1
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Prašnikar E, Perdih A, Borišek J. What a Difference an Amino Acid Makes: An All-Atom Simulation Study of Nonameric Peptides in Inhibitory HLA-E/NKG2A/CD94 Immune Complexes. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:925427. [PMID: 35991867 PMCID: PMC9385950 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.925427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
MHC class I antigen E (HLA-E), a ligand for the inhibitory NKG2A/CD94 receptor of the immune system, is responsible for evading the immune surveillance in several settings, including senescent cell accumulation and tumor persistence. The formation of this ligand-receptor interaction promotes the inhibition of the cytolytic action of immune system natural killer (NK) cells and CD8+ T-cells expressing this receptor. The final outcome of the HLA-E/NKG2A/CD94 interaction on target cells is also highly dependent on the identity of the nonameric peptide incorporated into the HLA-E ligand. To better understand the role played by a nonameric peptide in these immune complexes, we performed a series of multi-microsecond all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. We generated natural and alternative variants of the nonameric peptide bound to the HLA-E ligand alone or in the HLA-E/NKG2A/CD94 complexes. A systematic study of molecular recognition between HLA-E and peptides led to the development of new variants that differ at the strategic 6th position (P6) of the peptide and have favorable in silico properties comparable to those of natural binding peptides. Further examination of a selected subset of peptides in full complexes revealed a new variant that, according to our previously derived atomistic model, can interfere with the signal transduction via HLA-E/NKG2A/CD94 and thus prevent the target cell from evading immune clearance by NK and CD8+ T-cells. These simulations provide an atomistic picture of how a small change in amino acid sequence can lead to a profound effect on binding and molecular recognition. Furthermore, our study also provides new data on the peptide interaction motifs as well as the energetic and conformational properties of the binding interface, laying the structure-based foundation for future development of potential therapeutic peptides, peptidomimetics, or even small molecules that would bind to the HLA-E ligand and abrogate NKG2A/CD94 recognition. Such external intervention would be useful in the emerging field of targeting senescent cells in a variety of age-related diseases, as well as in novel cancer immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Prašnikar
- Theory Department, Laboratory for Chemical Informatics, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Faculty of Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Andrej Perdih
- Theory Department, Laboratory for Computational Biochemistry and Drug Design, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- *Correspondence: Andrej Perdih, ; Jure Borišek,
| | - Jure Borišek
- Theory Department, Laboratory for Chemical Informatics, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- *Correspondence: Andrej Perdih, ; Jure Borišek,
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2
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Zhuang Y, Thota N, Quirk S, Hernandez R. Implementation of Telescoping Boxes in Adaptive Steered Molecular Dynamics. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:4649-4659. [PMID: 35830368 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c00498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Long-time dynamical processes, such as those involving protein unfolding and ligand interactions, can be accelerated and realized through steered molecular dynamics (SMD). The challenge has been the extraction of information from such simulations that generalize for complex nonequilibrium processes. The use of Jarzynski's equality opened the possibility of determining the free energy along the steered coordinate, but sampling over the nonequilibrium trajectories is slow to converge. Adaptive steered molecular dynamics (ASMD) and other related techniques have been introduced to overcome this challenge through the use of stages. Here, we take advantage of these stages to address the numerical cost that arises from the required use of very large solvent boxes. We introduce telescoping box schemes within adaptive steered molecular dynamics (ASMD) in which we adjust the solvent box between stages and thereby vary (and optimize) the required number of solvent molecules. We have benchmarked the method on a relatively long α-helical peptide, Ala30, with respect to the potential of mean force and hydrogen bonds. We show that the use of telescoping boxes introduces little numerical error while significantly reducing the computational cost.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Zhuang
- Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
| | - Nikhil Thota
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
| | - Stephen Quirk
- Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Atlanta, Georgia 30076-2199, United States
| | - Rigoberto Hernandez
- Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States.,Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States.,Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
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3
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Egawa D, Ogiso T, Nishikata K, Yamamoto K, Itoh T. Structural Insights into the Loss-of-Function R288H Mutant of Human PPARγ. Biol Pharm Bull 2021; 44:1196-1201. [PMID: 34471047 DOI: 10.1248/bpb.b21-00253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is a nuclear receptor and the molecular target of thiazolidinedione-class antidiabetic drugs. It has been reported that the loss of function R288H mutation in the human PPARγ ligand-binding domain (LBD) may be associated with the onset of colon cancer. A previous in vitro study showed that this mutation dampens 15-deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2, a natural PPARγ agonist)-dependent transcriptional activation; however, it is poorly understood why the function of the R288H mutant is impaired and what role this arginine (Arg) residue plays. In this study, we found that the apo-form of R288H PPARγ mutant displays several altered conformational arrangements of the amino acid side chains in LBD: 1) the loss of a salt bridge between Arg288 and Glu295 leads to increased helix 3 movement; 2) closer proximity of Gln286 and His449 via a hydrogen bond, and closer proximity of Cys285 and Phe363 via hydrophobic interaction, stabilize the helix 3-helix 11 interaction; and 3) there is steric hindrance between Cys285/Gln286/Ser289/His449 and the flexible ligands 15d-PGJ2, 6-oxotetracosahexaenoic acid (6-oxoTHA), and 17-oxodocosahexaenoic acid (17-oxoDHA). These results suggest why Arg288 plays an important role in ligand binding and why the R288H mutation is disadvantageous for flexible ligand binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daichi Egawa
- Laboratory of Drug Design and Medicinal Chemistry, Showa Pharmaceutical University
| | - Taku Ogiso
- Laboratory of Drug Design and Medicinal Chemistry, Showa Pharmaceutical University
| | - Kimina Nishikata
- Laboratory of Drug Design and Medicinal Chemistry, Showa Pharmaceutical University
| | - Keiko Yamamoto
- Laboratory of Drug Design and Medicinal Chemistry, Showa Pharmaceutical University
| | - Toshimasa Itoh
- Laboratory of Drug Design and Medicinal Chemistry, Showa Pharmaceutical University
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4
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Yoshua SB, Watson GD, Howard JAL, Velasco-Berrelleza V, Leake MC, Noy A. Integration host factor bends and bridges DNA in a multiplicity of binding modes with varying specificity. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:8684-8698. [PMID: 34352078 PMCID: PMC8421141 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Revised: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs) are crucial in organizing prokaryotic DNA and regulating genes. Vital to these activities are complex nucleoprotein structures, however, how these form remains unclear. Integration host factor (IHF) is an Escherichia coli NAP that creates very sharp bends in DNA at sequences relevant to several functions including transcription and recombination, and is also responsible for general DNA compaction when bound non-specifically. We show that IHF–DNA structural multimodality is more elaborate than previously thought, and provide insights into how this drives mechanical switching towards strongly bent DNA. Using single-molecule atomic force microscopy and atomic molecular dynamics simulations we find three binding modes in roughly equal proportions: ‘associated’ (73° of DNA bend), ‘half-wrapped’ (107°) and ‘fully-wrapped’ (147°), only the latter occurring with sequence specificity. We show IHF bridges two DNA double helices through non-specific recognition that gives IHF a stoichiometry greater than one and enables DNA mesh assembly. We observe that IHF-DNA structural multiplicity is driven through non-specific electrostatic interactions that we anticipate to be a general NAP feature for physical organization of chromosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel B Yoshua
- Department of Physics, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - George D Watson
- Department of Physics, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | | | | | - Mark C Leake
- Department of Physics, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK.,Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Agnes Noy
- Department of Physics, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
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5
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Cannon JF. Novel phosphorylation-dependent regulation in an unstructured protein. Proteins 2019; 88:366-384. [PMID: 31512287 DOI: 10.1002/prot.25812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Revised: 07/15/2019] [Accepted: 09/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
This work explores how phosphorylation of an unstructured protein region in inhibitor-2 (I2) regulates protein phosphatase-1 (PP1) enzyme activity using molecular dynamics (MD). Free I2 is largely unstructured; however, when bound to PP1, three segments adopt a stable structure. In particular, an I2 helix (i-helix) blocks the PP1 active site and inhibits phosphatase activity. I2 phosphorylation in the PP1-I2 complex activates phosphatase activity without I2 dissociation. The I2 Thr74 regulatory phosphorylation site is in an unstructured domain in PP1-I2. PP1-I2 MD demonstrated that I2 phosphorylation promotes early steps of PP1-I2 activation in explicit solvent models. Moreover, phosphorylation-dependent activation occurred in PP1-I2 complexes derived from I2 orthologs with diverse sequences from human, yeast, worm, and protozoa. This system allowed exploration of features of the 73-residue unstructured human I2 domain critical for phosphorylation-dependent activation. These studies revealed that components of I2 unstructured domain are strategically positioned for phosphorylation responsiveness including a transient α-helix. There was no evidence that electrostatic interactions of I2 phosphothreonine74 influenced PP1-I2 activation. Instead, phosphorylation altered the conformation of residues around Thr74. Phosphorylation uncurled the distance between I2 residues Glu71 to Tyr76 to promote PP1-I2 activation, whereas reduced distances reduced activation. This I2 residue Glu71 to Tyr76 distance distribution, independently from Thr74 phosphorylation, controls I2 i-helix displacement from the PP1 active site leading to PP1-I2 activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- John F Cannon
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
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6
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Smith MS, Billings WM, Whitby FG, Miller MB, Price JL. Enhancing a long-range salt bridge with intermediate aromatic and nonpolar amino acids. Org Biomol Chem 2018; 15:5882-5886. [PMID: 28678274 DOI: 10.1039/c7ob01198a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The interaction of a positively charged amino acid residue with a negatively charged residue (i.e. a salt bridge) can contribute substantially to protein conformational stability, especially when two ionic groups are in close proximity. At longer distances, this stabilizing effect tends to drop off precipitously. However, several lines of evidence suggest that salt-bridge interaction could persist at longer distances if an aromatic amino acid residue were positioned between the anion and cation. Here we explore this possibility in the context of a peptide in which a Lys residue occupies the i + 8 position relative to an i-position Glu on the solvent-exposed surface of a helix-bundle homotrimer. Variable temperature circular dichroism (CD) experiments indicate that an i + 4-position Trp enables a favorable long-range interaction between Glu and the i + 8 Lys. A substantial portion of this effect relies on the presence of a hydrogen-bond donor on the arene; however, non-polar arenes, a cyclic hydrocarbon, and an acyclic Leu side-chain can also enhance the long-range salt bridge, possibly by excluding water and ions from the space between Glu and Lys.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mason S Smith
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602, USA.
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7
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Abstract
Water has a profound effect on the dynamics of biomolecules and governs many biological processes, leading to the concept that function is slaved to solvent dynamics within and surrounding the biomolecule. Protein conformational changes on μs-ms time scales are frequently associated with protein function, but little is known about the behavior of protein-bound water on these time scales. Here we have used NMR relaxation dispersion measurements to probe the tryptophan indoles in the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). We find that during structural changes on the μs-ms time scale, large chemical shift changes are often observed for the NH proton on the indole ring, while relatively smaller chemical shift changes are observed for the ring nitrogen atom. Comparison with experimental chemical shifts and density functional theory-based chemical shift predictions show that during the structural change the tryptophan indole NHs remain bound to water, but the geometry of the protein-bound water networks changes. These results establish that relaxation dispersion measurements can indirectly probe water dynamics and indicate that water can influence, or be influenced by, protein conformational changes on the μs-ms time scale. Our data show that structurally conserved bound water molecules can play a critical role in transmitting information between functionally important regions of the protein and provide evidence that internal protein motions can be coupled through the mediation of hydrogen-bonded water bound in the protein structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- R. Bryn Fenwick
- The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla CA 92037
| | - David Oyen
- The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla CA 92037
| | - H. Jane Dyson
- The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla CA 92037
| | - Peter E. Wright
- The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla CA 92037
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8
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Setny P, Dudek A. Explicit Solvent Hydration Benchmark for Proteins with Application to the PBSA Method. J Chem Theory Comput 2017; 13:2762-2776. [PMID: 28498675 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.7b00247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Explicit and implicit solvent models have a proven record of delivering hydration free energies of small, druglike solutes in reasonable agreement with experiment. Hydration of macromolecules, such as proteins, is to a large extent uncharted territory, with few results shedding light on quantitative consistency between different solvent models, let alone their ability to reproduce real water. In this work, based on extensive explicit solvent simulations employing TIP3P and SPC/E water models we analyze hydration free energy changes between fixed conformations of 5 diverse proteins, including large multidomain structures. For the two solvent models we find better agreement in electrostatic rather than nonpolar contributions (RMSE of 2.3 and 2.7 kcal/mol, respectively), even though absolute values of the latter are typically an order of magnitude smaller. We also highlight the importance of finite size corrections to relative protein hydration free energies, which turn out to be rather large, on the order of several kcal/mol, and are necessary for proper interpretation of results obtained under periodic boundary conditions. We further compare gathered data with predictions of the implicit solvent approach based on the Poisson equation and the surface or volume based nonpolar term. We find definitely lesser consistency than between the two explicit models (RMSE between implicit and TIP3 results of 11.3 and 8.4 kcal/mol for electrostatic and nonpolar contributions, respectively). In the process we determine the value of the protein dielectric constant and the geometric model for the dielectric boundary that provide for the best agreement. Finally, we evaluate the usefulness of surface and volume based models of nonpolar contributions to hydration free energy of large biomolecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piotr Setny
- Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw , Banacha 2c, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Anita Dudek
- Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw , Banacha 2c, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
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9
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Zhang J, Zhang H, Wu T, Wang Q, van der Spoel D. Comparison of Implicit and Explicit Solvent Models for the Calculation of Solvation Free Energy in Organic Solvents. J Chem Theory Comput 2017; 13:1034-1043. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.7b00169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jin Zhang
- Department
of Chemistry and Soft Matter Research Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Haiyang Zhang
- Department
of Biological Science and Engineering, School of Chemistry and Biological
Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 100083 Beijing, China
| | - Tao Wu
- Department
of Chemistry and Soft Matter Research Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Qi Wang
- Department
of Chemistry and Soft Matter Research Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - David van der Spoel
- Uppsala
Center for Computational Chemistry, Science for Life Laboratory, Department
of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3, Box
596, SE-75124 Uppsala, Sweden
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10
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Reif MM, Zacharias M. Rapid approximate calculation of water binding free energies in the whole hydration domain of (bio)macromolecules. J Comput Chem 2016; 37:1711-24. [DOI: 10.1002/jcc.24390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2015] [Revised: 03/22/2016] [Accepted: 03/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maria M. Reif
- Physics Department (T38); Technische Universität München; James-Franck-Str. 1 85748 Garching Germany
| | - Martin Zacharias
- Physics Department (T38); Technische Universität München; James-Franck-Str. 1 85748 Garching Germany
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11
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Bellissent-Funel MC, Hassanali A, Havenith M, Henchman R, Pohl P, Sterpone F, van der Spoel D, Xu Y, Garcia AE. Water Determines the Structure and Dynamics of Proteins. Chem Rev 2016; 116:7673-97. [PMID: 27186992 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.5b00664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 540] [Impact Index Per Article: 67.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Water is an essential participant in the stability, structure, dynamics, and function of proteins and other biomolecules. Thermodynamically, changes in the aqueous environment affect the stability of biomolecules. Structurally, water participates chemically in the catalytic function of proteins and nucleic acids and physically in the collapse of the protein chain during folding through hydrophobic collapse and mediates binding through the hydrogen bond in complex formation. Water is a partner that slaves the dynamics of proteins, and water interaction with proteins affect their dynamics. Here we provide a review of the experimental and computational advances over the past decade in understanding the role of water in the dynamics, structure, and function of proteins. We focus on the combination of X-ray and neutron crystallography, NMR, terahertz spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy, thermodynamics, and computer simulations to reveal how water assist proteins in their function. The recent advances in computer simulations and the enhanced sensitivity of experimental tools promise major advances in the understanding of protein dynamics, and water surely will be a protagonist.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ali Hassanali
- International Center for Theoretical Physics, Condensed Matter and Statistical Physics 34151 Trieste, Italy
| | - Martina Havenith
- Ruhr-Universität Bochum , Faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry Universitätsstraße 150 Building NC 7/72, D-44780 Bochum, Germany
| | - Richard Henchman
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology The University of Manchester , 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, United Kingdom
| | - Peter Pohl
- Johannes Kepler University , Gruberstrasse, 40 4020 Linz, Austria
| | - Fabio Sterpone
- Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique 13 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - David van der Spoel
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Computational and Systems Biology, Uppsala University , 751 24 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Yao Xu
- Ruhr-Universität Bochum , Faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry Universitätsstraße 150 Building NC 7/72, D-44780 Bochum, Germany
| | - Angel E Garcia
- Center for Non Linear Studies, Los Alamos National Laboratory , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, United States
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12
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Menon S, Sengupta N. Perturbations in inter-domain associations may trigger the onset of pathogenic transformations in PrP(C): insights from atomistic simulations. MOLECULAR BIOSYSTEMS 2016; 11:1443-53. [PMID: 25855580 DOI: 10.1039/c4mb00689e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Conversion of the predominantly α-helical cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) to the misfolded β-sheet enriched Scrapie form (PrP(Sc)) is a critical event in prion pathogenesis. However, the conformational triggers that lead to the isoform conversion (PrP(C) to PrP(Sc)) remain obscure, and conjectures about the role of unusually hydrophilic, short helix H1 of the C-terminal globular domain in the transition are varied. Helix H1 is anchored to helix H3 via a few stabilizing polar interactions. We have employed fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to study the effects triggered by a minor perturbation in the network of these non-bonded interactions in PrP(C). The elimination of just one of the key H1-H3 hydrogen bonds led to a cascade of conformational changes that are consistent with those observed in partially unfolded intermediates of PrP(C), with pathogenic mutations and in low pH environments. Our analyses reveal that the perturbation results in the enhanced conformational flexibility of the protein. The resultant enhancement in the dynamics leads to overall increased solvent exposure of the hydrophobic core residues and concomitant disruption of the H1-H3 inter-domain salt bridge network. This study lends credence to the hypothesis that perturbing the cooperativity of the stabilizing interactions in the PrP(C) globular domain can critically affect its dynamics and may lead to structural transitions of pathological relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sneha Menon
- Physical Chemistry Division, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune 411008, India.
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13
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Reif MM, Oostenbrink C. Toward the correction of effective electrostatic forces in explicit-solvent molecular dynamics simulations: restraints on solvent-generated electrostatic potential and solvent polarization. Theor Chem Acc 2015; 134:2. [PMID: 26097404 PMCID: PMC4470580 DOI: 10.1007/s00214-014-1600-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2014] [Accepted: 11/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Despite considerable advances in computing power, atomistic simulations under nonperiodic boundary conditions, with Coulombic electrostatic interactions and in systems large enough to reduce finite-size associated errors in thermodynamic quantities to within the thermal energy, are still not affordable. As a result, periodic boundary conditions, systems of microscopic size and effective electrostatic interaction functions are frequently resorted to. Ensuing artifacts in thermodynamic quantities are nowadays routinely corrected a posteriori, but the underlying configurational sampling still descends from spurious forces. The present study addresses this problem through the introduction of on-the-fly corrections to the physical forces during an atomistic molecular dynamics simulation. Two different approaches are suggested, where the force corrections are derived from special potential energy terms. In the first approach, the solvent-generated electrostatic potential sampled at a given atom site is restrained to a target value involving corrections for electrostatic artifacts. In the second approach, the long-range regime of the solvent polarization around a given atom site is restrained to the Born polarization, i.e., the solvent polarization corresponding to the ideal situation of a macroscopic system under nonperiodic boundary conditions and governed by Coulombic electrostatic interactions. The restraints are applied to the explicit-water simulation of a hydrated sodium ion, and the effect of the restraints on the structural and energetic properties of the solvent is illustrated. Furthermore, by means of the calculation of the charging free energy of a hydrated sodium ion, it is shown how the electrostatic potential restraint translates into the on-the-fly consideration of the corresponding free-energy correction terms. It is discussed how the restraints can be generalized to situations involving several solute particles. Although the present study considers a very simple system only, it is an important step toward the on-the-fly elimination of finite-size and approximate-electrostatic artifacts during atomistic molecular dynamics simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria M. Reif
- Institute for Molecular Modeling and Simulation, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Chris Oostenbrink
- Institute for Molecular Modeling and Simulation, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria
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14
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Jose JC, Chatterjee P, Sengupta N. Cross dimerization of amyloid-β and αsynuclein proteins in aqueous environment: a molecular dynamics simulations study. PLoS One 2014; 9:e106883. [PMID: 25210774 PMCID: PMC4161357 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0106883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2014] [Accepted: 08/07/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Self-assembly of the intrinsically unstructured proteins, amyloid beta (Aβ) and alpha synclein (αSyn), are associated with Alzheimer's Disease, and Parkinson's and Lewy Body Diseases, respectively. Importantly, pathological overlaps between these neurodegenerative diseases, and the possibilities of interactions between Aβ and αSyn in biological milieu emerge from several recent clinical reports and in vitro studies. Nevertheless, there are very few molecular level studies that have probed the nature of spontaneous interactions between these two sequentially dissimilar proteins and key characteristics of the resulting cross complexes. In this study, we have used atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to probe the possibility of cross dimerization between αSyn1-95 and Aβ1-42, and thereby gain insights into their plausible early assembly pathways in aqueous environment. Our analyses indicate a strong probability of association between the two sequences, with inter-protein attractive electrostatic interactions playing dominant roles. Principal component analysis revealed significant heterogeneity in the strength and nature of the associations in the key interaction modes. In most, the interactions of repeating Lys residues, mainly in the imperfect repeats 'KTKEGV' present in αSyn1-95 were found to be essential for cross interactions and formation of inter-protein salt bridges. Additionally, a hydrophobicity driven interaction mode devoid of salt bridges, where the non-amyloid component (NAC) region of αSyn1-95 came in contact with the hydrophobic core of Aβ1-42 was observed. The existence of such hetero complexes, and therefore hetero assembly pathways may lead to polymorphic aggregates with variations in pathological attributes. Our results provide a perspective on development of therapeutic strategies for preventing pathogenic interactions between these proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaya C. Jose
- Physical Chemistry Division, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, Maharashtra, India
| | - Prathit Chatterjee
- Physical Chemistry Division, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, Maharashtra, India
| | - Neelanjana Sengupta
- Physical Chemistry Division, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, Maharashtra, India
- * E-mail:
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15
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Botello-Smith WM, Cai Q, Luo R. Biological applications of classical electrostatics methods. JOURNAL OF THEORETICAL & COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY 2014. [DOI: 10.1142/s0219633614400082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Continuum electrostatics modeling of solvation based on the Poisson–Boltzmann (PB) equation has gained wide acceptance in biomolecular applications such as energetic analysis and structural visualization. Successful application of the PB solvent models requires careful calibration of the solvation parameters. Extensive testing and validation is also important to ensure accuracy in their applications. Limitation in the continuum modeling of solvation is also a known issue in certain biomolecular applications. Growing interest in membrane systems has further spurred developmental efforts to allow inclusion of membrane in the PB solvent models. Despite their past successes due to careful parameterization, algorithm development and parallel implementation, there is still much to be done to improve their transferability from the small molecular systems upon which they were developed and validated to complex macromolecular systems as advances in technology continue to push forward, providing ever greater computational resources to researchers to study more interesting biological systems of higher complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wesley M. Botello-Smith
- Chemical Physics and Material Physics Graduate Program, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Qin Cai
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Ray Luo
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
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16
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Debiec KT, Gronenborn AM, Chong LT. Evaluating the strength of salt bridges: a comparison of current biomolecular force fields. J Phys Chem B 2014; 118:6561-9. [PMID: 24702709 PMCID: PMC4064690 DOI: 10.1021/jp500958r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
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Recent advances in computer hardware
and software have made rigorous
evaluation of current biomolecular force fields using microsecond-scale
simulations possible. Force fields differ in their treatment of electrostatic
interactions, including the formation of salt bridges in proteins.
Here we conducted an extensive evaluation of salt bridge interactions
in the latest AMBER, CHARMM, and OPLS force fields, using microsecond-scale
molecular dynamics simulations of amino acid analogues in explicit
solvent. We focused on salt bridges between three different pairs
of oppositely charged amino acids: Arg/Asp, Lys/Asp, and His(+)/Asp.
Our results reveal considerable variability in the predicted KA values of the salt bridges for these force
fields, as well as differences from experimental data: almost all
of the force fields overestimate the strengths of the salt bridges.
When amino acids are represented by side-chain analogues, the AMBER
ff03 force field overestimates the KA values
the least, while for complete amino acids, the AMBER ff13α force
field yields the lowest KA value, most
likely caused by an altered balance of side-chain/side-chain and side-chain/backbone
contacts. These findings confirm the notion that the implicit incorporation
of solvent polarization improves the accuracy of modeling salt bridge
interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl T Debiec
- Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology Graduate Program, University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260/15213, United States
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17
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Andrews CT, Elcock AH. Molecular dynamics simulations of highly crowded amino acid solutions: comparisons of eight different force field combinations with experiment and with each other. J Chem Theory Comput 2013; 9. [PMID: 24409104 DOI: 10.1021/ct400371h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Although it is now commonly accepted that the highly crowded conditions encountered inside biological cells have the potential to significantly alter the thermodynamic properties of biomolecules, it is not known to what extent the thermodynamics of fundamental types of interactions such as salt bridges and hydrophobic interactions are strengthened or weakened by high biomolecular concentrations. As one way of addressing this question we have performed a series of all-atom explicit solvent molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the effect of increasing solute concentration on the behavior of four types of zwitterionic amino acids in aqueous solution. We have simulated systems containing glycine, valine, phenylalanine or asparagine at concentrations of 50, 100, 200 and 300 mg/ml. Each molecular system has been simulated for 1 μs in order to obtain statistically converged estimates of thermodynamic parameters, and each has been conducted with 8 different force fields and water models; the combined simulation time is 128 μs. The density, viscosity, and dielectric increments of the four amino acids calculated from the simulations have been compared to corresponding experimental measurements. While all of the force fields perform well at reproducing the density increments, discrepancies for the viscosity and dielectric increments raise questions both about the accuracy of the simulation force fields and, in certain cases, the experimental data. We also observe large differences between the various force fields' descriptions of the interaction thermodynamics of salt bridges and, surprisingly, these differences also lead to qualitatively different predictions of their dependences on solute concentration. For the aliphatic interactions of valine sidechains, fewer differences are observed between the force fields, but significant differences are again observed for aromatic interactions of phenylalanine sidechains. Taken together, the results highlight the potential power of using explicit-solvent simulation methods to understand behavior in concentrated systems but also hint at potential difficulties in using these methods to obtain consistent views of behavior in intracellular environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Casey T Andrews
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242
| | - Adrian H Elcock
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242
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18
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Sterpone F, Nguyen PH, Kalimeri M, Derreumaux P. Importance of the ion-pair interactions in the OPEP coarse-grained force field: parametrization and validation. J Chem Theory Comput 2013; 9:4574-4584. [PMID: 25419192 DOI: 10.1021/ct4003493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We have derived new effective interactions that improve the description of ion-pairs in the OPEP coarse-grained force field without introducing explicit electrostatic terms. The iterative Boltzmann inversion method was used to extract these potentials from all atom simulations by targeting the radial distribution function of the distance between the center of mass of the side-chains. The new potentials have been tested on several systems that differ in structural properties, thermodynamic stabilities and number of ion-pairs. Our modeling, by refining the packing of the charged amino-acids, impacts the stability of secondary structure motifs and the population of intermediate states during temperature folding/unfolding; it also improves the aggregation propensity of peptides. The new version of the OPEP force field has the potentiality to describe more realistically a large spectrum of situations where salt-bridges are key interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Sterpone
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, IBPC, CNRS, UPR9080, Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Phuong H Nguyen
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, IBPC, CNRS, UPR9080, Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Maria Kalimeri
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, IBPC, CNRS, UPR9080, Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Philippe Derreumaux
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, IBPC, CNRS, UPR9080, Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005, Paris, France ; Institut Universitaire de France, Bvd St Michel, 75005, Paris, France
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19
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Pang X, Zhou HX. Poisson-Boltzmann Calculations: van der Waals or Molecular Surface? COMMUNICATIONS IN COMPUTATIONAL PHYSICS 2013; 13:1-12. [PMID: 23293674 PMCID: PMC3535440 DOI: 10.4208/cicp.270711.140911s] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The Poisson-Boltzmann equation is widely used for modeling the electrostatics of biomolecules, but the calculation results are sensitive to the choice of the boundary between the low solute dielectric and the high solvent dielectric. The default choice for the dielectric boundary has been the molecular surface, but the use of the van der Waals surface has also been advocated. Here we review recent studies in which the two choices are tested against experimental results and explicit-solvent calculations. The assignment of the solvent high dielectric constant to interstitial voids in the solute is often used as a criticism against the van der Waals surface. However, this assignment may not be as unrealistic as previously thought, since hydrogen exchange and other NMR experiments have firmly established that all interior parts of proteins are transiently accessible to the solvent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaodong Pang
- Department of Physics and Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, USA
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20
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Designing electrostatic interactions in biological systems via charge optimization or combinatorial approaches: insights and challenges with a continuum electrostatic framework. Theor Chem Acc 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s00214-012-1252-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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21
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Salari R, Chong LT. Effects of High Temperature on Desolvation Costs of Salt Bridges Across Protein Binding Interfaces: Similarities and Differences between Implicit and Explicit Solvent Models. J Phys Chem B 2012; 116:2561-7. [DOI: 10.1021/jp210172b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Reza Salari
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Lillian T. Chong
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
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22
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Poisson–Boltzmann Implicit Solvation Models. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-59440-2.00006-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
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