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Brascher TC, de Bortoli L, Toledo-Silva G, Zacchi FL, Razzera G. In silico structural features of the CgNR5A: CgDAX complex and its role in regulating gene expression of CYP target genes in Crassostrea gigas. CHEMOSPHERE 2024; 361:142443. [PMID: 38815811 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2024] [Revised: 05/20/2024] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
Contamination of aquatic environments has been steadily increasing due to human activities. The Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas has been used as a key species in studies assessing the impacts of contaminants on human health and the aquatic biome. In this context, cytochrome P450 (CYPs) play a crucial role in xenobiotic metabolism. In vertebrates many of these CYPs are regulated by nuclear receptors (NRs) and little is known about the NRs role in C. gigas. Particularly, the CgNR5A represents a homologue of SF1 and LRH-1 found in vertebrates. Members of this group can regulate genes of CYPs involved in lipid/steroid metabolism, with their activity regulated by other NR, called as DAX-1, generating a NR complex on DNA response elements (REs). As C. gigas does not exhibit steroid biosynthesis pathways, CgNR5A may play other physiological roles. To clarify this issue, we conducted an in silico investigation of the interaction between CgNR5A and DNA to identify potential C. gigas CYP target genes. Using molecular docking and dynamics simulations of the CgNR5A on DNA molecules, we identified a monomeric interaction with extended REs. This RE was found in the promoter region of 30 CYP genes and also the NR CgDAX. When the upstream regulatory region was analyzed, CYP2C39, CYP3A11, CYP4C21, CYP7A1, CYP17A1, and CYP27C1 were mapped as the main genes regulated by CgNR5A. These identified CYPs belong to families known for their involvement in xenobiotic and lipid/steroid metabolism. Furthermore, we reconstructed a trimeric complex, previously proposed for vertebrates, with CgNR5A:CgDAX and subjected it to molecular dynamics simulations analysis. Heterotrimeric complex remained stable during the simulations, suggesting that CgDAX may modulate CgNR5A transcriptional activity. This study provides insights into the potential physiological processes involving these NRs in the regulation of CYPs associated with xenobiotic and steroid/lipid metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theo Cardozo Brascher
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, 88040-900, Brazil; Laboratório de Biomarcadores de Contaminação Aquática e Imunoquímica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, 88040-900, Brazil
| | - Leonardo de Bortoli
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, 88040-900, Brazil; Laboratório de Biomarcadores de Contaminação Aquática e Imunoquímica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, 88040-900, Brazil; Laboratório de Genômica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, 88040-900, Brazil
| | - Guilherme Toledo-Silva
- Laboratório de Genômica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, 88040-900, Brazil
| | - Flávia Lucena Zacchi
- Laboratório de Moluscos Marinhos, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, 88061-600, Brazil
| | - Guilherme Razzera
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, 88040-900, Brazil; Laboratório de Biomarcadores de Contaminação Aquática e Imunoquímica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, 88040-900, Brazil.
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2
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Lu D, Luo D, Zhang Y, Wang B. A Robust Induced Fit Docking Approach with the Combination of the Hybrid All-Atom/United-Atom/Coarse-Grained Model and Simulated Annealing. J Chem Theory Comput 2024. [PMID: 38966989 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
Molecular docking remains an indispensable tool in computational biology and structure-based drug discovery. However, the correct prediction of binding poses remains a major challenge for molecular docking, especially for target proteins where a substrate binding induces significant reorganization of the active site. Here, we introduce an Induced Fit Docking (IFD) approach named AA/UA/CG-SA-IFD, which combines a hybrid All-Atom/United-Atom/Coarse-Grained model with Simulated Annealing. In this approach, the core region is represented by the All-Atom(AA) model, while the protein environment beyond the core region and the solvent are treated with either the United-Atom (UA) or the Coarse-Grained (CG) model. By combining the Elastic Network Model (ENM) for the CG region, the hybrid model ensures a reasonable description of ligand binding and the environmental effects of the protein, facilitating highly efficient and reliable sampling of ligand binding through Simulated Annealing (SA) at a high temperature. Upon validation with two testing sets, the AA/UA/CG-SA-IFD approach demonstrates remarkable accuracy and efficiency in induced fit docking, even for challenging cases where the docked poses significantly deviate from crystal structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dexin Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 360015, P. R. China
| | - Ding Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 360015, P. R. China
| | - Yuwei Zhang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of New Power Batteries, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Centre of Biomedical Functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China
| | - Binju Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 360015, P. R. China
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3
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Borges-Araújo L, Pereira GP, Valério M, Souza PCT. Assessing the Martini 3 protein model: A review of its path and potential. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA. PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2024; 1872:141014. [PMID: 38670324 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2024.141014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 03/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Coarse-grained (CG) protein models have become indispensable tools for studying many biological protein details, from conformational dynamics to the organization of protein macro-complexes, and even the interaction of proteins with other molecules. The Martini force field is one of the most widely used CG models for bio-molecular simulations, partly because of the enormous success of its protein model. With the recent release of a new and improved version of the Martini force field - Martini 3 - a new iteration of its protein model was also made available. The Martini 3 protein force field is an evolution of its Martini 2 counterpart, aimed at improving many of the shortcomings that had been previously identified. In this mini-review, we first provide a general overview of the model and then focus on the successful advances made in the short time since its release, many of which would not have been possible before. Furthermore, we discuss reported limitations, potential directions for model improvement and comment on what the likely future development and application avenues are.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luís Borges-Araújo
- Laboratoire de Biologie et Modélisation de la Cellule, CNRS, UMR 5239, Inserm, U1293, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d'Italie, 69364 Lyon, France; Centre Blaise Pascal de Simulation et de Modélisation Numérique, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d'Italie, 69364 Lyon, France
| | - Gilberto P Pereira
- Laboratoire de Biologie et Modélisation de la Cellule, CNRS, UMR 5239, Inserm, U1293, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d'Italie, 69364 Lyon, France; Centre Blaise Pascal de Simulation et de Modélisation Numérique, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d'Italie, 69364 Lyon, France
| | - Mariana Valério
- Laboratoire de Biologie et Modélisation de la Cellule, CNRS, UMR 5239, Inserm, U1293, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d'Italie, 69364 Lyon, France; Centre Blaise Pascal de Simulation et de Modélisation Numérique, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d'Italie, 69364 Lyon, France
| | - Paulo C T Souza
- Laboratoire de Biologie et Modélisation de la Cellule, CNRS, UMR 5239, Inserm, U1293, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d'Italie, 69364 Lyon, France; Centre Blaise Pascal de Simulation et de Modélisation Numérique, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d'Italie, 69364 Lyon, France.
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4
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Cino EA, Tieleman DP. Curvature Footprints of Transmembrane Proteins in Simulations with the Martini Force Field. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:5987-5994. [PMID: 38860934 PMCID: PMC11216194 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c01385] [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: 03/02/2024] [Revised: 05/14/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/12/2024]
Abstract
Membranes play essential roles in biological systems and are tremendously diverse in the topologies and chemical and elastic properties that define their functions. In many cases, a given membrane may display considerable heterogeneity, with localized clusters of lipids and proteins exhibiting distinct characteristics compared to adjoining regions. These lipid-protein assemblies can span nanometers to micrometers and are associated with cellular processes such as transport and signaling. While lipid-protein assemblages are dynamic, they can be stabilized by coupling between local membrane composition and shape. Due to the inherent difficulty in resolving atomistic details of membrane proteins in their native lipid environments, these complexes are notoriously challenging to study experimentally; however, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations might be a viable alternative. Here, we aim to assess the utility of coarse-grained (CG) MD simulations with the Martini force field for studying membrane curvature induced by transmembrane (TM) proteins that are reported to generate local curvature. The direction and magnitude of curvature induced by five different TM proteins, as well as certain lipid-protein and protein-protein interactions, were found to be in good agreement with available reference data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elio A. Cino
- Centre for Molecular Simulation
and Department of Biological Sciences, University
of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - D. Peter Tieleman
- Centre for Molecular Simulation
and Department of Biological Sciences, University
of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
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5
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Smardz P, Anila MM, Rogowski P, Li MS, Różycki B, Krupa P. A Practical Guide to All-Atom and Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics Simulations Using Amber and Gromacs: A Case Study of Disulfide-Bond Impact on the Intrinsically Disordered Amyloid Beta. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:6698. [PMID: 38928405 PMCID: PMC11204378 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25126698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2024] [Revised: 06/12/2024] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) pose challenges to conventional experimental techniques due to their large-scale conformational fluctuations and transient structural elements. This work presents computational methods for studying IDPs at various resolutions using the Amber and Gromacs packages with both all-atom (Amber ff19SB with the OPC water model) and coarse-grained (Martini 3 and SIRAH) approaches. The effectiveness of these methodologies is demonstrated by examining the monomeric form of amyloid-β (Aβ42), an IDP, with and without disulfide bonds at different resolutions. Our results clearly show that the addition of a disulfide bond decreases the β-content of Aβ42; however, it increases the tendency of the monomeric Aβ42 to form fibril-like conformations, explaining the various aggregation rates observed in experiments. Moreover, analysis of the monomeric Aβ42 compactness, secondary structure content, and comparison between calculated and experimental chemical shifts demonstrates that all three methods provide a reasonable choice to study IDPs; however, coarse-grained approaches may lack some atomistic details, such as secondary structure recognition, due to the simplifications used. In general, this study not only explains the role of disulfide bonds in Aβ42 but also provides a step-by-step protocol for setting up, conducting, and analyzing molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, which is adaptable for studying other biomacromolecules, including folded and disordered proteins and peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Pawel Krupa
- Institute of Physics Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotników 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland; (P.S.); (M.M.A.); (P.R.); (M.S.L.); (B.R.)
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6
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Zhekova HR, Ramirez Echemendía DP, Sejdiu BI, Pushkin A, Tieleman DP, Kurtz I. Molecular dynamics simulations of lipid-protein interactions in SLC4 proteins. Biophys J 2024; 123:1705-1721. [PMID: 38760929 PMCID: PMC11214021 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2024.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024] Open
Abstract
The SLC4 family of secondary bicarbonate transporters is responsible for the transport of HCO3-, CO32-, Cl-, Na+, K+, NH3, and H+, which are necessary for regulation of pH and ion homeostasis. They are widely expressed in numerous tissues throughout the body and function in different cell types with different membrane properties. Potential lipid roles in SLC4 function have been reported in experimental studies, focusing mostly on two members of the family: AE1 (Cl-/HCO3- exchanger) and NBCe1 (Na+-CO32-cotransporter). Previous computational studies of the outward-facing state of AE1 with model lipid membranes revealed enhanced protein-lipid interactions between cholesterol (CHOL) and phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PIP2). However, the protein-lipid interactions in other members of the family and other conformation states are still poorly understood and this precludes the detailed studies of a potential regulatory role for lipids in the SLC4 family. In this work, we performed coarse-grained and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations on three members of the SLC4 family with different transport modes: AE1, NBCe1, and NDCBE (an Na+-CO32-/Cl- exchanger), in model HEK293 membranes consisting of CHOL, PIP2, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, and sphingomyelin. The recently resolved inward-facing state of AE1 was also included in the simulations. Lipid-protein contact analysis of the simulated trajectories was performed with the ProLint server, which provides a multitude of visualization tools for illustration of areas of enhanced lipid-protein contact and identification of putative lipid binding sites within the protein matrix. We observed enrichment of CHOL and PIP2 around all proteins with subtle differences in their distribution depending on the protein type and conformation state. Putative binding sites were identified for CHOL, PIP2, phosphatidylcholine, and sphingomyelin in the three studied proteins, and their potential roles in the SLC4 transport function, conformational transition, and protein dimerization are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hristina R Zhekova
- Centre for Molecular Simulation, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Daniel P Ramirez Echemendía
- Centre for Molecular Simulation, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Besian I Sejdiu
- Department of Structural Biology and Center of Excellence for Data Driven Discovery, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
| | - Alexander Pushkin
- Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - D Peter Tieleman
- Centre for Molecular Simulation, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
| | - Ira Kurtz
- Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
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7
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Lindsay S, Li Y. Coarse-grained modeling of annexin A2-induced microdomain formation on a vesicle. Biophys J 2024:S0006-3495(24)00389-8. [PMID: 38859585 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2024.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2024] [Revised: 05/04/2024] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Annexin A2 (A2)-induced microdomain formation is a key step in biological processes such as Ca2+-mediated exocytosis in neuroendocrine cells. In this work, a total of 15 coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations were performed on vesicle models having a diameter of approximately 250 Å for 15 μs each using the Martini2 force field. Five simulations were performed in the presence of 10 A2, 5 in the presence of A2 but absence of PIP2, and 5 simulations in the absence of A2 but presence of PIP2. Consistent results were generated among the simulations. A2-induced PIP2 microdomain formation was observed and shown to occur in three phases: A2-vesicle association, localized A2-induced PIP2 clustering, and A2 aggregation driving PIP2 microdomain formation. The relationship between A2 aggregation and PIP2 microdomain formation was quantitatively described using a novel method which calculated the variance among protein and lipid positions via the Fréchet mean. A large reduction in PIP2 variance was observed in the presence of A2 but not in its absence. This reduction in PIP2 variance was proportional to the reduction observed in A2 variance and demonstrates that the observed PIP2 microdomain formation is dependent upon A2 aggregation. The three-phase model of A2-induced microdomain formation generated in this work will serve as a valuable guide for further experimental studies and the development of novel A2 inhibitors. No microdomain formation was observed in the absence of A2 and minimal A2-membrane interaction was observed in the absence of PIP2.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Lindsay
- Department of Chemistry, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina
| | - Y Li
- Department of Chemistry, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.
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8
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Wang B, Tieleman DP. The structure, self-assembly and dynamics of lipid nanodiscs revealed by computational approaches. Biophys Chem 2024; 309:107231. [PMID: 38569455 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2024.107231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2024] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Nanodisc technology is increasingly being used in structural, biochemical and biophysical studies of membrane proteins. The computational approaches have revealed many important features of nanodisc assembly, structures and dynamics. Therefore, we reviewed the application of computational approaches, especially molecular modeling and molecular dyncamics (MD) simulations, to characterize nanodiscs, including the structural models, assembly and disassembly, protocols for modeling, structural properties and dynamics, and protein-lipid interactions in nanodiscs. More amazing computational studies about nanodiscs are looked forward to in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beibei Wang
- Centre for Advanced Materials Research, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai 519087, China.
| | - D Peter Tieleman
- Department of Biological Sciences and Centre for Molecular Simulation, University of Calgary, Calgary T2N 1N4, Canada.
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9
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Zuccaro KE, Abriata LA, Pinto Meireles FT, Moss FR, Frost A, Dal Peraro M, Aydin H. Cardiolipin clustering promotes mitochondrial membrane dynamics. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.21.595226. [PMID: 38826344 PMCID: PMC11142133 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.21.595226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
Cardiolipin (CL) is a mitochondria-specific phospholipid that forms heterotypic interactions with membrane-shaping proteins and regulates the dynamic remodeling and function of mitochondria. However, the precise mechanisms through which CL influences mitochondrial morphology are not well understood. In this study, employing molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we observed CL localize near the membrane-binding sites of the mitochondrial fusion protein Optic Atrophy 1 (OPA1). To validate these findings experimentally, we developed a bromine-labeled CL probe to enhance cryoEM contrast and characterize the structure of OPA1 assemblies bound to the CL-brominated lipid bilayers. Our images provide direct evidence of interactions between CL and two conserved motifs within the paddle domain (PD) of OPA1, which control membrane-shaping mechanisms. We further observed a decrease in membrane remodeling activity for OPA1 in lipid compositions with increasing concentrations of monolyso-cardiolipin (MLCL). Suggesting that the partial replacement of CL by MLCL accumulation, as observed in Barth syndrome-associated mutations of the tafazzin phospholipid transacylase, compromises the stability of protein-membrane interactions. Our analyses provide insights into how biological membranes regulate the mechanisms governing mitochondrial homeostasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly E. Zuccaro
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Luciano A. Abriata
- Institute of Bioengineering, School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Protein Production and Structure Core Facility, School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Fernando Teixeira Pinto Meireles
- Institute of Bioengineering, School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Frank R. Moss
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Adam Frost
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Altos Labs, Bay Area Institute of Science, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Quantitative Biosciences Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Matteo Dal Peraro
- Institute of Bioengineering, School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Halil Aydin
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
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Duran T, Naik S, Sharifi L, DiLuzio WR, Chanda A, Chaudhuri B. Studying the ssDNA loaded adeno-associated virus aggregation using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. Int J Pharm 2024; 655:123985. [PMID: 38484860 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2024.123985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
The aggregation of adeno-associated viral (AAV) capsids in an aqueous environment was investigated via coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CG-MD) simulations. The primary driving force and mechanism of the aggregation were investigated with or without single-strand DNA (ssDNA) loaded at various process temperatures. Capsid aggregation appeared to involve multiple residue interactions (i.e., hydrophobic, polar and charged residues) leading to complex protein aggregation. In addition, two aggregation mechanisms (i.e., the fivefold face-to-face contact and the edge-to-edge contact) were identified from this study. The ssDNA with its asymmetric structure could be the reason for destabilizing protein subunits and enhancing the interaction between the charged residues, and further result in the non-reversible face-to-face contact. At higher temperature, the capsid structure was found to be unstable with the significant size expansion of the loaded ssDNA which could be attributed to reduced number of intramolecular hydrogen bonds, the increased conformational deviations of protein subunits and the higher residue fluctuations. The CG-MD model was further validated with previous experimental and simulation data, including the full capsid size measurement and the capsid internal pressure. Thus, a good understanding of AAV capsid aggregation, instability and the role of ssDNA were revealed by applying the developed computational model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tibo Duran
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Shivangi Naik
- Technical Operations, Sarepta Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Leila Sharifi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Willow R DiLuzio
- Technical Operations, Sarepta Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Arani Chanda
- Technical Operations, Sarepta Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Bodhisattwa Chaudhuri
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA; Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA; Institute of Material Sciences (IMS), University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.
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11
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Rogoża NH, Krupa MA, Krupa P, Sieradzan AK. Integrating Explicit and Implicit Fullerene Models into UNRES Force Field for Protein Interaction Studies. Molecules 2024; 29:1919. [PMID: 38731411 PMCID: PMC11085604 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29091919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2024] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Fullerenes, particularly C60, exhibit unique properties that make them promising candidates for various applications, including drug delivery and nanomedicine. However, their interactions with biomolecules, especially proteins, remain not fully understood. This study implements both explicit and implicit C60 models into the UNRES coarse-grained force field, enabling the investigation of fullerene-protein interactions without the need for restraints to stabilize protein structures. The UNRES force field offers computational efficiency, allowing for longer timescale simulations while maintaining accuracy. Five model proteins were studied: FK506 binding protein, HIV-1 protease, intestinal fatty acid binding protein, PCB-binding protein, and hen egg-white lysozyme. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed with and without C60 to assess protein stability and investigate the impact of fullerene interactions. Analysis of contact probabilities reveals distinct interaction patterns for each protein. FK506 binding protein (1FKF) shows specific binding sites, while intestinal fatty acid binding protein (1ICN) and uteroglobin (1UTR) exhibit more generalized interactions. The explicit C60 model shows good agreement with all-atom simulations in predicting protein flexibility, the position of C60 in the binding pocket, and the estimation of effective binding energies. The integration of explicit and implicit C60 models into the UNRES force field, coupled with recent advances in coarse-grained modeling and multiscale approaches, provides a powerful framework for investigating protein-nanoparticle interactions at biologically relevant scales without the need to use restraints stabilizing the protein, thus allowing for large conformational changes to occur. These computational tools, in synergy with experimental techniques, can aid in understanding the mechanisms and consequences of nanoparticle-biomolecule interactions, guiding the design of nanomaterials for biomedical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia H. Rogoża
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdańsk, Fahrenheit Union of Universities in Gdańsk, Bażyńskiego 8, 80-309 Gdańsk, Poland; (N.H.R.); (M.A.K.); (A.K.S.)
| | - Magdalena A. Krupa
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdańsk, Fahrenheit Union of Universities in Gdańsk, Bażyńskiego 8, 80-309 Gdańsk, Poland; (N.H.R.); (M.A.K.); (A.K.S.)
| | - Pawel Krupa
- Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotnikow 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Adam K. Sieradzan
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdańsk, Fahrenheit Union of Universities in Gdańsk, Bażyńskiego 8, 80-309 Gdańsk, Poland; (N.H.R.); (M.A.K.); (A.K.S.)
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12
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Dash R, Jabbari E. A Structure Independent Molecular Fragment Interfuse Model for Mesoscale Dissipative Particle Dynamics Simulation of Peptides. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:18001-18022. [PMID: 38680324 PMCID: PMC11044228 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c09534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
There is a need to develop robust computational models for mesoscale simulation of the structure of peptides over large length scales toward the discovery of novel peptides for medical applications to address the issues of peptide aggregation, enzymatic degradation, and short half-life. The primary objective was to predict the structure and conformation of peptides whose native structures are not known. This work presents a new model for computation of interaction parameters between the beads in coarse-grained dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulation that is properly calibrated for amino acids, supports compressibility requirement of water molecules, and accounts for subtle differences in the structure of amino acids and the charge in the side chain of charged amino acids. This new model is referred to as Structure Independent Molecular Fragment Interfuse Model, abbreviated as SIMFIM, because it accounts for specific interactions between different beads, which represent molecular fragments of the amino acids, in calculating nonbonded interaction parameters in the absence of knowing the actual peptide structure. The electrostatic interactions are incorporated in this model by using a normal distribution of charges around the center of the beads to prevent the collapse of oppositely charged soft beads. The uniquely parameterized DPD force field in the SIMFIM model is optimized for a given peptide with respect to the degree of coarse-grained graining for simulating the peptide over long times and length scales. The SIMFIM model was tested in this work using four peptides, namely, TrpZip2, Rubrivinodin, Lihuanodin, and IC3-CB1/Gai peptides, whose structures were sourced from the Protein Data Bank. The SIMFIM model predicted radius of gyration (Rg) values for the peptides closer to the actual structures as compared to the conventional model, and there was less deviation between the predicted and actual structures of the peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricky
Anshuman Dash
- Biomimetic Materials and
Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Chemical Engineering Department, University of South Carolina, 301 Main Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Esmaiel Jabbari
- Biomimetic Materials and
Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Chemical Engineering Department, University of South Carolina, 301 Main Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
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13
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Majumder S, Deganutti G, Pipitò L, Chaudhuri D, Datta J, Giri K. Computational Insights into the Conformational Dynamics of HIV-1 Vpr in a Lipid Bilayer for Ion Channel Modeling. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:3360-3374. [PMID: 38597744 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c01859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
HIV-1 Vpr is a multifunctional accessory protein consisting of 96 amino acids that play a critical role in viral pathogenesis. Among its diverse range of activities, Vpr can create a cation-selective ion channel within the plasma membrane. However, the oligomeric state of this channel has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we investigated the conformational dynamics of Vpr helices to model the ion channel topology. First, we employed a series of multiscale simulations to investigate the specific structure of monomeric Vpr in a membrane model. During the lipid bilayer self-assembly coarse grain simulation, the C-terminal helix (residues 56-77) effectively formed the transmembrane region, while the N-terminal helix exhibited an amphipathic nature by associating horizontally with a single leaflet. All-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of full-length Vpr inside a phospholipid bilayer show that the C-terminal helix remains very stable inside the bilayer core in a vertical orientation. Subsequently, using the predicted C-terminal helix orientation and conformation, various oligomeric states (ranging from tetramer to heptamer) possibly forming the Vpr ion channel were built and further evaluated. Among these models, the pentameric form exhibited consistent stability in MD simulations and displayed a compatible conformation for a water-assisted ion transport mechanism. This study provides structural insights into the ion channel activity of the Vpr protein and the foundation for developing therapeutics against HIV-1 Vpr-related conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satyabrata Majumder
- Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, 86/1 College Street, Kolkata 700073, India
| | - Giuseppe Deganutti
- Centre for Health and Life Sciences, Coventry University, Coventry CV1 5FB, U.K
| | - Ludovico Pipitò
- Centre for Health and Life Sciences, Coventry University, Coventry CV1 5FB, U.K
| | - Dwaipayan Chaudhuri
- Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, 86/1 College Street, Kolkata 700073, India
| | - Joyeeta Datta
- Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, 86/1 College Street, Kolkata 700073, India
| | - Kalyan Giri
- Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, 86/1 College Street, Kolkata 700073, India
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14
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Smith JW, Carnevale LN, Das A, Chen Q. Electron videography of a lipid-protein tango. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadk0217. [PMID: 38630809 PMCID: PMC11023515 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk0217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Biological phenomena, from enzymatic catalysis to synaptic transmission, originate in the structural transformations of biomolecules and biomolecular assemblies in liquid water. However, directly imaging these nanoscopic dynamics without probes or labels has been a fundamental methodological challenge. Here, we developed an approach for "electron videography"-combining liquid phase electron microscopy with molecular modeling-with which we filmed the nanoscale structural fluctuations of individual, suspended, and unlabeled membrane protein nanodiscs in liquid. Systematic comparisons with biochemical data and simulation indicate the graphene encapsulation involved can afford sufficiently reduced effects of the illuminating electron beam for these observations to yield quantitative fingerprints of nanoscale lipid-protein interactions. Our results suggest that lipid-protein interactions delineate dynamically modified membrane domains across unexpectedly long ranges. Moreover, they contribute to the molecular mechanics of the nanodisc as a whole in a manner specific to the protein within. Overall, this work illustrates an experimental approach to film, quantify, and understand biomolecular dynamics at the nanometer scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- John W. Smith
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Lauren N. Carnevale
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Aditi Das
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Qian Chen
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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15
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Wang Y, Hernandez R. Construction of Multiscale Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) Models from Other Coarse-Grained Models. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:17667-17680. [PMID: 38645334 PMCID: PMC11025104 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.4c01868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2024] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
We present a general scheme for converting coarse-grained models into Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) models. We build the corresponding DPD models by analogy with the de novo DPD coarse-graining scheme suggested by Groot and Warren (J. Chem. Phys., 1997). Electrostatic interactions between charged DPD particles are represented though the addition of a long-range Slater Coulomb potential as suggested by González-Melchor et al. (J. Chem. Phys., 2006). The construction is illustrated by converting MARTINI models for various proteins into a DPD representation, but it not restricted to the usual potential form in the MARTINI model-viz., Lennard-Jones potentials. We further extended the DPD scheme away from the typical use of homogeneous particle sizes, therefore faithfully representing the variations in the particle sizes seen in the underlying MARTINI model. The accuracy of the resulting construction of our generalized DPD models with respect to several structural observables has been benchmarked favorably against all-atom and MARTINI models for a selected set of peptides and proteins, and variations in the scales of the coarse-graining of the water solvent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinhan Wang
- Department of Chemistry, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
| | - Rigoberto Hernandez
- Department of Chemistry, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
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16
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Pandey MP, Telles de Souza PC, Pezeshkian W, Khandelia H. Bending of a lipid membrane edge by annexin A5 trimers. Biophys J 2024; 123:1006-1014. [PMID: 38486451 PMCID: PMC11052700 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2024.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Revised: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Plasma membrane damage occurs in healthy cells and more frequently in cancer cells where high growth rates and metastasis result in frequent membrane damage. The annexin family of proteins plays a key role in membrane repair. Annexins are recruited at the membrane injury site by Ca+2 and repair the damaged membrane in concert with several other proteins. Annexin A4 (ANXA4) and ANXA5 form trimers at the bilayer surface, and previous simulations show that the trimers induce high local negative membrane curvature on a flat bilayer. The membrane-curvature-inducing property of ANXA5 is presumed to be vital to the membrane repair mechanism. A previously proposed descriptive model hypothesizes that ANXA5-mediated curvature force is utilized at the free edge of the membrane at a wound site to pull the wound edges together, resulting in the formation of a "neck"-shaped structure, which, when combined with a constriction force exerted by ANXA6, leads to membrane repair. The molecular details and mechanisms of repair remain unknown, in part because the membrane edge is a transient structure that is difficult to investigate both experimentally and computationally. For the first time, we investigate the impact of ANXA5 near a membrane edge, which is modeled by a bicelle under periodic boundary conditions. ANXA5 trimers induce local curvature on the membrane leading to global bending of the bicelle. The global curvature depends on the density of annexins on the bicelle, and the curvature increases with the ANXA5 concentration until it reaches a plateau. The simulations suggest that not only do annexins induce local membrane curvature, but they can change the overall shape of a free-standing membrane. We also demonstrate that ANXA5 trimers reduce the rate of phosphatidylserine lipid diffusion from the cytoplasmic to the exoplasmic leaflet along the edge of the bicelle. In this way, membrane-bound annexins can potentially delay the apoptotic signal triggered by the presence of phosphatidylserine lipids in the outer leaflet, thus biding time for repair of the membrane hole. Our findings provide new insights into the role of ANXA5 at the edges of the membrane (the injury site) and support the curvature-constriction model of membrane repair.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayank Prakash Pandey
- PHYLIFE, Physical Life Science, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Paulo Cesar Telles de Souza
- Laboratoire de Biologie et Modélisation de la Cellule, CNRS, UMR 5239, INSERM, U1293, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, France; Centre Blaise Pascal de Simulation et de Modélisation Numérique, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Weria Pezeshkian
- Niels Bohr International Academy, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Himanshu Khandelia
- PHYLIFE, Physical Life Science, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
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17
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Peruzzi JA, Steinkühler J, Vu TQ, Gunnels TF, Hu VT, Lu P, Baker D, Kamat NP. Hydrophobic mismatch drives self-organization of designer proteins into synthetic membranes. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3162. [PMID: 38605024 PMCID: PMC11009411 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47163-1] [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: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The organization of membrane proteins between and within membrane-bound compartments is critical to cellular function. Yet we lack approaches to regulate this organization in a range of membrane-based materials, such as engineered cells, exosomes, and liposomes. Uncovering and leveraging biophysical drivers of membrane protein organization to design membrane systems could greatly enhance the functionality of these materials. Towards this goal, we use de novo protein design, molecular dynamic simulations, and cell-free systems to explore how membrane-protein hydrophobic mismatch could be used to tune protein cotranslational integration and organization in synthetic lipid membranes. We find that membranes must deform to accommodate membrane-protein hydrophobic mismatch, which reduces the expression and co-translational insertion of membrane proteins into synthetic membranes. We use this principle to sort proteins both between and within membranes, thereby achieving one-pot assembly of vesicles with distinct functions and controlled split-protein assembly, respectively. Our results shed light on protein organization in biological membranes and provide a framework to design self-organizing membrane-based materials with applications such as artificial cells, biosensors, and therapeutic nanoparticles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin A Peruzzi
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Jan Steinkühler
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Timothy Q Vu
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Taylor F Gunnels
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Vivian T Hu
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Peilong Lu
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - David Baker
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Neha P Kamat
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
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18
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Ananchenko A, Gao RY, Dehez F, Baenziger JE. State-dependent binding of cholesterol and an anionic lipid to the muscle-type Torpedo nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Commun Biol 2024; 7:437. [PMID: 38600247 PMCID: PMC11006840 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06106-8] [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: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The ability of the Torpedo nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) to undergo agonist-induced conformational transitions requires the presence of cholesterol and/or anionic lipids. Here we use recently solved structures along with multiscale molecular dynamics simulations to examine lipid binding to the nAChR in bilayers that have defined effects on nAChR function. We examine how phosphatidic acid and cholesterol, lipids that support conformational transitions, individually compete for binding with phosphatidylcholine, a lipid that does not. We also examine how the two lipids work synergistically to stabilize an agonist-responsive nAChR. We identify rapidly exchanging lipid binding sites, including both phospholipid sites with a high affinity for phosphatidic acid and promiscuous cholesterol binding sites in the grooves between adjacent transmembrane α-helices. A high affinity cholesterol site is confirmed in the inner leaflet framed by a key tryptophan residue on the MX α-helix. Our data provide insight into the dynamic nature of lipid-nAChR interactions and set the stage for a detailed understanding of the mechanisms by which lipids facilitate nAChR function at the neuromuscular junction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Ananchenko
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Rui Yan Gao
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - François Dehez
- CNRS, LPCT, Université de Lorraine, F-54000 Nancy, France.
| | - John E Baenziger
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
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19
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Patkar SS, Tang Y, Zhang T, Bisram AM, Saven JG, Pochan DJ, Kiick KL. Genetically Fused Resilin-like Polypeptide-Coiled Coil Bundlemer Conjugates Exhibit Tunable Multistimuli-Responsiveness and Undergo Nanofibrillar Assembly. Biomacromolecules 2024; 25:2449-2461. [PMID: 38484154 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.3c01402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
Peptide-based materials are diverse candidates for self-assembly into modularly designed and stimuli-responsive nanostructures with precisely tunable compositions. Here, we genetically fused computationally designed coiled coil-forming peptides to the N- and C-termini of compositionally distinct multistimuli-responsive resilin-like polypeptides (RLPs) of various lengths. The successful expression of these hybrid polypeptides in bacterial hosts was confirmed through techniques such as gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, and amino acid analysis. Circular dichroism spectroscopy and ultraviolet-visible turbidimetry demonstrated that despite the fusion of disparate structural and responsive units, the coiled coils remained stable in the hybrid polypeptides, and the sequence-encoded differences in thermoresponsive phase separation of the RLPs were preserved. Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy and coarse-grained modeling showed that after thermal annealing in solution, the hybrid polypeptides adopted a closed loop conformation and assembled into nanofibrils capable of further hierarchically organizing into cluster structures and ribbon-like structures mediated by the self-association tendency of the RLPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sai S Patkar
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
| | - Yao Tang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
| | - Tianren Zhang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Arriana M Bisram
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
| | - Jeffery G Saven
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Darrin J Pochan
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
| | - Kristi L Kiick
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19713, United States
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20
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Ansell TB, Healy M, Coupland CE, Sansom MSP, Siebold C. Mapping structural and dynamic divergence across the MBOAT family. Structure 2024:S0969-2126(24)00096-0. [PMID: 38636523 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2024.03.014] [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: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Membrane-bound O-acyltransferases (MBOATs) are membrane-embedded enzymes that catalyze acyl chain transfer to a diverse group of substrates, including lipids, small molecules, and proteins. MBOATs share a conserved structural core, despite wide-ranging functional specificity across both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The structural basis of catalytic specificity, regulation and interactions with the surrounding environment remain uncertain. Here, we combine comparative molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with bioinformatics to assess molecular and interactional divergence across the family. In simulations, MBOATs differentially distort the bilayer depending on their substrate type. Additionally, we identify lipid binding sites surrounding reactant gates in the surrounding membrane. Complementary bioinformatic analyses reveal a conserved role for re-entrant loop-2 in MBOAT fold stabilization and a key hydrogen bond bridging DGAT1 dimerization. Finally, we predict differences in MBOAT solvation and water gating properties. These data are pertinent to the design of MBOAT-specific inhibitors that encompass dynamic information within cellular mimetic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Bertie Ansell
- Department of Biochemistry, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK; Division of CryoEM and Bioimaging, SSRL, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA; Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
| | - Megan Healy
- Department of Biochemistry, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK
| | - Claire E Coupland
- Division of Structural Biology, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK; Molecular Medicine Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, Toronto M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Mark S P Sansom
- Department of Biochemistry, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK
| | - Christian Siebold
- Division of Structural Biology, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK
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21
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Andreev G, Kovalenko M, Bozdaganyan ME, Orekhov PS. Colabind: A Cloud-Based Approach for Prediction of Binding Sites Using Coarse-Grained Simulations with Molecular Probes. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:3211-3219. [PMID: 38514440 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c07853] [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: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
Binding site prediction is a crucial step in understanding protein-ligand and protein-protein interactions (PPIs) with broad implications in drug discovery and bioinformatics. This study introduces Colabind, a robust, versatile, and user-friendly cloud-based approach that employs coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations in the presence of molecular probes, mimicking fragments of drug-like compounds. Our method has demonstrated high effectiveness when validated across a diverse range of biological targets spanning various protein classes, successfully identifying orthosteric binding sites, as well as known druggable allosteric or PPI sites, in both experimentally determined and AI-predicted protein structures, consistently placing them among the top-ranked sites. Furthermore, we suggest that careful inspection of the identified regions with a high affinity for specific probes can provide valuable insights for the development of pharmacophore hypotheses. The approach is available at https://github.com/porekhov/CG_probeMD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgy Andreev
- Insilico Medicine AI Ltd., Masdar City 145748, United Arab Emirates
| | - Max Kovalenko
- Division of Scientific Computing, Department of Information Technology, Uppsala University, Uppsala 752 37, Sweden
| | | | - Philipp S Orekhov
- Faculty of Biology, Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, Shenzhen 518172, China
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22
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Bartoš L, Menon AK, Vácha R. Insertases scramble lipids: Molecular simulations of MTCH2. Structure 2024; 32:505-510.e4. [PMID: 38377988 PMCID: PMC11001264 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2024.01.012] [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: 08/21/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Scramblases play a pivotal role in facilitating bidirectional lipid transport across cell membranes, thereby influencing lipid metabolism, membrane homeostasis, and cellular signaling. MTCH2, a mitochondrial outer membrane protein insertase, has a membrane-spanning hydrophilic groove resembling those that form the lipid transit pathway in known scramblases. Employing both coarse-grained and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, we show that MTCH2 significantly reduces the free energy barrier for lipid movement along the groove and therefore can indeed function as a scramblase. Notably, the scrambling rate of MTCH2 in silico is similar to that of voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC), a recently discovered scramblase of the outer mitochondrial membrane, suggesting a potential complementary physiological role for these mitochondrial proteins. Finally, our findings suggest that other insertases which possess a hydrophilic path across the membrane like MTCH2, can also function as scramblases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ladislav Bartoš
- CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic; National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Anant K Menon
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Robert Vácha
- CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic; National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic.
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23
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Abettan A, Nguyen MH, Ladant D, Monticelli L, Chenal A. CyaA translocation across eukaryotic cell membranes. Front Mol Biosci 2024; 11:1359408. [PMID: 38584704 PMCID: PMC10995232 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2024.1359408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Amiel Abettan
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris Cité, CNRS UMR3528, Biochemistry of Macromolecular Interactions Unit, Paris, France
- Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry Laboratory, CNRS UMR 5086, University of Lyon, IBCP, Lyon, France
| | - Minh-Ha Nguyen
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris Cité, CNRS UMR3528, Biochemistry of Macromolecular Interactions Unit, Paris, France
- Université de Paris Cité, Paris, France
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris Cité, CNRS UMR3528, Biological NMR and HDX-MS Technological Platform, Paris, France
| | - Daniel Ladant
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris Cité, CNRS UMR3528, Biochemistry of Macromolecular Interactions Unit, Paris, France
- Université de Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Luca Monticelli
- Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry Laboratory, CNRS UMR 5086, University of Lyon, IBCP, Lyon, France
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Lyon, France
| | - Alexandre Chenal
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris Cité, CNRS UMR3528, Biochemistry of Macromolecular Interactions Unit, Paris, France
- Université de Paris Cité, Paris, France
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24
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Li S, Wu B, Luo YL, Han W. Simulations of Functional Motions of Super Large Biomolecules with a Mixed-Resolution Model. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:2228-2245. [PMID: 38374639 PMCID: PMC10938502 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c01046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024]
Abstract
Many large protein machines function through an interplay between large-scale movements and intricate conformational changes. Understanding functional motions of these proteins through simulations becomes challenging for both all-atom and coarse-grained (CG) modeling techniques because neither approach alone can readily capture the full details of these motions. In this study, we develop a multiscale model by employing the popular MARTINI CG model to represent a heterogeneous environment and structurally stable proteins and using the united-atom (UA) model PACE to describe proteins undergoing subtle conformational changes. PACE was previously developed to be compatible with the MARTINI solvent and membrane. Here, we couple the protein descriptions of the two models by directly mixing UA and CG interaction parameters to greatly simplify parameter determination. Through extensive validations with diverse protein systems in solution or membrane, we demonstrate that only additional parameter rescaling is needed to enable the resulting model to recover the stability of native structures of proteins under mixed representation. Moreover, we identify the optimal scaling factors that can be applied to various protein systems, rendering the model potentially transferable. To further demonstrate its applicability for realistic systems, we apply the model to a mechanosensitive ion channel Piezo1 that has peripheral arms for sensing membrane tension and a central pore for ion conductance. The model can reproduce the coupling between Piezo1's large-scale arm movement and subtle pore opening in response to membrane stress while consuming much less computational costs than all-atom models. Therefore, our model shows promise for studying functional motions of large protein machines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu Li
- Centre
for Artificial Intelligence Driven Drug Discovery, Faculty of Applied
Sciences, Macao Polytechnic University, Macao 999078, China
- State
Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key
Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Bohua Wu
- State
Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key
Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Yun Lyna Luo
- Department
of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, California 91766, United States
| | - Wei Han
- State
Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key
Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, China
- Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Hong Kong
Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China
- Shenzhen
Bay Laboratory, Institute of Chemical Biology, Shenzhen 518132, China
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25
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Plazinski W, Lutsyk V, Plazinska A. Exploring Free Energies of Specific Protein Conformations Using the Martini Force Field. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:2273-2283. [PMID: 38427574 PMCID: PMC10938637 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c01155] [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: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Coarse-grained (CG) level molecular dynamics simulations are routinely used to study various biomolecular processes. The Martini force field is currently the most widely adopted parameter set for such simulations. The functional form of this and several other CG force fields enforces secondary protein structure support by employing a variety of harmonic potentials or restraints that favor the protein's native conformation. We propose a straightforward method to calculate the energetic consequences of transitions between predefined conformational states in systems in which multiple factors can affect protein conformational equilibria. This method is designed for use within the Martini force field and involves imposing conformational transitions by linking a Martini-inherent elastic network to the coupling parameter λ. We demonstrate the applicability of our method using the example of five biomolecular systems that undergo experimentally characterized conformational transitions between well-defined structures (Staphylococcal nuclease, C-terminal segment of surfactant protein B, LAH4 peptide, and β2-adrenergic receptor) as well as between folded and unfolded states (GCN4 leucine zipper protein). The results show that the relative free energy changes associated with protein conformational transitions, which are affected by various factors, such as pH, mutations, solvent, and lipid membrane composition, are correctly reproduced. The proposed method may be a valuable tool for understanding how different conditions and modifications affect conformational equilibria in proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wojciech Plazinski
- Jerzy
Haber Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Niezapominajek 8, Krakow 30-239, Poland
- Department
of Biopharmacy, Medical University of Lublin, Chodzki 4a, Lublin 20-093, Poland
| | - Valery Lutsyk
- Jerzy
Haber Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Niezapominajek 8, Krakow 30-239, Poland
| | - Anita Plazinska
- Department
of Biopharmacy, Medical University of Lublin, Chodzki 4a, Lublin 20-093, Poland
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26
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Bisht K, Lomholt MA, Khandelia H. Sensing membrane voltage by reorientation of dipolar transmembrane peptides. Biophys J 2024; 123:584-597. [PMID: 38308436 PMCID: PMC10938080 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2024.01.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Membrane voltage plays a vital role in the behavior and functions of the lipid bilayer membrane. For instance, it regulates the exchange of molecules across the membrane through transmembrane proteins such as ion channels. In this paper, we study the membrane voltage-sensing mechanism, which entails the reorientation of α-helices with a change in the membrane voltage. We consider a helix having a large electrical macrodipole embedded in a lipid bilayer as a model system. We performed extensive molecular dynamics simulations to study the effect of variation of membrane voltage on the tilt angle of peptides and ascertain the optimal parameters for designing such a voltage-sensing peptide. A theoretical model for the system is also developed to investigate the interplay of competing effects of hydrophobic mismatch and dipole-electric field coupling on the tilt of the peptide and further explore the parameter space. This work opens the possibility for the design and fabrication of artificial dipolar membrane voltage-sensing elements for biomedical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konark Bisht
- PHYLIFE: Physical Life Science, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark.
| | - Michael A Lomholt
- PHYLIFE: Physical Life Science, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark
| | - Himanshu Khandelia
- PHYLIFE: Physical Life Science, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark.
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27
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Yekefallah M, van Aalst EJ, van Beekveld RAM, Eason IR, Breukink E, Weingarth M, Wylie BJ. Cooperative Gating of a K + Channel by Unmodified Biological Anionic Lipids Viewed by Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:4421-4432. [PMID: 38334076 PMCID: PMC10885140 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c09266] [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: 08/24/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Lipids adhere to membrane proteins to stimulate or suppress molecular and ionic transport and signal transduction. Yet, the molecular details of lipid-protein interaction and their functional impact are poorly characterized. Here we combine NMR, coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CGMD), and functional assays to reveal classic cooperativity in the binding and subsequent activation of a bacterial inward rectifier potassium (Kir) channel by phosphatidylglycerol (PG), a common component of many membranes. Past studies of lipid activation of Kir channels focused primarily on phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate, a relatively rare signaling lipid that is tightly regulated in space and time. We use solid-state NMR to quantify the binding of unmodified 13C-PG to the K+ channel KirBac1.1 in liposomes. This specific lipid-protein interaction has a dissociation constant (Kd) of ∼7 mol percentage PG (ΧPG) with positive cooperativity (n = 3.8) and approaches saturation near 20% ΧPG. Liposomal flux assays show that K+ flux also increases with PG in a cooperative manner with an EC50 of ∼20% ΧPG, within the physiological range. Further quantitative fitting of these data reveals that PG acts as a partial (80%) agonist with fivefold K+ flux amplification. Comparisons of NMR chemical shift perturbation and CGMD simulations at different ΧPG confirm the direct interaction of PG with key residues, several of which would not be accessible to lipid headgroups in the closed state of the channel. Allosteric regulation by a common lipid is directly relevant to the activation mechanisms of several human ion channels. This study highlights the role of concentration-dependent lipid-protein interactions and tightly controlled protein allostery in the activation and regulation of ion channels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Yekefallah
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas Tech
University, Lubbock, Texas 79409, United States
| | - Evan J. van Aalst
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas Tech
University, Lubbock, Texas 79409, United States
| | - Roy A. M. van Beekveld
- Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Utrecht
University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht3584
CH, The Netherlands
| | - Isaac R. Eason
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas Tech
University, Lubbock, Texas 79409, United States
| | - Eefjan Breukink
- Membrane
Biochemistry and Biophysics, Department of Chemistry, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht 3584
CH, The Netherlands
| | - Markus Weingarth
- Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Utrecht
University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht3584
CH, The Netherlands
| | - Benjamin J. Wylie
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas Tech
University, Lubbock, Texas 79409, United States
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28
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Kharche S, Yadav M, Hande V, Prakash S, Sengupta D. Improved Protein Dynamics and Hydration in the Martini3 Coarse-Grain Model. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:837-850. [PMID: 38291973 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00802] [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: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
The Martini coarse-grain force-field has emerged as an important framework to probe cellular processes at experimentally relevant time- and length-scales. However, the recently developed version, the Martini3 force-field with the implemented Go̅ model (Martini3Go̅), as well as previous variants of the Martini model have not been benchmarked and rigorously tested for globular proteins. In this study, we consider three globular proteins, ubiquitin, lysozyme, and cofilin, and compare protein dynamics and hydration with observables from experiments and all-atom simulations. We show that the Martini3Go̅ model is able to accurately model the structural and dynamic features of small globular proteins. Overall, the structural integrity of the proteins is maintained, as validated by contact maps, radii of gyration (Rg), and SAXS profiles. The chemical shifts predicted from the ensemble sampled in the simulations are consistent with the experimental data. Further, a good match is observed in the protein-water interaction energetics, and the hydration levels of the residues are similar to atomistic simulations. However, the protein-water interaction dynamics is not accurately represented and appears to depend on the protein structural complexity, residue specificity, and water dynamics. Our work is a step toward testing and assessing the Martini3Go̅ model and provides insights into future efforts to refine Martini models with improved solvation effects and better correspondence to the underlying all-atom systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shalmali Kharche
- CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411008, India
| | - Manjul Yadav
- CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411008, India
| | - Vrushali Hande
- CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411008, India
| | - Shikha Prakash
- CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411008, India
| | - Durba Sengupta
- CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411008, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
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29
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Thota N, Priyadarshini MS, Hernandez R. NestedAE: interpretable nested autoencoders for multi-scale materials characterization. MATERIALS HORIZONS 2024; 11:700-707. [PMID: 37991466 DOI: 10.1039/d3mh01484c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2023]
Abstract
We introduce an interpretable machine learning architecture, NestedAE, for multiscale materials using nested supervised autoencoders. We benchmarked the performance of NestedAE on two databases: (1) a synthetic dataset created from nested analytical functions whose dimensionality is therefore known a priori, and (2) a multiscale MHP dataset that is a combination of an open source dataset containing atomic and ionic properties, and a second dataset containing device characterization using current density-voltage (J-V) analysis. The NestedAE architecture was found to have higher noise robustness and lower reconstruction losses when compared to a vanilla autoencoder (AE). Its application on the MHP dataset revealed links between crystal scale properties and device performance in agreement with earlier experimental observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikhil Thota
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Maitreyee Sharma Priyadarshini
- Chemistry Department, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Rigoberto Hernandez
- Chemistry Department, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Materials Science and Engineering Department, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
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30
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Janssens A, Nguyen VS, Cecil AJ, Van der Verren SE, Timmerman E, Deghelt M, Pak AJ, Collet JF, Impens F, Remaut H. SlyB encapsulates outer membrane proteins in stress-induced lipid nanodomains. Nature 2024; 626:617-625. [PMID: 38081298 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06925-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
The outer membrane in Gram-negative bacteria consists of an asymmetric phospholipid-lipopolysaccharide bilayer that is densely packed with outer-membrane β-barrel proteins (OMPs) and lipoproteins1. The architecture and composition of this bilayer is closely monitored and is essential to cell integrity and survival2-4. Here we find that SlyB, a lipoprotein in the PhoPQ stress regulon, forms stable stress-induced complexes with the outer-membrane proteome. SlyB comprises a 10 kDa periplasmic β-sandwich domain and a glycine zipper domain that forms a transmembrane α-helical hairpin with discrete phospholipid- and lipopolysaccharide-binding sites. After loss in lipid asymmetry, SlyB oligomerizes into ring-shaped transmembrane complexes that encapsulate β-barrel proteins into lipid nanodomains of variable size. We find that the formation of SlyB nanodomains is essential during lipopolysaccharide destabilization by antimicrobial peptides or acute cation shortage, conditions that result in a loss of OMPs and compromised outer-membrane barrier function in the absence of a functional SlyB. Our data reveal that SlyB is a compartmentalizing transmembrane guard protein that is involved in cell-envelope proteostasis and integrity, and suggest that SlyB represents a larger family of broadly conserved lipoproteins with 2TM glycine zipper domains with the ability to form lipid nanodomains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arne Janssens
- Structural and Molecular Microbiology, VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology, VIB, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Van Son Nguyen
- Structural and Molecular Microbiology, VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology, VIB, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Adam J Cecil
- Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, USA
| | - Sander E Van der Verren
- Structural and Molecular Microbiology, VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology, VIB, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Evy Timmerman
- VIB Proteomics Core, Ghent, Belgium
- VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology, Ghent, Belgium
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Biochemistry, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Michaël Deghelt
- Walloon Excellence in Life Sciences and Biotechnology, WELBIO, Brussels, Belgium
- De Duve Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Alexander J Pak
- Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, USA
- Quantitative Biosciences and Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, USA
| | - Jean-François Collet
- Walloon Excellence in Life Sciences and Biotechnology, WELBIO, Brussels, Belgium
- De Duve Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Francis Impens
- VIB Proteomics Core, Ghent, Belgium
- VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology, Ghent, Belgium
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Biochemistry, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Han Remaut
- Structural and Molecular Microbiology, VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology, VIB, Brussels, Belgium.
- Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
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31
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Hosseini AN, van der Spoel D. Martini on the Rocks: Can a Coarse-Grained Force Field Model Crystals? J Phys Chem Lett 2024; 15:1079-1088. [PMID: 38261634 PMCID: PMC10839907 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c00012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2024] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Computational chemistry is an important tool in numerous scientific disciplines, including drug discovery and structural biology. Coarse-grained models offer simple representations of molecular systems that enable simulations of large-scale systems. Because there has been an increase in the adoption of such models for simulations of biomolecular systems, critical evaluation is warranted. Here, the stability of the amyloid peptide and organic crystals is evaluated using the Martini 3 coarse-grained force field. The crystals change shape drastically during the simulations. Radial distribution functions show that the distance between backbone beads in β-sheets increases by ∼1 Å, breaking the crystals. The melting points of organic compounds are much too low in the Martini force field. This suggests that Martini 3 lacks the specific interactions needed to accurately simulate peptides or organic crystals without imposing artificial restraints. The problems may be exacerbated by the use of the 12-6 potential, suggesting that a softer potential could improve this model for crystal simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. Najla Hosseini
- Department of Cell and Molecular
Biology, Uppsala University, Box 596, SE-75124 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - David van der Spoel
- Department of Cell and Molecular
Biology, Uppsala University, Box 596, SE-75124 Uppsala, Sweden
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32
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Xie M, Jia X, Xu X. Control of polymer-protein interactions by tuning the composition and length of polymer chains. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:4052-4061. [PMID: 38224136 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp05017c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
Nanomoduling the 3D shape and chemical functionalities in a synthetic polymer may create recognition cavities for biomacromolecule binding, which serves as an attractive alternative to natural antibodies with much less cost. To obtain fundamental understanding and predict molecular design rules of the polymer antibody, we analyze the complex structure between the biomarker protein epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) and a series of polymer ligands via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. For monomeric ligands, strong enrichment of aromatic residues in protein binding sites is revealed, in line with the reported observations for natural antibodies. Yet, for linear polymers with a growing degree of polymerization, for the first time, a drastic change is revealed on the type of enriched protein residues and the location of protein binding sites, driven by the increasing steric hindrance effect that makes the adsorption of the polymer in the protein exterior feasible. Varying the polymer length and monomeric composition also significantly affects the ligand binding affinity. Here, we have captured three distinct dependences of the ligand binding free energy on the degree of polymerization: for NIPAm based hydrophilic polymers, TBAm dominated hydrophobic polymers and AAc dominated charged polymers. These results can be rationalized by the complex structure and the composition of protein residues at the binding interface. The entire analysis demonstrates unique binding features for polymer ligands and the possibility to modulate their binding sites and affinity by engineering the polymer structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Menghan Xie
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, 200 Xiao Ling Wei, Nanjing 210094, P. R. China.
| | - Xu Jia
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, 200 Xiao Ling Wei, Nanjing 210094, P. R. China.
| | - Xiao Xu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, 200 Xiao Ling Wei, Nanjing 210094, P. R. China.
- The State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
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33
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Kavčič L, Kežar A, Koritnik N, Žnidarič MT, Klobučar T, Vičič Ž, Merzel F, Holden E, Benesch JLP, Podobnik M. From structural polymorphism to structural metamorphosis of the coat protein of flexuous filamentous potato virus Y. Commun Chem 2024; 7:14. [PMID: 38233506 PMCID: PMC10794713 DOI: 10.1038/s42004-024-01100-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The structural diversity and tunability of the capsid proteins (CPs) of various icosahedral and rod-shaped viruses have been well studied and exploited in the development of smart hybrid nanoparticles. However, the potential of CPs of the wide-spread flexuous filamentous plant viruses remains to be explored. Here, we show that we can control the shape, size, RNA encapsidation ability, symmetry, stability and surface functionalization of nanoparticles through structure-based design of CP from potato virus Y (PVY). We provide high-resolution insight into CP-based self-assemblies, ranging from large polymorphic or monomorphic filaments to smaller annular, cubic or spherical particles. Furthermore, we show that we can prevent CP self-assembly in bacteria by fusion with a cleavable protein, enabling controlled nanoparticle formation in vitro. Understanding the remarkable structural diversity of PVY CP not only provides possibilities for the production of biodegradable nanoparticles, but may also advance future studies of CP's polymorphism in a biological context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luka Kavčič
- Department of Molecular Biology and Nanobiotechnology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- PhD Program 'Chemical Sciences', Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Andreja Kežar
- Department of Molecular Biology and Nanobiotechnology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Neža Koritnik
- Department of Molecular Biology and Nanobiotechnology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- PhD Program 'Biomedicine', Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Magda Tušek Žnidarič
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tajda Klobučar
- Department of Molecular Biology and Nanobiotechnology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- PhD Program 'Biosciences', Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Žiga Vičič
- Department of Molecular Biology and Nanobiotechnology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Franci Merzel
- Theory Department, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Ellie Holden
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Justin L P Benesch
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Marjetka Podobnik
- Department of Molecular Biology and Nanobiotechnology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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34
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Sasselli IR, Coluzza I. Assessment of the MARTINI 3 Performance for Short Peptide Self-Assembly. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:224-238. [PMID: 38113378 PMCID: PMC10782451 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c01015] [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: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
The coarse-grained MARTINI force field, initially developed for membranes, has proven to be an exceptional tool for investigating supramolecular peptide assemblies. Over the years, the force field underwent refinements to enhance accuracy, enabling, for example, the reproduction of protein-ligand interactions and constant pH behavior. However, these protein-focused improvements seem to have compromised its ability to model short peptide self-assembly. In this study, we assess the performance of MARTINI 3 in reproducing peptide self-assembly using the well-established diphenylalanine (FF) as our test case. Unlike its success in version 2.1, FF does not even exhibit aggregation in version 3. By systematically exploring parameters for the aromatic side chains and charged backbone beads, we established a parameter set that effectively reproduces tube formation. Remarkably, these parameter adjustments also replicate the self-assembly of other di- and tripeptides and coassemblies. Furthermore, our analysis uncovers pivotal insights for enhancing the performance of MARTINI in modeling short peptide self-assembly. Specifically, we identify issues stemming from overestimated hydrophilicity arising from charged termini and disruptions in π-stacking interactions due to insufficient planarity in aromatic groups and a discrepancy in intermolecular distances between this and backbone-backbone interactions. This investigation demonstrates that strategic modifications can harness the advancements offered by MARTINI 3 for the realm of short peptide self-assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan R. Sasselli
- Centro
de Física de Materiales (CFM), CSIC-UPV/EHU, Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 5, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain
- Center
for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE), Basque Research
and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Paseo de Miramón 182, 20014 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Ivan Coluzza
- Ikerbasque,
Basque Foundation for Science, Plaza de Euskadi 5, 48009 Bilbao, Spain
- BCMaterials,
Basque Center for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures, UPV/EHU Science Park, 48940 Leioa, Spain
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35
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Allen P, Smith AC, Benedicto V, Abdulhasan A, Narayanaswami V, Tapavicza E. Molecular dynamics simulation of apolipoprotein E3 lipid nanodiscs. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA. BIOMEMBRANES 2024; 1866:184230. [PMID: 37704040 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2023.184230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2023] [Revised: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
Nanodiscs are binary discoidal complexes of a phospholipid bilayer circumscribed by belt-like helical scaffold proteins. Using coarse-grained and all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we explore the stability, size, and structure of nanodiscs formed between the N-terminal domain of apolipoprotein E3 (apoE3-NT) and variable number of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) molecules. We study both parallel and antiparallel double-belt configurations, consisting of four proteins per nanodisc. Our simulations predict nanodiscs containing between 240 and 420 DMPC molecules to be stable. The antiparallel configurations exhibit an average of 1.6 times more amino acid interactions between protein chains and 2 times more ionic contacts, compared to the parallel configuration. With one exception, DMPC order parameters are consistently larger in the antiparallel configuration than in the parallel one. In most cases, the root mean square deviation of the positions of the protein backbone atoms is smaller in the antiparallel configuration. We further report nanodisc size, thickness, radius of gyration, and solvent accessible surface area. Combining all investigated parameters, we hypothesize the antiparallel protein configuration leading to more stable and more rigid nanodiscs than the parallel one.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Allen
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, 90840, CA, USA
| | - Adam C Smith
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, 90840, CA, USA
| | - Vernon Benedicto
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, 90840, CA, USA
| | - Abbas Abdulhasan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, 90840, CA, USA
| | - Vasanthy Narayanaswami
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, 90840, CA, USA
| | - Enrico Tapavicza
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, 90840, CA, USA.
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36
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Gasparello J, Verona M, Chilin A, Gambari R, Marzaro G. Assessing the interaction between hemoglobin and the receptor binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein through MARTINI coarse-grained molecular dynamics. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 253:127088. [PMID: 37774812 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.127088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
The emergence of different coronavirus-related diseases in the 2000's (SARS, MERS, and Covid-19) warrants the need of a complete understanding of the pathological, biological, and biochemical behavior of this class of pathogens. Great attention has been paid to the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein, and its interaction with the human ACE2 has been thoroughly investigated. Recent findings suggested that the SARS-CoV-2 components may interact with different human proteins, and hemoglobin has very recently been demonstrated as a potential target for the Spike protein. Here we have investigated the interaction between either adult or fetal hemoglobin and the receptor binding domain of the Spike protein at molecular level through advanced molecular dynamics techniques and proposed rational binding modes and energy estimations. Our results agree with biochemical data previously reported in literature. We also demonstrated that co-incubation of pulmonary epithelial cells with hemoglobin strongly reduces the pro-inflammatory effects exerted by the concomitant administration of Spike protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Gasparello
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, via Fossato di Mortara 74, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Marco Verona
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35313 Padova, Italy
| | - Adriana Chilin
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35313 Padova, Italy
| | - Roberto Gambari
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, via Fossato di Mortara 74, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Giovanni Marzaro
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, via Marzolo 5, 35313 Padova, Italy.
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37
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Jahn H, Bartoš L, Dearden GI, Dittman JS, Holthuis JCM, Vácha R, Menon AK. Phospholipids are imported into mitochondria by VDAC, a dimeric beta barrel scramblase. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8115. [PMID: 38065946 PMCID: PMC10709637 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43570-y] [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: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Mitochondria are double-membrane-bounded organelles that depend critically on phospholipids supplied by the endoplasmic reticulum. These lipids must cross the outer membrane to support mitochondrial function, but how they do this is unclear. We identify the Voltage Dependent Anion Channel (VDAC), an abundant outer membrane protein, as a scramblase-type lipid transporter that catalyzes lipid entry. On reconstitution into membrane vesicles, dimers of human VDAC1 and VDAC2 catalyze rapid transbilayer translocation of phospholipids by a mechanism that is unrelated to their channel activity. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of VDAC1 reveal that lipid scrambling occurs at a specific dimer interface where polar residues induce large water defects and bilayer thinning. The rate of phospholipid import into yeast mitochondria is an order of magnitude lower in the absence of VDAC homologs, indicating that VDACs provide the main pathway for lipid entry. Thus, VDAC isoforms, members of a superfamily of beta barrel proteins, moonlight as a class of phospholipid scramblases - distinct from alpha-helical scramblase proteins - that act to import lipids into mitochondria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helene Jahn
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Ladislav Bartoš
- CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic
- National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Grace I Dearden
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Jeremy S Dittman
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Joost C M Holthuis
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, 49076, Germany
| | - Robert Vácha
- CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic.
- National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Anant K Menon
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
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Bartoš L, Menon AK, Vácha R. Insertases Scramble Lipids: Molecular Simulations of MTCH2. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.14.553169. [PMID: 37645813 PMCID: PMC10462046 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.14.553169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Scramblases play a pivotal role in facilitating bidirectional lipid transport across cell membranes, thereby influencing lipid metabolism, membrane homeostasis, and cellular signaling. MTCH2, a mitochondrial outer membrane protein insertase, has a membrane-spanning hydrophilic groove resembling those that form the lipid transit pathway in known scramblases. Employing both coarse-grained and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, we show that MTCH2 significantly reduces the free energy barrier for lipid movement along the groove and therefore can indeed function as a scramblase. Notably, the scrambling rate of MTCH2 in silico is similar to that of VDAC, a recently discovered scramblase of the outer mitochondrial membrane, suggesting a potential complementary physiological role for these mitochondrial proteins. Finally, our findings suggest that other insertases which possess a hydrophilic path across the membrane like MTCH2, can also function as scramblases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ladislav Bartoš
- CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Anant K Menon
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College; New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Robert Vácha
- CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 267/2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
- National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
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Puthia M, Petrlova J, Petruk G, Butrym M, Samsudin F, Andersson MÅ, Strömdahl AC, Wasserstrom S, Hartman E, Kjellström S, Caselli L, Klementieva O, Bond PJ, Malmsten M, Raina DB, Schmidtchen A. Bioactive Suture with Added Innate Defense Functionality for the Reduction of Bacterial Infection and Inflammation. Adv Healthc Mater 2023; 12:e2300987. [PMID: 37689972 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202300987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023]
Abstract
Surgical site infections (SSI) are a clinical and economic burden. Suture-associated SSI may develop when bacteria colonize the suture surface and form biofilms that are resistant to antibiotics. Thrombin-derived C-terminal peptide (TCP)-25 is a host defense peptide with a unique dual mode of action that can target both bacteria and the excessive inflammation induced by bacterial products. The peptide demonstrates therapeutic potential in preclinical in vivo wound infection models. In this study, the authors set out to explore whether TCP-25 can provide a new bioactive innate immune feature to hydrophilic polyglactin sutures (Vicryl). Using a combination of biochemical, biophysical, antibacterial, biofilm, and anti-inflammatory assays in vitro, in silico molecular modeling studies, along with experimental infection and inflammation models in mice, a proof-of-concept that TCP-25 can provide Vicryl sutures with a previously undisclosed host defense capacity, that enables targeting of bacteria, biofilms, and the accompanying inflammatory response, is shown.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manoj Puthia
- Division of Dermatology and Venereology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, SE-22184, Sweden
| | - Jitka Petrlova
- Division of Dermatology and Venereology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, SE-22184, Sweden
| | - Ganna Petruk
- Division of Dermatology and Venereology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, SE-22184, Sweden
| | - Marta Butrym
- Division of Dermatology and Venereology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, SE-22184, Sweden
| | - Firdaus Samsudin
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, 138671, Singapore
| | - Madelene Å Andersson
- Division of Dermatology and Venereology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, SE-22184, Sweden
| | - Ann-Charlotte Strömdahl
- Division of Dermatology and Venereology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, SE-22184, Sweden
| | | | - Erik Hartman
- Division of Dermatology and Venereology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, SE-22184, Sweden
| | - Sven Kjellström
- Division of Mass Spectrometry, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, SE-22184, Sweden
| | | | - Oxana Klementieva
- Medical Microspectroscopy Lab, Department of Experimental Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, SE-221 84, Sweden
| | - Peter J Bond
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, 138671, Singapore
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117543, Singapore
| | - Martin Malmsten
- Physical Chemistry 1, Lund University, Lund, S-221 00, Sweden
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DK-2100, Denmark
| | - Deepak Bushan Raina
- Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Orthopedics, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, SE-221 84, Sweden
| | - Artur Schmidtchen
- Division of Dermatology and Venereology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, SE-22184, Sweden
- Dermatology, Skane University Hospital, Lund, SE-22185, Sweden
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40
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Ingólfsson HI, Rizuan A, Liu X, Mohanty P, Souza PCT, Marrink SJ, Bowers MT, Mittal J, Berry J. Multiscale simulations reveal TDP-43 molecular-level interactions driving condensation. Biophys J 2023; 122:4370-4381. [PMID: 37853696 PMCID: PMC10720261 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2023.10.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 05/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The RNA-binding protein TDP-43 is associated with mRNA processing and transport from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. TDP-43 localizes in the nucleus as well as accumulating in cytoplasmic condensates such as stress granules. Aggregation and formation of amyloid-like fibrils of cytoplasmic TDP-43 are hallmarks of numerous neurodegenerative diseases, most strikingly present in >90% of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. If excessive accumulation of cytoplasmic TDP-43 causes, or is caused by, neurodegeneration is presently not known. In this work, we use molecular dynamics simulations at multiple resolutions to explore TDP-43 self- and cross-interaction dynamics. A full-length molecular model of TDP-43, all 414 amino acids, was constructed from select structures of the protein functional domains (N-terminal domain, and two RNA recognition motifs, RRM1 and RRM2) and modeling of disordered connecting loops and the low complexity glycine-rich C-terminus domain. All-atom CHARMM36m simulations of single TDP-43 proteins served as guides to construct a coarse-grained Martini 3 model of TDP-43. The Martini model and a coarser implicit solvent C⍺ model, optimized for disordered proteins, were subsequently used to probe TDP-43 interactions; self-interactions from single-chain full-length TDP-43 simulations, cross-interactions from simulations with two proteins and simulations with assemblies of dozens to hundreds of proteins. Our findings illustrate the utility of different modeling scales for accessing TDP-43 molecular-level interactions and suggest that TDP-43 has numerous interaction preferences or patterns, exhibiting an overall strong, but dynamic, association and driving the formation of biomolecular condensates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helgi I Ingólfsson
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California.
| | - Azamat Rizuan
- Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M College of Engineering, College Station, Texas
| | - Xikun Liu
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California; Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California
| | - Priyesh Mohanty
- Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M College of Engineering, College Station, Texas
| | - Paulo C T Souza
- Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry (MMSB, UMR 5086), CNRS & University of Lyon, Lyon, France; Laboratory of Biology and Modeling of the Cell, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS UMR 5239 and Inserm U1293, 46 Allée d'Italie, Lyon, France
| | - Siewert J Marrink
- Groningen Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Michael T Bowers
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California
| | - Jeetain Mittal
- Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M College of Engineering, College Station, Texas; Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas; Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Genetics and Genomics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
| | - Joel Berry
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California
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41
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Putri AD, Hsu MJ, Han CL, Chao FC, Hsu CH, Lorenz CD, Hsieh CM. Differential cellular responses to FDA-approved nanomedicines: an exploration of albumin-based nanocarriers and liposomes in protein corona formation. NANOSCALE 2023; 15:17825-17838. [PMID: 37850423 DOI: 10.1039/d3nr04862d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2023]
Abstract
Albumin nanoparticles (NPs) and PEGylated liposomes have garnered tremendous interest as therapeutic drug carriers due to their unique physicochemical properties. These unique properties also have significant effects on the composition and structure of the protein corona formed around these NPs in a biological environment. Herein, protein corona formation on albumin NPs and liposomes was simultaneously evaluated through in vitro and simulation studies. The sizes of both types of NPs increased with more negatively charged interfaces upon being introduced into fetal bovine serum. Gel electrophoresis and label-free quantitative proteomics were performed to identify proteins recruited to the hard corona, and fewer proteins were found in albumin NPs than in liposomes, which is in accordance with isothermal titration calorimetry. The cellular uptake efficiency of the two NPs significantly differed in different serum concentrations, which was further scrutinized by loading an anticancer compound into albumin NPs. The presence of the hard protein corona increased the cellular uptake of albumin NPs in comparison with liposomes. In our simulation study, a specific receptor present in the membrane was greatly attracted to the albumin-apolipoprotein E complex. Overall, this study not only evaluated protein corona formation on albumin NPs, but also made promising advancements toward albumin- and liposome-based therapeutic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Athika Darumas Putri
- School of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan.
- Semarang College of Pharmaceutical Sciences (STIFAR), Semarang City, 50192, Indonesia
| | - Ming-Jen Hsu
- Department of Pharmacology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Li Han
- Master Program in Clinical Genomics and Proteomics, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan
| | - Fang-Ching Chao
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS UMR 8612, Institut Galien Paris-Saclay, Châtenay-Malabry, France
| | - Chun-Hua Hsu
- Department of Agricultural Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
| | - Christian D Lorenz
- Biological Physics and Soft Matter Group, Department of Physics, King's College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK
| | - Chien-Ming Hsieh
- School of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan.
- Ph.D. Program in Drug Discovery and Development Industry, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan
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42
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Santo KP, Neimark AV. Adsorption of pulmonary and exogeneous surfactants on SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. J Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 650:28-39. [PMID: 37392497 PMCID: PMC10279468 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.06.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/03/2023]
Abstract
COVID-19 is transmitted by airborne particles containing virions of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Coronavirus virions represent nanoparticles enveloped by a lipid bilayer decorated by a "crown" of Spike protein protrusions. Virus transmission into the cells is induced by binding of Spike proteins with ACE2 receptors of alveolar epithelial cells. Active clinical search is ongoing for exogenous surfactants and biologically active chemicals capable of hindering virion-receptor binding. Here, we explore by using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations the physico-chemical mechanisms of adsorption of selected pulmonary surfactants, zwitterionic dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl choline and cholesterol, and exogeneous anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate, on the S1-domain of the Spike protein. We show that surfactants form micellar aggregates that selectively adhere to the specific regions of the S1-domain that are responsible for binding with ACE2 receptors. We find distinctly higher cholesterol adsorption and stronger cholesterol-S1 interactions in comparison with other surfactants, that is consistent with the experimental observations of the effects of cholesterol on COVID-19 infection. Distribution of adsorbed surfactant along the protein residue chain is highly specific and inhomogeneous with preferential adsorption around specific amino acid sequences. We observe preferential adsorption of surfactants on cationic arginine and lysine residues in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) that play an important role in ACE2 binding and are present in higher amounts in Delta and Omicron variants, which may lead to blocking direct Spike-ACE2 interactions. Our findings of strong selective adhesion of surfactant aggregates to Spike proteins have important implications for informing clinical search for therapeutic surfactants for curing and preventing COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 and its variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kolattukudy P Santo
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Alexander V Neimark
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
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43
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Gu Y, Li Y, Ma B, Ren K, Cao C, Gu N. Probing Conformational Transition of TRPV5 Induced by Mechanical Force Using Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:6768-6777. [PMID: 37871325 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Transient receptor potential vanilloid 5 (TRPV5) is a calcium-selective TRP channel that plays a crucial role in calcium homeostasis regulation. However, there are still many issues that need to be addressed, such as the specific conformational transition of TRPV5 and the specific functions of each structure in cation gating. Here, we build a model of the calcium ion transport protein from Xenopus oocytes in the presence of the lipid membrane and water molecules. Due to the activation process of ion channels are global and collective, coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CG-MD) simulations of the potential of mean force along the conformational transition pathway are performed. The CG-MD simulations show that the S6 helix plays a vital role in the TRPV5 conformational transition. Most importantly, these simulated trajectories indicate that the activation of ion channels happens before the extension and rotation of S6 helices, revealing that TRPV5 has a unique gating mechanism different from TRPV6. The present work demonstrates how the mechanical force acting on the S6 helix opens the TRPV5 channel gates. These results deepen our understanding of the TRPV5 gating mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinwei Gu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Yan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Baocai Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Ke Ren
- Department of Orthopaedics, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Chen Cao
- School of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China
| | - Ning Gu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
- Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
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44
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Forsberg Z, Stepnov AA, Tesei G, Wang Y, Buchinger E, Kristiansen SK, Aachmann FL, Arleth L, Eijsink VGH, Lindorff-Larsen K, Courtade G. The effect of linker conformation on performance and stability of a two-domain lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:105262. [PMID: 37734553 PMCID: PMC10598543 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105262] [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: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
A considerable number of lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) and other carbohydrate-active enzymes are modular, with catalytic domains being tethered to additional domains, such as carbohydrate-binding modules, by flexible linkers. While such linkers may affect the structure, function, and stability of the enzyme, their roles remain largely enigmatic, as do the reasons for natural variation in length and sequence. Here, we have explored linker functionality using the two-domain cellulose-active ScLPMO10C from Streptomyces coelicolor as a model system. In addition to investigating the WT enzyme, we engineered three linker variants to address the impact of both length and sequence and characterized these using small-angle X-ray scattering, NMR, molecular dynamics simulations, and functional assays. The resulting data revealed that, in the case of ScLPMO10C, linker length is the main determinant of linker conformation and enzyme performance. Both the WT and a serine-rich variant, which have the same linker length, demonstrated better performance compared with those with either a shorter linker or a longer linker. A highlight of our findings was the substantial thermostability observed in the serine-rich variant. Importantly, the linker affects thermal unfolding behavior and enzyme stability. In particular, unfolding studies show that the two domains unfold independently when mixed, whereas the full-length enzyme shows one cooperative unfolding transition, meaning that the impact of linkers in biomass-processing enzymes is more complex than mere structural tethering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zarah Forsberg
- Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Ås, Norway.
| | - Anton A Stepnov
- Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Ås, Norway
| | - Giulio Tesei
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory, Department of Biology, Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Yong Wang
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory, Department of Biology, Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Edith Buchinger
- Vectron Biosolutions AS, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Sandra K Kristiansen
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Finn L Aachmann
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Lise Arleth
- X-ray and Neutron Science, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Vincent G H Eijsink
- Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Ås, Norway
| | - Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory, Department of Biology, Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Gaston Courtade
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
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45
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Borges-Araújo L, Patmanidis I, Singh AP, Santos LHS, Sieradzan AK, Vanni S, Czaplewski C, Pantano S, Shinoda W, Monticelli L, Liwo A, Marrink SJ, Souza PCT. Pragmatic Coarse-Graining of Proteins: Models and Applications. J Chem Theory Comput 2023; 19:7112-7135. [PMID: 37788237 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c00733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
The molecular details involved in the folding, dynamics, organization, and interaction of proteins with other molecules are often difficult to assess by experimental techniques. Consequently, computational models play an ever-increasing role in the field. However, biological processes involving large-scale protein assemblies or long time scale dynamics are still computationally expensive to study in atomistic detail. For these applications, employing coarse-grained (CG) modeling approaches has become a key strategy. In this Review, we provide an overview of what we call pragmatic CG protein models, which are strategies combining, at least in part, a physics-based implementation and a top-down experimental approach to their parametrization. In particular, we focus on CG models in which most protein residues are represented by at least two beads, allowing these models to retain some degree of chemical specificity. A description of the main modern pragmatic protein CG models is provided, including a review of the most recent applications and an outlook on future perspectives in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luís Borges-Araújo
- Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry (MMSB, UMR 5086), CNRS, University of Lyon, 7 Passage du Vercors, 69007 Lyon, France
| | - Ilias Patmanidis
- Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Langelandsgade 140, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
- Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute and Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Akhil P Singh
- Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 10, Fribourg CH-1700, Switzerland
| | - Lucianna H S Santos
- Biomolecular Simulations Group, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo 11400, Uruguay
| | - Adam K Sieradzan
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Stefano Vanni
- Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 10, Fribourg CH-1700, Switzerland
- Institut de Pharmacologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Université Côte d'Azur, Inserm, CNRS, 06560 Valbonne, France
| | - Cezary Czaplewski
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Sergio Pantano
- Biomolecular Simulations Group, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo 11400, Uruguay
| | - Wataru Shinoda
- Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science, Okayama University, 3-1-1 Tsushima-naka, Kita, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
| | - Luca Monticelli
- Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry (MMSB, UMR 5086), CNRS, University of Lyon, 7 Passage du Vercors, 69007 Lyon, France
| | - Adam Liwo
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Siewert J Marrink
- Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute and Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Paulo C T Souza
- Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry (MMSB, UMR 5086), CNRS, University of Lyon, 7 Passage du Vercors, 69007 Lyon, France
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46
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Di Marino D, Conflitti P, Motta S, Limongelli V. Structural basis of dimerization of chemokine receptors CCR5 and CXCR4. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6439. [PMID: 37833254 PMCID: PMC10575954 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42082-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are prominent drug targets responsible for extracellular-to-intracellular signal transduction. GPCRs can form functional dimers that have been poorly characterized so far. Here, we show the dimerization mechanism of the chemokine receptors CCR5 and CXCR4 by means of an advanced free-energy technique named coarse-grained metadynamics. Our results reproduce binding events between the GPCRs occurring in the minute timescale, revealing a symmetric and an asymmetric dimeric structure for each of the three investigated systems, CCR5/CCR5, CXCR4/CXCR4, and CCR5/CXCR4. The transmembrane helices TM4-TM5 and TM6-TM7 are the preferred binding interfaces for CCR5 and CXCR4, respectively. The identified dimeric states differ in the access to the binding sites of the ligand and G protein, indicating that dimerization may represent a fine allosteric mechanism to regulate receptor activity. Our study offers structural basis for the design of ligands able to modulate the formation of CCR5 and CXCR4 dimers and in turn their activity, with therapeutic potential against HIV, cancer, and immune-inflammatory diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Di Marino
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences - New York-Marche Structural Biology Centre (NY-MaSBiC), Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131, Ancona, Italy
- Neuronal Death and Neuroprotection Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research-IRCCS, Via Mario Negri 2, 20156, Milan, Italy
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), Palermo, Italy
| | - Paolo Conflitti
- Università della Svizzera italiana (USI), Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Euler Institute, Via G. Buffi 13, CH-6900, Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Stefano Motta
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 1, 20126, Milan, Italy
| | - Vittorio Limongelli
- Università della Svizzera italiana (USI), Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Euler Institute, Via G. Buffi 13, CH-6900, Lugano, Switzerland.
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47
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Mishra S, van Aalst EJ, Wylie BJ, Brady LJ. Cardiolipin occupancy profiles of YidC paralogs reveal the significance of respective TM2 helix residues in determining paralog-specific phenotypes. Front Mol Biosci 2023; 10:1264454. [PMID: 37867558 PMCID: PMC10588454 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1264454] [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: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023] Open
Abstract
YidC belongs to an evolutionarily conserved family of insertases, YidC/Oxa1/Alb3, in bacteria, mitochondria, and chloroplasts, respectively. Unlike Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positives including Streptococcus mutans harbor two paralogs of YidC. The mechanism for paralog-specific phenotypes of bacterial YidC1 versus YidC2 has been partially attributed to the differences in their cytoplasmic domains. However, we previously identified a W138R gain-of-function mutation in the YidC1 transmembrane helix 2. YidC1W138R mostly phenocopied YidC2, yet the mechanism remained unknown. Primary sequence comparison of streptococcal YidCs led us to identify and mutate the YidC1W138 analog, YidC2S152 to W/A, which resulted in a loss of YidC2- and acquisition of YidC1-like phenotype. The predicted lipid-facing side chains of YidC1W138/YidC2S152 led us to propose a role for membrane phospholipids in specific-residue dependent phenotypes of S. mutans YidC paralogs. Cardiolipin (CL), a prevalent phospholipid in the S. mutans cytoplasmic membrane during acid stress, is encoded by a single gene, cls. We show a concerted mechanism for cardiolipin and YidC2 under acid stress based on similarly increased promoter activities and similar elimination phenotypes. Using coarse grain molecular dynamics simulations with the Martini2.2 Forcefield, YidC1 and YidC2 wild-type and mutant interactions with CL were assessed in silico. We observed substantially increased CL interaction in dimeric versus monomeric proteins, and variable CL occupancy in YidC1 and YidC2 mutant constructs that mimicked characteristics of the other wild-type paralog. Hence, paralog-specific amino acid- CL interactions contribute to YidC1 and YidC2-associated phenotypes that can be exchanged by point mutation at positions 138 or 152, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Surabhi Mishra
- Department of Oral Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Evan J. van Aalst
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States
| | - Benjamin J. Wylie
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States
| | - L. Jeannine Brady
- Department of Oral Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
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48
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Cooper BF, Clark R, Kudhail A, Bhabha G, Ekiert DC, Khalid S, Isom GL. Phospholipid transport to the bacterial outer membrane through an envelope-spanning bridge. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.05.561070. [PMID: 37873249 PMCID: PMC10592960 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.05.561070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
The outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria provides a formidable barrier, essential for both pathogenesis and antimicrobial resistance. Biogenesis of the outer membrane requires the transport of phospholipids across the cell envelope. Recently, YhdP was implicated as a major protagonist in the transport of phospholipids from the inner membrane to the outer membrane however the molecular mechanism of YhdP mediated transport remains elusive. Here, utilising AlphaFold, we observe YhdP to form an elongated assembly of 60 β strands that curve to form a continuous hydrophobic groove. This architecture is consistent with our negative stain electron microscopy data which reveals YhdP to be approximately 250 Å in length and thus sufficient to span the bacterial cell envelope. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations and in vivo bacterial growth assays indicate essential helical regions at the N- and C-termini of YhdP, that may embed into the inner and outer membranes respectively, reinforcing its envelope spanning nature. Our in vivo crosslinking data reveal phosphate-containing substrates captured along the length of the YhdP groove, providing direct evidence that YhdP transports phospholipids. This finding is congruent with our molecular dynamics simulations which demonstrate the propensity for inner membrane lipids to spontaneously enter the groove of YhdP. Collectively, our results support a model in which YhdP bridges the cell envelope, providing a hydrophobic environment for the transport of phospholipids to the outer membrane.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin F. Cooper
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3RE, UK
| | - Robert Clark
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK
| | - Anju Kudhail
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3RE, UK
| | - Gira Bhabha
- Department of Cell Biology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016
| | - Damian C. Ekiert
- Department of Cell Biology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016
- Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016
| | - Syma Khalid
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK
| | - Georgia L. Isom
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3RE, UK
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49
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Sorada T, Walinda E, Shirakawa M, Sugase K, Morimoto D. An integrated approach of NMR experiments and MD simulations visualizes structural dynamics of a cyclic multi-domain protein. Protein Sci 2023; 32:e4768. [PMID: 37632150 PMCID: PMC10503408 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4768] [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: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Cyclization can stabilize the structure of proteins, as previously demonstrated in single-domain proteins. Although Lys48-linked polyubiquitin, a multi-domain protein, is also known to be cyclized in human cells, the structural effects of cyclization remain unclear. Here, we examined the impact of cyclization on the structural stability and dynamics of cyclic Lys48-linked diubiquitin (Ub2 ). As expected, cyclization increased the thermal stability of Ub2 and its resistance to proteolytic digestion, indicating that cyclization stabilized the structure of Ub2 . Furthermore, cyclization repressed the interdomain motion in Ub2 , but cyclic Ub2 still exhibited microsecond conformational exchange in NMR relaxation dispersion experiments. A series of long coarse-grained (CG) MD simulations visualized how cyclization slowed down the intrinsic nanosecond open-closed domain motion of Ub2 to microseconds. Thus, CG-MD analysis helped to explain the unexpected NMR relaxation results, thereby facilitating characterization of the structural stabilization of cyclic Ub2 .
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomoki Sorada
- Department of Molecular Engineering, Graduate School of EngineeringKyoto UniversityKyotoJapan
| | - Erik Walinda
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Graduate School of MedicineKyoto UniversityKyotoJapan
| | - Masahiro Shirakawa
- Department of Molecular Engineering, Graduate School of EngineeringKyoto UniversityKyotoJapan
| | - Kenji Sugase
- Division of Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of AgricultureKyoto UniversityKyotoJapan
| | - Daichi Morimoto
- Department of Molecular Engineering, Graduate School of EngineeringKyoto UniversityKyotoJapan
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50
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Sitarska E, Almeida SD, Beckwith MS, Stopp J, Czuchnowski J, Siggel M, Roessner R, Tschanz A, Ejsing C, Schwab Y, Kosinski J, Sixt M, Kreshuk A, Erzberger A, Diz-Muñoz A. Sensing their plasma membrane curvature allows migrating cells to circumvent obstacles. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5644. [PMID: 37704612 PMCID: PMC10499897 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41173-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023] Open
Abstract
To navigate through diverse tissues, migrating cells must balance persistent self-propelled motion with adaptive behaviors to circumvent obstacles. We identify a curvature-sensing mechanism underlying obstacle evasion in immune-like cells. Specifically, we propose that actin polymerization at the advancing edge of migrating cells is inhibited by the curvature-sensitive BAR domain protein Snx33 in regions with inward plasma membrane curvature. The genetic perturbation of this machinery reduces the cells' capacity to evade obstructions combined with faster and more persistent cell migration in obstacle-free environments. Our results show how cells can read out their surface topography and utilize actin and plasma membrane biophysics to interpret their environment, allowing them to adaptively decide if they should move ahead or turn away. On the basis of our findings, we propose that the natural diversity of BAR domain proteins may allow cells to tune their curvature sensing machinery to match the shape characteristics in their environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ewa Sitarska
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany
- Collaboration for joint PhD degree between EMBL and Heidelberg University, Faculty of Biosciences, EMBL and Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Silvia Dias Almeida
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany
- Division of Medical Image Computing, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Julian Stopp
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 3400, Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Jakub Czuchnowski
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Marc Siggel
- EMBL Hamburg, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 22607, Hamburg, Germany
- Centre for Structural Systems Biology, 22607, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Rita Roessner
- EMBL Hamburg, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 22607, Hamburg, Germany
- Centre for Structural Systems Biology, 22607, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Aline Tschanz
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany
- Collaboration for joint PhD degree between EMBL and Heidelberg University, Faculty of Biosciences, EMBL and Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christer Ejsing
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Villum Center for Bioanalytical Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense, Denmark
| | - Yannick Schwab
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jan Kosinski
- EMBL Hamburg, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 22607, Hamburg, Germany
- Centre for Structural Systems Biology, 22607, Hamburg, Germany
- Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Michael Sixt
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 3400, Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Anna Kreshuk
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Anna Erzberger
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Alba Diz-Muñoz
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany.
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