1
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Tulika T, Ruso-Julve F, Ahmadi S, Ljungars A, Rivera-de-Torre E, Wade J, Fernández-Quintero ML, Jenkins TP, Belfakir SB, Ross GMS, Boyens-Thiele L, Buell AK, Sakya SA, Sørensen CV, Bohn MF, Ledsgaard L, Voldborg BG, Francavilla C, Schlothauer T, Lomonte B, Andersen JT, Laustsen AH. Engineering of pH-dependent antigen binding properties for toxin-targeting IgG1 antibodies using light-chain shuffling. Structure 2024; 32:1404-1418.e7. [PMID: 39146931 PMCID: PMC11385703 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2024.07.014] [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: 01/26/2024] [Revised: 06/07/2024] [Accepted: 07/19/2024] [Indexed: 08/17/2024]
Abstract
Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies that bind their cognate antigen in a pH-dependent manner (acid-switched antibodies) can release their bound antigen for degradation in the acidic environment of endosomes, while the IgGs are rescued by the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn). Thus, such IgGs can neutralize multiple antigens over time and therefore be used at lower doses than their non-pH-responsive counterparts. Here, we show that light-chain shuffling combined with phage display technology can be used to discover IgG1 antibodies with increased pH-dependent antigen binding properties, using the snake venom toxins, myotoxin II and α-cobratoxin, as examples. We reveal differences in how the selected IgG1s engage their antigens and human FcRn and show how these differences translate into distinct cellular handling properties related to their pH-dependent antigen binding phenotypes and Fc-engineering for improved FcRn binding. Our study showcases the complexity of engineering pH-dependent antigen binding IgG1s and demonstrates the effects on cellular antibody-antigen recycling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tulika Tulika
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Fulgencio Ruso-Julve
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Immunology, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway; Precision Immunotherapy Alliance (PRIMA), University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Shirin Ahmadi
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Anne Ljungars
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | | | - Jack Wade
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | | | - Timothy P Jenkins
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Selma B Belfakir
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark; VenomAid Diagnostics ApS, Lyngby, Denmark
| | | | - Lars Boyens-Thiele
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Alexander K Buell
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Siri A Sakya
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Immunology, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway; Precision Immunotherapy Alliance (PRIMA), University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Christoffer V Sørensen
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Markus-Frederik Bohn
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Line Ledsgaard
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Bjørn G Voldborg
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Chiara Francavilla
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Tilman Schlothauer
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED), Roche Innovation Center Munich, Penzberg, Germany
| | - Bruno Lomonte
- Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiologia, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica
| | - Jan Terje Andersen
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Immunology, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway; Precision Immunotherapy Alliance (PRIMA), University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Andreas H Laustsen
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark.
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2
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Tsai HC, Xu J, Guo Z, Yi Y, Tian C, Que X, Giese T, Lee TS, York DM, Ganguly A, Pan A. Improvements in Precision of Relative Binding Free Energy Calculations Afforded by the Alchemical Enhanced Sampling (ACES) Approach. J Chem Inf Model 2024. [PMID: 39225694 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.4c00464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Accurate in silico predictions of how strongly small molecules bind to proteins, such as those afforded by relative binding free energy (RBFE) calculations, can greatly increase the efficiency of the hit-to-lead and lead optimization stages of the drug discovery process. The success of such calculations, however, relies heavily on their precision. Here, we show that a recently developed alchemical enhanced sampling (ACES) approach can consistently improve the precision of RBFE calculations on a large and diverse set of proteins and small molecule ligands. The addition of ACES to conventional RBFE calculations lowered the average hysteresis by over 35% (0.3-0.4 kcal/mol) and the average replicate spread by over 25% (0.2-0.3 kcal/mol) across a set of 10 protein targets and 213 small molecules while maintaining similar or improved accuracy. We show in atomic detail how ACES improved convergence of several representative RBFE calculations through enhancing the sampling of important slowly transitioning ligand degrees of freedom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsu-Chun Tsai
- TandemAI, New York, New York 10036, United States
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - James Xu
- TandemAI, New York, New York 10036, United States
| | - Zhenyu Guo
- TandemAI, New York, New York 10036, United States
| | - Yinhui Yi
- TandemAI, New York, New York 10036, United States
| | - Chuan Tian
- TandemAI, New York, New York 10036, United States
| | - Xinyu Que
- TandemAI, New York, New York 10036, United States
| | - Timothy Giese
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Tai-Sung Lee
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Darrin M York
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Abir Ganguly
- TandemAI, New York, New York 10036, United States
| | - Albert Pan
- TandemAI, New York, New York 10036, United States
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3
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Schindl A, Hagen ML, Cooley I, Jäger CM, Warden AC, Zelzer M, Allers T, Croft AK. Ion-combination specific effects driving the enzymatic activity of halophilic alcohol dehydrogenase 2 from Haloferax volcanii in aqueous ionic liquid solvent mixtures. RSC SUSTAINABILITY 2024; 2:2559-2580. [PMID: 39211508 PMCID: PMC11353702 DOI: 10.1039/d3su00412k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/30/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Biocatalysis in ionic liquids enables novel routes for bioprocessing. Enzymes derived from extremophiles promise greater stability and activity under ionic liquid (IL) influence. Here, we probe the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase 2 from the halophilic archaeon Haloferax volcanii in thirteen different ion combinations for relative activity and analyse the results against molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the same IL systems. We probe the ionic liquid property space based on ion polarizability and molecular electrostatic potential. Using the radial distribution functions, survival probabilities and spatial distribution functions of ions, we show that cooperative ion-ion interactions determine ion-protein interactions, and specifically, strong ion-ion interactions equate to higher enzymatic activity if neither of the ions interact strongly with the protein surface. We further demonstrate a tendency for cations interacting with the protein surface to be least detrimental to enzymatic activity if they show a low polarizability when combined with small hydrophilic anions. We also find that the IL ion influence is not mitigated by the surplus of negatively charged residues of the halophilic enzyme. This is shown by free energy landscape analysis in root mean square deviation and distance variation plots of active site gating residues (Trp43 and His273) demonstrating no protection of specific structural elements relevant to preserving enzymatic activity. On the other hand, we observe a general effect across all IL systems that a tight binding of water at acidic residues is preferentially interrupted at these residues through the increased presence of potassium ions. Overall, this study demonstrates a co-ion interaction dependent influence on allosteric surface residues controlling the active/inactive conformation of halophilic alcohol dehydrogenase 2 and the necessity to engineer ionic liquid systems for enzymes that rely on the integrity of functional surface residues regardless of their halophilicity or thermophilicity for use in bioprocessing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Schindl
- Sustainable Process Technologies Group, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham Nottingham NG7 2RD UK
- School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, University Park Campus Nottingham NG7 2RD UK
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre Nottingham NG7 2UH UK
- School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
| | - M Lawrence Hagen
- Sustainable Process Technologies Group, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham Nottingham NG7 2RD UK
| | - Isabel Cooley
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University LE11 3TU UK
| | - Christof M Jäger
- Sustainable Process Technologies Group, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham Nottingham NG7 2RD UK
- Data Science and Modelling, Pharmaceutical Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca Gothenburg Pepparedsleden 1 SE-431 83 Mölndal Sweden
| | - Andrew C Warden
- CSIRO Environment, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Research and Innovation Park Acton Canberra ACT 2600 Australia
- Advanced Engineering Biology Future Science Platform, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Research and Innovation Park Acton Canberra ACT 2600 Australia
| | - Mischa Zelzer
- School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, University Park Campus Nottingham NG7 2RD UK
| | - Thorsten Allers
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre Nottingham NG7 2UH UK
| | - Anna K Croft
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University LE11 3TU UK
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Carabadjac I, Steigenberger J, Geudens N, De Roo V, Muangkaew P, Madder A, Martins JC, Heerklotz H. Time-resolved fluorescence of tryptophan characterizes membrane perturbation by cyclic lipopeptides. Biophys J 2024; 123:2557-2573. [PMID: 38909278 PMCID: PMC11365112 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2024.06.022] [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: 02/13/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Viscosin is a membrane-permeabilizing, cyclic lipopeptide (CLiP) produced by Pseudomonas species. Here, we have studied four synthetic analogs (L1W, V4W, L5W, and L7W), each with one leucine (Leu; L) or valine residue exchanged for tryptophan (Trp; W) by means of time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy of Trp. To this end, we recorded the average fluorescence lifetime, rotational correlation time and limiting anisotropy, dipolar relaxation time and limiting extent of relaxation, rate constant of acrylamide quenching, effect of H2O-D2O exchange, and time-resolved half-width of the spectrum in the absence and presence of POPC (1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) liposomes. Structure, localization, and hydration of the peptides were described by molecular dynamics simulations. The combination of the parameters provides a good description of the molecular environments of the Trp positions and the behavior of viscosin as a whole. Of particular value for characterizing the impact of viscosin on the membrane is the dipolar relaxation of Trp4 in V4W, which is deeply embedded in the hydrophobic core. The limiting relaxation level represents the membrane perturbation-unlike typical membrane probes-at the site of the perturbant. Fractions of Trp4 relax at different rates; the one not in contact with water upon excitation relaxes via recruitment of a water molecule on the 10-ns timescale. This rate is sensitive to the concerted membrane perturbation by more than one lipopeptide, which appears at high lipopeptide concentration and is assumed a prerequisite for the final formation of a membrane-permeabilizing defect. Trp7 relaxes primarily with respect to neighboring Ser residues. Trp5 flips between a membrane-inserted and surface-exposed orientation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iulia Carabadjac
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
| | | | - Niels Geudens
- NMR and Structure Analysis Research Group, Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Vic De Roo
- NMR and Structure Analysis Research Group, Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Organic and Biomimetic Chemistry Research Group, Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Penthip Muangkaew
- Organic and Biomimetic Chemistry Research Group, Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Annemieke Madder
- Organic and Biomimetic Chemistry Research Group, Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - José C Martins
- NMR and Structure Analysis Research Group, Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Heiko Heerklotz
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; Center for Biological Signaling Studies (BIOSS), University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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5
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Fadeel DA, Fadel M, El-Kholy AI, El-Rashedy AA, Mohsen E, Ezzat MI, Issa MY. Nano-Liposomal Beetroot Phyto-Pigment in Photodynamic Therapy as a Prospective Green Approach for Cancer Management: In Vitro Evaluation and Molecular Dynamic Simulation. Pharmaceutics 2024; 16:1038. [PMID: 39204383 PMCID: PMC11360503 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16081038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2024] [Revised: 07/15/2024] [Accepted: 07/17/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Using plant extracts as photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy (PDT) represents a significant green approach toward sustainability. This study investigates beetroot juice (BRJ), betanin, and their liposomal formulations (Lip-BRJ, Lip-Bet) as photosensitizers in cancer PDT. BRJ was prepared, and its betanin content was quantified via HPLC. The p-nitrosodimethylaniline (RNO)/imidazole technique monitored the singlet oxygen formation. BRJ and betanin decreased the RNO absorbance at 440 nm by 12% and 9% after 45 min of irradiation, respectively. Furthermore, betanin interaction with Bcl-2 proteins was examined using binding free energy analysis and molecular dynamic simulation. The results revealed favorable interactions with ΔG values of -40.94 kcal/mol. Then, BRJ, betanin, Lip-BRJ, and Lip-Bet were tested as photosensitizers on normal (HEK 293) and human lung cancer (A549) cell lines. Irradiation significantly enhanced the cytotoxicity of Lip-Bet on HEK 293 cells (20% cell viability at 2000 µg/mL) and A549 cells (13% cell viability at 1000 µg/mL). For Lip-BRJ, irradiation significantly enhanced the cytotoxicity on HEK 293 cells at lower concentrations and on A549 cells at all tested concentrations. These results proved the positive effect of light and liposomal encapsulation on the anticancer activity of betanin and BRJ, suggesting the efficiency of liposomal beetroot pigments as green photosensitizers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doaa Abdel Fadeel
- Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology Unit, Department of Medical Applications of Laser, National Institute of Laser Enhanced Sciences (NILES), Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt; (M.F.)
| | - Maha Fadel
- Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology Unit, Department of Medical Applications of Laser, National Institute of Laser Enhanced Sciences (NILES), Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt; (M.F.)
| | - Abdullah Ibrahim El-Kholy
- Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology Unit, Department of Medical Applications of Laser, National Institute of Laser Enhanced Sciences (NILES), Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt; (M.F.)
| | - Ahmed A. El-Rashedy
- Chemistry of Natural and Microbial Products Department, National Research Center (NRC), Giza 12622, Egypt;
| | - Engy Mohsen
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo 11562, Egypt; (E.M.); (M.I.E.); (M.Y.I.)
| | - Marwa I. Ezzat
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo 11562, Egypt; (E.M.); (M.I.E.); (M.Y.I.)
| | - Marwa Y. Issa
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo 11562, Egypt; (E.M.); (M.I.E.); (M.Y.I.)
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6
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Duragkar N, Chikhale R, Piechota M, Danta CC, Gandhale P, Itankar P, Chikhale S, Gurav N, Khan MS, Pokrzywa W, Thapa P, Bryce R, Gurav S. SARS-CoV-2 inhibitory potential of fish oil-derived 2-pyrone compounds by acquiring linoleic acid binding site on the spike protein. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 275:133634. [PMID: 38964690 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.133634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2024] [Revised: 06/30/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
Traditional medicines have reportedly treated SARS-CoV-2 infection. Substantial evidence shows that fish oil supplements promote human immune function, suggesting they may lessen susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and suppress viral replication by inducing interferon. Fish oil was subjected to partition chromatography and separated into two compounds (EP01 and DH01). Isolated compounds were purified and characterized using UV, FTIR, NMR, and mass spectrometry to confirm their identity. Molecular docking was studied on the SARS CoV-2 variants of concern; SARS CoV-2 WT (PDB: 6VXX), SARS CoV-2 Alpha variant (PDB: 7LWS), SARS CoV-2 Delta variant (PDB: 7TOU), SARS CoV-2 Gamma variant (PDB: 7V78), SARS CoV-2 Kappa variant (PDB: 7VX9), and SARS CoV-2 Omicron variant (PDB: 7QO7) and TMPRSS2 (PDB: 7Y0E). Further selected protein-ligand complexes were subjected to 100 ns MD simulations to predict their biological potential in the SARS-CoV-2 treatment. In-vitro biological studies were carried out to support in-silico findings. Isolated compounds EP01 and DH01 were identified as 5-Tridecyltetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-one and 5-Heptadecyltetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-one, respectively. The compound EP01 significantly reduced (93.24 %) the viral RNA copy number with an IC50 of ~8.661 μM. EP01 proved to be a potent antiviral by in-vitro method against the SARS-CoV-2 clinical isolate, making it a promising antiviral candidate, with a single dose capable of preventing viral replication.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rupesh Chikhale
- UCL School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry, Brunswick Square, London, UK; Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, UK
| | - Malgorzata Piechota
- Laboratory of Protein Metabolism, International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, Poland
| | | | - Pradeep Gandhale
- ICAR- National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal 462 022, India
| | - Prakash Itankar
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, R. T. M. University, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
| | - Sonali Chikhale
- School of Life Science, University of Bedfordshire, Luton, UK
| | - Nilambari Gurav
- PES's Rajaram and Tarabai Bandekar College of Pharmacy, Ponda, Goa University, Goa, India
| | - Mohd Shahnawaz Khan
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Wojciech Pokrzywa
- Laboratory of Protein Metabolism, International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, Poland
| | - Pankaj Thapa
- Laboratory of Protein Metabolism, International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Richard Bryce
- Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, UK.
| | - Shailendra Gurav
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Goa College of Pharmacy, Panaji, Goa University, Goa, India.
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7
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Tu G, Gong Y, Yao X, Liu Q, Xue W, Zhang R. Pathways and mechanism of MRTX1133 binding to KRAS G12D elucidated by molecular dynamics simulations and Markov state models. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 274:133374. [PMID: 38925182 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.133374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2024] [Revised: 06/19/2024] [Accepted: 06/21/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
KRAS G12D is the most common oncogenic mutation identified in several types of cancer. Therefore, design of inhibitors targeting KRAS G12D represents a promising strategy for anticancer therapy. MRTX1133 is a highly potent inhibitor (approximate experiment Kd ≈ 0.0002 nM) of KRAS G12D and is currently in Phase 1/2 study, however, pathways of the compound binding to KRAS G12D has remained unknown, and the mechanism underlying the complicated dynamic process are challenging to capture experimentally, which hinder the structure-based anti-cancer drug design. Here, using MRTX1133 as a probe, unbiased molecular dynamics (MD) was used to simulate the process of MRTX1133 spontaneously binding to KRAS G12D. In six of 42 independent MD simulation (a total of 99 μs), MRTX1133 was observed to successfully associate with KRAS G12D. The kinetically metastable states refer to the potential pathways of MRTX1133 binding to KRAS G12D were revealed by Markov state models (MSM) analysis. Additionally, 8 key residues that are essential for MRTX1133 recognition and tight binding at the preferred low energy states were identified by MM/GBSA analysis. In sum, this study provides a new perspective on understanding the pathways and mechanism of MRTX1133 binding to KRAS G12D.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gao Tu
- Department of Pharmacy, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Army Medical University, 183 Xinqiao Road, Chongqing 400037, China; Dr. Neher's Biophysics Laboratory for Innovative Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau Institute for Applied Research in Medicine and Health, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, 999078, Macau
| | - Yaguo Gong
- Dr. Neher's Biophysics Laboratory for Innovative Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau Institute for Applied Research in Medicine and Health, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, 999078, Macau
| | - Xiaojun Yao
- Centre for Artificial Intelligence Driven Drug Discovery, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Macao Polytechnic University, 999078, Macau.
| | - Qing Liu
- Suzhou Institute for Advance Research, University of Science and Technology of China, Suzhou, China
| | - Weiwei Xue
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, China.
| | - Rong Zhang
- Department of Pharmacy, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Army Medical University, 183 Xinqiao Road, Chongqing 400037, China.
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8
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de Barros RC, Araujo da Costa R, Farias SDP, de Albuquerque KCO, Marinho AMR, Campos MB, Marinho PSB, Dolabela MF. In silico studies on leishmanicide activity of limonoids and fatty acids from Carapa guianensis Aubl. Front Chem 2024; 12:1394126. [PMID: 39139919 PMCID: PMC11319150 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2024.1394126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 08/15/2024] Open
Abstract
The oil of Carapa guianensis showed leishmanicidal activity, with its activity being related to limonoids, but fatty acids are the major constituents of this oil. The present study evaluated the physicochemical, pharmacokinetic, and toxicity profiles of limonoids and fatty acids already identified in the species. Based on these results, 2 limonoids (methyl angosinlate, 6-OH-methyl angosinlate) and 2 fatty acids (arachidic acid; myristic acid) were selected for the prediction of possible targets and molecular docking. Included in this study were: Gedunin, 6α-acetoxygedunin, Methyl angosenlato, 7-deacetoxy-7-oxogedunin, Andirobin, 6-hydroxy-angolensate methyl, 17β-hydroxyazadiradione, 1,2-dihydro-3β-hydroxy-7-deacetoxy-7-oxogedunin, xyllocensin k, 11beta-Hydroxygedunin, 6α,11-11β-diacetoxygedunin, Oleic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Arachidic Acid, Myristic Acid, Palmitoleic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, and Beenic Acid. Regarding physicochemical aspects, fatty acids violated LogP, and only limonoid 11 violated Lipinski's rule. A common pharmacokinetic aspect was that all molecules were well absorbed in the intestine and inhibited CYP. All compounds showed toxicity in some model, with fatty acids being mutagenic and carcinogenic, and limonoids not being mutagenic and carcinogenic at least for rats. In in vivo models, fatty acids were less toxic. Molecular dockings were performed on COX-2 steroids (15 and 16) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha for limonoids (3,6), with this target being essential for the intracellular development of leishmania. Limonoids 3 and 6 appear to be promising as leishmanicidal agents, and fatty acids are promising as wound healers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Maria Fani Dolabela
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Postgraduate Program, Federal University of Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Federal University of Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil
- Biotechnology and Biodiversity Postgraduate Program (BIONORTE), Federal University of Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil
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9
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Roy P, Walter Z, Berish L, Ramage H, McCullagh M. Motif-VI loop acts as a nucleotide valve in the West Nile Virus NS3 Helicase. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:7447-7464. [PMID: 38884215 PMCID: PMC11260461 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae500] [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: 12/01/2023] [Revised: 05/11/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The Orthoflavivirus NS3 helicase (NS3h) is crucial in virus replication, representing a potential drug target for pathogenesis. NS3h utilizes nucleotide triphosphate (ATP) for hydrolysis energy to translocate on single-stranded nucleic acids, which is an important step in the unwinding of double-stranded nucleic acids. Intermediate states along the ATP hydrolysis cycle and conformational changes between these states, represent important yet difficult-to-identify targets for potential inhibitors. Extensive molecular dynamics simulations of West Nile virus NS3h+ssRNA in the apo, ATP, ADP+Pi and ADP bound states were used to model the conformational ensembles along this cycle. Energetic and structural clustering analyses depict a clear trend of differential enthalpic affinity of NS3h with ADP, demonstrating a probable mechanism of hydrolysis turnover regulated by the motif-VI loop (MVIL). Based on these results, MVIL mutants (D471L, D471N and D471E) were found to have a substantial reduction in ATPase activity and RNA replication compared to the wild-type. Simulations of the mutants in the apo state indicate a shift in MVIL populations favoring either a closed or open 'valve' conformation, affecting ATP entry or stabilization, respectively. Combining our molecular modeling with experimental evidence highlights a conformation-dependent role for MVIL as a 'valve' for the ATP-pocket, presenting a promising target for antiviral development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priti Roy
- Department of Chemistry, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
| | - Zachary Walter
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
| | - Lauren Berish
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
| | - Holly Ramage
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
| | - Martin McCullagh
- Department of Chemistry, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
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10
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Zhang H, Im W. Ligand Binding Affinity Prediction for Membrane Proteins with Alchemical Free Energy Calculation Methods. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:5671-5679. [PMID: 38959405 PMCID: PMC11267607 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.4c00764] [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: 05/02/2024] [Revised: 06/12/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Abstract
Alchemical relative binding free energy (ΔΔG) calculations have shown high accuracy in predicting ligand binding affinity and have been used as important tools in computer-aided drug discovery and design. However, there has been limited research on the application of ΔΔG methods to membrane proteins despite the fact that these proteins represent a significant proportion of drug targets, play crucial roles in biological processes, and are implicated in numerous diseases. In this study, to predict the binding affinity of ligands to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), we employed two ΔΔG calculation methods: thermodynamic integration (TI) with AMBER and the alchemical transfer method (AToM) with OpenMM. We calculated ΔΔG values for 53 transformations involving four class A GPCRs and evaluated the performance of AMBER-TI and AToM-OpenMM. In addition, we conducted tests using different numbers of windows and varying simulation times to achieve reliable ΔΔG results and to optimize resource utilization. Overall, both AMBER-TI and AToM-OpenMM show good agreement with the experimental data. Our results validate the applicability of AMBER-TI and AToM-OpenMM for optimization of lead compounds targeting membrane proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Zhang
- Departments of Biological
Sciences and Bioengineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States
| | - Wonpil Im
- Departments of Biological
Sciences and Bioengineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States
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11
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Cerutti DS, Wiewiora R, Boothroyd S, Sherman W. STORMM: Structure and topology replica molecular mechanics for chemical simulations. J Chem Phys 2024; 161:032501. [PMID: 39007368 DOI: 10.1063/5.0211032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024] Open
Abstract
The Structure and TOpology Replica Molecular Mechanics (STORMM) code is a next-generation molecular simulation engine and associated libraries optimized for performance on fast, vectorized central processor units and graphics processing units (GPUs) with independent memory and tens of thousands of threads. STORMM is built to run thousands of independent molecular mechanical calculations on a single GPU with novel implementations that tune numerical precision, mathematical operations, and scarce on-chip memory resources to optimize throughput. The libraries are built around accessible classes with detailed documentation, supporting fine-grained parallelism and algorithm development as well as copying or swapping groups of systems on and off of the GPU. A primary intention of the STORMM libraries is to provide developers of atomic simulation methods with access to a high-performance molecular mechanics engine with extensive facilities to prototype and develop bespoke tools aimed toward drug discovery applications. In its present state, STORMM delivers molecular dynamics simulations of small molecules and small proteins in implicit solvent with tens to hundreds of times the throughput of conventional codes. The engineering paradigm transforms two of the most memory bandwidth-intensive aspects of condensed-phase dynamics, particle-mesh mapping, and valence interactions, into compute-bound problems for several times the scalability of existing programs. Numerical methods for compressing and streamlining the information present in stored coordinates and lookup tables are also presented, delivering improved accuracy over methods implemented in other molecular dynamics engines. The open-source code is released under the MIT license.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Woody Sherman
- Psivant Therapeutics, Boston, Massachusetts 02210, USA
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12
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Katzberger P, Riniker S. A general graph neural network based implicit solvation model for organic molecules in water. Chem Sci 2024; 15:10794-10802. [PMID: 39027274 PMCID: PMC11253111 DOI: 10.1039/d4sc02432j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024] Open
Abstract
The dynamical behavior of small molecules in their environment can be studied with classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to gain deeper insight on an atomic level and thus complement and rationalize the interpretation of experimental findings. Such approaches are of great value in various areas of research, e.g., in the development of new therapeutics. The accurate description of solvation effects in such simulations is thereby key and has in consequence been an active field of research since the introduction of MD. So far, the most accurate approaches involve computationally expensive explicit solvent simulations, while widely applied models using an implicit solvent description suffer from reduced accuracy. Recently, machine learning (ML) approaches that provide a probabilistic representation of solvation effects have been proposed as potential alternatives. However, the associated computational costs and minimal or lack of transferability render them unusable in practice. Here, we report the first example of a transferable ML-based implicit solvent model trained on a diverse set of 3 000 000 molecular structures that can be applied to organic small molecules for simulations in water. Extensive testing against reference calculations demonstrated that the model delivers on par accuracy with explicit solvent simulations while providing an up to 18-fold increase in sampling rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Katzberger
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 2 8093 Zürich Switzerland
| | - Sereina Riniker
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 2 8093 Zürich Switzerland
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13
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Wu Y, Zhang S, York DM, Wang L. Adsorption of Flavonoids in a Transcriptional Regulator TtgR: Relative Binding Free Energies and Intermolecular Interactions. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:6529-6541. [PMID: 38935925 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c02303] [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: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance in bacteria often arises from their ability to actively identify and expel toxic compounds. The bacterium strain Pseudomonas putida DOT-T1E utilizes its TtgABC efflux pump to confer robust resistance against antibiotics, flavonoids, and organic solvents. This resistance mechanism is intricately regulated at the transcriptional level by the TtgR protein. Through molecular dynamics and alchemical free energy simulations, we systematically examine the binding of seven flavonoids and their derivatives with the TtgR transcriptional regulator. Our simulations reveal distinct binding geometries and free energies for the flavonoids in the active site of the protein, which are driven by a range of noncovalent forces encompassing van der Waals, electrostatic, and hydrogen bonding interactions. The interplay of molecular structures, substituent patterns, and intermolecular interactions effectively stabilizes the bound flavonoids, confining their movements within the TtgR binding pocket. These findings yield valuable insights into the molecular determinants that govern ligand recognition in TtgR and shed light on the mechanism of antimicrobial resistance in P. putida DOT-T1E.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuxuan Wu
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Shi Zhang
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Darrin M York
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Lu Wang
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
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14
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Anwar S, Khan S, Hussain A, Alajmi MF, Shamsi A, Hassan MI. Investigating Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase 3 Inhibitory Potential of Myricetin Using Integrated Computational and Spectroscopic Approaches. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:29633-29643. [PMID: 39005765 PMCID: PMC11238318 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.4c03001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2024] [Revised: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
Protein kinases are involved in various diseases and currently represent potential targets for drug discovery. These kinases play major roles in regulating the cellular machinery and control growth, homeostasis, and cell signaling. Dysregulation of kinase expression is associated with various disorders such as cancer and neurodegeneration. Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 3 (PDK3) is implicated in cancer therapeutics as a potential drug target. In this current study, a molecular docking exhibited a strong binding affinity of myricetin to PDK3. Further, a 100 ns all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulation study provided insights into the structural dynamics and stability of the PDK3-myricetin complex, revealing the formation of a stable complex with minimal structural alterations upon ligand binding. Additionally, the actual affinity was ascertained by fluorescence binding studies, and myricetin showed appreciable binding affinity to PDK3. Further, the kinase inhibition assay suggested significant inhibition of PDK3 by myricetin, revealing an excellent inhibitory potential with an IC50 value of 3.3 μM. In conclusion, this study establishes myricetin as a potent PDK3 inhibitor that can be implicated in therapeutic targeting cancer and PDK3-associated diseases. In addition, this study underscores the efficacy of myricetin as a potential lead to drug discovery and provides valuable insights into the inhibition mechanism, enabling advancements in cancer therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saleha Anwar
- Centre
for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025, India
| | - Shama Khan
- South
African Medical Research Council, Vaccines and Infectious Diseases
Analytics Research Unit, Faculty of Health Science, School of Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2193, South Africa
| | - Afzal Hussain
- Department
of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King
Saud University, Riyadh, 4545, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohamed F. Alajmi
- Department
of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King
Saud University, Riyadh, 4545, Saudi Arabia
| | - Anas Shamsi
- Centre
of Medical and Bio-Allied Health Sciences Research, Ajman University, Ajman 364, United Arab
Emirates
| | - Md. Imtaiyaz Hassan
- Centre
for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025, India
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15
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Garrido-Rodríguez P, Carmena-Bargueño M, de la Morena-Barrio ME, Bravo-Pérez C, de la Morena-Barrio B, Cifuentes-Riquelme R, Lozano ML, Pérez-Sánchez H, Corral J. Analysis of AlphaFold and molecular dynamics structure predictions of mutations in serpins. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0304451. [PMID: 38968282 PMCID: PMC11226102 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304451] [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: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Serine protease inhibitors (serpins) include thousands of structurally conserved proteins playing key roles in many organisms. Mutations affecting serpins may disturb their conformation, leading to inactive forms. Unfortunately, conformational consequences of serpin mutations are difficult to predict. In this study, we integrate experimental data of patients with mutations affecting one serpin with the predictions obtained by AlphaFold and molecular dynamics. Five SERPINC1 mutations causing antithrombin deficiency, the strongest congenital thrombophilia were selected from a cohort of 350 unrelated patients based on functional, biochemical, and crystallographic evidence supporting a folding defect. AlphaFold gave an accurate prediction for the wild-type structure. However, it also produced native structures for all variants, regardless of complexity or conformational consequences in vivo. Similarly, molecular dynamics of up to 1000 ns at temperatures causing conformational transitions did not show significant changes in the native structure of wild-type and variants. In conclusion, AlphaFold and molecular dynamics force predictions into the native conformation at conditions with experimental evidence supporting a conformational change to other structures. It is necessary to improve predictive strategies for serpins that consider the conformational sensitivity of these molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Garrido-Rodríguez
- Servicio de Hematología y Oncología Médica, Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer, Centro Regional de Hemodonación, Universidad de Murcia, IMIB-Arrixaca, CIBERER-ISCIII, Murcia, Spain
| | - Miguel Carmena-Bargueño
- Structural Bioinformatics & High Performance Computing Research Group (BIO-HPC), Universidad Católica de Murcia (UCAM), Murcia, Spain
| | - María Eugenia de la Morena-Barrio
- Servicio de Hematología y Oncología Médica, Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer, Centro Regional de Hemodonación, Universidad de Murcia, IMIB-Arrixaca, CIBERER-ISCIII, Murcia, Spain
| | - Carlos Bravo-Pérez
- Servicio de Hematología y Oncología Médica, Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer, Centro Regional de Hemodonación, Universidad de Murcia, IMIB-Arrixaca, CIBERER-ISCIII, Murcia, Spain
| | - Belén de la Morena-Barrio
- Servicio de Hematología y Oncología Médica, Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer, Centro Regional de Hemodonación, Universidad de Murcia, IMIB-Arrixaca, CIBERER-ISCIII, Murcia, Spain
| | - Rosa Cifuentes-Riquelme
- Servicio de Hematología y Oncología Médica, Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer, Centro Regional de Hemodonación, Universidad de Murcia, IMIB-Arrixaca, CIBERER-ISCIII, Murcia, Spain
| | - María Luisa Lozano
- Servicio de Hematología y Oncología Médica, Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer, Centro Regional de Hemodonación, Universidad de Murcia, IMIB-Arrixaca, CIBERER-ISCIII, Murcia, Spain
| | - Horacio Pérez-Sánchez
- Structural Bioinformatics & High Performance Computing Research Group (BIO-HPC), Universidad Católica de Murcia (UCAM), Murcia, Spain
| | - Javier Corral
- Servicio de Hematología y Oncología Médica, Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer, Centro Regional de Hemodonación, Universidad de Murcia, IMIB-Arrixaca, CIBERER-ISCIII, Murcia, Spain
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16
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Giese TJ, Zeng J, Lerew L, McCarthy E, Tao Y, Ekesan Ş, York DM. Software Infrastructure for Next-Generation QM/MM-ΔMLP Force Fields. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:6257-6271. [PMID: 38905451 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c01466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/23/2024]
Abstract
We present software infrastructure for the design and testing of new quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical and machine-learning potential (QM/MM-ΔMLP) force fields for a wide range of applications. The software integrates Amber's molecular dynamics simulation capabilities with fast, approximate quantum models in the xtb package and machine-learning potential corrections in DeePMD-kit. The xtb package implements the recently developed density-functional tight-binding QM models with multipolar electrostatics and density-dependent dispersion (GFN2-xTB), and the interface with Amber enables their use in periodic boundary QM/MM simulations with linear-scaling QM/MM particle-mesh Ewald electrostatics. The accuracy of the semiempirical models is enhanced by including machine-learning correction potentials (ΔMLPs) enabled through an interface with the DeePMD-kit software. The goal of this paper is to present and validate the implementation of this software infrastructure in molecular dynamics and free energy simulations. The utility of the new infrastructure is demonstrated in proof-of-concept example applications. The software elements presented here are open source and freely available. Their interface provides a powerful enabling technology for the design of new QM/MM-ΔMLP models for studying a wide range of problems, including biomolecular reactivity and protein-ligand binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy J Giese
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Jinzhe Zeng
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Lauren Lerew
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Erika McCarthy
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Yujun Tao
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Şölen Ekesan
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Darrin M York
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
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17
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Smardz P, Anila MM, Rogowski P, Li MS, Różycki B, Krupa P. A Practical Guide to All-Atom and Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics Simulations Using Amber and Gromacs: A Case Study of Disulfide-Bond Impact on the Intrinsically Disordered Amyloid Beta. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:6698. [PMID: 38928405 PMCID: PMC11204378 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25126698] [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: 05/09/2024] [Revised: 06/12/2024] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) pose challenges to conventional experimental techniques due to their large-scale conformational fluctuations and transient structural elements. This work presents computational methods for studying IDPs at various resolutions using the Amber and Gromacs packages with both all-atom (Amber ff19SB with the OPC water model) and coarse-grained (Martini 3 and SIRAH) approaches. The effectiveness of these methodologies is demonstrated by examining the monomeric form of amyloid-β (Aβ42), an IDP, with and without disulfide bonds at different resolutions. Our results clearly show that the addition of a disulfide bond decreases the β-content of Aβ42; however, it increases the tendency of the monomeric Aβ42 to form fibril-like conformations, explaining the various aggregation rates observed in experiments. Moreover, analysis of the monomeric Aβ42 compactness, secondary structure content, and comparison between calculated and experimental chemical shifts demonstrates that all three methods provide a reasonable choice to study IDPs; however, coarse-grained approaches may lack some atomistic details, such as secondary structure recognition, due to the simplifications used. In general, this study not only explains the role of disulfide bonds in Aβ42 but also provides a step-by-step protocol for setting up, conducting, and analyzing molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, which is adaptable for studying other biomacromolecules, including folded and disordered proteins and peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Pawel Krupa
- Institute of Physics Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotników 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland; (P.S.); (M.M.A.); (P.R.); (M.S.L.); (B.R.)
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18
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Faure C, Min Ng Y, Belle C, Soler-Lopez M, Khettabi L, Saïdi M, Berthet N, Maresca M, Philouze C, Rachidi W, Réglier M, du Moulinet d'Hardemare A, Jamet H. Interactions of Phenylalanine Derivatives with Human Tyrosinase: Lessons from Experimental and Theoretical tudies. Chembiochem 2024; 25:e202400235. [PMID: 38642076 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202400235] [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: 03/13/2024] [Revised: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/22/2024]
Abstract
The pigmentation of the skin, modulated by different actors in melanogenesis, is mainly due to the melanins (protective pigments). In humans, these pigments' precursors are synthetized by an enzyme known as tyrosinase (TyH). The regulation of the enzyme activity by specific modulators (inhibitors or activators) can offer a means to fight hypo- and hyper-pigmentations responsible for medical, psychological and societal handicaps. Herein, we report the investigation of phenylalanine derivatives as TyH modulators. Interacting with the binuclear copper active site of the enzyme, phenylalanine derivatives combine effects induced by combination with known resorcinol inhibitors and natural substrate/intermediate (amino acid part). Computational studies including docking, molecular dynamics and free energy calculations combined with biological activity assays on isolated TyH and in human melanoma MNT-1 cells, and X-ray crystallography analyses with the TyH analogue Tyrp1, provide conclusive evidence of the interactions of phenylalanine derivatives with human tyrosinase. In particular, our findings indicate that an analogue of L-DOPA, namely (S)-3-amino-tyrosine, stands out as an amino phenol derivative with inhibitory properties against TyH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clarisse Faure
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Department of Molecular Chemistry (DCM, UMR 5250), 38058, Grenoble Cedex 9, France
| | - Yi Min Ng
- Structural Biology Group, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), 38053, Grenoble, France
| | - Catherine Belle
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Department of Molecular Chemistry (DCM, UMR 5250), 38058, Grenoble Cedex 9, France
| | - Montserrat Soler-Lopez
- Structural Biology Group, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), 38053, Grenoble, France
| | - Lyna Khettabi
- Structural Biology Group, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), 38053, Grenoble, France
| | - Mélissa Saïdi
- Structural Biology Group, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), 38053, Grenoble, France
| | - Nathalie Berthet
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Department of Molecular Chemistry (DCM, UMR 5250), 38058, Grenoble Cedex 9, France
| | - Marc Maresca
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, Centrale Marseille, iSm2, Marseille, France)
| | - Christian Philouze
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Department of Molecular Chemistry (DCM, UMR 5250), 38058, Grenoble Cedex 9, France
| | - Walid Rachidi
- IRIG-BGE U1038, INSERM, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Biomics, 38054, Grenoble, France
| | - Marius Réglier
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, Centrale Marseille, iSm2, Marseille, France)
| | | | - Hélène Jamet
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Department of Molecular Chemistry (DCM, UMR 5250), 38058, Grenoble Cedex 9, France
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19
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Brossard EE, Corcelli SA. Mechanism of Daunomycin Intercalation into DNA from Enhanced Sampling Simulations. J Phys Chem Lett 2024; 15:5770-5778. [PMID: 38776167 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c00961] [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: 05/24/2024]
Abstract
Daunomycin is a widely used anticancer drug, yet the mechanism underlying how it binds to DNA remains contested. 469 all-atom trajectories of daunomycin binding to the DNA oligonucleotide d(GCG CAC GTG CGC) were collected using weighted ensemble (WE)-enhanced sampling. Mechanistic insights were revealed through analysis of the ensemble of trajectories. Initially, the binding process involves a ubiquitous hydrogen bond between the DNA backbone and the NH3+ group on daunomycin. During the binding process, most trajectories exhibited similar structural changes to DNA, including DNA base pair rise, bending, and minor groove width changes. Variability within the ensemble of binding trajectories illuminates differences in the orientation of daunomycin as it initially intercalates; around 10% of trajectories needed minimal rearrangement from intercalation to reaching the fully bound configuration, whereas most needed an additional 1-5 ns to rearrange. The results here emphasize the utility of generating an ensemble of trajectories to discern biomolecular binding mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- E E Brossard
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, United States
| | - S A Corcelli
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, United States
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20
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Varenyk Y, Theodorakis PE, Pham DQH, Li MS, Krupa P. Exploring Structural Insights of Aβ42 and α-Synuclein Monomers and Heterodimer: A Comparative Study Using Implicit and Explicit Solvent Simulations. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:4655-4669. [PMID: 38700150 PMCID: PMC11103699 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c00503] [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: 01/24/2024] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
Protein misfolding, aggregation, and fibril formation play a central role in the development of severe neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. The structural stability of mature fibrils in these diseases is of great importance, as organisms struggle to effectively eliminate amyloid plaques. To address this issue, it is crucial to investigate the early stages of fibril formation when monomers aggregate into small, toxic, and soluble oligomers. However, these structures are inherently disordered, making them challenging to study through experimental approaches. Recently, it has been shown experimentally that amyloid-β 42 (Aβ42) and α-synuclein (α-Syn) can coassemble. This has motivated us to investigate the interaction between their monomers as a first step toward exploring the possibility of forming heterodimeric complexes. In particular, our study involves the utilization of various Amber and CHARMM force-fields, employing both implicit and explicit solvent models in replica exchange and conventional simulation modes. This comprehensive approach allowed us to assess the strengths and weaknesses of these solvent models and force fields in comparison to experimental and theoretical findings, ensuring the highest level of robustness. Our investigations revealed that Aβ42 and α-Syn monomers can indeed form stable heterodimers, and the resulting heterodimeric model exhibits stronger interactions compared to the Aβ42 dimer. The binding of α-Syn to Aβ42 reduces the propensity of Aβ42 to adopt fibril-prone conformations and induces significant changes in its conformational properties. Notably, in AMBER-FB15 and CHARMM36m force fields with the use of explicit solvent, the presence of Aβ42 significantly increases the β-content of α-Syn, consistent with the experiments showing that Aβ42 triggers α-Syn aggregation. Our analysis clearly shows that although the use of implicit solvent resulted in too large compactness of monomeric α-Syn, structural properties of monomeric Aβ42 and the heterodimer were preserved in explicit-solvent simulations. We anticipate that our study sheds light on the interaction between α-Syn and Aβ42 proteins, thus providing the atom-level model required to assess the initial stage of aggregation mechanisms related to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuliia Varenyk
- Institute
of Physics Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotnikow 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland
- Department
of Theoretical Chemistry, University of
Vienna, Vienna 1090, Austria
| | | | - Dinh Q. H. Pham
- Institute
of Physics Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotnikow 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Mai Suan Li
- Institute
of Physics Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotnikow 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Paweł Krupa
- Institute
of Physics Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotnikow 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland
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21
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Luo K, Yu X, Wang J, Liu J, Li X, Pan M, Huang D, Mai K, Zhang W. Ascorbic acid biosynthesis in Pacific abalone Haliotis discus hannai Ino and L-gulonolactone oxidase gene loss as an independent event. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 268:131733. [PMID: 38649080 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2024] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Up to now, it has been believed that invertebrates are unable to synthesize ascorbic acid (AA) in vivo. However, in the present study, the full-length CDs (Coding sequence) of L-gulonolactone oxidase (GLO) from Pacific abalone (Haliotis discus hannai Ino) were obtained through molecular cloning. The Pacific abalone GLO contained a FAD-binding domain in the N-termination, and ALO domain and conserved HWAK motif in the C-termination. The GLO gene possesses 12 exons and 11 introns. The Pacific abalone GLO was expressed in various tissues, including the kidney, digestive gland, gill, intestine, muscle and mantle. The GLO activity assay revealed that GLO activity was only detected in the kidney of Pacific abalone. After a 100-day feeding trial, dietary AA levels did not significantly affect the survival, weight gain, daily increment in shell length, and feed conversion ratio of Pacific abalone. The expression of GLO in the kidney was downregulated by dietary AA. These results implied that the ability to synthesize AA in abalone had not been lost. From the evolutionary perspective, the loss of GLO occurred independently as an independent event by matching with the genomes of various species. The positive selection analysis revealed that the GLO gene underwent purifying selective pressure during its evolution. In conclusion, the present study provided direct evidence to prove that the GLO activity and the ability to synthesize AA exist in abalone. The AA synthesis ability in vertebrates might have originated from invertebrates dating back 930.31 million years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Luo
- The Key Laboratory of Aquaculture Nutrition and Feeds (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs); Key Laboratory of Mariculture (Ministry of Education); Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, PR China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Waterlogging Disaster and Agricultural Use of Wetland, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, PR China
| | - Xiaojun Yu
- The Key Laboratory of Aquaculture Nutrition and Feeds (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs); Key Laboratory of Mariculture (Ministry of Education); Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, PR China
| | - Jia Wang
- The Key Laboratory of Aquaculture Nutrition and Feeds (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs); Key Laboratory of Mariculture (Ministry of Education); Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, PR China
| | - Jiahuan Liu
- The Key Laboratory of Aquaculture Nutrition and Feeds (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs); Key Laboratory of Mariculture (Ministry of Education); Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, PR China
| | - Xinxin Li
- The Key Laboratory of Aquaculture Nutrition and Feeds (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs); Key Laboratory of Mariculture (Ministry of Education); Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, PR China
| | - Mingzhu Pan
- The Key Laboratory of Aquaculture Nutrition and Feeds (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs); Key Laboratory of Mariculture (Ministry of Education); Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, PR China
| | - Dong Huang
- The Key Laboratory of Aquaculture Nutrition and Feeds (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs); Key Laboratory of Mariculture (Ministry of Education); Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, PR China
| | - Kangsen Mai
- The Key Laboratory of Aquaculture Nutrition and Feeds (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs); Key Laboratory of Mariculture (Ministry of Education); Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, PR China
| | - Wenbing Zhang
- The Key Laboratory of Aquaculture Nutrition and Feeds (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs); Key Laboratory of Mariculture (Ministry of Education); Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, PR China.
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22
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Abouelenein MG, Mohamed MBI, Elsenety MM, El-Rashedy AA, Ghalib SH, Mohamed FAE, El-Ebiary NMA, Ageeli AA. Facile and Novel Synthetic Approach, Molecular Docking, Molecular Dynamics, and Drug-Likeness Evaluation of 9-Substituted Acridine Derivatives as Dual Anticancer and Antimicrobial Agents. Chem Biodivers 2024; 21:e202301986. [PMID: 38478727 DOI: 10.1002/cbdv.202301986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
In the present study, numerous acridine derivatives A1-A20 were synthesized via aromatic nucleophilic substitution (SNAr) reaction of 9-chloroacridine with carbonyl hydrazides, amines, or phenolic derivatives depending upon facile, novel, and eco-friendly approaches (Microwave and ultrasonication assisted synthesis). The structures of the new compounds were elucidated using spectroscopic methods. The title products were assessed for their antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antiproliferative activities using numerous assays. Promisingly, the investigated compounds mainstream revealed promising antibacterial and anticancer activities. Thereafter, the investigated compounds' expected mode of action was debated by using an array of in silico studies. Compounds A2 and A3 were the most promising antimicrobial agents, while compounds A2, A5, and A7 revealed the most cytotoxic activities. Accordingly, RMSD, RMSF, Rg, and SASA analyses of compounds A2 and A3 were performed, and MMPBSA was calculated. Lastly, the ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity) analyses of the novel acridine derivatives were investigated. The tested compounds' existing screening results afford an inspiring basis leading to developing new compelling antimicrobial and anticancer agents based on the acridine scaffold.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed G Abouelenein
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Menofia University, Shebin El-Koam, Menofia, Egypt
| | | | - Mohamed M Elsenety
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt, P.O., 11884
| | - Ahmed A El-Rashedy
- Natural and Microbial Products Department, National Research Center (NRC), Egypt
| | - Samirah H Ghalib
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Jazan University, Jazan, P.O. Box, 82817, Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Nora M A El-Ebiary
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Jazan University, Jazan, P.O. Box, 82817, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abeer A Ageeli
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Jazan University, Jazan, P.O. Box, 82817, Saudi Arabia
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23
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Hamed AR, Nabih HK, El-Rashedy AA, Mohamed TA, Mostafa OE, K. Ali S, Efferth T, Hegazy MEF. Salvimulticanol from Salvia multicaulis suppresses LPS-induced inflammation in RAW264.7 macrophages: in vitro and in silico studies. 3 Biotech 2024; 14:144. [PMID: 38706927 PMCID: PMC11065832 DOI: 10.1007/s13205-024-03987-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Sustained inflammatory responses can badly affect several vital organs and lead to chronic inflammation-related disorders, such as atherosclerosis, pneumonia, rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and cancers. Salvia multicaulis is one of the widely distributed plants that contains several biologically active phytochemicals and diterpenoids with anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore, finding alternative and safer natural plant-extracted compounds with good curative anti-inflammatory efficiencies is an urgent need for the clinical treatment of inflammation-related diseases. In the current study, S. multicaulis Vahl was used to extract and isolate two compounds identified as salvimulticanol and candesalvone B methyl ester to examine their effects against inflammation in murine macrophage RAW264.7 cells that were induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Accordingly, after culturing RAW264.7 cells and induction of inflammation by LPS (100 ng/ml), cells were exposed to different concentrations (9, 18, 37.5, 75, and 150 µM) of each compound. Then, Griess assay for detection of nitric oxide (NO) levels and western blotting for the determination of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression were performed. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies were employed to investigate the anti-inflammatory mechanism. Our obtained results validated that the level of NO was significantly decreased in the macrophage cell suspensions as a response to salvimulticanol treatment in a dose-dependent manner (IC50: 25.1 ± 1.2 µM) as compared to the methyl ester of candesalvone B which exerted a weaker inhibition (IC50: 69.2 ± 3.0 µM). This decline in NO percentage was comparable with a down-regulation of iNOS expression by western blotting. Salvimulticanol strongly interacted with both the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/myeloid differentiation factor 2 (MD-2) complex and the inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) kinase subunit beta (IKKβ) to disrupt their inflammatory activation due to the significant hydrogen bonds and effective interactions with amino acid residues present in the target proteins' active sites. S.multicaulis is a rich natural source of the aromatic abietane diterpenoid, salvimulticanol, which exerted a strong anti-inflammatory effect through targeting iNOS and diminishing NO production in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells in a mechanism that is dependent on the inhibition of TLR4-MD-2 and IKKβ as activators of the classical NF-κB-mediated inflammatory pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed R. Hamed
- Chemistry of Medicinal Plants Department, Pharmaceutical and Drug Industries Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33 El Bohouth St., Dokki, P.O. 12622, Giza, Egypt
- Biology Unit, Central Laboratory for Pharmaceutical and Drug Industries Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33 El Bohouth St., Dokki, P.O. 12622, Giza, Egypt
| | - Heba K. Nabih
- Medical Biochemistry Department, Medicine and Clinical Studies Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33 El Bohouth St., Dokki, P.O. 12622, Giza, Egypt
| | - Ahmed A. El-Rashedy
- Molecular Dynamics Unit, Pharmaceutical and Drug Industries Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33 El Bohouth St., Dokki, P.O. 12622, Giza, Egypt
| | - Tarik A. Mohamed
- Chemistry of Medicinal Plants Department, Pharmaceutical and Drug Industries Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33 El Bohouth St., Dokki, P.O. 12622, Giza, Egypt
| | - Olfat E. Mostafa
- Poison Control Center, Ain Shams University Hospitals, P.O. 1181, Abbasia, Cairo Egypt
| | - Sherine K. Ali
- Chemistry of Medicinal Plants Department, Pharmaceutical and Drug Industries Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33 El Bohouth St., Dokki, P.O. 12622, Giza, Egypt
| | - Thomas Efferth
- Pharmaceutical Biology Department, Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Staudinger Weg 5, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Mohamed-Elamir F. Hegazy
- Chemistry of Medicinal Plants Department, Pharmaceutical and Drug Industries Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33 El Bohouth St., Dokki, P.O. 12622, Giza, Egypt
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24
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Jiang W. Studying the Collective Functional Response of a Receptor in Alchemical Ligand Binding Free Energy Simulations with Accelerated Solvation Layer Dynamics. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:3085-3095. [PMID: 38568961 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00191] [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: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Ligand binding free energy simulations (LB-FES) that involve sampling of protein functional conformations have been longstanding challenges in research on molecular recognition. Particularly, modeling of the conformational transition pathway and design of the heuristic biasing mechanism are severe bottlenecks for the existing enhanced configurational sampling (ECS) methods. Inspired by the key role of hydration in regulating conformational dynamics of macromolecules, this report proposes a novel ECS approach that facilitates binding-associated structural dynamics by accelerated hydration transitions in combination with the λ-exchange of free energy perturbation (FEP). Two challenging protein-ligand binding processes involving large configurational transitions of the receptor are studied, with hydration transitions at binding sites accelerated by Hamiltonian-simulated annealing of the hydration layer. Without the need for pathway analysis or ad hoc barrier flattening potential, LB-FES were performed with FEP/λ-exchange molecular dynamics simulation at a minor overhead for annealing of the hydration layer. The LB-FES studies showed that the accelerated rehydration significantly enhances the collective conformational transitions of the receptor, and convergence of binding affinity calculations is obtained at a sweet-spot simulation time scale. Alchemical LB-FES with the proposed ECS strategy is free from the effort of trial and error for the setup and realizes efficient on-the-fly sampling for the collective functional response of the receptor and bound water and therefore presents a practical approach to high-throughput screening in drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Jiang
- Computational Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Building 240, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States
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25
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Ito S, Sugita Y. Free-energy landscapes of transmembrane homodimers by bias-exchange adaptively biased molecular dynamics. Biophys Chem 2024; 307:107190. [PMID: 38290241 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2024.107190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2023] [Revised: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
Membrane proteins play essential roles in various biological functions within the cell. One of the most common functional regulations involves the dimerization of two single-pass transmembrane (TM) helices. Glycophorin A (GpA) and amyloid precursor protein (APP) form TM homodimers in the membrane, which have been investigated both experimentally and computationally. The homodimer structures are well characterized using only four collective variables (CVs) when each TM helix is stable. The CVs are the interhelical distance, the crossing angle, and the Crick angles for two TM helices. However, conformational sampling with multi-dimensional replica-exchange umbrella sampling (REUS) requires too many replicas to sample all the CVs for exploring the conformational landscapes. Here, we show that the bias-exchange adaptively biased molecular dynamics (BE-ABMD) with the four CVs effectively explores the free-energy landscapes of the TM helix dimers of GpA, wild-type APP and its mutants in the IMM1 implicit membrane. Compared to the original ABMD, the bias-exchange algorithm in BE-ABMD can provide a more rapidly converged conformational landscape. The BE-ABMD simulations could also reveal TM packing interfaces of the membrane proteins and the dependence of the free-energy landscapes on the membrane thickness. This approach is valuable for numerous other applications, including those involving explicit solvent and a lipid bilayer in all-atom force fields or Martini coarse-grained models, and enhances our understanding of protein-protein interactions in biological membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shingo Ito
- Theoretical Molecular Science Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Yuji Sugita
- Theoretical Molecular Science Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan; Computational Biophysics Research Team, RIKEN Center for Computational Science, 7-1-26 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan; Laboratory for Biomolecular Function Simulation, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 1-6-5 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan.
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26
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Yousuf M, Khan S, Hussain A, Alajmi MF, Shamsi A, Haque QMR, Islam A, Hassan MI. Exploring therapeutic potential of Rutin by investigating its cyclin-dependent kinase 6 inhibitory activity and binding affinity. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 264:130624. [PMID: 38453105 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.130624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/03/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6) participates in numerous signalling pathways and regulates various physiological processes. Due to its unique structural features and promising therapeutic potential, CDK6 has emerged as a drug target for designing and developing small-molecule inhibitors for anti-cancer therapeutics and other CDK6-associated diseases. The current study evaluates binding affinity and the inhibitory potential of rutin for CDK6 to develop a proof of concept for rutin as a potent CDK6 inhibitor. Molecular docking and 200 ns all-atom simulations reveal that rutin binds to the active site pocket of CDK6, forming interactions with key residues of the binding pocket. In addition, the CDK6-rutin complex remains stable throughout the simulation trajectory. A high binding constant (Ka = 7.6 × 105M-1) indicates that rutin has a strong affinity for CDK6. Isothermal titration calorimetry has further validated a strong binding of rutin with CDK6 and its spontaneous nature. The kinase activity of CDK6 is significantly inhibited by rutin with an IC50 value of 3.10 μM. Our findings highlight the significant role of rutin in developing potential therapeutic molecules to manage cancer and CDK6-associated diseases via therapeutic targeting of CDK6.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohd Yousuf
- Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025, India; Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India
| | - Shama Khan
- South African Medical Research Council, Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, Faculty of Health Science, School of Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Afzal Hussain
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohamed F Alajmi
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Anas Shamsi
- Centre of Medical and Bio-Allied Health Sciences Research, Ajman University, Ajman 346, United Arab Emirates
| | | | - Asimul Islam
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India
| | - Md Imtaiyaz Hassan
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India.
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27
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Dehghani-Ghahnaviyeh S, Soylu C, Furet P, Velez-Vega C. Dissecting the Interaction Fingerprints and Binding Affinity of BYL719 Analogs Targeting PI3Kα. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:1819-1829. [PMID: 38373112 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c06766] [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: 02/21/2024]
Abstract
Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase Alpha (PI3Kα) is a lipid kinase which regulates signaling pathways involved in cell proliferation. Dysregulation of these pathways promotes several human cancers, pushing for the development of anticancer drugs to target PI3Kα. One such medicinal chemistry campaign at Novartis led to the discovery of BYL719 (Piqray, Alpelicib), a PI3Kα inhibitor approved by the FDA in 2019 for treatment of HR+/HER2-advanced breast cancer with a PIK3CA mutation. Structure-based drug design played a key role in compound design and optimization throughout the discovery process. However, further characterization of potency drivers via structural dynamics and energetic analyses can be advantageous for ensuing PI3Kα programs. Here, our goal is to employ various in-silico techniques, including molecular simulations and machine learning, to characterize 14 ligands from the BYL719 analogs and predict their binding affinities. The structural insights from molecular simulations suggest that although the ligand-hinge interaction is the primary driver of ligand stability at the pocket, the R group positioning at C2 or C6 of pyridine/pyrimidine also plays a major role. Binding affinities predicted via thermodynamic integration (TI) are in good agreement with previously reported IC50s. Yet, computationally demanding techniques such as TI might not always be the most efficient approach for affinity prediction, as in our case study, fast high-throughput techniques were capable of classifying compounds as active or inactive, and one docking approach showed accuracy comparable to TI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sepehr Dehghani-Ghahnaviyeh
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 181 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Cihan Soylu
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 181 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Pascal Furet
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, CH4002 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Camilo Velez-Vega
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 181 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
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28
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Mei Y, Shen Y. Cation-π Interactions Greatly Influence Ion Transportability of the Light-Driven Sodium Pump KR2: A Molecular Dynamics Study. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:974-982. [PMID: 38237560 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c01883] [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: 02/13/2024]
Abstract
Krokinobacter eikastus rhodopsin 2 (KR2) is a typical light-driven sodium pump. Although wild-type KR2 exhibits high Na+ selectivity, mutagenesis performed on the residues constituting the entrance enables permeation of K+ and Cs+, while the underlying mechanism remains elusive. This study presents a comprehensive molecular dynamics investigation, including force field optimization, metadynamics, and alchemical free energy methods, to explore the N61L/G263F mutant of KR2, which exhibits transportability for K+ and Cs+. The introduced Phe263 residue can directly promote ion binding at the entrance through cation-π interactions, while the N61L mutation can enhance ion binding at Phe46 by relieving steric hindrance. These results suggest that cation-π interactions may significantly influence the ion transportability and selectivity of KR2, which can provide important insights for protein engineering and the design of artificial ion transporters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunhao Mei
- School of Chemistry, IGCME, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Yong Shen
- School of Chemistry, IGCME, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
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29
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Wang S, Liu F, Li P, Wang JN, Mo Y, Lin B, Mei Y. Potent inhibitors targeting cyclin-dependent kinase 9 discovered via virtual high-throughput screening and absolute binding free energy calculations. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:5377-5386. [PMID: 38269624 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp05582e] [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: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Due to the crucial regulatory mechanism of cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) in mRNA transcription, the development of kinase inhibitors targeting CDK9 holds promise as a potential treatment strategy for cancer. A structure-based virtual screening approach has been employed for the discovery of potential novel CDK9 inhibitors. First, compounds with kinase inhibitor characteristics were identified from the ZINC15 database via virtual high-throughput screening. Next, the predicted binding modes were optimized by molecular dynamics simulations, followed by precise estimation of binding affinities using absolute binding free energy calculations based on the free energy perturbation scheme. The binding mode of molecule 006 underwent an inward-to-outward flipping, and the new binding mode exhibited binding affinity comparable to the small molecule T6Q in the crystal structure (PDB ID: 4BCF), highlighting the essential role of molecular dynamics simulation in capturing a plausible binding pose bridging docking and absolute binding free energy calculations. Finally, structural modifications based on these findings further enhanced the binding affinity with CDK9. The results revealed that enhancing the molecule's rigidity through ring formation, while maintaining the major interactions, reduced the entropy loss during the binding process and, thus, enhanced binding affinities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shipeng Wang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China.
| | - Fengjiao Liu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China.
| | - Pengfei Li
- Single Particle, LLC, 10531 4S Commons Dr 166-629, San Diego, CA 92127, USA
| | - Jia-Ning Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Yan Mo
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
- NYU-ECNU Center for Computational Chemistry at NYU Shanghai, Shanghai 200062, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China
| | - Bin Lin
- Wuya College of Innovation, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China.
| | - Ye Mei
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
- NYU-ECNU Center for Computational Chemistry at NYU Shanghai, Shanghai 200062, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China
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30
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Jairajpuri DS, Khan S, Anwar S, Hussain A, Alajmi MF, Hassan I. Investigating the role of thymol as a promising inhibitor of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 3 for targeted cancer therapy. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 259:129314. [PMID: 38211912 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.129314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 12/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
Protein kinases have emerged as major contributors to various diseases. They are currently exploited as a potential target in drug discovery because they play crucial roles in cell signaling, growth, and regulation. Their dysregulation is associated with inflammatory disorders, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 3 (PDK3) has become an attractive drug target in cancer therapeutics. In the present study, we investigated the effective role of thymol in PDK3 inhibition due to the high affinity predicted through molecular docking studies. Hence, to better understand this inhibition mechanism, we carried out a 100 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to analyse the dynamics and stability of the PDK3-thymol complex. The PDK3-thymol complex was stable and energetically favourable, with many intramolecular hydrogen bond interactions in the PDK3-thymol complex. Enzyme inhibition assay showed significant inhibition of PDK3 by thymol, revealing potential inhibitory action of thymol towards PDK3 (IC50 = 2.66 μM). In summary, we established thymol as one of the potential inhibitors of PDK3, proposing promising therapeutic implications for severe diseases associated with PDK3 dysregulation. This study further advances our understanding of thymol's therapeutic capabilities and potential role in cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deeba Shamim Jairajpuri
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain
| | - Shama Khan
- South African Medical Research Council, Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, Faculty of Health Science, School of Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Saleha Anwar
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025, India
| | - Afzal Hussain
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohamed F Alajmi
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Imtaiyaz Hassan
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025, India.
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31
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Madhu MK, Shewani K, Murarka RK. Biased Signaling in Mutated Variants of β 2-Adrenergic Receptor: Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulations. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:449-469. [PMID: 38194225 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c01481] [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: 01/10/2024]
Abstract
The molecular basis of receptor bias in G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) caused by mutations that preferentially activate specific intracellular transducers over others remains poorly understood. Two experimentally identified biased variants of β2-adrenergic receptors (β2AR), a prototypical GPCR, are a triple mutant (T68F, Y132A, and Y219A) and a single mutant (Y219A); the former bias the receptor toward the β-arrestin pathway by disfavoring G protein engagement, while the latter induces G protein signaling explicitly due to selection against GPCR kinases (GRKs) that phosphorylate the receptor as a prerequisite of β-arrestin binding. Though rigorous characterizations have revealed functional implications of these mutations, the atomistic origin of the observed transducer selectivity is not clear. In this study, we investigated the allosteric mechanism of receptor bias in β2AR using microseconds of all-atom Gaussian accelerated molecular dynamics (GaMD) simulations. Our observations reveal distinct rearrangements in transmembrane helices, intracellular loop 3, and critical residues R1313.50 and Y3267.53 in the conserved motifs D(E)RY and NPxxY for the mutant receptors, leading to their specific transducer interactions. Moreover, partial dissociation of G protein from the receptor core is observed in the simulations of the triple mutant in contrast to the single mutant and wild-type receptor. The reorganization of allosteric communications from the extracellular agonist BI-167107 to the intracellular receptor-transducer interfaces drives the conformational rearrangements responsible for receptor bias in the single and triple mutants. The molecular insights into receptor bias of β2AR presented here could improve the understanding of biased signaling in GPCRs, potentially opening new avenues for designing novel therapeutics with fewer side-effects and superior efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Midhun K Madhu
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal Bypass Road, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 462066, India
| | - Kunal Shewani
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal Bypass Road, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 462066, India
| | - Rajesh K Murarka
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal Bypass Road, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 462066, India
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Lawal MM, Roy P, McCullagh M. Role of ATP Hydrolysis and Product Release in the Translocation Mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 NSP13. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:492-503. [PMID: 38175211 PMCID: PMC11256563 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c06714] [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] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
In response to the emergence of COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, there has been a growing interest in understanding the functional mechanisms of the viral proteins to aid in the development of new therapeutics. Nonstructural protein 13 (nsp13) helicase is an attractive target for antivirals because it is essential for viral replication and has a low mutation rate, yet the structural mechanisms by which this enzyme binds and hydrolyzes ATP to cause unidirectional RNA translocation remain elusive. Using Gaussian accelerated molecular dynamics (GaMD), we generated comprehensive conformational ensembles of all substrate states along the ATP-dependent cycle. Shape-GMM clustering of the protein yields four protein conformations that describe an opening and closing of both the ATP pocket and the RNA cleft that is achieved through a combination of conformational selection and induction along the ATP hydrolysis cycle. Furthermore, three protein-RNA conformations are observed that implicate motifs Ia, IV, and V as playing a pivotal role in an ATP-dependent inchworm translocation mechanism. Finally, based on a linear discriminant analysis of protein conformations, we identify L405 as a pivotal residue for the opening and closing mechanism and propose a L405D mutation as a way to disrupt translocation. This research enhances our understanding of nsp13's role in viral replication and could contribute to the development of antiviral strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monsurat M. Lawal
- Department of Chemistry, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74074, USA
- These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Priti Roy
- Department of Chemistry, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74074, USA
- These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Martin McCullagh
- Department of Chemistry, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74074, USA
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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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Chen SY, Koch M, Chávez-Gutiérrez L, Zacharias M. How Modulator Binding at the Amyloidβ-γ-Secretase Interface Enhances Substrate Binding and Attenuates Membrane Distortion. J Med Chem 2023; 66:16772-16782. [PMID: 38059872 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c01480] [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
Inhibition of γ-secretase, an intramembrane protease, to reduce secretion of Amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides has been considered for treating Alzheimer's disease. However, γ-secretase inhibitors suffer from severe side effects. As an alternative, γ-secretase modulators (GSM) reduce the generation of toxic peptides by enhancing the cleavage processivity without diminishing the enzyme activity. Starting from a known γ-secretase structure without substrate but in complex with an E2012 GSM, we generated a structural model that included a bound Aβ43 peptide and studied interactions among enzyme, substrate, GSM, and lipids. Our result suggests that E2012 binding at the enzyme-substrate-membrane interface attenuates the membrane distortion by shielding the substrate-membrane interaction. The model predicts that the E2012 modulation is charge-dependent and explains the preserved hydrogen acceptor and the aromatic ring observed in many imidazole-based GSM. Predicted effects of γ-secretase mutations on E2012 modulation were confirmed experimentally. We anticipate that the study will facilitate the future development of effective GSMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Yu Chen
- Center for Functional Protein Assemblies, Garching 85748, Germany
| | - Matthias Koch
- VIB/KU Leuven, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | | | - Martin Zacharias
- Center for Functional Protein Assemblies, Garching 85748, Germany
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Niu T, He X, Han F, Wang L, Wang J. Development and test of highly accurate endpoint free energy methods. 3: partition coefficient prediction using a Poisson-Boltzmann method combined with a solvent accessible surface area model for SAMPL challenges. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 26:85-94. [PMID: 38053433 PMCID: PMC10754273 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp04174c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
Accurately predicting solvation free energy is the key to predict protein-ligand binding free energy. In addition, the partition coefficient (log P), which is an important physicochemical property that determines the distribution of a drug in vivo, can be derived directly from transfer free energies, i.e., the difference between solvation free energies (SFEs) in different solvents. Within the Statistical Assessment of the Modeling of Proteins and Ligands (SAMPL) 9 challenge, we applied the Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) surface area (SA) approach to predict the toluene/water transfer free energy and partition coefficient (log Ptoluene/water) from SFEs. For each solute, only a single conformation automatically generated by the free software Open Babel was used. The PB calculation directly adopts our previously optimized boundary definition - a set of general AMBER force field 2 (GAFF2) atom-type based sphere radii for solute atoms. For the non-polar SA model, we newly developed the solvent-related molecular surface tension parameters γ and offset b for toluene and cyclohexane targeting experimental SFEs. This approach yielded the highest predictive accuracy in terms of root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.52 kcal mol-1 in transfer free energy for 16 small drug molecules among all 18 submissions in the SAMPL9 blind prediction challenge. The re-evaluation of the challenge set using multi-conformation strategies based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations further reduces the prediction RMSE to 1.33 kcal mol-1. At the same time, an additional evaluation of our PBSA method on the SAMPL5 cyclohexane/water distribution coefficient (log Dcyclohexane/water) prediction revealed that our model outperformed COSMO-RS, the best submission model with RMSEPBSA = 1.88 versus RMSECOSMO-RS = 2.11 log units. Two external log Ptoluene/water and log Pcyclohexane/water datasets that contain 110 and 87 data points, respectively, are collected for extra validation and provide an in-depth insight into the error source of the PBSA method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taoyu Niu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
| | - Xibing He
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
| | - Fengyang Han
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
| | - Luxuan Wang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
| | - Junmei Wang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
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Krylov VB, Gómez-Redondo M, Solovev AS, Yashunsky DV, Brown AJ, Stappers MH, Gow NA, Ardá A, Jiménez-Barbero J, Nifantiev NE. Identification of a new DC-SIGN binding pentamannoside epitope within the complex structure of Candida albicans mannan. Cell Surf 2023; 10:100109. [PMID: 37520856 PMCID: PMC10382935 DOI: 10.1016/j.tcsw.2023.100109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule-3-grabbing non-integrin (DC-SIGN) is an innate immune C-type lectin receptor that recognizes carbohydrate-based pathogen associated with molecular patterns of various bacteria, fungi, viruses and protozoa. Although a range of highly mannosylated glycoproteins have been shown to induce signaling via DC-SIGN, precise structure of the recognized oligosaccharide epitope is still unclear. Using the array of oligosaccharides related to selected fragments of main fungal antigenic polysaccharides we revealed a highly specific pentamannoside ligand of DC-SIGN, consisting of α-(1 → 2)-linked mannose chains with one inner α-(1 → 3)-linked unit. This structural motif is present in Candida albicans cell wall mannan and corresponds to its antigenic factors 4 and 13b. This epitope is not ubiquitous in other yeast species and may account for the species-specific nature of fungal recognition via DC-SIGN. The discovered highly specific oligosaccharide ligands of DC-SIGN are tractable tools for interdisciplinary investigations of mechanisms of fungal innate immunity and anti-Candida defense. Ligand- and receptor-based NMR data demonstrated the pentasaccharide-to-DC-SIGN interaction in solution and enabled the deciphering of the interaction topology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vadim B. Krylov
- Laboratory of Glycoconjugate Chemistry, N.D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Arsenii S. Solovev
- Laboratory of Glycoconjugate Chemistry, N.D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Dmitry V. Yashunsky
- Laboratory of Glycoconjugate Chemistry, N.D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Alistair J.P. Brown
- Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QD, United Kingdom
| | - Mark H.T. Stappers
- Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QD, United Kingdom
| | - Neil A.R. Gow
- Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QD, United Kingdom
| | - Ana Ardá
- CIC bioGUNE, Basque Research Technology Alliance, BRTA, 48160 Derio, Spain
| | - Jesús Jiménez-Barbero
- CIC bioGUNE, Basque Research Technology Alliance, BRTA, 48160 Derio, Spain
- IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science and Technology, Euskadi Plaza 5, 48009 Bilbao, Spain
- Department of Organic & Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country, 48940 Leioa, Spain
- Centro de Investigacion Biomedica En Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Madrid, Spain
| | - Nikolay E. Nifantiev
- Laboratory of Glycoconjugate Chemistry, N.D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
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Adewumi AT, Mosebi S. Characteristic Binding Landscape of Estrogen Receptor-α36 Protein Enhances Promising Cancer Drug Design. Biomolecules 2023; 13:1798. [PMID: 38136668 PMCID: PMC10741999 DOI: 10.3390/biom13121798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer (BC) remains the most common cancer among women worldwide, and estrogen receptor-α expression is a critical diagnostic factor for BC. Estrogen receptor (ER-α36) is a dominant-negative effector of ER-α66-mediated estrogen-responsive gene pathways. ER-α36 is a novel target that mediates the non-genomic estrogen signaling pathway. However, the crystallized structure of ER-α36 remains unavailable for molecular studies. ER-positive and triple-negative BC tumors aggressively resist the FDA-approved drugs; therefore, highly potent structure-based inhibitors with preeminent benefits over toxicity will preferably replace the current BC treatment. Broussoflanol B (BFB), a B. papyrifera bark compound, exhibits potent growth inhibitory activity in ER-negative BC cells by inducing cell cycle arrest. For the first time, we unravel the comparative dynamic events of the enzymes' structures and the binding mechanisms of BFB when bound to the ER-α36 and ER-α66 ligand-binding domain using an all-atom molecular dynamics simulations approach and MM/PBSA-binding-free energy calculations. The dynamic findings have revealed that ER-α36 and ER-α66 LBD undergo timescale "coiling", opening and closing conformations favoring the high-affinity BFB-bound ER-α36 (ΔG = -52.57 kcal/mol) compared to the BFB-bound ER-α66 (ΔG = -42.41 kcal/mol). Moreover, the unbound (1.260 Å) and bound ER-α36 (1.182 Å) exhibit the highest flexibilities and atomistic motions relative to the ER-α66 systems. The RMSF (Å) of the unbound ER-α36 and ER-α66 exhibit lesser stabilities than the BFB-bound systems, resulting in higher structural flexibilities and atomistic motions than the bound variants. These findings present a model that describes the mechanisms by which the BFB compound induces downregulation-accompanied cell cycle arrest at the Gap0 and Gap1 phases.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Salerwe Mosebi
- Department of Life and Consumer Sciences, University of South Africa, Private Bag X06, Florida 1710, South Africa;
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38
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Abouelenein MG, El-Rashedy AA, Awad HM, El Farargy AF, Nassar IF, Nassrallah A. Synthesis, molecular modeling Insights, and anticancer assessment of novel polyfunctionalized Pyridine congeners. Bioorg Chem 2023; 141:106910. [PMID: 37871393 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2023.106910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
The present study describes synthesizing a novel series of polyfunctionalized pyridine congeners 1-18 and assessed for cytotoxic efficacies versus HCT-116, MCF-7, and HepG-2 among one non-cancerous BJ-1 human normal cell. Most compounds were precisely potent anticancer candidate drugs. The molecular impact of the most active compounds 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, and 17 was evaluated after MCF-7 treatment. The gene expression of pro- and ant-apoptosis markers P53, Bax, Caspase-3 and Bcl-2 as well as VEGFR-2 and HER2 were determined. Compounds 13 and 15 induced upregulation of pro-apoptosis of P53, Bax, Caspase-3 and downregulation of anti-apoptosis Bcl-2 gene. However, compound 15 showed higher effect compared to 13 and respective control. Moreover, a slight reduction in HER2 gene expression was detected due to compound 15 treatment, while VEGFR-2 gene was upregulated. In agreement, the immunoblotting analysis showed higher accumulation of P53, Bax, Caspase-3 proteins and of decrease the Bcl-2 protein levels. Furthermore, docking studies united with molecular dynamic simulation exposed compounds 13 and 15 fitting in the middle of the active site at the interface linking the ATP binding site and the allosteric hydrophobic binding pocket. Finally, we performed Petra/Osiris/ Molinspiration (POM) analysis for the newly synthesized compounds. The evaluation of primary in silico parameters revealed significant differences among individual polyfunctionalized pyridine compounds, highlighting the most promising candidates. These preliminary results may help in coordinating and initiating other research projects focused on polyfunctionalized pyridine compounds, especially those with predicted bioactivity, low toxicity, optimal ADME parameters, and promising perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed G Abouelenein
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Menofia University, Shebin El-Koam, Menofia, Egypt.
| | - Ahmed A El-Rashedy
- Natural and Microbial Products Department, National Research Center (NRC), Egypt
| | - Hanem M Awad
- Department of Tanning Materials and Leather Technology, Chemical Industries Research Institute, National Research Centre (NRC), Egypt
| | - Ahmed F El Farargy
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
| | - Ibrahim F Nassar
- Faculty of Specific Education, Ain Shams University, Abassia, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Amr Nassrallah
- Basic Applied Science Institute, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST) P.O. Box 179, New Borg El-Arab City Postal Code 21934, Alexandria, Egypt; Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, 12613 Giza, Egypt
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39
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Metwally K, Abo-Dya NE, Hamdan AME, Alrashidi MN, Alturki MS, Aly OM, Aljoundi A, Ibrahim M, Soliman MES. Investigation of Simultaneous and Sequential Cooperative Homotropic Inhibitor Binding to the Catalytic Chamber of SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase (RdRp). Cell Biochem Biophys 2023; 81:697-706. [PMID: 37658974 DOI: 10.1007/s12013-023-01163-y] [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] [Accepted: 08/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
In our previous report, the unique architecture of the catalytic chamber of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), which harbours two distinctive binding sites, was fully characterized at molecular level. The significant differences in the two binding sites BS1 and BS2 in terms of binding pockets motif, as well as the preferential affinities of eight anti-viral drugs to each of the two binding sites were described. Recent Cryogenic Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM) studies on the RdRp revealed that two suramin molecules, a SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor, bind to RdRp in two different sites with distinctive interaction landscape. Here, we provide the first account of investigating the combined inhibitor binding to both binding sites, and whether the binding of two inhibitors molecules concurrently is "Cooperative binding" or not. It should be noted that the binding of inhibitors to different sites do not necessary constitute mutually independent events, therefore, we investigated two scenarios to better understand cooperativity: simultaneous binding and sequential binding. It has been demonstrated by binding free energy calculations (MM/PBSA) and piecewise linear potential (PLP) interaction energy analysis that the co-binding of two suramin molecules is not cooperative in nature; rather, when compared to individual binding, both molecules adversely affect one another's binding affinities. This observation appeared to be primarily due to RdRp's rigidity, which prevented both ligands from fitting comfortably within the catalytic chamber. Instead, the suramin molecules showed a tendency to change their orientation within the binding pockets in order to maintain their binding to the protein, but at the expense of the ligand internal energies. Although co-binding resulted in the loss of several important key interactions, a few interactions were conserved, and these appear to be crucial in preserving the binding of ligands in the active site. The structural and mechanistic details of this study will be useful for future research on creating and developing RdRp inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamel Metwally
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, 71491, Saudi Arabia.
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt.
| | - Nader E Abo-Dya
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, 71491, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt
| | - Ahmed M E Hamdan
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, 71491, Saudi Arabia
| | - Maram N Alrashidi
- Pharm D Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, 71491, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mansour S Alturki
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Clinical Pharmacy, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, 34212, Saudi Arabia
| | - Omar M Aly
- Medicinal Chemistry Department Faculty of Pharmacy Port Said University, Port Said, 42526, Egypt
| | - Aimen Aljoundi
- Molecular Bio-computation and Drug Design Laboratory, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Durban, 4001, South Africa
| | - Mahmoud Ibrahim
- CompChem Lab, Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Minia University, Minia, 61519, Egypt
| | - Mahmoud E S Soliman
- Molecular Bio-computation and Drug Design Laboratory, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Durban, 4001, South Africa.
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Jin Z, Song D, Wang W, Feng L, Li Z, Chen H, Xiao X, Liu X. Synthesis and degradation of the cyclic dinucleotide messenger c-di-AMP in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus yayanosii. Protein Sci 2023; 32:e4829. [PMID: 37921047 PMCID: PMC10680344 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4829] [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: 07/09/2023] [Revised: 10/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
Cyclic di-adenosine monophosphate (c-di-AMP) is a newly identified prokaryotic cyclic dinucleotide second messenger well elucidated in bacteria, while less studied in archaea. Here, we describe the enzymes involved in c-di-AMP metabolism in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus yayanosii. Our results demonstrate that c-di-AMP is synthesized from two molecules of ATP by diadenylate cyclase (DAC) and degraded into pApA and then to AMP by a DHH family phosphodiesterase (PDE). DAC can be activated by a wider variety of ions, using two conserved residues, D188 and E244, to coordinate divalent metal ions, which is different from bacterial CdaA and DisA. PDE possesses a broad substrate spectrum like bacterial DHH family PDEs but shows a stricter base selection between A and G in cyclic dinucleotides hydrolysis. PDE shows differences in substrate binding patches from bacterial counterparts. C-di-AMP was confirmed to exist in Thermococcus kodakarensis cells, and the deletion of the dac or pde gene supports that the synthesis and degradation of c-di-AMP are catalyzed by DAC and PDE, respectively. Our results provide a further understanding of the metabolism of c-di-AMP in archaea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and BiotechnologyShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
- Instrumental analysis centerShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Dong Song
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and BiotechnologyShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Wei‐Wei Wang
- Shanghai Institute of Applied PhysicsChinese Academy of SciencesShanghaiChina
| | - Lei Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and BiotechnologyShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Zheng‐Xin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and BiotechnologyShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Hai‐Feng Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and BiotechnologyShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences (Ministry of Education)Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Xiang Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and BiotechnologyShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
- State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai)ZhuhaiGuangdongChina
| | - Xi‐Peng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and BiotechnologyShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences (Ministry of Education)Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
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Roy P, Walter Z, Berish L, Ramage H, McCullagh M. Motif-VI Loop Acts as a Nucleotide Valve in the West Nile Virus NS3 Helicase. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.30.569434. [PMID: 38077049 PMCID: PMC10705498 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.30.569434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2023]
Abstract
The flavivirus NS3 helicase (NS3h), a highly conserved protein, plays a pivotal role in virus replication and thus represents a potential drug target for flavivirus pathogenesis. NS3h utilizes nucleotide triphosphate, such as ATP, for hydrolysis energy (ATPase) to translocate on single-stranded nucleic acids, which is an important step in the unwinding of double-stranded nucleic acids. The intermediate states along the ATP binding and hydrolysis cycle, as well as the conformational changes between these states, represent important yet difficult-to-identify targets for potential inhibitors. We use extensive molecular dynamics simulations of apo, ATP, ADP+Pi, and ADP bound to WNV NS3h+ssRNA to model the conformational ensembles along this cycle. Energetic and structural clustering analyses on these trajectories depict a clear trend of differential enthalpic affinity of NS3h with ADP, demonstrating a probable mechanism of hydrolysis turnover regulated by the motif-VI loop (MVIL). These findings were experimentally corroborated using viral replicons encoding three mutations at the D471 position. Replication assays using these mutants demonstrated a substantial reduction in viral replication compared to the wild-type. Molecular simulations of the D471 mutants in the apo state indicate a shift in MVIL populations favoring either a closed or open 'valve' conformation, affecting ATP entry or stabilization, respectively. Combining our molecular modeling with experimental evidence highlights a conformation-dependent role for MVIL as a 'valve' for the ATP-pocket, presenting a promising target for antiviral development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priti Roy
- Department of Chemistry, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA, 74078
| | - Zachary Walter
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 19107
| | - Lauren Berish
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 19107
| | - Holly Ramage
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 19107
| | - Martin McCullagh
- Department of Chemistry, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA, 74078
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42
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York DM. Modern Alchemical Free Energy Methods for Drug Discovery Explained. ACS PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY AU 2023; 3:478-491. [PMID: 38034038 PMCID: PMC10683484 DOI: 10.1021/acsphyschemau.3c00033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
This Perspective provides a contextual explanation of the current state-of-the-art alchemical free energy methods and their role in drug discovery as well as highlights select emerging technologies. The narrative attempts to answer basic questions about what goes on "under the hood" in free energy simulations and provide general guidelines for how to run simulations and analyze the results. It is the hope that this work will provide a valuable introduction to students and scientists in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darrin M. York
- Laboratory for Biomolecular
Simulation Research, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, and Department
of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers
University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
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Schultz LE, Colpan M, Smith GE, Mayfield RM, Larrinaga TM, Kostyukova AS, Gregorio CC. A nemaline myopathy-linked mutation inhibits the actin-regulatory functions of tropomodulin and leiomodin. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2315820120. [PMID: 37956287 PMCID: PMC10665800 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2315820120] [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: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Actin is a highly expressed protein in eukaryotic cells and is essential for numerous cellular processes. In particular, efficient striated muscle contraction is dependent upon the precise regulation of actin-based thin filament structure and function. Alterations in the lengths of actin-thin filaments can lead to the development of myopathies. Leiomodins and tropomodulins are members of an actin-binding protein family that fine-tune thin filament lengths, and their dysfunction is implicated in muscle diseases. An Lmod3 mutation [G326R] was previously identified in patients with nemaline myopathy (NM), a severe skeletal muscle disorder; this residue is conserved among Lmod and Tmod isoforms and resides within their homologous leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domain. We mutated this glycine to arginine in Lmod and Tmod to determine the physiological function of this residue and domain. This G-to-R substitution disrupts Lmod and Tmod's LRR domain structure, altering their binding interface with actin and destroying their abilities to regulate thin filament lengths. Additionally, this mutation renders Lmod3 nonfunctional in vivo. We found that one single amino acid is essential for folding of Lmod and Tmod LRR domains, and thus is essential for the opposing actin-regulatory functions of Lmod (filament elongation) and Tmod (filament shortening), revealing a mechanism underlying the development of NM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren E. Schultz
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Sarver Molecular Cardiovascular Research Program, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85724
| | - Mert Colpan
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Sarver Molecular Cardiovascular Research Program, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85724
| | - Garry E. Smith
- Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA99164
| | - Rachel M. Mayfield
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Sarver Molecular Cardiovascular Research Program, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85724
| | - Tania M. Larrinaga
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Sarver Molecular Cardiovascular Research Program, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85724
| | - Alla S. Kostyukova
- Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA99164
| | - Carol C. Gregorio
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Sarver Molecular Cardiovascular Research Program, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85724
- Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Icahn School of Medicine, New York, NY10029
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Baroroh U, Chantika NS, Firdaus ARR, Tohari TR, Subroto T, Ishmayana S, Safari A, Rachman SD, Yusuf M. Accelerated molecular dynamics study to compare the thermostability of Bacillus licheniformis and Aspergillus niger α-amylase. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023:1-11. [PMID: 37979153 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2283152] [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: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/20/2023]
Abstract
The thermostability of enzymes plays a significant role in the starch hydrolysis process in the industry. The structural difference between thermostable Bacillus licheniformis α-amylase (BLA) and thermolabile Aspergillus niger α-amylase (ANA) is interesting to be explored. This work aimed to study the thermostability-determining factor of BLA as compared to a non-thermostable enzyme, ANA, using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation at a high temperature. A 100 ns of classical MD, which was followed by 200 ns accelerated MD was conducted to explore the conformational changes of the enzyme. It is revealed that the intramolecular interactions through salt bridge interactions and the presence of calcium ions dominates the stability effect of BLA, despite the absence of a disulfide bond in the structure. These results should be useful in designing a thermostable enzyme that can be used in industrial processes.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Umi Baroroh
- Department of Biotechnology, Indonesia School of Pharmacy, Bandung, Indonesia
| | - Nindi Salma Chantika
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Indonesia
| | - Ade R R Firdaus
- Research Center for Molecular Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia
| | - Taufik Ramdani Tohari
- Research Center for Molecular Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia
| | - Toto Subroto
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Indonesia
- Research Center for Molecular Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia
| | - Safri Ishmayana
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Indonesia
| | - Agus Safari
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Indonesia
| | - Saadah Diana Rachman
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Indonesia
| | - Muhammad Yusuf
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Indonesia
- Research Center for Molecular Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia
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Busch MR, Drexler L, Mahato DR, Hiefinger C, Osuna S, Sterner R. Retracing the Rapid Evolution of an Herbicide-Degrading Enzyme by Protein Engineering. ACS Catal 2023; 13:15558-15571. [PMID: 38567019 PMCID: PMC7615792 DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.3c04010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
The mechanisms underlying the rapid evolution of novel enzymatic activities from promiscuous side activities are poorly understood. Recently emerged enzymes catalyzing the catabolic degradation of xenobiotic substances that have been spread out into the environment during the last decades provide an exquisite opportunity to study these mechanisms. A prominent example is the herbicide atrazine (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-1,3,5-triazine), which is degraded through a number of enzymatic reactions constituting the Atz pathway. Here, we analyzed the evolution of the hydroxyatrazine ethylaminohydrolase AtzB, a Zn(II)-dependent metalloenzyme that adopts the amidohydrolase fold and catalyzes the second step of the Atz pathway. We searched for promiscuous side activities of AtzB, which might point to the identity of its progenitor. These investigations revealed that AtzB has low promiscuous guanine deaminase activity. Furthermore, we found that the two closest AtzB homologues, which have not been functionally annotated up to now, are guanine deaminases with modest promiscuous hydroxyatrazine hydrolase activity. Based on sequence comparisons with the closest AtzB homologues, the guanine deaminase activity of AtzB could be increased by three orders of magnitude through the introduction of only four active site mutations. Interestingly, introducing the inverse four mutations into the AtzB homologues significantly enhanced their hydroxyatrazine hydrolase activity, and in one case is even equivalent to that of wild-type AtzB. Molecular dynamics simulations elucidated the structural and molecular basis for the mutation-induced activity changes. The example of AtzB highlights how novel enzymes with high catalytic proficiency can evolve from low promiscuous side activities by only few mutational events within a short period of time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus R. Busch
- Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry, Regensburg Center for Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, D-93040 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Lukas Drexler
- Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry, Regensburg Center for Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, D-93040 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Dhani Ram Mahato
- CompBioLab Group, Institut de Química Computacional i Catàlisi (IQCC) and Departament de Química, Universitat de Girona, Girona 17003, Spain
| | - Caroline Hiefinger
- Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry, Regensburg Center for Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, D-93040 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Sílvia Osuna
- CompBioLab Group, Institut de Química Computacional i Catàlisi (IQCC) and Departament de Química, Universitat de Girona, Girona 17003, Spain
- ICREA, Barcelona 08010, Spain
| | - Reinhard Sterner
- Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry, Regensburg Center for Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, D-93040 Regensburg, Germany
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Hernández González JE, de Araujo AS. Alchemical Calculation of Relative Free Energies for Charge-Changing Mutations at Protein-Protein Interfaces Considering Fixed and Variable Protonation States. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:6807-6822. [PMID: 37851531 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00972] [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: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
The calculation of relative free energies (ΔΔG) for charge-changing mutations at protein-protein interfaces through alchemical methods remains challenging due to variations in the system's net charge during charging steps, the possibility of mutated and contacting ionizable residues occurring in various protonation states, and undersampling issues. In this study, we present a set of strategies, collectively termed TIRST/TIRST-H+, to address some of these challenges. Our approaches combine thermodynamic integration (TI) with the prediction of pKa shifts to calculate ΔΔG values. Moreover, special sets of restraints are employed to keep the alchemically transformed molecules separated. The accuracy of the devised approaches was assessed on a large and diverse data set comprising 164 point mutations of charged residues (Asp, Glu, Lys, and Arg) to Ala at the protein-protein interfaces of complexes with known three-dimensional structures. Mean absolute and root-mean-square errors ranging from 1.38 to 1.66 and 1.89 to 2.44 kcal/mol, respectively, and Pearson correlation coefficients of ∼0.6 were obtained when testing the approaches on the selected data set using the GPU-TI module of Amber18 suite and the ff14SB force field. Furthermore, the inclusion of variable protonation states for the mutated acid residues improved the accuracy of the predicted ΔΔG values. Therefore, our results validate the use of TIRST/TIRST-H+ in prospective studies aimed at evaluating the impact of charge-changing mutations to Ala on the stability of protein-protein complexes.
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Sadeghkhani F, Hajihassan Z, Gharaghani S. Identification of new potent agonists for toll-like receptor 8 by virtual screening methods, molecular dynamics simulation, and MM-GBSA. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:10026-10036. [PMID: 36469705 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2152368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Toll-like receptor 8 (TLR8), as an endosomal transmembrane receptor, plays a crucial role in the innate immune response to neoplasia and viruses. Previous studies have shown that TLR8 agonists e.g. Motolimod can be used to treat patients with last-stage cancer. In this study, in order to find new suitable ligands for TLR8, 16 PBD codes related to TLR8 complexes were collected to design the pharmacophore models using the Pharmit server. Then the PubChem, and ZINC databases were screened by them. Subsequently, the ADME-Tox features of the compounds were detected using FAF-Drugs4 and the selected compounds were docked to TLR8 (PDB: 3w3j). Molecular dynamics simulation was used to compare compounds with the best docking scores, with Motolimod in complex with TLR8. Finally, two compounds were identified, PubChem: 124126919 (A) and PubChem: 18559540 (B), each with advantages over Motolimod. As the RMSD results showed that compound A has very good flexibility, in terms of energy calculated using the MM-GBSA method, complex B and TLR8 showed the lowest energy level compared to the rest of the complexes. These observations suggest that these two compounds could be used as TLR8 agonists with the desired pharmacological features in future experimental studies.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farideh Sadeghkhani
- Department of Life Science Engineering, Faculty of New Sciences & Technologies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Zahra Hajihassan
- Department of Life Science Engineering, Faculty of New Sciences & Technologies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sajjad Gharaghani
- Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Drug Design, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
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Adeosun IJ, Baloyi I, Aljoundi AK, Salifu EY, Ibrahim MA, Cosa S. Molecular modelling of SdiA protein by selected flavonoid and terpenes compounds to attenuate virulence in Klebsiella pneumoniae. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:9938-9956. [PMID: 36416609 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2148753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Klebsiella pneumoniae is one of the perturbing multidrug resistant (MDR) and ESKAPE pathogens contributing to the mounting morbidity, mortality and extended rate of hospitalization. Its virulence, often regulated by quorum sensing (QS) reinforces the need to explore alternative and prospective antivirulence agents, relatively from plants secondary metabolites. Computer aided drug discovery using molecular modelling techniques offers advantage to investigate prospective drugs to combat MDR pathogens. Thus, this study employed virtual screening of selected terpenes and flavonoids from medicinal plants to interrupt the QS associated SdiA protein in K. pneumoniae to attenuate its virulence. 4LFU was used as a template to model the structure of SdiA. ProCheck, Verify3D, Ramachandran plot scores, and ProSA-Web all attested to the model's good quality. Since SdiA protein in K. pneumoniae leads to the expression of virulence, 31 prospective bioactive compounds were docked for antagonistic potential. The stability of the protein-ligand complex, atomic motions and inter-atomic interactions were further investigated through molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) at 100 ns production runs. The binding free energy was estimated using the molecular mechanics/poisson-boltzmann surface area (MM/PB-SA). Furthermore, the drug-likeness properties of the studied compounds were validated. Docking studies showed phytol possesses the highest binding affinity (-9.205 kcal/mol) while glycitein had -9.752 kcal/mol highest docking score. The MDS of the protein in complex with the best-docked compounds revealed phytol with the highest binding energy of -44.2625 kcal/mol, a low root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) value of 1.54 Å and root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF) score of 1.78 Å. Analysis of the drug-likeness properties prediction and bioavailability of these compounds revealed their conformed activity to lipinski's rules with bioavailability scores of 0.55 F. The studied terpenes and flavonoids compounds effectively thwart SdiA protein, therefore regulate inter- or intra cellular communication and associated in virulence Enterobacteriaceae, serving as prospective antivirulence drugs.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Idowu Jesulayomi Adeosun
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
| | - Itumeleng Baloyi
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
| | - Aimen K Aljoundi
- Molecular Bio-computation and Drug Design Laboratory, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Elliasu Y Salifu
- Molecular Bio-computation and Drug Design Laboratory, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | | | - Sekelwa Cosa
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
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49
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Tuo Y, Tang Y, Yang R, Zhao X, Luo M, Zhou X, Wang Y. Virtual screening and biological activity evaluation of novel efflux pump inhibitors targeting AdeB. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 250:126109. [PMID: 37544561 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126109] [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: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 07/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
The AdeABC efflux pump is an important mechanism causing multidrug resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii, and its main component AdeB can recognize carbapenems, aminoglycosides, and other multi-class antibiotics and efflux them intracellularly, which is an ideal target for the development of anti-multidrug resistant bacteria drugs. Here, we combined multiple computer-aided drug design methods to target AdeB to identify promising novel structural inhibitors. Virtual screening was performed by molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation (MD) and 12 potential compounds were identified from the databases. Meanwhile, their biological activities were validated by in vitro activity assays, and ChemDiv L676-2179 (γ-IFN), ChemDiv L676-1461, and Chembridge 53717615 were confirmed to suppress efflux effects and restore antibiotic susceptibility of resistant bacteria, which are expected to be developed as adjuvant drugs for the treatment of multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clinical infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Tuo
- School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering, Chongqing University of Technology, Chongqing 400054, China; Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing 400030, China
| | - Yuelu Tang
- School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering, Chongqing University of Technology, Chongqing 400054, China; Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing 400030, China
| | - Ran Yang
- School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering, Chongqing University of Technology, Chongqing 400054, China
| | - XueMin Zhao
- School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering, Chongqing University of Technology, Chongqing 400054, China
| | - Minghe Luo
- School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering, Chongqing University of Technology, Chongqing 400054, China
| | - Xing Zhou
- School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering, Chongqing University of Technology, Chongqing 400054, China
| | - Yuanqiang Wang
- School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering, Chongqing University of Technology, Chongqing 400054, China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry & Molecular Pharmacology, Chongqing University of Technology, Chongqing 400054, China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Target Based Drug Screening and Activity Evaluation, Chongqing University of Technology, Chongqing 400054, China.
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50
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da Costa RA, da Costa ADSS, da Rocha JAP, Lima MRDC, da Rocha ECM, Nascimento FCDA, Gomes AJB, do Rego JDAR, Brasil DDSB. Exploring Natural Alkaloids from Brazilian Biodiversity as Potential Inhibitors of the Aedes aegypti Juvenile Hormone Enzyme: A Computational Approach for Vector Mosquito Control. Molecules 2023; 28:6871. [PMID: 37836714 PMCID: PMC10574778 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28196871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 08/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
This study explores the potential inhibitory activity of alkaloids, a class of natural compounds isolated from Brazilian biodiversity, against the mJHBP enzyme of the Aedes aegypti mosquito. This mosquito is a significant vector of diseases such as dengue, zika, and chikungunya. The interactions between the ligands and the enzyme at the molecular level were evaluated using computational techniques such as molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD), and molecular mechanics with generalized Born surface area (MMGBSA) free energy calculation. The findings suggest that these compounds exhibit a high binding affinity with the enzyme, as confirmed by the binding free energies obtained in the simulation. Furthermore, the specific enzyme residues that contribute the most to the stability of the complex with the compounds were identified: specifically, Tyr33, Trp53, Tyr64, and Tyr129. Notably, Tyr129 residues were previously identified as crucial in the enzyme inhibition process. This observation underscores the significance of the research findings and the potential of the evaluated compounds as natural insecticides against Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. These results could stimulate the development of new vector control agents that are more efficient and environmentally friendly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renato Araújo da Costa
- Laboratory of Biosolutions and Bioplastics of the Amazon, Graduate Program in Science and Environment, Institute of Exact and Natural Sciences, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Belém 66075-110, PA, Brazil; (A.d.S.S.d.C.); (F.C.d.A.N.); (J.d.A.R.d.R.); (D.d.S.B.B.)
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Evolution and Microbiology, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Pará (IFPA) Campus Abaetetuba, Abaetetuba 68440-000, PA, Brazil; (M.R.d.C.L.); (A.J.B.G.)
| | - Andréia do Socorro Silva da Costa
- Laboratory of Biosolutions and Bioplastics of the Amazon, Graduate Program in Science and Environment, Institute of Exact and Natural Sciences, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Belém 66075-110, PA, Brazil; (A.d.S.S.d.C.); (F.C.d.A.N.); (J.d.A.R.d.R.); (D.d.S.B.B.)
| | - João Augusto Pereira da Rocha
- Graduate Program in Chemistry, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Belém 66075-110, PA, Brazil; (J.A.P.d.R.); (E.C.M.d.R.)
| | - Marlon Ramires da Costa Lima
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Evolution and Microbiology, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Pará (IFPA) Campus Abaetetuba, Abaetetuba 68440-000, PA, Brazil; (M.R.d.C.L.); (A.J.B.G.)
| | | | - Fabiana Cristina de Araújo Nascimento
- Laboratory of Biosolutions and Bioplastics of the Amazon, Graduate Program in Science and Environment, Institute of Exact and Natural Sciences, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Belém 66075-110, PA, Brazil; (A.d.S.S.d.C.); (F.C.d.A.N.); (J.d.A.R.d.R.); (D.d.S.B.B.)
| | - Anderson José Baia Gomes
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Evolution and Microbiology, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Pará (IFPA) Campus Abaetetuba, Abaetetuba 68440-000, PA, Brazil; (M.R.d.C.L.); (A.J.B.G.)
| | - José de Arimatéia Rodrigues do Rego
- Laboratory of Biosolutions and Bioplastics of the Amazon, Graduate Program in Science and Environment, Institute of Exact and Natural Sciences, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Belém 66075-110, PA, Brazil; (A.d.S.S.d.C.); (F.C.d.A.N.); (J.d.A.R.d.R.); (D.d.S.B.B.)
| | - Davi do Socorro Barros Brasil
- Laboratory of Biosolutions and Bioplastics of the Amazon, Graduate Program in Science and Environment, Institute of Exact and Natural Sciences, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Belém 66075-110, PA, Brazil; (A.d.S.S.d.C.); (F.C.d.A.N.); (J.d.A.R.d.R.); (D.d.S.B.B.)
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