1
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Muscat S, Martino G, Manigrasso J, Marcia M, De Vivo M. On the Power and Challenges of Atomistic Molecular Dynamics to Investigate RNA Molecules. J Chem Theory Comput 2024. [PMID: 39150960 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/18/2024]
Abstract
RNA molecules play a vital role in biological processes within the cell, with significant implications for science and medicine. Notably, the biological functions exerted by specific RNA molecules are often linked to the RNA conformational ensemble. However, the experimental characterization of such three-dimensional RNA structures is challenged by the structural heterogeneity of RNA and by its multiple dynamic interactions with binding partners such as small molecules, proteins, and metal ions. Consequently, our current understanding of the structure-function relationship of RNA molecules is still limited. In this context, we highlight molecular dynamics (MD) simulations as a powerful tool to complement experimental efforts on RNAs. Despite the recognized limitations of current force fields for RNA MD simulations, examining the dynamics of selected RNAs has provided valuable functional insights into their structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Muscat
- Laboratory of Molecular Modelling and Drug Discovery, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy
| | - Gianfranco Martino
- Laboratory of Molecular Modelling and Drug Discovery, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy
| | - Jacopo Manigrasso
- Medicinal Chemistry, Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism (CVRM), BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, 431 50 Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Marco Marcia
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory Grenoble, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Grenoble, France
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy
| | - Marco De Vivo
- Laboratory of Molecular Modelling and Drug Discovery, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy
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2
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Marien J, Prévost C, Sacquin-Mora S. nP-Collabs: Investigating Counterion-Mediated Bridges in the Multiply Phosphorylated Tau-R2 Repeat. J Chem Inf Model 2024. [PMID: 39092904 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.4c00742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/04/2024]
Abstract
Tau is an intrinsically disordered (IDP) microtubule-associated protein (MAP) that plays a key part in microtubule assembly and organization. The function of tau can be regulated by multiple phosphorylation sites. These post-translational modifications are known to decrease the binding affinity of tau for microtubules, and abnormal tau phosphorylation patterns are involved in Alzheimer's disease. Using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we compared the conformational landscapes explored by the tau R2 repeat domain (which comprises a strong tubulin binding site) in its native state and with multiple phosphorylations on the S285, S289, and S293 residues, with four different standard force field (FF)/water model combinations. We find that the different parameters used for the phosphate groups (which can be more or less flexible) in these FFs and the specific interactions between bulk cations and water lead to the formation of a specific type of counterion bridge, termed nP-collab (for nphosphate collaboration, with n being an integer), where counterions form stable structures binding with two or three phosphate groups simultaneously. The resulting effect of nP-collabs on the tau-R2 conformational space differs when using sodium or potassium cations and is likely to impact the peptide overall dynamics and how this MAP interacts with tubulins. We also investigated the effect of phosphoresidue spacing and ionic concentration by modeling polyalanine peptides containing two phosphoserines located one-six residues apart. Three new metrics specifically tailored for IDPs (proteic Menger curvature, local curvature, and local flexibility) were introduced, which allow us to fully characterize the impact of nP-collabs on the dynamics of disordered peptides at the residue level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jules Marien
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, Université Paris-Cité, CNRS, 13 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Chantal Prévost
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, Université Paris-Cité, CNRS, 13 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Sophie Sacquin-Mora
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, Université Paris-Cité, CNRS, 13 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
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3
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Bickel D, Vranken W. Effects of Phosphorylation on Protein Backbone Dynamics and Conformational Preferences. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:4998-5011. [PMID: 38830621 PMCID: PMC11210476 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00206] [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: 02/19/2024] [Revised: 05/22/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
Phosphorylations are the most common and extensively studied post-translational modification (PTM) of proteins in eukaryotes. They constitute a major regulatory mechanism, modulating protein function, protein-protein interactions, as well as subcellular localization. Phosphorylation sites are preferably located in intrinsically disordered regions and have been shown to trigger structural rearrangements and order-to-disorder transitions. They can therefore have a significant effect on protein backbone dynamics or conformation, but only sparse experimental data are available. To obtain a more general description of how and when phosphorylations have a significant effect on protein behavior, molecular dynamics (MD) currently provides the only suitable framework to study these effects at a large scale in atomistic detail. This study develops a systematic MD simulation framework to explore the influence of phosphorylations on the local backbone dynamics and conformational propensities of proteins. Through a series of glycine-backbone peptides, we studied the effects of amino acid residues including the three most common phosphorylations (Ser, Thr, and Tyr), on local backbone dynamics and conformational propensities. We further extended our study to investigate the interactions of all such residues between position i to positions i + 1, i + 2, i + 3, and i + 4 in such peptides. The final data set comprises structural ensembles for 3393 sequences with more than 1 μs of sampling for each ensemble. To validate the relevance of the results, the structural and conformational properties extracted from the MD simulations are compared to NMR data from the Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank. The systematic nature of this study enables the projection of the gained knowledge onto any phosphorylation site in the proteome and provides a general framework for the study of further PTMs. The full data set is publicly available, as a training and reference set.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Bickel
- Interuniversity
Institute of Bioinformatics in Brussels, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
- Structural
Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Wim Vranken
- Interuniversity
Institute of Bioinformatics in Brussels, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
- Structural
Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
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4
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Röder K, Pasquali S. Assessing RNA atomistic force fields via energy landscape explorations in implicit solvent. Biophys Rev 2024; 16:285-295. [PMID: 39099837 PMCID: PMC11297004 DOI: 10.1007/s12551-024-01202-9] [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: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 08/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Predicting the structure and dynamics of RNA molecules still proves challenging because of the relative scarcity of experimental RNA structures on which to train models and the very sensitive nature of RNA towards its environment. In the last decade, several atomistic force fields specifically designed for RNA have been proposed and are commonly used for simulations. However, it is not necessarily clear which force field is the most suitable for a given RNA molecule. In this contribution, we propose the use of the computational energy landscape framework to explore the energy landscape of RNA systems as it can bring complementary information to the more standard approaches of enhanced sampling simulations based on molecular dynamics. We apply the EL framework to the study of a small RNA pseudoknot, the Aquifex aeolicus tmRNA pseudoknot PK1, and we compare the results of five different RNA force fields currently available in the AMBER simulation software, in implicit solvent. With this computational approach, we can not only compare the predicted 'native' states for the different force fields, but the method enables us to study metastable states as well. As a result, our comparison not only looks at structural features of low energy folded structures, but provides insight into folding pathways and higher energy excited states, opening to the possibility of assessing the validity of force fields also based on kinetics and experiments providing information on metastable and unfolded states. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12551-024-01202-9.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstantin Röder
- Randall Centre for Cell & Molecular Biophysics, King’s College London, London, SE1 1UL UK
| | - Samuela Pasquali
- Laboratoire Biologie Functionnelle Et Adaptative, CNRS UMR 8251, Inserm ERL U1133, Université Paris Cité , 35 Rue Hélène Brion, Paris, France
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5
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Koca Fındık B, Jafari M, Song LF, Li Z, Aviyente V, Merz KM. Binding of Phosphate Species to Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ in Aqueous Solution. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:4298-4307. [PMID: 38718258 PMCID: PMC11137831 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2024] [Revised: 04/27/2024] [Accepted: 05/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Phosphate derivatives and their interaction with metal cations are involved in many important biological phenomena, so an accurate characterization of the phosphate-metal interaction is necessary to properly understand the role of phosphate-metal contacts in mediating biological function. Herein, we improved the standard 12-6 Lennard-Jones (LJ) potential via the usage of the 12-6-4 LJ model, which incorporates ion-induced dipole interactions. Via parameter scanning, we fine-tuned the 12-6-4 LJ polarizability values to obtain accurate absolute binding free energies for the phosphate anions H2PO4-, HPO42-, PO43- coordinating with Ca2+ and Mg2+. First, we modified the phosphate 12-6-4 LJ parameters to reproduce the solvation free energies of the series of phosphate anions using the thermodynamic integration (TI) method. Then, using the potential mean force (PMF) method, the polarizability of the metal-phosphate interaction was obtained. We show that the free energy profiles of phosphate ions coordinated to Ca2+ and Mg2+ generally show similar trends at longer metal-phosphate distances, while the absolute binding energy values increased with deprotonation. The resulting parameters demonstrate the flexibility of the 12-6-4 LJ-type nonbonded model and its usefulness in accurately describing cation-anion interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Basak Koca Fındık
- Department
of Chemistry, Bogazici University, Bebek, Istanbul 34342, Turkey
| | - Majid Jafari
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan
State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Lin Frank Song
- Biochemical
and Biophysical Systems Group, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, United States
| | - Zhen Li
- Department
of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Viktorya Aviyente
- Department
of Chemistry, Bogazici University, Bebek, Istanbul 34342, Turkey
| | - Kenneth M. Merz
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan
State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
- Department
of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
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6
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Hertz LM, White EN, Kuznedelov K, Cheng L, Yu AM, Kakkaramadam R, Severinov K, Chen A, Lucks J. The effect of pseudoknot base pairing on cotranscriptional structural switching of the fluoride riboswitch. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:4466-4482. [PMID: 38567721 PMCID: PMC11077080 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae231] [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: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 02/17/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024] Open
Abstract
A central question in biology is how RNA sequence changes influence dynamic conformational changes during cotranscriptional folding. Here we investigated this question through the study of transcriptional fluoride riboswitches, non-coding RNAs that sense the fluoride anion through the coordinated folding and rearrangement of a pseudoknotted aptamer domain and a downstream intrinsic terminator expression platform. Using a combination of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase in vitro transcription and cellular gene expression assays, we characterized the function of mesophilic and thermophilic fluoride riboswitch variants. We showed that only variants containing the mesophilic pseudoknot function at 37°C. We next systematically varied the pseudoknot sequence and found that a single wobble base pair is critical for function. Characterizing thermophilic variants at 65°C through Thermus aquaticus RNA polymerase in vitro transcription showed the importance of this wobble pair for function even at elevated temperatures. Finally, we performed all-atom molecular dynamics simulations which supported the experimental findings, visualized the RNA structure switching process, and provided insight into the important role of magnesium ions. Together these studies provide deeper insights into the role of riboswitch sequence in influencing folding and function that will be important for understanding of RNA-based gene regulation and for synthetic biology applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M Hertz
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Graduate Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Elise N White
- Department of Chemistry and the RNA Institute, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
| | | | - Luyi Cheng
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Graduate Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Angela M Yu
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Rivaan Kakkaramadam
- Department of Chemistry and the RNA Institute, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
| | - Konstantin Severinov
- Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Alan Chen
- Department of Chemistry and the RNA Institute, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
| | - Julius B Lucks
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Graduate Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
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7
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Dabin A, Stirnemann G. Atomistic simulations of RNA duplex thermal denaturation: Sequence- and forcefield-dependence. Biophys Chem 2024; 307:107167. [PMID: 38262278 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2023.107167] [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: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 12/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Double-stranded RNA is the end-product of template-based replication, and is also the functional state of some biological RNAs. Similarly to proteins and DNA, they can be denatured by temperature, with important physiological and technological implications. Here, we use an in silico strategy to probe the thermal denaturation of RNA duplexes. Following previous results that were obtained on a few different duplexes, and which nuanced the canonical 2-state picture of nucleic acid denaturation, we here specifically address three different aspects that greatly improve our description of the temperature-induced dsRNA separation. First, we investigate the effect of the spatial distribution of weak and strong base-pairs among the duplex sequence. We show that the deviations from the two-state dehybridization mechanism are more pronounced when a strong core is flanked with weak extremities, while duplexes with a weak core but strong extremities exhibit a two-state behavior, which can be explained by the key role played by base fraying. This was later verified by generating artificial hairpin or circular states containing one or two locked duplex extremities, which results in an important reinforcement of the entire HB structure of the duplex and higher melting temperatures. Finally, we demonstrate that our results are little sensitive to the employed combination of RNA and water forcefields. The trends in thermal stability among the different sequences as well as the observed unfolding mechanisms (and the deviations from a two-state scenario) remain the same regardless of the employed atomistic models. However, our study points to possible limitations of recent reparametrizations of the Amber RNA forcefield, which sometimes results in duplexes that readily denature under ambient conditions, in contradiction with available experimental results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aimeric Dabin
- CNRS Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Université de Paris Cité, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Guillaume Stirnemann
- PASTEUR, Département de chimie, École normale supérieure, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France.
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8
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Gangopadhyay S, Das G, Gupta S, Ghosh A, Bagale SS, Roy PK, Mandal M, Harikrishna S, Sinha S, Gore KR. 4'- C-Acetamidomethyl-2'- O-methoxyethyl Nucleic Acid Modifications Improve Thermal Stability, Nuclease Resistance, Potency, and hAgo2 Binding of Small Interfering RNAs. J Org Chem 2024; 89:3747-3768. [PMID: 38394362 DOI: 10.1021/acs.joc.3c02506] [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: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
In this study, we designed the 4'-C-acetamidomethyl-2'-O-methoxyethyl (4'-C-ACM-2'-O-MOE) uridine and thymidine modifications, aiming to test them into small interfering RNAs. Thermal melting studies revealed that incorporating a single 4'-C-ACM-2'-O-MOE modification in the DNA duplex reduced thermal stability. In contrast, an increase in thermal stability was observed when the modification was introduced in DNA:RNA hybrid and in siRNAs. Thermal destabilization in DNA duplex was attributed to unfavorable entropy, which was mainly compensated by the enthalpy factor to some extent. A single 4'-C-ACM-2'-O-MOE thymidine modification at the penultimate position of the 3'-end of dT20 oligonucleotides in the presence of 3'-specific exonucleases, snake venom phosphodiesterase (SVPD), demonstrated significant stability as compared to monomer modifications including 2'-O-Me, 2'-O-MOE, and 2'-F. In gene silencing studies, we found that the 4'-C-ACM-2'-O-MOE uridine or thymidine modifications at the 3'-overhang in the passenger strand in combination with two 2'-F modifications exhibited superior RNAi activity. The results suggest that the dual modification is well tolerated at the 3'-end of the passenger strand, which reflects better siRNA stability and silencing activity. Interestingly, 4'-C-ACM-2'-O-MOE-modified siRNAs showed considerable gene silencing even after 96 h posttransfection; it showed that our modification could induce prolonged gene silencing due to improved metabolic stability. Molecular modeling studies revealed that the introduction of the 4'-C-ACM-2'-O-MOE modification at the 3'-end of the siRNA guide strand helps to anchor the strand within the PAZ domain of the hAgo2 protein. The overall results indicate that the 4'-C-ACM-2'-O-MOE uridine and thymidine modifications are promising modifications to improve the stability, potency, and hAgo2 binding of siRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sumit Gangopadhyay
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
| | - Gourav Das
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
| | - Shalini Gupta
- School of Applied and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata, Jadavpur 700032, India
| | - Atanu Ghosh
- School of Applied and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata, Jadavpur 700032, India
| | | | - Pritam Kumar Roy
- School of Medical Science and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
| | - Mahitosh Mandal
- School of Medical Science and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
| | - S Harikrishna
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States
| | - Surajit Sinha
- School of Applied and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata, Jadavpur 700032, India
| | - Kiran R Gore
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
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9
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Mao CM, Sampath J, Pfaendtner J. Molecular Driving Forces in the Self-Association of Silaffin Peptide R5 from MD Simulations. Chembiochem 2024:e202300788. [PMID: 38485668 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202300788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/15/2024]
Abstract
The 19-residue silaffin-R5 peptide has been widely studied for its ability to precipitate uniform SiO2 particles through mild temperature and pH pathways, in the absence of any organic solvents. There is consensus that post-translational modification (PTM) of side chains has a large impact on the biomineralization process. Thus, it is imperative to understand the precise mechanisms that dictate the formation of SiO2 from R5 peptide, including the effects of PTM on peptide aggregation and peptide-surface adsorption. In this work, we use molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study the aggregation of R5 dimer with multiple PTMs, with the presence of different ions in solution. Since this system has strong interactions with deep metastable states, we use parallel bias metadynamics with partitioned families to efficiently sample the different states of the system. We find that peptide aggregation is a prerequisite for biomineralization. We observe that the electrostatic interactions are essential in the R5 dimer aggregation; for wild type R5 that only has positively charged residues, phosphate ions HPO4 2- in the solution form a bridge between two peptides and are essential for peptide aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Coco M Mao
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle WA, 98195
| | - Janani Sampath
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611
| | - Jim Pfaendtner
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695
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10
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Sahoo A, Das G, Ghosh A, Shivappa Bagale S, Kumar Choudhary N, Harikrishna S, Sinha S, Gore KR. N 3-Methyluridine and 2'-O-Alkyl/2'-Fluoro-N 3-methyluridine functionalized nucleic acids improve nuclease resistance while maintaining duplex geometry. Bioorg Med Chem 2024; 100:117616. [PMID: 38295488 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2024.117616] [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: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
Herein, we report the synthesis of 2'-O-alkyl/2'-fluoro-N3-methyluridine (2'-O-alkyl/2'-F-m3U) phosphoramidites and their incorporation in DNA and RNA oligonucleotides. The duplex binding affinity and base discrimination studies showed that all 2'-O-alkyl/2'-F-m3U modifications significantly decreased the thermal stability and base-pairing discrimination ability. Serum stability study of dT20 with 2'-O-alkyl-m3U modification exhibited excellent nuclease resistance when incubated with 3'-exonucleases (SVPD) or 5'-exonucleases (PDE-II) as compared to m3U, 2'-F, 2'-OMe modified oligonucleotides. MD simulation studies with RNA tetradecamer duplexes illustrated that the m3U and 2'-O-methyl-m3U modifications reduce the duplex stabilities by disrupting the Watson-Crick hydrogen bonding and base-stacking interactions. Further molecular modelling investigations demonstrated that the 2'-O-propyl-m3U modification exhibits steric interactions with amino acid residues in the active site of 3'- and 5'-exonuclease, leading to enhanced stability. These combined data indicate that the 2'-modified-m3U nucleotides can be used as a promising tool to enhance the stability, silencing efficiency, and drug-like properties of antisense/siRNA-based therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avijit Sahoo
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
| | - Gourav Das
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
| | - Atanu Ghosh
- School of Applied and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032, India
| | | | - Nishant Kumar Choudhary
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
| | - S Harikrishna
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, United States
| | - Surajit Sinha
- School of Applied and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - Kiran R Gore
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India.
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11
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Love O, Winkler L, Cheatham TE. van der Waals Parameter Scanning with Amber Nucleic Acid Force Fields: Revisiting Means to Better Capture the RNA/DNA Structure through MD. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:625-643. [PMID: 38157247 PMCID: PMC10809421 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c01164] [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: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Molecular dynamics simulations can be used in combination with experimental techniques to uncover the intricacies of biomolecular structure, dynamics, and the resulting interactions. However, many noncanonical nucleic acid structures have proven to be challenging to replicate in accurate agreement with experimental data, often attributed to known force field deficiencies. A common force field criticism is the handling of van der Waals (vdW) parameters, which have not been updated since the regular use of Ewald's methods became routine. This work dives into the effects of minute vdW radii shifts on RNA tetranucleotide, B-DNA, and Z-DNA model systems described by commonly used Amber force fields. Using multidimensional replica exchange molecular dynamics (M-REMD), the GACC RNA tetranucleotide demonstrated changes in the structural distribution between the NMR minor and anomalous structure populations based on the O2' vdW radii scanning. However, no significant change in the NMR Major conformation population was observed. There were minimal changes in the B-DNA structure but there were more substantial improvements in Z-DNA structural descriptions, specifically with the Tumuc1 force field. This occurred with both LJbb vdW radii adjustments and incorporation of the CUFIX nonbonded parameter modifications. Though the limited vdW modifications tested did not provide a universal fix to the challenge of simulating the various known nucleic acid structures, they do provide direction and a greater understanding for future force field development efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Thomas E. Cheatham
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry,
College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, 2000 East 30 South Skaggs 306, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
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12
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Hertz LM, White EN, Kuznedelov K, Cheng L, Yu AM, Kakkaramadam R, Severinov K, Chen A, Lucks JB. The Effect of Pseudoknot Base Pairing on Cotranscriptional Structural Switching of the Fluoride Riboswitch. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.05.570056. [PMID: 38106011 PMCID: PMC10723315 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.05.570056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
A central question in biology is how RNA sequence changes influence dynamic conformational changes during cotranscriptional folding. Here we investigated this question through the study of transcriptional fluoride riboswitches, non-coding RNAs that sense the fluoride anion through the coordinated folding and rearrangement of a pseudoknotted aptamer domain and a downstream intrinsic terminator expression platform. Using a combination of E. coli RNA polymerase in vitro transcription and cellular gene expression assays, we characterized the function of mesophilic and thermophilic fluoride riboswitch variants. We showed that only variants containing the mesophilic pseudoknot function at 37 °C. We next systematically varied the pseudoknot sequence and found that a single wobble base pair is critical for function. Characterizing thermophilic variants at 65 °C through Thermus aquaticus RNA polymerase in vitro transcription showed the importance of this wobble pair for function even at elevated temperatures. Finally, we performed all-atom molecular dynamics simulations which supported the experimental findings, visualized the RNA structure switching process, and provided insight into the important role of magnesium ions. Together these studies provide deeper insights into the role of riboswitch sequence in influencing folding and function that will be important for understanding of RNA-based gene regulation and for synthetic biology applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M Hertz
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Graduate Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Elise N White
- Department of Chemistry and the RNA Institute, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
| | | | - Luyi Cheng
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Graduate Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Angela M Yu
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Rivaan Kakkaramadam
- Department of Chemistry and the RNA Institute, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
| | - Konstantin Severinov
- Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Alan Chen
- Department of Chemistry and the RNA Institute, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
| | - Julius B Lucks
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Graduate Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
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13
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Wadsworth GM, Zahurancik WJ, Zeng X, Pullara P, Lai LB, Sidharthan V, Pappu RV, Gopalan V, Banerjee PR. RNAs undergo phase transitions with lower critical solution temperatures. Nat Chem 2023; 15:1693-1704. [PMID: 37932412 PMCID: PMC10872781 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-023-01353-4] [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: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023]
Abstract
Co-phase separation of RNAs and RNA-binding proteins drives the biogenesis of ribonucleoprotein granules. RNAs can also undergo phase transitions in the absence of proteins. However, the physicochemical driving forces of protein-free, RNA-driven phase transitions remain unclear. Here we report that various types of RNA undergo phase separation with system-specific lower critical solution temperatures. This entropically driven phase separation is an intrinsic feature of the phosphate backbone that requires Mg2+ ions and is modulated by RNA bases. RNA-only condensates can additionally undergo enthalpically favourable percolation transitions within dense phases. This is enabled by a combination of Mg2+-dependent bridging interactions between phosphate groups and RNA-specific base stacking and base pairing. Phase separation coupled to percolation can cause dynamic arrest of RNAs within condensates and suppress the catalytic activity of an RNase P ribozyme. Our work highlights the need to incorporate RNA-driven phase transitions into models for ribonucleoprotein granule biogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gable M Wadsworth
- Department of Physics, The State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Walter J Zahurancik
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for RNA Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Xiangze Zeng
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Center for Biomolecular Condensates, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
- Teaching and Research Division, School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Paul Pullara
- Department of Physics, The State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Lien B Lai
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for RNA Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Vaishnavi Sidharthan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for RNA Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Rohit V Pappu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Center for Biomolecular Condensates, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Venkat Gopalan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for RNA Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
| | - Priya R Banerjee
- Department of Physics, The State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA.
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14
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Savva L, Platts JA. Exploring the impact of mutation and post-translational modification on α-Synuclein: Insights from molecular dynamics simulations with and without copper. J Inorg Biochem 2023; 249:112395. [PMID: 37820444 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2023.112395] [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: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
We report molecular dynamics simulations of two modifications to α-Synuclein, namely A53T mutation and phosphorylation at Ser129, which have been observed in Parkinson's disease patients. Both modifications are close to known metal binding sites, so as well as each modified peptide we also study Cu(II) bound to N-terminal and C-terminal residues. We show that A53T is predicted to cause increased β-sheet content of the peptide, with a persistent β-hairpin between residues 35-55 particularly notable. Phosphorylation has less effect on secondary structure but is predicted to significantly increase the size of the peptide, especially when bound to Cu(II), which is ascribed to reduced interaction of C-terminal sequence with central non-amyloid component. In addition, estimate of binding free energy to Cu(II) indicates A53T has little effect on metal-ion affinity, whereas phosphorylation markedly enhances the strength of binding. We suggest that the predicted changes in spatial extent and secondary structure of α-Synuclein may have implications for aggregation into Lewy bodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loizos Savva
- School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK
| | - James A Platts
- School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK.
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15
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Mlýnský V, Kührová P, Stadlbauer P, Krepl M, Otyepka M, Banáš P, Šponer J. Simple Adjustment of Intranucleotide Base-Phosphate Interaction in the OL3 AMBER Force Field Improves RNA Simulations. J Chem Theory Comput 2023; 19:8423-8433. [PMID: 37944118 PMCID: PMC10687871 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c00990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2023] [Revised: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations represent an established tool to study RNA molecules. The outcome of MD studies depends, however, on the quality of the force field (ff). Here we suggest a correction for the widely used AMBER OL3 ff by adding a simple adjustment of the nonbonded parameters. The reparameterization of the Lennard-Jones potential for the -H8···O5'- and -H6···O5'- atom pairs addresses an intranucleotide steric clash occurring in the type 0 base-phosphate interaction (0BPh). The nonbonded fix (NBfix) modification of 0BPh interactions (NBfix0BPh modification) was tuned via a reweighting approach and subsequently tested using an extensive set of standard and enhanced sampling simulations of both unstructured and folded RNA motifs. The modification corrects minor but visible intranucleotide clash for the anti nucleobase conformation. We observed that structural ensembles of small RNA benchmark motifs simulated with the NBfix0BPh modification provide better agreement with experiments. No side effects of the modification were observed in standard simulations of larger structured RNA motifs. We suggest that the combination of OL3 RNA ff and NBfix0BPh modification is a viable option to improve RNA MD simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vojtěch Mlýnský
- Institute
of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, Brno 612 00, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Kührová
- Institute
of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, Brno 612 00, Czech Republic
- Czech
Advanced Technology and Research Institute, CATRIN, Křížkovského 511/8, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Stadlbauer
- Institute
of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, Brno 612 00, Czech Republic
- Czech
Advanced Technology and Research Institute, CATRIN, Křížkovského 511/8, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic
| | - Miroslav Krepl
- Institute
of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, Brno 612 00, Czech Republic
- Czech
Advanced Technology and Research Institute, CATRIN, Křížkovského 511/8, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Otyepka
- Czech
Advanced Technology and Research Institute, CATRIN, Křížkovského 511/8, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic
- IT4Innovations, VSB−Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 2172/15, Ostrava-Poruba 708 00, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Banáš
- Institute
of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, Brno 612 00, Czech Republic
- Czech
Advanced Technology and Research Institute, CATRIN, Křížkovského 511/8, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic
- IT4Innovations, VSB−Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 2172/15, Ostrava-Poruba 708 00, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Šponer
- Institute
of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, Brno 612 00, Czech Republic
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16
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Chhetri KB, Jang YH, Lansac Y, Maiti PK. DNA groove preference shift upon phosphorylation of a protamine-like cationic peptide. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:31335-31345. [PMID: 37960891 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp03803c] [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: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Protamines, arginine-rich DNA-binding proteins, are responsible for chromatin compaction in sperm cells, but their DNA groove preference, major or minor, is not clearly identified. We herein study the DNA groove preference of a short protamine-like cationic peptide before and after phosphorylation, using all-atom molecular dynamics and umbrella sampling simulations. According to various thermodynamic and structural analyses, a peptide in its non-phosphorylated native state prefers the minor groove over the major groove, but phosphorylation of the peptide bound to the minor groove not only reduces its binding affinity but also brings a serious deformation of the minor groove, eliminating the minor-groove preference. As protamines are heavily phosphorylated before binding to DNA, we expect that the structurally disordered phosphorylated protamines would prefer major grooves to enter into DNA during spermatogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khadka B Chhetri
- Center for Condensed Matter Theory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
- Department of Physics, Prithvinarayan Campus, Tribhuvan University, Pokhara, Nepal
| | - Yun Hee Jang
- Department of Energy Science and Engineering, DGIST, Daegu 42988, Korea
- GREMAN, CNRS UMR 7347, Université de Tours, 37200 Tours, France
- Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS UMR 8502, Université Paris Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Yves Lansac
- GREMAN, CNRS UMR 7347, Université de Tours, 37200 Tours, France
- Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS UMR 8502, Université Paris Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Prabal K Maiti
- Center for Condensed Matter Theory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
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17
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Adhikari S, Mondal J. Machine Learning Subtle Conformational Change due to Phosphorylation in Intrinsically Disordered Proteins. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:9433-9449. [PMID: 37905972 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c05136] [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: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
Phosphorylation of intrinsically disordered proteins/regions (IDPs/IDRs) has a profound effect in biological functions such as cell signaling, protein folding or unfolding, and long-range allosteric effects. However, here we focus on two IDPs, namely 83-residue IDR transcription factor Ash1 and 92-residue long N-terminal region of CDK inhibitor Sic1 protein, found in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, for which experimental measurements of average conformational properties, namely, radius of gyration and structure factor, indicate negligible changes upon phosphorylation. Here, we show that a judicious dissection of conformational ensemble via combination of unsupervised machine learning and extensive molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories can highlight key differences and similarities among the phosphorylated and wild-type IDP. In particular, we develop Markov state model (MSM) using the latent-space dimensions of an autoencoder, trained using multi-microsecond long MD simulation trajectories. Examination of structural changes among the states, prior to and upon phosphorylation, captured several similarities and differences in their backbone contact maps, secondary structure, and torsion angles. Hydrogen bonding analysis revealed that phosphorylation not only increases the number of hydrogen bonds but also switches the pattern of hydrogen bonding between the backbone and side chain atoms with the phosphorylated residues. We also observe that although phosphorylation introduces salt bridges, there is a loss of the cation-π interaction. Phosphorylation also improved the probability for long-range hydrophobic contacts and also enhanced interaction with water molecules and improved the local structure of water as evident from the geometric order parameters. The observations on these machine-learnt states gave important insights, as it would otherwise be difficult to determine experimentally which is important, if we were to understand the role of phosphorylation of IDPs in their biological functions.
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18
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Yang Z, Marston SB, Gould IR. Modulation of Structure and Dynamics of Cardiac Troponin by Phosphorylation and Mutations Revealed by Molecular Dynamics Simulations. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:8736-8748. [PMID: 37791815 PMCID: PMC10591477 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c02337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Adrenaline acts on β1 receptors in the heart muscle to enhance contractility, increase the heart rate, and increase the rate of relaxation (lusitropy) via activation of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, PKA. Phosphorylation of serines 22 and 23 in the N-terminal peptide of cardiac troponin I is responsible for lusitropy. Mutations associated with cardiomyopathy suppress the phosphorylation-dependent change. Key parts of troponin responsible for this modulatory system are disordered and cannot be resolved by conventional structural approaches. We performed all-atom molecular dynamics simulations (5 × 1.5 μs runs) of the troponin core (419 amino acids) in the presence of Ca2+ in the bisphosphorylated and unphosphorylated states for both wild-type troponin and the troponin C (cTnC) G159D mutant. PKA phosphorylation affects troponin dynamics. There is significant rigidification of the structure involving rearrangement of the cTnI(1-33)-cTnC interaction and changes in the distribution of the cTnC helix A/B angle, troponin I (cTnI) switch peptide (149-164) docking, and the angle between the regulatory head and ITC arm domains. The familial dilated cardiomyopathy cTnC G159D mutation whose Ca2+ sensitivity is not modulated by cTnI phosphorylation exhibits a structure inherently more rigid than the wild type, with phosphorylation reversing the direction of all metrics relative to the wild type.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeyu Yang
- Department
of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd’s Bush, London W12 0BZ, U.K.
- Institute
of Chemical Biology, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd’s Bush, London W12 0BZ, U.K.
| | - Steven B. Marston
- National
Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College
London, London W12 0NN, U.K.
| | - Ian R. Gould
- Department
of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd’s Bush, London W12 0BZ, U.K.
- Institute
of Chemical Biology, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd’s Bush, London W12 0BZ, U.K.
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19
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Tang M, Suraweera A, Nie X, Li Z, Lai P, Wells JW, O'Byrne KJ, Woods RJ, Bolderson E, Richard DJ. Mono-phosphorylation at Ser4 of barrier-to-autointegration factor (Banf1) significantly reduces its DNA binding capability by inducing critical changes in its local conformation and DNA binding surface. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:24657-24677. [PMID: 37665626 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp02302h] [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: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
Barrier-to-autointegration factor (Banf1) is a small DNA-bridging protein. The binding status of Banf1 to DNA is regulated by its N-terminal phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, which plays a critical role in cell proliferation. Banf1 can be phosphorylated at Ser4 into mono-phosphorylated Banf1, which is further phosphorylated at Thr3 to form di-phosphorylated Banf1. It was observed decades ago that mono-phosphorylated Banf1 cannot bind to DNA. However, the underlying molecular- and atomic-level mechanisms remain unclear. A clear understanding of these mechanisms will aid in interfering with the cell proliferation process for better global health. Herein, we explored the detailed atomic bases of unphosphorylated Banf1-DNA binding and how mono- and di-phosphorylation of Banf1 impair these atomic bases to eliminate its DNA-binding capability, followed by exploring the DNA-binding capability of mono- and di-phosphorylation Banf1, using comprehensive and systematic molecular modelling and molecular dynamics simulations. This work presented in detail the residue-level binding energies, hydrogen bonds and water bridges between Banf1 and DNA, some of which have not been reported. Moreover, we revealed that mono-phosphorylation of Banf1 causes its N-terminal secondary structure changes, which in turn induce significant changes in Banf1's DNA binding surface, thus eliminating its DNA-binding capability. At the atomic level, we also uncovered the alterations in interactions due to the induction of mono-phosphorylation that result in the N-terminal secondary structure changes of Banf1. Additionally, our modelling showed that phosphorylated Banf1 with their dominant N-terminal secondary structures bind to DNA with a significantly lower affinity and the docked binding pose are not stable in MD simulations. These findings help future studies in predicting effect of mutations in Banf1 on its DNA-binding capability and open a novel avenue for the development of therapeutics such as cancer drugs, targeting cell proliferation by inducing conformational changes in Banf1's N-terminal domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Tang
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, Queensland University of Technology at the Translational Research Institute Australia, Brisbane, Australia.
- Faculty of Medicine, Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland at the Translational Research Institute Australia, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Amila Suraweera
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, Queensland University of Technology at the Translational Research Institute Australia, Brisbane, Australia.
| | - Xuqiang Nie
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, Queensland University of Technology at the Translational Research Institute Australia, Brisbane, Australia.
- College of Pharmacy, Key Lab of the Basic Pharmacology of the Ministry of Education, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China
| | - Zilin Li
- School of Mechanics and Safety Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Pinglin Lai
- Academy of Orthopedics Guangdong Province, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Bone and Joint Degeneration Diseases, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - James W Wells
- Faculty of Medicine, Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland at the Translational Research Institute Australia, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Kenneth J O'Byrne
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, Queensland University of Technology at the Translational Research Institute Australia, Brisbane, Australia.
- Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Robert J Woods
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Centre, University of Georgia, 315 Riverbend Rd, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Emma Bolderson
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, Queensland University of Technology at the Translational Research Institute Australia, Brisbane, Australia.
| | - Derek J Richard
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, Queensland University of Technology at the Translational Research Institute Australia, Brisbane, Australia.
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20
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Parisis N, Dans PD, Jbara M, Singh B, Schausi-Tiffoche D, Molina-Serrano D, Brun-Heath I, Hendrychová D, Maity SK, Buitrago D, Lema R, Nait Achour T, Giunta S, Girardot M, Talarek N, Rofidal V, Danezi K, Coudreuse D, Prioleau MN, Feil R, Orozco M, Brik A, Wu PYJ, Krasinska L, Fisher D. Histone H3 serine-57 is a CHK1 substrate whose phosphorylation affects DNA repair. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5104. [PMID: 37607906 PMCID: PMC10444856 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40843-4] [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: 11/10/2018] [Accepted: 08/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Histone post-translational modifications promote a chromatin environment that controls transcription, DNA replication and repair, but surprisingly few phosphorylations have been documented. We report the discovery of histone H3 serine-57 phosphorylation (H3S57ph) and show that it is implicated in different DNA repair pathways from fungi to vertebrates. We identified CHK1 as a major human H3S57 kinase, and disrupting or constitutively mimicking H3S57ph had opposing effects on rate of recovery from replication stress, 53BP1 chromatin binding, and dependency on RAD52. In fission yeast, mutation of all H3 alleles to S57A abrogated DNA repair by both non-homologous end-joining and homologous recombination, while cells with phospho-mimicking S57D alleles were partly compromised for both repair pathways, presented aberrant Rad52 foci and were strongly sensitised to replication stress. Mechanistically, H3S57ph loosens DNA-histone contacts, increasing nucleosome mobility, and interacts with H3K56. Our results suggest that dynamic phosphorylation of H3S57 is required for DNA repair and recovery from replication stress, opening avenues for investigating the role of this modification in other DNA-related processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolaos Parisis
- IGMM, CNRS, INSERM, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- Equipe labellisée Ligue contre le Cancer, Paris, France
- BPMP, CNRS, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS, University Paris Diderot, Paris, France
| | - Pablo D Dans
- IRB Barcelona, BIST, Barcelona, Spain
- Bioinformatics Unit, Institute Pasteur of Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Department of Biological Sciences, CENUR North Riverside, University of the Republic (UdelaR), Salto, Uruguay
| | - Muhammad Jbara
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- School of Chemistry, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | | | | | | | | | - Denisa Hendrychová
- IGMM, CNRS, INSERM, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- Equipe labellisée Ligue contre le Cancer, Paris, France
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Suman Kumar Maity
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | | | | | - Thiziri Nait Achour
- IGMM, CNRS, INSERM, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- Equipe labellisée Ligue contre le Cancer, Paris, France
| | - Simona Giunta
- The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Laboratory of Genome Evolution, Department of Biology and Biotechnology "Charles Darwin", University of Rome Sapienza, Rome, Italy
| | - Michael Girardot
- IGMM, CNRS, INSERM, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Nicolas Talarek
- IGMM, CNRS, INSERM, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Valérie Rofidal
- BPMP, CNRS, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Katerina Danezi
- IGMM, CNRS, INSERM, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- Equipe labellisée Ligue contre le Cancer, Paris, France
| | - Damien Coudreuse
- IGDR, CNRS, University of Rennes, Rennes, France
- IBGC, CNRS, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | | | - Robert Feil
- IGMM, CNRS, INSERM, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Ashraf Brik
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Pei-Yun Jenny Wu
- IGDR, CNRS, University of Rennes, Rennes, France
- IBGC, CNRS, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Liliana Krasinska
- IGMM, CNRS, INSERM, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
- Equipe labellisée Ligue contre le Cancer, Paris, France.
| | - Daniel Fisher
- IGMM, CNRS, INSERM, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
- Equipe labellisée Ligue contre le Cancer, Paris, France.
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21
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Wych DC, Wall ME. Molecular-dynamics simulations of macromolecular diffraction, part I: Preparation of protein crystal simulations. Methods Enzymol 2023; 688:87-114. [PMID: 37748833 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2023.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
Molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations of protein crystals enable the prediction of structural and dynamical features of both the protein and the solvent components of macromolecular crystals, which can be validated against diffraction data from X-ray crystallographic experiments. The simulations have been useful for studying and predicting both Bragg and diffuse scattering in protein crystallography; however, the preparation is not yet automated and includes choices and tradeoffs that can impact the results. Here we examine some of the intricacies and consequences of the choices involved in setting up MD simulations of protein crystals for the study of diffraction data, and provide a recipe for preparing the simulations, packaged in an accompanying Jupyter notebook. This article and the accompanying notebook are intended to serve as practical resources for researchers wishing to put these models to work.
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Affiliation(s)
- David C Wych
- Computer, Computational and Statistical Sciences Division, Los Alamos, NM, United States; Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States
| | - Michael E Wall
- Computer, Computational and Statistical Sciences Division, Los Alamos, NM, United States.
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22
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Lāce I, Bazzi S, Uranga J, Schirmacher A, Diederichsen U, Mata RA, Simeth NA. Modulating Secondary Structure Motifs Through Photo-Labile Peptide Staples. Chembiochem 2023; 24:e202300270. [PMID: 37216330 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202300270] [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: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Peptide-protein interactions (PPIs) are facilitated by the well-defined three-dimensional structure of bioactive peptides, interesting compounds for the development of new therapeutic agents. Their secondary structure and thus their propensity to engage in PPIs can be influenced by the introduction of peptide staples on the side chains. In particular, light-controlled staples based on azobenzene photoswitches and their structural influence on helical peptides have been studied extensively. In contrast, photolabile staples bearing photocages as a structural key motif, have mainly been used to block supramolecular interactions. Their influence on the secondary structure of the target peptide is under-investigated. Thus, in this study we use a combination of spectroscopic techniques and in silico simulations to systematically study a series of helical peptides with varying length of the photo-labile staple to obtain a detailed insight into the structure-property relationship in such photoresponsive biomolecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilze Lāce
- Institute for Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Göttingen, Tammannstr. 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sophia Bazzi
- Institute for Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Göttingen, Tammannstr. 6, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jon Uranga
- Institute for Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Göttingen, Tammannstr. 6, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Anastasiya Schirmacher
- Institute for Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Göttingen, Tammannstr. 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ulf Diederichsen
- Institute for Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Göttingen, Tammannstr. 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ricardo A Mata
- Institute for Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Göttingen, Tammannstr. 6, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Nadja A Simeth
- Institute for Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Göttingen, Tammannstr. 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence "Multiscale Bioimaging: from Molecular Machines to Networks of Excitable Cells" (MBExC), Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Str. 40, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
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23
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Gadanecz M, Fazekas Z, Pálfy G, Karancsiné Menyhárd D, Perczel A. NMR-Chemical-Shift-Driven Protocol Reveals the Cofactor-Bound, Complete Structure of Dynamic Intermediates of the Catalytic Cycle of Oncogenic KRAS G12C Protein and the Significance of the Mg 2+ Ion. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:12101. [PMID: 37569478 PMCID: PMC10418480 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241512101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 07/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
In this work, catalytically significant states of the oncogenic G12C variant of KRAS, those of Mg2+-free and Mg2+-bound GDP-loaded forms, have been determined using CS-Rosetta software and NMR-data-driven molecular dynamics simulations. There are several Mg2+-bound G12C KRAS/GDP structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank (PDB), so this system was used as a reference, while the structure of the Mg2+-free but GDP-bound state of the RAS cycle has not been determined previously. Due to the high flexibility of the Switch-I and Switch-II regions, which also happen to be the catalytically most significant segments, only chemical shift information could be collected for the most important regions of both systems. CS-Rosetta was used to derive an "NMR ensemble" based on the measured chemical shifts, which, however, did not contain the nonprotein components of the complex. We developed a torsional restraint set for backbone torsions based on the CS-Rosetta ensembles for MD simulations, overriding the force-field-based parametrization in the presence of the reinserted cofactors. This protocol (csdMD) resulted in complete models for both systems that also retained the structural features and heterogeneity defined by the measured chemical shifts and allowed a detailed comparison of the Mg2+-bound and Mg2+-free states of G12C KRAS/GDP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Márton Gadanecz
- Laboratory of Structural Chemistry and Biology, Institute of Chemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter stny. 1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary; (M.G.); (D.K.M.)
- Hevesy György PhD School of Chemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter stny. 1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Zsolt Fazekas
- Laboratory of Structural Chemistry and Biology, Institute of Chemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter stny. 1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary; (M.G.); (D.K.M.)
- Hevesy György PhD School of Chemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter stny. 1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gyula Pálfy
- Laboratory of Structural Chemistry and Biology, Institute of Chemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter stny. 1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary; (M.G.); (D.K.M.)
- ELKH-ELTE Protein Modeling Research Group, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Pázmány Péter stny. 1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Biology, Institute of Biochemistry, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Dóra Karancsiné Menyhárd
- Laboratory of Structural Chemistry and Biology, Institute of Chemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter stny. 1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary; (M.G.); (D.K.M.)
- ELKH-ELTE Protein Modeling Research Group, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Pázmány Péter stny. 1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - András Perczel
- Laboratory of Structural Chemistry and Biology, Institute of Chemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter stny. 1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary; (M.G.); (D.K.M.)
- ELKH-ELTE Protein Modeling Research Group, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Pázmány Péter stny. 1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
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24
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Dabin A, Stirnemann G. Toward a Molecular Mechanism of Complementary RNA Duplexes Denaturation. J Phys Chem B 2023. [PMID: 37389985 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c00908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/02/2023]
Abstract
RNA duplexes are relatively rare but play very important biological roles. As an end-product of template-based RNA replication, they also have key implications for hypothetical primitive forms of life. Unless they are specifically separated by enzymes, these duplexes denature upon a temperature increase. However, mechanistic and kinetic aspects of RNA (and DNA) duplex thermal denaturation remain unclear at the microscopic level. We propose an in silico strategy that probes the thermal denaturation of RNA duplexes and allows for an extensive conformational space exploration along a wide temperature range with atomistic precision. We show that this approach first accounts for the strong sequence and length dependence of the duplexes melting temperature, reproducing the trends seen in the experiments and predicted by nearest-neighbor models. The simulations are then instrumental at providing a molecular picture of the temperature-induced strand separation. The textbook canonical "all-or-nothing" two-state model, very much inspired by the protein folding mechanism, can be nuanced. We demonstrate that a temperature increase leads to significantly distorted but stable structures with extensive base-fraying at the extremities, and that the fully formed duplexes typically do not form around melting. The duplex separation therefore appears as much more gradual than commonly thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aimeric Dabin
- CNRS Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, PSL University, Université de Paris, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Guillaume Stirnemann
- CNRS Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, PSL University, Université de Paris, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005, Paris, France
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25
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Hardie A, Cossins BP, Lovera S, Michel J. Deconstructing allostery by computational assessment of the binding determinants of allosteric PTP1B modulators. Commun Chem 2023; 6:125. [PMID: 37322137 DOI: 10.1038/s42004-023-00926-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Fragment-based drug discovery is an established methodology for finding hit molecules that can be elaborated into lead compounds. However it is currently challenging to predict whether fragment hits that do not bind to an orthosteric site could be elaborated into allosteric modulators, as in these cases binding does not necessarily translate into a functional effect. We propose a workflow using Markov State Models (MSMs) with steered molecular dynamics (sMD) to assess the allosteric potential of known binders. sMD simulations are employed to sample protein conformational space inaccessible to routine equilibrium MD timescales. Protein conformations sampled by sMD provide starting points for seeded MD simulations, which are combined into MSMs. The methodology is demonstrated on a dataset of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B ligands. Experimentally confirmed allosteric inhibitors are correctly classified as inhibitors, whereas the deconstructed analogues show reduced inhibitory activity. Analysis of the MSMs provide insights into preferred protein-ligand arrangements that correlate with functional outcomes. The present methodology may find applications for progressing fragments towards lead molecules in FBDD campaigns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adele Hardie
- EaStChem School of Chemistry, Joseph Black Building, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3FJ, UK
| | - Benjamin P Cossins
- UCB Pharma, 216 Bath Road, Slough, UK
- Exscientia, The Schrödinger Building, Oxford Science Park, Oxford, UK
| | - Silvia Lovera
- UCB Pharma, Chemin du Foriest 1, 1420, Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium
| | - Julien Michel
- EaStChem School of Chemistry, Joseph Black Building, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3FJ, UK.
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26
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Deubler M, Weißenborn L, Leukel S, Horn AHC, Eichler J, Sticht H. Computational Characterization of the Binding Properties of the HIV1-Neutralizing Antibody PG16 and Design of PG16-Derived CDRH3 Peptides. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:824. [PMID: 37372110 DOI: 10.3390/biology12060824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Revised: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
PG16 is a broadly neutralizing antibody that binds to the gp120 subunit of the HIV-1 Env protein. The major interaction site is formed by the unusually long complementarity determining region (CDR) H3. The CDRH3 residue Tyr100H is known to represent a tyrosine sulfation site; however, this modification is not present in the experimental complex structure of PG16 with full-length HIV-1 Env. To investigate the role of sulfation for this complex, we modeled the sulfation of Tyr100H and compared the dynamics and energetics of the modified and unmodified complex by molecular dynamics simulations at the atomic level. Our results show that sulfation does not affect the overall conformation of CDRH3, but still enhances gp120 interactions both at the site of modification and for the neighboring residues. This stabilization affects not only protein-protein contacts, but also the interactions between PG16 and the gp120 glycan shield. Furthermore, we also investigated whether PG16-CDRH3 is a suitable template for the development of peptide mimetics. For a peptide spanning residues 93-105 of PG16, we obtained an experimental EC50 value of 3nm for the binding of gp120 to the peptide. This affinity can be enhanced by almost one order of magnitude by artificial disulfide bonding between residues 99 and 100F. In contrast, any truncation results in significantly lower affinity, suggesting that the entire peptide segment is involved in gp120 recognition. Given their high affinity, it should be possible to further optimize the PG16-derived peptides as potential inhibitors of HIV invasion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Deubler
- Division of Bioinformatics, Institute of Biochemistry, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Lucas Weißenborn
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Simon Leukel
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Anselm H C Horn
- Division of Bioinformatics, Institute of Biochemistry, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Erlangen National High Performance Computing Center (NHR@FAU), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Jutta Eichler
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Heinrich Sticht
- Division of Bioinformatics, Institute of Biochemistry, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Erlangen National High Performance Computing Center (NHR@FAU), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91058 Erlangen, Germany
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27
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Zhang Z, Šponer J, Bussi G, Mlýnský V, Šulc P, Simmons CR, Stephanopoulos N, Krepl M. Atomistic Picture of Opening-Closing Dynamics of DNA Holliday Junction Obtained by Molecular Simulations. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:2794-2809. [PMID: 37126365 PMCID: PMC10170514 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Holliday junction (HJ) is a noncanonical four-way DNA structure with a prominent role in DNA repair, recombination, and DNA nanotechnology. By rearranging its four arms, HJ can adopt either closed or open state. With enzymes typically recognizing only a single state, acquiring detailed knowledge of the rearrangement process is an important step toward fully understanding the biological function of HJs. Here, we carried out standard all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the spontaneous opening-closing transitions, which revealed complex conformational transitions of HJs with an involvement of previously unconsidered "half-closed" intermediates. Detailed free-energy landscapes of the transitions were obtained by sophisticated enhanced sampling simulations. Because the force field overstabilizes the closed conformation of HJs, we developed a system-specific modification which for the first time allows the observation of spontaneous opening-closing HJ transitions in unbiased MD simulations and opens the possibilities for more accurate HJ computational studies of biological processes and nanomaterials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengyue Zhang
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- CEITEC─Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- National Center for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Šponer
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Giovanni Bussi
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy
| | - Vojtěch Mlýnský
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Šulc
- Biodesign Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, 85287 Arizona, United States
| | - Chad R Simmons
- Biodesign Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, 85287 Arizona, United States
| | - Nicholas Stephanopoulos
- Biodesign Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, 85287 Arizona, United States
| | - Miroslav Krepl
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacky University Olomouc, Slechtitelu 241/27, 783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic
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28
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Kührová P, Mlýnský V, Otyepka M, Šponer J, Banáš P. Sensitivity of the RNA Structure to Ion Conditions as Probed by Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Common Canonical RNA Duplexes. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:2133-2146. [PMID: 36989143 PMCID: PMC10091408 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c01438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
RNA molecules play a key role in countless biochemical processes. RNA interactions, which are of highly diverse nature, are determined by the fact that RNA is a highly negatively charged polyelectrolyte, which leads to intimate interactions with an ion atmosphere. Although RNA molecules are formally single-stranded, canonical (Watson-Crick) duplexes are key components of folded RNAs. A double-stranded (ds) RNA is also important for the design of RNA-based nanostructures and assemblies. Despite the fact that the description of canonical dsRNA is considered the least problematic part of RNA modeling, the imperfect shape and flexibility of dsRNA can lead to imbalances in the simulations of larger RNAs and RNA-containing assemblies. We present a comprehensive set of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of four canonical A-RNA duplexes. Our focus was directed toward the characterization of the influence of varying ion concentrations and of the size of the solvation box. We compared several water models and four RNA force fields. The simulations showed that the A-RNA shape was most sensitive to the RNA force field, with some force fields leading to a reduced inclination of the A-RNA duplexes. The ions and water models played a minor role. The effect of the box size was negligible, and even boxes with a small fraction of the bulk solvent outside the RNA hydration sphere were sufficient for the simulation of the dsRNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Kührová
- Regional
Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology
and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacký
University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
- Institute
of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Vojtěch Mlýnský
- Institute
of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Otyepka
- Regional
Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology
and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacký
University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
- IT4Innovations, VSB − Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 2172/15, 708 00 Ostrava, Poruba, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Šponer
- Regional
Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology
and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacký
University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
- Institute
of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Banáš
- Regional
Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology
and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacký
University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
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29
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Barbhuiya TK, Fisher M, Boittier ED, Bolderson E, O'Byrne KJ, Richard DJ, Adams MN, Gandhi NS. Structural investigation of CDCA3-Cdh1 protein-protein interactions using in vitro studies and molecular dynamics simulation. Protein Sci 2023; 32:e4572. [PMID: 36691744 PMCID: PMC9926468 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
The anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) ubiquitin ligase and its cofactor, Cdh1, regulate the expression of several cell-cycle proteins and their functions during mitosis. Levels of the protein cell division cycle-associated protein 3 (CDCA3), which is functionally required for mitotic entry, are regulated by APC/CCdh1 . CDCA3 is an intrinsically disordered protein and contains both C-terminal KEN box and D-box recognition motifs, enabling binding to Cdh1. Our previous findings demonstrate that CDCA3 has a phosphorylation-dependent non-canonical ABBA-like motif within the linker region bridging these two recognition motifs and is required for efficient binding to Cdh1. Here, we sought to identify and further characterize additional residues that participate within this ABBA-like motif using detailed in vitro experiments and in silico modeling studies. We identified the role of H-bonds, hydrophobic and ionic interactions across the CDCA3 ABBA-like motif in the linker region between KEN and D-box motifs. This linker region adopts a well-defined structure when bound to Cdh1 in the presence of phosphorylation. Upon alanine mutation, the structure of this region is lost, leading to higher flexibility, and alteration in affinities due to binding to alternate sites on Cdh1. Our findings identify roles for the anchoring residues in the non-canonical ABBA-like motif to promote binding to the APC/CCdh1 and regulation of CDCA3 protein levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tabassum Khair Barbhuiya
- Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, and School of Chemistry and Physics, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.,Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mark Fisher
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia.,Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia
| | - Eric D Boittier
- Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Emma Bolderson
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia.,Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia
| | - Kenneth J O'Byrne
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia.,Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia
| | - Derek J Richard
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia.,Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mark Nathaniel Adams
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia.,Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia
| | - Neha S Gandhi
- Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, and School of Chemistry and Physics, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.,Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia
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30
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Esmaeeli R, Bauzá A, Perez A. Structural predictions of protein-DNA binding: MELD-DNA. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:1625-1636. [PMID: 36727436 PMCID: PMC9976882 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Revised: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Structural, regulatory and enzymatic proteins interact with DNA to maintain a healthy and functional genome. Yet, our structural understanding of how proteins interact with DNA is limited. We present MELD-DNA, a novel computational approach to predict the structures of protein-DNA complexes. The method combines molecular dynamics simulations with general knowledge or experimental information through Bayesian inference. The physical model is sensitive to sequence-dependent properties and conformational changes required for binding, while information accelerates sampling of bound conformations. MELD-DNA can: (i) sample multiple binding modes; (ii) identify the preferred binding mode from the ensembles; and (iii) provide qualitative binding preferences between DNA sequences. We first assess performance on a dataset of 15 protein-DNA complexes and compare it with state-of-the-art methodologies. Furthermore, for three selected complexes, we show sequence dependence effects of binding in MELD predictions. We expect that the results presented herein, together with the freely available software, will impact structural biology (by complementing DNA structural databases) and molecular recognition (by bringing new insights into aspects governing protein-DNA interactions).
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Affiliation(s)
- Reza Esmaeeli
- Department of Chemistry, Quantum theory project, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Antonio Bauzá
- Department of Chemistry, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma de Mallorca (Baleares), 07122, Spain
| | - Alberto Perez
- Department of Chemistry, Quantum theory project, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
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31
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Olenginski LT, Kasprzak WK, Attionu SK, Shapiro BA, Dayie TK. Virtual Screening of Hepatitis B Virus Pre-Genomic RNA as a Novel Therapeutic Target. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28041803. [PMID: 36838792 PMCID: PMC9963113 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28041803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The global burden imposed by hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection necessitates the discovery and design of novel antiviral drugs to complement existing treatments. One attractive and underexploited therapeutic target is ε, an ~85-nucleotide (nt) cis-acting regulatory stem-loop RNA located at the 3'- and 5'-ends of the pre-genomic RNA (pgRNA). Binding of the 5'-end ε to the viral polymerase protein (P) triggers two early events in HBV replication: pgRNA and P packaging and reverse transcription. Our recent solution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy structure of ε permits structure-informed drug discovery efforts that are currently lacking for P. Here, we employ a virtual screen against ε using a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved compound library, followed by in vitro binding assays. This approach revealed that the anti-hepatitis C virus drug Daclatasvir is a selective ε-targeting ligand. Additional molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated that Daclatasvir targets ε at its flexible 6-nt priming loop (PL) bulge and modulates its dynamics. Given the functional importance of the PL, our work supports the notion that targeting ε dynamics may be an effective anti-HBV therapeutic strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukasz T. Olenginski
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Correspondence: author emails: (L.T.O.); (T.K.D.)
| | - Wojciech K. Kasprzak
- Bioinformatics and Computational Science Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Solomon K. Attionu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Bruce A. Shapiro
- RNA Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Theodore K. Dayie
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Correspondence: author emails: (L.T.O.); (T.K.D.)
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32
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Paloncýová M, Šrejber M, Čechová P, Kührová P, Zaoral F, Otyepka M. Atomistic Insights into Organization of RNA-Loaded Lipid Nanoparticles. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:1158-1166. [PMID: 36602349 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c07671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
RNA-based therapies have shown promise in a wide range of applications, from cancer therapy, treatment of inherited diseases to vaccination. Encapsulation of RNA into ionizable lipid (IL) containing lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) has enabled its safe and targeted delivery. We present here the simulations of the self-assembly process of pH-sensitive RNA-carrying LNPs and their internal morphology. At low pH, the simulations confirm a lipid core encapsulating RNA in the hexagonal phase. Our all-atom and coarse-grained simulations show that an RNA molecule inside an LNP is protected from interactions with ions by being enveloped in the charged ILs. At neutral pH, representing the environment after LNP administration into human tissues, LNPs expelled most of the encapsulated RNA and water and formed separate bulk IL-rich and ordered the helper-lipid-rich phase. Helper lipids arranged themselves to be in contact with RNA or water. The presented models provide atomistic understanding of the LNP structure and open a way to investigate them in silico, varying the LNP composition or interacting with other biostructures aiming at increasing the efficiency of RNA-based medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markéta Paloncýová
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacký University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Šrejber
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacký University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Čechová
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacký University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Kührová
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacký University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic
| | - Filip Zaoral
- IT4Innovations, VŠB - Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 2172/15, Ostrava-Poruba 708 00, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Otyepka
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacký University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic.,IT4Innovations, VŠB - Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 2172/15, Ostrava-Poruba 708 00, Czech Republic
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33
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Fung KS, Abragam Joseph A, Khononov A, Pieńko T, Belakhov V, Baasov T. Towards catalytic aminoglycoside: Probing the modification of kanamycin B at the 3′- and 4′-positions. Tetrahedron 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tet.2023.133342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/03/2023]
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34
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Castelli M, Bhattacharya K, Abboud E, Serapian SA, Picard D, Colombo G. Phosphorylation of the Hsp90 Co-Chaperone Hop Changes its Conformational Dynamics and Biological Function. J Mol Biol 2023; 435:167931. [PMID: 36572238 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The molecular chaperones Hsp90 and Hsp70 and their regulatory co-chaperone Hop play a key role at the crossroads of the folding pathways of numerous client proteins by forming fine-tuned multiprotein complexes. Alterations of the biomolecules involved may functionally impact the chaperone machinery: here, we integrate simulations and experiments to unveil how Hop conformational fitness and interactions can be controlled by the perturbation of just one residue. Specifically, we unveil how mechanisms mediated by Hop residue Y354 control Hop open and closed states, which affect binding of Hsp70/Hsp90. Phosphorylation or mutation of Hop-Y354 are shown to favor structural ensembles that are indeed not optimal for stable interactions with Hsp90 and Hsp70. This disfavors cellular accumulation of the stringent Hsp90 clients glucocorticoid receptor and the viral tyrosine kinase v-Src, with detrimental effects on v-Src activity. Our results show how the post-translational modification of a specific residue in Hop provides a regulation mechanism for the larger chaperone complex of which it is part. In this framework, the effects of one single alteration are amplified at the cellular level through the perturbation of protein-interaction networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Castelli
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, Italy. https://twitter.com/mat_castelli
| | - Kaushik Bhattacharya
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Université de Genève, Sciences III, 1211 Genève 4, Switzerland. https://twitter.com/kaushik34371359
| | - Ernest Abboud
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Université de Genève, Sciences III, 1211 Genève 4, Switzerland
| | - Stefano A Serapian
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Didier Picard
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Université de Genève, Sciences III, 1211 Genève 4, Switzerland.
| | - Giorgio Colombo
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
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35
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Shine M, Harris SE, Pellegrene KA, Kensinger AH, Mihailescu MR, Evanseck JD, Lackey PE. Uridylation of the histone mRNA stem-loop weakens binding interactions with SLBP while maintaining interactions with 3'hExo. RNA Biol 2023; 20:469-481. [PMID: 37516934 PMCID: PMC10388802 DOI: 10.1080/15476286.2023.2171760] [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: 07/08/2022] [Revised: 12/03/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Histone mRNA degradation is controlled by the unique 3' stem-loop of histone mRNA and the stem-loop binding protein (SLBP). As part of this process, the 3' stem-loop is trimmed by the histone-specific 3' exonuclease (3'hExo) and uridylated by the terminal uridylyl transferase 7 (TUT7), creating partially degraded intermediates with short uridylations. The role of these uridylations in degradation is not fully understood. Our work examines changes in the stability of the ternary complex created by trimming and uridylation of the stem-loop to better understand the role of this process in the histone mRNA life cycle. In this study, we used fluorescence polarization and electrophoretic mobility shift assays to demonstrate that both SLBP and 3'hExo can bind to uridylated and partially degraded stem-loop intermediates, although with lower affinity. We further characterized this complex by performing 1-µs molecular dynamics simulations using the AMBER force field and Nanoscale Molecular Dynamics (NAMD). These simulations show that while uridylation helps maintain the overall shape of the stem-loop, the combination of uridylation and dephosphorylation of the TPNK motif in SLBP disrupts key RNA-protein interactions. They also demonstrate that uridylation allows 3'hExo to maintain contact with the stem-loop after partial degradation and plays a role in disrupting key base pairs in partially degraded histone mRNA intermediates. Together, these experiments and simulations suggest that trimming by 3'hExo, uridylation, and SLBP dephosphorylation weakens both RNA-protein interactions and the stem-loop itself. Our results further elucidate the role of uridylation and SLBP dephosphorylation in the early stages of histone mRNA degradation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan Shine
- Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry, Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA, USA
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Sarah E Harris
- Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry, Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Kendy A Pellegrene
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Center for Computational Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Adam H Kensinger
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Center for Computational Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Mihaela Rita Mihailescu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Center for Computational Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jeffrey D Evanseck
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Center for Computational Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Patrick E Lackey
- Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry, Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA, USA
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36
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Nakagawa S, Kimura A, Okamoto Y. Polarizable Molecular Block Model: Toward the Development of an Induced Dipole Force Field for DNA. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:10646-10661. [PMID: 36512703 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c06227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
For flexible and highly ionized macromolecules such as DNA, it is important to correctly evaluate the intramolecular polarization in an induced dipole force field. In a proposed polarizable molecular block (PMB) model, a large molecule is divided into several molecular blocks. The atomic charges of the blocks are optimized by using the respective electrostatic potentials (ESPs) on the molecular surface. By using the capped hydrogen removal operation, the total charge of the blocks is controlled exactly to have an integer charge. The atomic polarizabilities of the blocks are optimized by using the respective polarized one-electron potentials that are the differences between ESPs with and without an external test charge. Induced dipole-charge interactions between the blocks are all included, but those interactions within the blocks are strictly excluded. All dipole-dipole interactions are included, but the damping functions are applied to the close dipole-dipole pairs. Several types of damping (simple scaling, exponential, linear, and Gaussian) are evaluated. The validity of the PMB model was verified by using trinucleotide duplexes which have A-, B-, and Z-DNA forms. The reference energies of trinucleotide duplexes including counterions (GGT3Na-ACC3Na, GAC3Na-GTC3Na, and GCG3Na-CGC3Na) are calculated using ωB97XD/aug-cc-pVDZ. All damping types reproduced well the reference interaction energies, dipole moments, and ESPs. Among them, the simple scaling with strong attenuation to 1-2 atomic pairs showed the highest stability against the polarization catastrophe. This study shows that it is possible to develop a high-quality polarizable force field by treating the intramolecular polarization on a block-by-block basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Setsuko Nakagawa
- Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi464-8602, Japan.,Kinjo Gakuin University, Nagoya, Aichi463-8521, Japan
| | - Akihiro Kimura
- Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi464-8602, Japan
| | - Yuko Okamoto
- Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi464-8602, Japan.,High Performance Computing Division, Information Technology Center, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi464-8601, Japan.,Global Engagement Center, International Affairs, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi464-8601, Japan
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37
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Chhetri KB, Jang YH, Lansac Y, Maiti PK. Effect of phosphorylation of protamine-like cationic peptide on the binding affinity to DNA. Biophys J 2022; 121:4830-4839. [PMID: 36168289 PMCID: PMC9808561 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2022.09.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Protamines are more arginine-rich and more basic than histones and are responsible for providing a highly compacted shape to the sperm heads in the testis. Phosphorylation and dephosphorylation are two events that occur in the late phase of spermatogenesis before the maturation of sperms. In this work, we have studied the effect of phosphorylation of protamine-like cationic peptides using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. Through thermodynamic analyses, we found that phosphorylation reduces the binding efficiency of such cationic peptides on DNA duplexes. Peptide phosphorylation leads to a less efficient DNA condensation, due to a competition between DNA-peptide and peptide-peptide interactions. We hypothesize that the decrease of peptide bonds between DNA together with peptide self-assembly might allow an optimal re-organization of chromatin and an efficient condensation through subsequent peptide dephosphorylation. Based on the globular and compact conformations of phosphorylated peptides mediated by arginine-phosphoserine H-bonding, we furthermore postulate that phosphorylated protamines could more easily intrude into chromatin and participate to histone release through disruption of histone-histone and histone-DNA binding during spermatogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khadka B Chhetri
- Center for Condensed Matter Theory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India; Department of Physics, Prithvinarayan Campus, Tribhuvan University, Pokhara, Nepal
| | - Yun Hee Jang
- Department of Energy Science and Engineering, DGIST, Daegu 42988, Korea; GREMAN, CNRS UMR 7347, Université de Tours, 37200 Tours, France.
| | - Yves Lansac
- GREMAN, CNRS UMR 7347, Université de Tours, 37200 Tours, France; Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS UMR 8502, Université Paris Saclay, Orsay, France.
| | - Prabal K Maiti
- Center for Condensed Matter Theory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
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38
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Mathivanan J, Bai Z, Chen A, Sheng J. Design, Synthesis, and Characterization of a Novel 2'-5'-Linked Amikacin-Binding Aptamer: An Experimental and MD Simulation Study. ACS Chem Biol 2022; 17:3478-3488. [PMID: 36453647 PMCID: PMC10400016 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.2c00653] [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] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
To extend the approach of using RNA aptamers as transient protective groups for the synthesis of novel small-molecule drug derivatives from the existing aminoglycosides, we incorporated 2'-5' phosphodiester backbone modification in a structurally known neomycin RNA aptamer and studied the binding of a series of aminoglycosides using isothermal calorimetry (ITC) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Experimental characterization of amikacin, a commercially available and widely used aminoglycoside for treating bacterial infections, shows that the aptamer A1 with a 2'-5' linkage between G15 and U16 exhibits a sevenfold increase in binding affinity with a lower binding energy compared to the native aptamer. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies rationalize that this noncanonical linkage generates a narrower binding pocket by creating a superspiral RNA helical structure, which improves the ligand's fit in the binding pocket. These results provide new insights into applying 2'-5' linkages to diversify functional RNA aptamers as noncovalent protective groups in the synthesis of aminoglycoside derivatives, which can be further extended to other current drug molecules and complex natural compounds to make new pools of drug candidates more efficiently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johnsi Mathivanan
- Department of Chemistry and the RNA Institute, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, 12222, USA
| | - Zhixue Bai
- Department of Chemistry and the RNA Institute, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, 12222, USA
| | - Alan Chen
- Department of Chemistry and the RNA Institute, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, 12222, USA
| | - Jia Sheng
- Department of Chemistry and the RNA Institute, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, 12222, USA
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39
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Yang T, Han L, Huo S. Dynamics and Allosteric Information Pathways of Unphosphorylated c-Cbl. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:6148-6159. [PMID: 36442893 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c01022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Human c-Cbl is a RING-type ligase and plays a central role in the protein degradation cascade. To elucidate its conformational changes related to substrate binding, we performed molecular dynamics simulations of different variants/states of c-Cbl for a cumulative time of 68 μs. Our simulations demonstrate that before the substrate binds, the RING domain samples a broad set of conformational states at a biologically relevant salt concentration, including the closed, partially open, and fully open states, whereas substrate binding leads to a restricted conformational sampling. Phe378 and the C-terminal region play an essential role in stabilizing the partially open state. To visualize the allosteric signal transmission pathways from the substrate-binding site to the 40 Å apart RING domain and identify the critical residues for allostery, we have created a subgraph from the optimal and suboptimal paths. Redundant paths are seen in the SH2 domain where the substrate binds, while the major bottlenecks are found at the junction between the SH2 domain and the linker helix region as well as that between the SH2 domain and the 4H bundle. These bottlenecks separate the paths into two overall routes. The nodes/residues at the bottlenecks on the subgraph are considered allosteric hot spots. This subgraph approach provides a general tool for network visualization and determination of critical residues for allostery. The structurally and allosterically critical residues identified in our work are testable and would provide valuable insights into the emerging strategies for drug discovery, such as targeted protein degradation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianyi Yang
- Gustaf H. Carlson School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Clark University, 950 Main Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610, United States
| | - Li Han
- Department of Computer Science, Clark University, 950 Main Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610, United States
| | - Shuanghong Huo
- Gustaf H. Carlson School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Clark University, 950 Main Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610, United States
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40
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Chen J, Zeng Q, Wang W, Sun H, Hu G. Decoding the Identification Mechanism of an SAM-III Riboswitch on Ligands through Multiple Independent Gaussian-Accelerated Molecular Dynamics Simulations. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:6118-6132. [PMID: 36440874 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
S-Adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM)-responsive riboswitches play a central role in the regulation of bacterial gene expression at the level of transcription attenuation or translation inhibition. In this study, multiple independent Gaussian-accelerated molecular dynamics simulations were performed to decipher the identification mechanisms of SAM-III (SMK) on ligands SAM, SAH, and EEM. The results reveal that ligand binding highly affects the structural flexibility, internal dynamics, and conformational changes of SAM-III. The dynamic analysis shows that helices P3 and P4 as well as two junctions J23 and J24 of SAM-III are highly susceptible to ligand binding. Analyses of free energy landscapes suggest that ligand binding induces different free energy profiles of SAM-III, which leads to the difference in identification sites of SAM-III on ligands. The information on ligand-nucleotide interactions not only uncovers that the π-π, cation-π, and hydrogen bonding interactions drive identification of SAM-III on the three ligands but also reveals that different electrostatic properties of SAM, SAH, and EEM alter the active sites of SAM-III. Meanwhile, the results also verify that the adenine group of SAM, SAH, and EEM is well recognized by conserved nucleotides G7, A29, U37, A38, and G48. We expect that this study can provide useful information for understanding the applications of SAM-III in chemical, synthetic RNA biology, and biomedical fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianzhong Chen
- School of Science, Shandong Jiaotong University, Jinan250357, China
| | - Qingkai Zeng
- School of Science, Shandong Jiaotong University, Jinan250357, China
| | - Wei Wang
- School of Science, Shandong Jiaotong University, Jinan250357, China
| | - Haibo Sun
- School of Science, Shandong Jiaotong University, Jinan250357, China
| | - Guodong Hu
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Biophysics, Institute of Biophysics, Dezhou University, Dezhou253023, China
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41
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Mráziková K, Kruse H, Mlýnský V, Auffinger P, Šponer J. Multiscale Modeling of Phosphate···π Contacts in RNA U-Turns Exposes Differences between Quantum-Chemical and AMBER Force Field Descriptions. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:6182-6200. [PMID: 36454943 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c01064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Phosphate···π, also called anion···π, contacts occur between nucleobases and anionic phosphate oxygens (OP2) in r(GNRA) and r(UNNN) U-turn motifs (N = A,G,C,U; R = A,G). These contacts were investigated using state-of-the-art quantum-chemical methods (QM) to characterize their physicochemical properties and to serve as a reference to evaluate AMBER force field (AFF) performance. We found that phosphate···π interaction energies calculated with the AFF for dimethyl phosphate···nucleobase model systems are less stabilizing in comparison with double-hybrid DFT and that minimum contact distances are larger for all nucleobases. These distance stretches are also observed in large-scale AFF vs QM/MM computations and classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on several r(gcGNRAgc) tetraloop hairpins when compared to experimental data extracted from X-ray/cryo-EM structures (res. ≤ 2.5 Å) using the WebFR3D bioinformatic tool. MD simulations further revealed shifted OP2/nucleobase positions. We propose that discrepancies between the QM and AFF result from a combination of missing polarization in the AFF combined with too large AFF Lennard-Jones (LJ) radii of nucleobase carbon atoms in addition to an exaggerated short-range repulsion of the r-12 LJ repulsive term. We compared these results with earlier data gathered on lone pair···π contacts in CpG Z-steps occurring in r(UNCG) tetraloops. In both instances, charge transfer calculations do not support any significant n → π* donation effects. We also investigated thiophosphate···π contacts that showed reduced stabilizing interaction energies when compared to phosphate···π contacts. Thus, we challenge suggestions that the experimentally observed enhanced thermodynamic stability of phosphorothioated r(GNRA) tetraloops can be explained by larger London dispersion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaudia Mráziková
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65Brno, Czech Republic.,National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Holger Kruse
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Vojtěch Mlýnský
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Pascal Auffinger
- Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, Université de Strasbourg, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, Strasbourg67084, France
| | - Jiří Šponer
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65Brno, Czech Republic
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42
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Allosteric rescue of catalytically impaired ATP phosphoribosyltransferase variants links protein dynamics to active-site electrostatic preorganisation. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7607. [PMID: 36494361 PMCID: PMC9734150 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34960-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
ATP phosphoribosyltransferase catalyses the first step of histidine biosynthesis and is controlled via a complex allosteric mechanism where the regulatory protein HisZ enhances catalysis by the catalytic protein HisGS while mediating allosteric inhibition by histidine. Activation by HisZ was proposed to position HisGS Arg56 to stabilise departure of the pyrophosphate leaving group. Here we report active-site mutants of HisGS with impaired reaction chemistry which can be allosterically restored by HisZ despite the HisZ:HisGS interface lying ~20 Å away from the active site. MD simulations indicate HisZ binding constrains the dynamics of HisGS to favour a preorganised active site where both Arg56 and Arg32 are poised to stabilise leaving-group departure in WT-HisGS. In the Arg56Ala-HisGS mutant, HisZ modulates Arg32 dynamics so that it can partially compensate for the absence of Arg56. These results illustrate how remote protein-protein interactions translate into catalytic resilience by restoring damaged electrostatic preorganisation at the active site.
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43
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Krepl M, Pokorná P, Mlýnský V, Stadlbauer P, Šponer J. Spontaneous binding of single-stranded RNAs to RRM proteins visualized by unbiased atomistic simulations with a rescaled RNA force field. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:12480-12496. [PMID: 36454011 PMCID: PMC9757038 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac1106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Recognition of single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) by RNA recognition motif (RRM) domains is an important class of protein-RNA interactions. Many such complexes were characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and/or X-ray crystallography techniques, revealing ensemble-averaged pictures of the bound states. However, it is becoming widely accepted that better understanding of protein-RNA interactions would be obtained from ensemble descriptions. Indeed, earlier molecular dynamics simulations of bound states indicated visible dynamics at the RNA-RRM interfaces. Here, we report the first atomistic simulation study of spontaneous binding of short RNA sequences to RRM domains of HuR and SRSF1 proteins. Using a millisecond-scale aggregate ensemble of unbiased simulations, we were able to observe a few dozen binding events. HuR RRM3 utilizes a pre-binding state to navigate the RNA sequence to its partially disordered bound state and then to dynamically scan its different binding registers. SRSF1 RRM2 binding is more straightforward but still multiple-pathway. The present study necessitated development of a goal-specific force field modification, scaling down the intramolecular van der Waals interactions of the RNA which also improves description of the RNA-RRM bound state. Our study opens up a new avenue for large-scale atomistic investigations of binding landscapes of protein-RNA complexes, and future perspectives of such research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pavlína Pokorná
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic,National Center for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Vojtěch Mlýnský
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Stadlbauer
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Šponer
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
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44
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Hosoe Y, Miyanoiri Y, Re S, Ochi S, Asahina Y, Kawakami T, Kuroda M, Mizuguchi K, Oda M. Structural dynamics of the N‐terminal
SH2
domain of
PI3K
in its free and
CD28
‐bound states. FEBS J 2022; 290:2366-2378. [PMID: 36282120 DOI: 10.1111/febs.16666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Protein conformational changes with fluctuations are fundamental aspects of protein-protein interactions (PPIs); understanding these motions is required for the rational design of PPI-regulating compounds. Src homology 2 (SH2) domains are commonly found in adapter proteins involved in signal transduction and specifically bind to consensus motifs of proteins containing phosphorylated tyrosine (pY). Here, we analysed the interaction between the N-terminal SH2 domain (nSH2) of the regulatory subunit in phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and the cytoplasmic region of the T-cell co-receptor, CD28, using NMR and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. First, we assigned the backbone signals of nSH2 on 1 H-15 N heteronuclear single quantum coherence spectra in the absence or presence of the CD28 phosphopeptide, SDpYMNMTPRRPG. Chemical shift perturbation experiments revealed allosteric changes at the BC loop and the C-terminal region of nSH2 upon CD28 binding. NMR relaxation experiments showed a conformational exchange associated with CD28 binding in these regions. The conformational stabilisation of the C-terminal region correlated with the regulation of PI3K catalytic function. Further, using 19 F- and 31 P-labelled CD28 phosphopeptide, we analysed the structural dynamics of CD28 and demonstrated that the aromatic ring of the pY residue fluctuated between multiple conformations upon nSH2 binding. Our MD simulations largely explained the NMR results and the structural dynamics of nSH2 and CD28 in both bound and unbound states. Notably, in addition to its major conformation, we detected a minor conformation of nSH2 in the CD28 bound state that may explain the allosteric conformational change in the BC loop.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuhi Hosoe
- Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences Kyoto Prefectural University Japan
| | | | - Suyong Re
- Artificial Intelligence Center for Health and Biomedical Research National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health, and Nutrition Osaka Japan
| | - Saki Ochi
- Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences Kyoto Prefectural University Japan
| | - Yuya Asahina
- Institute for Protein Research Osaka University Japan
| | - Toru Kawakami
- Institute for Protein Research Osaka University Japan
| | - Masataka Kuroda
- Artificial Intelligence Center for Health and Biomedical Research National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health, and Nutrition Osaka Japan
- Discovery Technology Laboratories Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation Yokohama Japan
| | - Kenji Mizuguchi
- Institute for Protein Research Osaka University Japan
- Artificial Intelligence Center for Health and Biomedical Research National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health, and Nutrition Osaka Japan
| | - Masayuki Oda
- Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences Kyoto Prefectural University Japan
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45
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Pálfy G, Menyhárd DK, Ákontz‐Kiss H, Vida I, Batta G, Tőke O, Perczel A. The Importance of Mg 2+ -Free State in Nucleotide Exchange of Oncogenic K-Ras Mutants. Chemistry 2022; 28:e202201449. [PMID: 35781716 PMCID: PMC9804424 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202201449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
For efficient targeting of oncogenic K-Ras interaction sites, a mechanistic picture of the Ras-cycle is necessary. Herein, we used NMR relaxation techniques and molecular dynamics simulations to decipher the role of slow dynamics in wild-type and three oncogenic P-loop mutants of K-Ras. Our measurements reveal a dominant two-state conformational exchange on the ms timescale in both GDP- and GTP-bound K-Ras. The identified low-populated higher energy state in GDP-loaded K-Ras has a conformation reminiscent of a nucleotide-bound/Mg2+ -free state characterized by shortened β2/β3-strands and a partially released switch-I region preparing K-Ras for the interaction with the incoming nucleotide exchange factor and subsequent reactivation. By providing insight into mutation-specific differences in K-Ras structural dynamics, our systematic analysis improves our understanding of prolonged K-Ras signaling and may aid the development of allosteric inhibitors targeting nucleotide exchange in K-Ras.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gyula Pálfy
- Laboratory of Structural Chemistry and BiologyInstitute of ChemistryEötvös Loránd University1/a Pázmány Péter stny.Budapest1117Hungary,MTA-ELTE Protein Modeling Research GroupEötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH)1/a Pázmány Péter stny.Budapest1117Hungary
| | - Dóra K. Menyhárd
- MTA-ELTE Protein Modeling Research GroupEötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH)1/a Pázmány Péter stny.Budapest1117Hungary
| | - Hanna Ákontz‐Kiss
- Laboratory of Structural Chemistry and BiologyInstitute of ChemistryEötvös Loránd University1/a Pázmány Péter stny.Budapest1117Hungary,Hevesy György PhD School of ChemistryEötvös Loránd University1/a Pázmány Péter stny.Budapest1117Hungary
| | - István Vida
- Laboratory of Structural Chemistry and BiologyInstitute of ChemistryEötvös Loránd University1/a Pázmány Péter stny.Budapest1117Hungary,Hevesy György PhD School of ChemistryEötvös Loránd University1/a Pázmány Péter stny.Budapest1117Hungary
| | - Gyula Batta
- Structural Biology Research GroupDepartment of Organic ChemistryUniversity of Debrecen1 Egyetem térDebrecen4032Hungary
| | - Orsolya Tőke
- Laboratory for NMR SpectroscopyResearch Centre for Natural Sciences (RCNS)2 Magyar tudósok körútjaBudapest1117Hungary
| | - András Perczel
- Laboratory of Structural Chemistry and BiologyInstitute of ChemistryEötvös Loránd University1/a Pázmány Péter stny.Budapest1117Hungary,MTA-ELTE Protein Modeling Research GroupEötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH)1/a Pázmány Péter stny.Budapest1117Hungary
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Jing Z, Ren P. Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Protein RNA Complexes by Using an Advanced Electrostatic Model. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:7343-7353. [PMID: 36107618 PMCID: PMC9530969 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c05278] [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: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Protein-RNA interactions are integral to the biological functions of RNA. It is well recognized that molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of protein-RNA complexes are more challenging than those of each component. The difficulty arises from the strong electrostatic interactions and the delicate balance between various types of physical forces at the interface. Previously, MD simulations of protein-RNA complexes have predominantly employed fixed-charge force fields. Although force field modifications have been developed to address problems identified in the simulations, some protein-RNA structures are still hard to reproduce by simulations. Here, we present MD simulations of two representative protein-RNA complexes using the AMOEBA polarizable force field. The van der Waals parameters were refined to reproduce accurate quantum-mechanical data of base-base and base-amino acid interactions. It was found that the refined parameters produced a more stable hydrogen-bond network in the interface. One of the complexes remained stable during the short simulations, whereas it could quickly break down in previous simulations using fixed-charge force fields. There was reversible breaking and formation of hydrogen bonds that are observed in the crystal structure, which may indicate the difference in solution and crystal structures. While further improvement and validation of the force fields are still needed, this work demonstrates that polarizable force fields are promising for the study of protein-RNA complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhifeng Jing
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712
| | - Pengyu Ren
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712
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47
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Substrate spectrum of PPM1D in the cellular response to DNA double-strand breaks. iScience 2022; 25:104892. [PMID: 36060052 PMCID: PMC9436757 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 07/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
PPM1D is a p53-regulated protein phosphatase that modulates the DNA damage response (DDR) and is frequently altered in cancer. Here, we employed chemical inhibition of PPM1D and quantitative mass spectrometry-based phosphoproteomics to identify the substrates of PPM1D upon induction of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by etoposide. We identified 73 putative PPM1D substrates that are involved in DNA repair, regulation of transcription, and RNA processing. One-third of DSB-induced S/TQ phosphorylation sites are dephosphorylated by PPM1D, demonstrating that PPM1D only partially counteracts ATM/ATR/DNA-PK signaling. PPM1D-targeted phosphorylation sites are found in a specific amino acid sequence motif that is characterized by glutamic acid residues, high intrinsic disorder, and poor evolutionary conservation. We identified a functionally uncharacterized protein Kanadaptin as ATM and PPM1D substrate upon DSB induction. We propose that PPM1D plays a role during the response to DSBs by regulating the phosphorylation of DNA- and RNA-binding proteins in intrinsically disordered regions. MS-based phosphoproteomic profiling of PPM1D substrates in U2OS and HCT116 cells PPM1D counteracts ATM in the cellular response to DNA double-strand breaks PPM1D target sites localize to glutamic acid-rich regions with high intrinsic disorder Kanadaptin is a putative DNA damage response factor regulated by ATM and PPM1D
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48
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Garcia-Viloca M, Bayascas JR, Lluch JM, González-Lafont À. Molecular Insights into the Regulation of 3-Phosphoinositide-Dependent Protein Kinase 1: Modeling the Interaction between the Kinase and the Pleckstrin Homology Domains. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:25186-25199. [PMID: 35910176 PMCID: PMC9330272 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c02020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1 (PDK1) K465E mutant kinase can still activate protein kinase B (PKB) at the membrane in a phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3, PtdIns(3,4,5)P3) independent manner. To understand this new PDK1 regulatory mechanism, docking and molecular dynamics calculations were performed for the first time to simulate the wild-type kinase domain-pleckstrin homology (PH) domain complex with PH-in and PH-out conformations. These simulations were then compared to the PH-in model of the KD-PH(mutant K465E) PDK1 complex. Additionally, three KD-PH complexes were simulated, including a substrate analogue bound to a hydrophobic pocket (denominated the PIF-pocket) substrate-docking site. We find that only the PH-out conformation, with the PH domain well-oriented to interact with the cellular membrane, is active for wild-type PDK1. In contrast, the active conformation of the PDK1 K465E mutant is PH-in, being ATP-stable at the active site while the PIF-pocket is more accessible to the peptide substrate. We corroborate that both the docking-site binding and the catalytic activity are in fact enhanced in knock-in mouse samples expressing the PDK1 K465E protein, enabling the phosphorylation of PKB in the absence of PIP3 binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mireia Garcia-Viloca
- Departament
de Química, Universitat Autònoma
de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
| | - Jose Ramón Bayascas
- Institut
de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma
de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biochemistry Unit of the School
of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma
de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
| | - José M. Lluch
- Departament
de Química, Universitat Autònoma
de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
- Institut
de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina (IBB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
| | - Àngels González-Lafont
- Departament
de Química, Universitat Autònoma
de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
- Institut
de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina (IBB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
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49
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Mathivanan S, Chunchagatta Lakshman PK, Singh M, Giridharan S, Sathish K, Hurakadli MA, Bharatham K, Kamariah N. Structure of a 14-3-3ε:FOXO3a pS253 Phosphopeptide Complex Reveals 14-3-3 Isoform-Specific Binding of Forkhead Box Class O Transcription Factor (FOXO) Phosphoproteins. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:24344-24352. [PMID: 35874228 PMCID: PMC9301721 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c01700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The transcriptional activity of Forkhead Box O3 (FOXO3a) is inactivated by AKT-mediated phosphorylation on Serine 253 (S253), which enables FOXO3a binding to 14-3-3. Phosphorylated FOXO3a binding to 14-3-3 facilitates the nuclear exclusion of FOXO3a, causing cancer cell proliferation. The FOXO3a/14-3-3 interaction has, therefore, emerged as an important therapeutic target. Here, we report a comprehensive analysis using fluorescence polarization, isothermal titration calorimetry, small-angle X-ray scattering, X-ray crystallography, and molecular dynamics simulations to gain molecular-level insights into the interaction of FOXO3apS253 phosphopeptide with 14-3-3ε. A high-resolution structure of the fluorophore-labeled FOXO3apS253:14-3-3ε complex revealed a distinct mode of interaction compared to other 14-3-3 phosphopeptide complexes. FOXO3apS253 phosphopeptide showed significant structural difference in the positions of the -3 and -4 Arg residues relative to pSer, compared to that of a similar phosphopeptide, FOXO1pS256 bound to 14-3-3σ. Moreover, molecular dynamics studies show that the significant structural changes and molecular interactions noticed in the crystal structure of FOXO3apS253:14-3-3ε are preserved over the course of the simulation. Thus, this study reveals structural differences between the binding to 14-3-3 isoforms of FOXO1pS256 versus FOXO3apS253, providing a framework for the rational design of isoform-specific FOXO/14-3-3 protein-protein interaction inhibitors for therapy.
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Bergonzo C, Grishaev A, Bottaro S. Conformational heterogeneity of UCAAUC RNA oligonucleotide from molecular dynamics simulations, SAXS, and NMR experiments. RNA (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2022; 28:937-946. [PMID: 35483823 PMCID: PMC9202585 DOI: 10.1261/rna.078888.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
We describe the conformational ensemble of the single-stranded r(UCAAUC) oligonucleotide obtained using extensive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and Rosetta's FARFAR2 algorithm. The conformations observed in MD consist of A-form-like structures and variations thereof. These structures are not present in the pool generated using FARFAR2. By comparing with available nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements, we show that the presence of both A-form-like and other extended conformations is necessary to quantitatively explain experimental data. To further validate our results, we measure solution X-ray scattering (SAXS) data on the RNA hexamer and find that simulations result in more compact structures than observed from these experiments. The integration of simulations with NMR via a maximum entropy approach shows that small modifications to the MD ensemble lead to an improved description of the conformational ensemble. Nevertheless, we identify persisting discrepancies in matching experimental SAXS data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Bergonzo
- National Institute of Standards and Technology and Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA
| | - Alexander Grishaev
- National Institute of Standards and Technology and Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA
| | - Sandro Bottaro
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, 20090 Pieve Emanuele, Italy
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