1
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Sharma H, Raju B, Narendra G, Motiwale M, Sharma B, Verma H, Silakari O. QM/MM Studies on Enzyme Catalysis and Insight into Designing of New Inhibitors by ONIOM Approach: Recent Update. ChemistrySelect 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/slct.202203319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Himani Sharma
- Molecular Modeling Lab (MML) Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research Punjabi University Patiala Punjab 147002 India
| | - Baddipadige Raju
- Molecular Modeling Lab (MML) Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research Punjabi University Patiala Punjab 147002 India
| | - Gera Narendra
- Molecular Modeling Lab (MML) Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research Punjabi University Patiala Punjab 147002 India
| | - Mohit Motiwale
- Molecular Modeling Lab (MML) Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research Punjabi University Patiala Punjab 147002 India
| | - Bhavna Sharma
- Molecular Modeling Lab (MML) Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research Punjabi University Patiala Punjab 147002 India
| | - Himanshu Verma
- Molecular Modeling Lab (MML) Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research Punjabi University Patiala Punjab 147002 India
| | - Om Silakari
- Molecular Modeling Lab (MML) Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research Punjabi University Patiala Punjab 147002 India
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2
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Elsässer B, Goettig P. Mechanisms of Proteolytic Enzymes and Their Inhibition in QM/MM Studies. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:3232. [PMID: 33810118 PMCID: PMC8004986 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22063232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Experimental evidence for enzymatic mechanisms is often scarce, and in many cases inadvertently biased by the employed methods. Thus, apparently contradictory model mechanisms can result in decade long discussions about the correct interpretation of data and the true theory behind it. However, often such opposing views turn out to be special cases of a more comprehensive and superior concept. Molecular dynamics (MD) and the more advanced molecular mechanical and quantum mechanical approach (QM/MM) provide a relatively consistent framework to treat enzymatic mechanisms, in particular, the activity of proteolytic enzymes. In line with this, computational chemistry based on experimental structures came up with studies on all major protease classes in recent years; examples of aspartic, metallo-, cysteine, serine, and threonine protease mechanisms are well founded on corresponding standards. In addition, experimental evidence from enzyme kinetics, structural research, and various other methods supports the described calculated mechanisms. One step beyond is the application of this information to the design of new and powerful inhibitors of disease-related enzymes, such as the HIV protease. In this overview, a few examples demonstrate the high potential of the QM/MM approach for sophisticated pharmaceutical compound design and supporting functions in the analysis of biomolecular structures.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Peter Goettig
- Structural Biology Group, Department of Biosciences, University of Salzburg, Billrothstrasse 11, 5020 Salzburg, Austria;
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3
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Ma S, Henderson JA, Shen J. Exploring the pH-Dependent Structure-Dynamics-Function Relationship of Human Renin. J Chem Inf Model 2020; 61:400-407. [PMID: 33356221 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.0c01201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Renin is a pepsin-like aspartyl protease and an important drug target for the treatment of hypertension; despite three decades' research, its pH-dependent structure-function relationship remains poorly understood. Here, we employed continuous constant pH molecular dynamics (CpHMD) simulations to decipher the acid/base roles of renin's catalytic dyad and the conformational dynamics of the flap, which is a common structural feature among aspartyl proteases. The calculated pKa's suggest that catalytic Asp38 and Asp226 serve as the general base and acid, respectively, in agreement with experiment and supporting the hypothesis that renin's neutral optimum pH is due to the substrate-induced pKa shifts of the aspartic dyad. The CpHMD data confirmed our previous hypothesis that hydrogen bond formation is the major determinant of the dyad pKa order. Additionally, our simulations showed that renin's flap remains open regardless of pH, although a Tyr-inhibited state is occasionally formed above pH 5. These findings are discussed in comparison to the related aspartyl proteases, including β-secretases 1 and 2, cathepsin D, and plasmepsin II. Our work represents a first step toward a systematic understanding of the pH-dependent structure-dynamics-function relationships of pepsin-like aspartyl proteases that play important roles in biology and human disease states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuhua Ma
- Department of Chemistry, Jess and Mildred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics, Towson University, Towson, Maryland 21252, United States
| | - Jack A Henderson
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
| | - Jana Shen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
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4
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Sahin K. In silico identification of angiotensin-1 converting enzyme inhibitors using text mining and virtual screening. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2020; 40:1152-1162. [PMID: 33016840 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2020.1827038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases are the world's leading cause of death. Hypertension is an important risk factor for cardiovascular and renal diseases. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) can be a possible therapeutic target for managing angiotensin I conversion to angiotensin II and ultimately controlling hypertension. Indole is an significant fragment used in many medicines approved by FDA. For this reason, the molecules in their fragments containing" indol" keywords were taken from the Specs-SC (small compound) database. The predicted therapeutc activity values (TAV) of these compounds against hypertension were evaluated using binary models of QSAR by MetaCore/MetaDrug. For the 26 separate QSAR models of toxicity, molecules with measured TAV greater than 0.5 were used. 3792 non-toxic compounds were investigated by molecular docking study and molecular dynamics simulations for their ACE inhibitory activity. Glide standard precision (SP) of Maestro Molecular Modeling pocket was used to perform molecular docking. Short molecular dynamics (MD) simulations (5-ns) were carried out by initiating the top docking poses of selected 40 molecules. To quantitatively evaluate the predicted binding affinity of a screened compound, average MM/GBSA scores of screened ligands were calculated and based on their binding free energy values, hit compounds were identified for the long (100-ns) MD simulations. Root mean square deviation and root mean square fluctuations were also calculated to assess the structural characteristics and observe fluctuations of the 100-ns time scale. Thus, with the application of text mining and integrated molecular modeling we reported novel indole-based hit inhibitors for ACE-1.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kader Sahin
- Computational Biology and Molecular Simulations Laboratory, Department of Biophysics, School of Medicine, Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey
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5
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Calixto AR, Ramos MJ, Fernandes PA. Conformational diversity induces nanosecond-timescale chemical disorder in the HIV-1 protease reaction pathway. Chem Sci 2019; 10:7212-7221. [PMID: 31588289 PMCID: PMC6677113 DOI: 10.1039/c9sc01464k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 06/10/2019] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The role of conformational diversity in enzyme catalysis has been a matter of analysis in recent studies. Pre-organization of the active site has been pointed out as the major source for enzymes' catalytic power. Following this line of thought, it is becoming clear that specific, instantaneous, non-rare enzyme conformations that make the active site perfectly pre-organized for the reaction lead to the lowest activation barriers that mostly contribute to the macroscopically observed reaction rate. The present work is focused on exploring the relationship between structure and catalysis in HIV-1 protease (PR) with an adiabatic mapping method, starting from different initial structures, collected from a classical MD simulation. The first, rate-limiting step of the HIV-1 PR catalytic mechanism was studied with the ONIOM QM/MM methodology (B3LYP/6-31G(d):ff99SB), with activation and reaction energies calculated at the M06-2X/6-311++G(2d,2p):ff99SB level of theory, in 19 different enzyme:substrate conformations. The results showed that the instantaneous enzyme conformations have two independent consequences on the enzyme's chemistry: they influence the barrier height, something also observed in the past in other enzymes, and they also influence the specific reaction pathway, which is something unusual and unexpected, challenging the "one enzyme-one substrate-one reaction mechanism" paradigm. Two different reaction mechanisms, with similar reactant probabilities and barrier heights, lead to the same gem-diol intermediate. Subtle nanosecond-timescale rearrangements in the active site hydrogen bonding network were shown to determine which reaction the enzyme follows. We named this phenomenon chemical disorder. The results make us realize the unexpected mechanistic consequences of conformational diversity in enzymatic reactivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Rita Calixto
- UCIBIO@REQUIMTE , Departamento de Química e Bioquímica , Faculdade de Ciências Universidade do Porto , Rua do Campo Alegre s/n , 4169-007 Porto , Portugal .
| | - Maria João Ramos
- UCIBIO@REQUIMTE , Departamento de Química e Bioquímica , Faculdade de Ciências Universidade do Porto , Rua do Campo Alegre s/n , 4169-007 Porto , Portugal .
| | - Pedro Alexandrino Fernandes
- UCIBIO@REQUIMTE , Departamento de Química e Bioquímica , Faculdade de Ciências Universidade do Porto , Rua do Campo Alegre s/n , 4169-007 Porto , Portugal .
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6
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Windsor IW, Gold B, Raines RT. An n→ π* Interaction in the Bound Substrate of Aspartic Proteases Replicates the Oxyanion Hole. ACS Catal 2019; 9:1464-1471. [PMID: 31093467 DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.8b04142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Aspartic proteases regulate many biological processes and are prominent targets for therapeutic intervention. Structural studies have captured intermediates along the reaction pathway, including the Michaelis complex and tetrahedral intermediate. Using a Ramachandran analysis of these structures, we discovered that residues occupying the P1 and P1' positions (which flank the scissile peptide bond) adopt the dihedral angle of an inverse γ-turn and polyproline type-II helix, respectively. Computational analyses reveal that the polyproline type-II helix engenders an n→π* interaction in which the oxygen of the scissile peptide bond is the donor. This interaction stabilizes the negative charge that develops in the tetrahedral intermediate, much like the oxyanion hole of serine proteases. The inverse γ-turn serves to twist the scissile peptide bond, vacating the carbonyl π* orbital and facilitating its hydration. These previously unappreciated interactions entail a form of substrate-assisted catalysis and offer opportunities for drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian W. Windsor
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Brian Gold
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Ronald T. Raines
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
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7
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Carrell RW, Read RJ. Structural basis for the specificity of renin-mediated angiotensinogen cleavage. J Biol Chem 2018; 294:2353-2364. [PMID: 30563843 PMCID: PMC6378967 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra118.006608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Revised: 12/14/2018] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The renin–angiotensin cascade is a hormone system that regulates blood pressure and fluid balance. Renin-mediated cleavage of the angiotensin I peptide from the N terminus of angiotensinogen (AGT) is the rate-limiting step of this cascade; however, the detailed molecular mechanism underlying this step is unclear. Here, we solved the crystal structures of glycosylated human AGT (2.30 Å resolution), its encounter complex with renin (2.55 Å), AGT cleaved in its reactive center loop (RCL; 2.97 Å), and spent AGT from which the N-terminal angiotensin peptide was removed (2.63 Å). These structures revealed that AGT undergoes profound conformational changes and binds renin through a tail-into-mouth allosteric mechanism that inserts the N terminus into a pocket equivalent to a hormone-binding site on other serpins. These changes fully extended the N-terminal tail, with the scissile bond for angiotensin release docked in renin's active site. Insertion of the N terminus into this pocket accompanied a complete unwinding of helix H of AGT, which, in turn, formed key interactions with renin in the complementary binding interface. Mutagenesis and kinetic analyses confirmed that renin-mediated production of angiotensin I is controlled by interactions of amino acid residues and glycan components outside renin's active-site cleft. Our findings indicate that AGT adapts unique serpin features for hormone delivery and binds renin through concerted movements in the N-terminal tail and in its main body to modulate angiotensin release. These insights provide a structural basis for the development of agents that attenuate angiotensin release by targeting AGT's hormone binding pocket.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin W. Carrell
- From the Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Wellcome Trust/MRC Building, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0XY, United Kingdom and
| | - Randy J. Read
- From the Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Wellcome Trust/MRC Building, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0XY, United Kingdom and , To whom correspondence may be addressed:
Dept. of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Wellcome Trust/MRC Bldg., Hills Rd., Cambridge CB2 0XY, United Kingdom. Tel.:
44-1223-336500; Fax:
44-1223-336827; E-mail:
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8
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Krzemińska A, Moliner V, Świderek K. Dynamic and Electrostatic Effects on the Reaction Catalyzed by HIV-1 Protease. J Am Chem Soc 2016; 138:16283-16298. [PMID: 27935692 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b06856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
HIV-1 Protease (HIV-1 PR) is one of the three enzymes essential for the replication process of HIV-1 virus, which explains why it has been the main target for design of drugs against acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This work is focused on exploring the proteolysis reaction catalyzed by HIV-1 PR, with special attention to the dynamic and electrostatic effects governing its catalytic power. Free energy surfaces for all possible mechanisms have been computed in terms of potentials of mean force (PMFs) within hybrid QM/MM potentials, with the QM subset of atoms described at semiempirical (AM1) and DFT (M06-2X) level. The results suggest that the most favorable reaction mechanism involves formation of a gem-diol intermediate, whose decomposition into the product complex would correspond to the rate-limiting step. The agreement between the activation free energy of this step with experimental data, as well as kinetic isotope effects (KIEs), supports this prediction. The role of the protein dynamic was studied by protein isotope labeling in the framework of the Variational Transition State Theory. The predicted enzyme KIEs, also very close to the values measured experimentally, reveal a measurable but small dynamic effect. Our calculations show how the contribution of dynamic effects to the effective activation free energy appears to be below 1 kcal·mol-1. On the contrary, the electric field created by the protein in the active site of the enzyme emerges as being critical for the electronic reorganization required during the reaction. These electrostatic properties of the active site could be used as a mold for future drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Krzemińska
- Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Lodz University of Technology , Zeromskiego 116, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
| | - Vicent Moliner
- Departament de Química Física i Analítica, Universitat Jaume I , 12071 Castelló, Spain
| | - Katarzyna Świderek
- Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Lodz University of Technology , Zeromskiego 116, 90-924 Lodz, Poland.,Departament de Química Física i Analítica, Universitat Jaume I , 12071 Castelló, Spain
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9
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Sousa SF, Ribeiro AJM, Neves RPP, Brás NF, Cerqueira NMFSA, Fernandes PA, Ramos MJ. Application of quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics methods in the study of enzymatic reaction mechanisms. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR SCIENCE 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/wcms.1281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sérgio Filipe Sousa
- Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Universidade do Porto Porto Portugal
| | - António J. M. Ribeiro
- Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Universidade do Porto Porto Portugal
| | - Rui P. P. Neves
- Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Universidade do Porto Porto Portugal
| | - Natércia F. Brás
- Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Universidade do Porto Porto Portugal
| | - Nuno M. F. S. A. Cerqueira
- Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Universidade do Porto Porto Portugal
| | - Pedro A. Fernandes
- Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Universidade do Porto Porto Portugal
| | - Maria João Ramos
- Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Universidade do Porto Porto Portugal
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10
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Brás NF, Ferreira P, Calixto AR, Jaspars M, Houssen W, Naismith JH, Fernandes PA, Ramos MJ. The Catalytic Mechanism of the Marine-Derived Macrocyclase PatGmac. Chemistry 2016; 22:13089-97. [PMID: 27389424 DOI: 10.1002/chem.201601670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Cyclic peptides are a class of compounds with high therapeutic potential, possessing bioactivities including antitumor and antiviral (including anti-HIV). Despite their desirability, efficient design and production of these compounds has not been achieved to date. The catalytic mechanism of patellamide macrocyclization by the PatG macrocyclase domain has been computationally investigated by using quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics methodology, specifically ONIOM(M06/6-311++G(2d,2p):ff94//B3LYP/6-31G(d):ff94). The mechanism proposed herein begins with a proton transfer from Ser783 to His 618 and from the latter to Asp548. Nucleophilic attack of Ser783 on the substrate leads to the formation of an acyl-enzyme covalent complex. The leaving group Ala-Tyr-Asp-Gly (AYDG) of the substrate is protonated by the substrate's N terminus, leading to the breakage of the P1-P1' bond. Finally, the substrate's N terminus attacks the P1 residue, decomposing the acyl-enzyme complex forming the macrocycle. The formation and decomposition of the acyl-enzyme complex have the highest activation free energies (21.1 kcal mol(-1) and 19.8 kcal mol(-1) respectively), typical of serine proteases. Understanding the mechanism behind the macrocyclization of patellamides will be important to the application of the enzymes in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natércia F Brás
- UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal
| | - Pedro Ferreira
- UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal
| | - Ana R Calixto
- UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal
| | - Marcel Jaspars
- Marine Biodiscovery Centre, Department of Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, Old Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, Scotland, UK
| | - Wael Houssen
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, Scotland, UK.,Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, 35516, Egypt
| | - James H Naismith
- Biomedical Sciences Research Complex, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9ST, Scotland, UK
| | - Pedro A Fernandes
- UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal
| | - Maria J Ramos
- UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal.
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11
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Ribeiro AJM, Santos-Martins D, Russo N, Ramos MJ, Fernandes PA. Enzymatic Flexibility and Reaction Rate: A QM/MM Study of HIV-1 Protease. ACS Catal 2015. [DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.5b00759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- António J. M. Ribeiro
- UCBIO,
REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
- Dipartimento
di Chimica, Università della Calabria, 87036 Arcavacata
di Rende, Italia
| | - Diogo Santos-Martins
- UCBIO,
REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
| | - Nino Russo
- Dipartimento
di Chimica, Università della Calabria, 87036 Arcavacata
di Rende, Italia
| | - Maria J. Ramos
- UCBIO,
REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
| | - Pedro A. Fernandes
- UCBIO,
REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
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12
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Calixto AR, Brás NF, Fernandes PA, Ramos MJ. Reaction Mechanism of Human Renin Studied by Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics (QM/MM) Calculations. ACS Catal 2014. [DOI: 10.1021/cs500497f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ana R. Calixto
- REQUIMTE/Departamento
de
Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
| | - Natércia F. Brás
- REQUIMTE/Departamento
de
Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
| | - Pedro A. Fernandes
- REQUIMTE/Departamento
de
Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
| | - Maria J. Ramos
- REQUIMTE/Departamento
de
Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
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13
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Brás NF, Fernandes PA, Ramos MJ. QM/MM Study and MD Simulations on the Hypertension Regulator Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme. ACS Catal 2014. [DOI: 10.1021/cs500093h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Natércia F. Brás
- REQUIMTE,
Departamento de
Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
| | - Pedro A. Fernandes
- REQUIMTE,
Departamento de
Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
| | - Maria J. Ramos
- REQUIMTE,
Departamento de
Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
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14
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Brás NF, Fernandes PA, Ramos MJ. Discovery of new sites for drug binding to the hypertension-related renin-angiotensinogen complex. Chem Biol Drug Des 2014; 83:427-39. [PMID: 24772488 DOI: 10.1111/cbdd.12258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Renin (REN) is a key drug target to stop the hypertension cascade, but thus far only one direct inhibitor has been made commercially available. In this study, we assess an innovative REN inhibition strategy, by targeting the interface of the renin:angiotensinogen (REN:ANG) complex. We characterized the energetic role of interfacial residues of REN:ANG and identified the ones responsible for protein:protein binding, which can serve as drug targets for disruption of the REN:ANG association. For this purpose, we applied a computational alanine scanning mutagenesis protocol, which measures the contribution of each side chain for the protein:protein binding free energy with an accuracy of ≈ 1 kcal/mol. As a result, in REN and ANG, six and eight residues were found to be critical for binding, respectively. The leading force behind REN:ANG complexation was found to be the hydrophobic effect. The binding free energy per residue was found to be proportional to the buried area. Residues responsible for binding were occluded from water at the complex, which promotes an efficient pairing between the two proteins. Two druggable pockets involving critical residues for binding were found on the surface of REN, where small druglike molecules can bind and disrupt the ANG:REN association that may provide an efficient way to achieve REN inhibition and control hypertension.
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15
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Hou Q, Sheng X, Liu Y. QM/MM studies of the mechanism of unusual bifunctional fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase/phosphatase. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2014; 16:11366-73. [DOI: 10.1039/c3cp55263b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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16
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Moorthy NSHN, Brás NF, Ramos MJ, Fernandes PA. Binding mode prediction and identification of new lead compounds from natural products as renin and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors. RSC Adv 2014. [DOI: 10.1039/c4ra00856a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study a novel renin and ACE inhibitor was developed from natural products using computational techniques. Molecular dynamic simulations showed that the new lead compound has significant binding to the targets.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Natércia F. Brás
- REQUIMTE
- Departamento de Química e Bioquímica
- Faculdade de Ciências
- Universidade do Porto
- Porto, Portugal
| | - Maria J. Ramos
- REQUIMTE
- Departamento de Química e Bioquímica
- Faculdade de Ciências
- Universidade do Porto
- Porto, Portugal
| | - Pedro A. Fernandes
- REQUIMTE
- Departamento de Química e Bioquímica
- Faculdade de Ciências
- Universidade do Porto
- Porto, Portugal
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Brás NF, Fernandes PA, Ramos MJ. Molecular dynamics studies on both bound and unbound renin protease. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2013; 32:351-63. [PMID: 23527826 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2013.768553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The aspartic protease renin (REN) catalyses the rate-limiting step in the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS), which regulates cardiovascular and renal homoeostasis in living organisms. Renin blockage is therefore an attractive therapeutic strategy for the treatment of hypertension. Herein, computational approaches were used to provide a structural characterization of the binding site, flap opening and dynamic rearrangements of REN in the key conserved residues and water molecules, with the binding of a dodecapeptide substrate or different inhibitors. All these structural insights during catalysis may assist future studies in developing novel strategies for REN inactivation. Our molecular dynamics simulations of several unbound-REN and bound-REN systems indicate similar flexible-segments plasticity with larger fluctuations in those belonging to the C-domain (exposed to the solvent). These segments are thought to assist the flap opening and closure to allow the binding of the substrate and catalytic water molecules. The unbound-REN simulation suggests that the flap can acquire three different conformations: closed, semi-open and open. Our results indicate that the semi-open conformation is already sufficient and appropriate for the binding of the angiotensinogen (Ang) tail, thus contributing to the high specificity of REN, and that both semi-open and open flap conformations are present in free and complexed enzymes. We additionally observed that the Tyr75-Trp39 H-bond has an important role in assisting flap movement, and we highlight several conserved water molecules and amino acids that are essential for the proper catalytic activity of REN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natércia F Brás
- a REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências , Universidade do Porto , Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007 , Porto , Portugal
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