information, and offer a level of accuracy approaching all-atom simulations. Given the excellent computational efficiency of Martini, this opens the way to high-throughput drug screening based on dynamic docking pipelines. In this opinion article, we sketch the roadmap to achieve this goal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulo C. T. Souza
- Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute and Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
- PharmCADD, Busan, South Korea
- Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry (MMSB, UMR 5086), CNRS, University of Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Vittorio Limongelli
- Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Computational Science, Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI), Lugano, Switzerland
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy
| | - Sangwook Wu
- PharmCADD, Busan, South Korea
- Department of Physics, Pukyong National University, Busan, South Korea
| | - Siewert J. Marrink
- Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute and Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Luca Monticelli
- Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry (MMSB, UMR 5086), CNRS, University of Lyon, Lyon, France
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47
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Ganotra GK, Nunes-Alves A, Wade RC. A Protocol to Use Comparative Binding Energy Analysis to Estimate Drug-Target Residence Time. Methods Mol Biol 2021; 2266:171-186. [PMID: 33759127 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1209-5_10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Comparative Binding Energy (COMBINE) analysis is an approach for deriving a target-specific scoring function to compute binding free energy, drug-binding kinetics, or a related property by exploiting the information contained in the three-dimensional structures of receptor-ligand complexes. Here, we describe the process of setting up and running COMBINE analysis to derive a Quantitative Structure-Kinetics Relationship (QSKR) for the dissociation rate constants (koff) of inhibitors of a drug target. The derived QSKR model can be used to estimate residence times (τ, τ=1/koff) for similar inhibitors binding to the same target, and it can also help to identify key receptor-ligand interactions that distinguish inhibitors with short and long residence times. Herein, we demonstrate the protocol for the application of COMBINE analysis on a dataset of 70 inhibitors of heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) belonging to 11 different chemical classes. The procedure is generally applicable to any drug target with known structural information on its complexes with inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaurav K Ganotra
- Molecular and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ariane Nunes-Alves
- Molecular and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Heidelberg, Germany
- Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Rebecca C Wade
- Molecular and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Heidelberg, Germany.
- Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
- Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR), Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
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48
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Abstract
Molecular dynamics simulations can now routinely access the microsecond timescale, making feasible direct sampling of ligand association events. While Markov State Model (MSM) approaches offer a useful framework for analyzing such trajectory data to gain insight into binding mechanisms, accurate modeling of ligand association pathways and kinetics must be done carefully. We describe methods and good practices for constructing MSMs of ligand binding from unbiased trajectory data and discuss how to use time-lagged independent component analysis (tICA) to build informative models, using as an example recent simulation work to model the binding of phenylalanine to the regulatory ACT domain dimer of phenylalanine hydroxylase. We describe a variety of methods for estimating association rates from MSMs and discuss how to distinguish between conformational selection and induced-fit mechanisms using MSMs. In addition, we review some examples of MSMs constructed to elucidate the mechanisms by which p53 transactivation domain (TAD) and related peptides bind the oncoprotein MDM2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunhui Ge
- Department of Chemistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Vincent A Voelz
- Department of Chemistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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49
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Abstract
Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have become increasingly useful in the modern drug development process. In this review, we give a broad overview of the current application possibilities of MD in drug discovery and pharmaceutical development. Starting from the target validation step of the drug development process, we give several examples of how MD studies can give important insights into the dynamics and function of identified drug targets such as sirtuins, RAS proteins, or intrinsically disordered proteins. The role of MD in antibody design is also reviewed. In the lead discovery and lead optimization phases, MD facilitates the evaluation of the binding energetics and kinetics of the ligand-receptor interactions, therefore guiding the choice of the best candidate molecules for further development. The importance of considering the biological lipid bilayer environment in the MD simulations of membrane proteins is also discussed, using G-protein coupled receptors and ion channels as well as the drug-metabolizing cytochrome P450 enzymes as relevant examples. Lastly, we discuss the emerging role of MD simulations in facilitating the pharmaceutical formulation development of drugs and candidate drugs. Specifically, we look at how MD can be used in studying the crystalline and amorphous solids, the stability of amorphous drug or drug-polymer formulations, and drug solubility. Moreover, since nanoparticle drug formulations are of great interest in the field of drug delivery research, different applications of nano-particle simulations are also briefly summarized using multiple recent studies as examples. In the future, the role of MD simulations in facilitating the drug development process is likely to grow substantially with the increasing computer power and advancements in the development of force fields and enhanced MD methodologies.
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50
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Nguyen H, Thai NQ, Truong DT, Li MS. Remdesivir Strongly Binds to Both RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase and Main Protease of SARS-CoV-2: Evidence from Molecular Simulations. J Phys Chem B 2020; 124:11337-11348. [PMID: 33264025 PMCID: PMC7724981 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c07312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Revised: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The outbreak of a new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2) has caused a global COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, resulting in millions of infections and thousands of deaths around the world. There is currently no drug or vaccine for COVID-19, but it has been revealed that some commercially available drugs are promising, at least for treating symptoms. Among them, remdesivir, which can block the activity of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) in old SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV viruses, has been prescribed to COVID-19 patients in many countries. A recent experiment showed that remdesivir binds to SARS-CoV-2 with an inhibition constant of μM, but the exact target has not been reported. In this work, combining molecular docking, steered molecular dynamics, and umbrella sampling, we examined its binding affinity to two targets including the main protease (Mpro), also known as 3C-like protease, and RdRp. We showed that remdesivir binds to Mpro slightly weaker than to RdRp, and the corresponding inhibition constants, consistent with the experiment, fall to the μM range. The binding mechanisms of remdesivir to two targets differ in that the electrostatic interaction is the main force in stabilizing the RdRp-remdesivir complex, while the van der Waals interaction dominates in the Mpro-remdesivir case. Our result indicates that remdesivir can target not only RdRp but also Mpro, which can be invoked to explain why this drug is effective in treating COVID-19. We have identified residues of the target protein that make the most important contribution to binding affinity, and this information is useful for drug development for this disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hoang
Linh Nguyen
- Life Science Lab, Institute for Computational Science and Technology, Quang Trung Software City, Tan Chanh
Hiep Ward, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
| | - Nguyen Quoc Thai
- Life Science Lab, Institute for Computational Science and Technology, Quang Trung Software City, Tan Chanh
Hiep Ward, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
- Dong
Thap University, 783 Pham Huu Lau Street, Ward 6, Cao Lanh
City 870000, Dong Thap, Vietnam
| | - Duc Toan Truong
- Life Science Lab, Institute for Computational Science and Technology, Quang Trung Software City, Tan Chanh
Hiep Ward, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
| | - Mai Suan Li
- Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, al. Lotnikow 32/46, Warsaw 02-668, Poland
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