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Ding X, Xu C, Zheng B, Yu H, Zheng P. Molecular Mechanism of Interaction between DNA Aptamer and Receptor-Binding Domain of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Variants Revealed by Steered Molecular Dynamics Simulations. Molecules 2024; 29:2215. [PMID: 38792076 PMCID: PMC11124494 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29102215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2024] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has underscored the urgent need for versatile and rapidly deployable antiviral strategies. While vaccines have been pivotal in controlling the spread of the virus, the emergence of new variants continues to pose significant challenges to global health. Here, our study focuses on a novel approach to antiviral therapy using DNA aptamers, short oligonucleotides with high specificity and affinity for their targets, as potential inhibitors against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 variants Omicron and JN.1. Our research utilizes steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations to elucidate the binding mechanisms of a specifically designed DNA aptamer, AM032-4, to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the aforementioned variants. The simulations reveal detailed molecular insights into the aptamer-RBD interaction, demonstrating the aptamer's potential to maintain effective binding in the face of rapid viral evolution. Our work not only demonstrates the dynamic interaction between aptamer-RBD for possible antiviral therapy but also introduces a computational method to study aptamer-protein interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuan Ding
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
- State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Chao Xu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Bin Zheng
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Hanyang Yu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Peng Zheng
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
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Truong DT, Ho K, Pham DQH, Chwastyk M, Nguyen-Minh T, Nguyen MT. Treatment of flexibility of protein backbone in simulations of protein-ligand interactions using steered molecular dynamics. Sci Rep 2024; 14:10475. [PMID: 38714683 PMCID: PMC11076533 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-59899-3] [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: 02/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/10/2024] Open
Abstract
To ensure that an external force can break the interaction between a protein and a ligand, the steered molecular dynamics simulation requires a harmonic restrained potential applied to the protein backbone. A usual practice is that all or a certain number of protein's heavy atoms or Cα atoms are fixed, being restrained by a small force. This present study reveals that while fixing both either all heavy atoms and or all Cα atoms is not a good approach, while fixing a too small number of few atoms sometimes cannot prevent the protein from rotating under the influence of the bulk water layer, and the pulled molecule may smack into the wall of the active site. We found that restraining the Cα atoms under certain conditions is more relevant. Thus, we would propose an alternative solution in which only the Cα atoms of the protein at a distance larger than 1.2 nm from the ligand are restrained. A more flexible, but not too flexible, protein will be expected to lead to a more natural release of the ligand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duc Toan Truong
- Laboratory for Chemical Computation and Modeling, Institute for Computational Science and Artificial Intelligence, Van Lang University, Ho Chi Minh City, 70000, Vietnam
- Faculty of Applied Technology, School of Technology, Van Lang University, Ho Chi Minh City, 70000, Vietnam
| | - Kiet Ho
- Institute for Computational Science and Technology (ICST), Quang Trung Software City, Ho Chi Minh City, 70000, Vietnam
| | | | - Mateusz Chwastyk
- Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Thai Nguyen-Minh
- University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, 70000, Vietnam
| | - Minh Tho Nguyen
- Laboratory for Chemical Computation and Modeling, Institute for Computational Science and Artificial Intelligence, Van Lang University, Ho Chi Minh City, 70000, Vietnam.
- Faculty of Applied Technology, School of Technology, Van Lang University, Ho Chi Minh City, 70000, Vietnam.
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3
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Ma B, Wang R, Chen B, Liu W, Zhou S, Li X, Gong J, Shang S, Li Y, Xu D, Tan Z. Insights into the effect of protein glycosylation on carbohydrate substrate binding. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 235:123833. [PMID: 36870654 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.123833] [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: 08/16/2022] [Revised: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
Abstract
The role of glycosylation in the binding of glycoproteins to carbohydrate substrates has not been well understood. The present study addresses this knowledge gap by elucidating the links between the glycosylation patterns of a model glycoprotein, a Family 1 carbohydrate-binding module (TrCBM1), and the thermodynamic and structural properties of its binding to different carbohydrate substrates using isothermal titration calorimetry and computational simulation. The variations in glycosylation patterns cause a gradual transition of the binding to soluble cellohexaose from an entropy-driven process to an enthalpy-driven one, a trend closely correlated with the glycan-induced shift of the predominant binding force from hydrophobic interactions to hydrogen bonding. However, when binding to a large surface of solid cellulose, glycans on TrCBM1 have a more dispersed distribution and thus have less adverse impact on the hydrophobic interaction forces, leading to overall improved binding. Unexpectedly, our simulation results also suggest an evolutionary role of O-mannosylation in transforming the substrate binding features of TrCBM1 from those of type A CBMs to those of type B CBMs. Taken together, these findings provide new fundamental insights into the molecular basis of the role of glycosylation in protein-carbohydrate interactions and are expected to better facilitate further studies in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Ruihan Wang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Technology, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Sichuan 610064, China
| | - Baoquan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Wenqiang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Sen Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Xue Li
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Jinyuan Gong
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Shiying Shang
- Center of Pharmaceutical Technology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Yaohao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China.
| | - Dingguo Xu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Technology, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Sichuan 610064, China.
| | - Zhongping Tan
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China.
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Greene D, Barton M, Luchko T, Shiferaw Y. Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Cardiac Ryanodine Receptor Type 2 (RyR2) Gating Mechanism. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:9790-9809. [PMID: 36384028 PMCID: PMC9720719 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c03031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Mutations in the cardiac ryanodine receptor type 2 (RyR2) have been linked to fatal cardiac arrhythmias such as catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT). While many CPVT mutations are associated with an increase in Ca2+ leak from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, the mechanistic details of RyR2 channel gating are not well understood, and this poses a barrier in the development of new pharmacological treatments. To address this, we explore the gating mechanism of the RyR2 using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We test the effect of changing the conformation of certain structural elements by constructing chimera RyR2 structures that are derived from the currently available closed and open cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures, and we then use MD simulations to relax the system. Our key finding is that the position of the S4-S5 linker (S4S5L) on a single subunit can determine whether the channel as a whole is open or closed. Our analysis reveals that the position of the S4S5L is regulated by interactions with the U-motif on the same subunit and with the S6 helix on an adjacent subunit. We find that, in general, channel gating is crucially dependent on high percent occupancy interactions between adjacent subunits. We compare our interaction analysis to 49 CPVT1 mutations in the literature and find that 73% appear near a high percent occupancy interaction between adjacent subunits. This suggests that disruption of cooperative, high percent occupancy interactions between adjacent subunits is a primary cause of channel leak and CPVT in mutant RyR2 channels.
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Nie J, Deng Y, Tian F, Shi S, Zheng P. Detection of weak non-covalent cation-π interactions in NGAL by single-molecule force spectroscopy. NANO RESEARCH 2022; 15:4251-4257. [PMID: 35574260 PMCID: PMC9077643 DOI: 10.1007/s12274-021-4065-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Revised: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Cation-π interaction is an electrostatic interaction between a cation and an electron-rich arene. It plays an essential role in many biological systems as a vital driving force for protein folding, stability, and receptor-ligand interaction/recognition. To date, the discovery of most cation-π interactions in proteins relies on the statistical analyses of available three-dimensional (3D) protein structures and corresponding computational calculations. However, their experimental verification and quantification remain sparse at the molecular level, mainly due to the limited methods to dynamically measure such a weak non-covalent interaction in proteins. Here, we use atomic force microscopy-based single-molecule force spectroscopy (AFM-SMFS) to measure the stability of protein neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (also known as NGAL, siderocalin, lipocalin 2) that can bind iron through the cation-π interactions between its three cationic residues and the iron-binding tri-catechols. Based on a site-specific cysteine engineering and anchoring method, we first characterized the stability and unfolding pathways of apo-NGAL. Then, the same NGAL but bound with the iron-catechol complexes through the cation-π interactions as a holo-form was characterized. AFM measurements demonstrated stronger stabilities and kinetics of the holo-NGAL from two pulling sites, F122 and F133. Here, NGAL is stretched from the designed cysteine close to the cationic residues for a maximum unfolding effect. Thus, our work demonstrates high-precision detection of the weak cation-π interaction in NGAL. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL Supplementary material (additional SDS-PAGE, UV-vis, protein sequences, and more experimental methods) is available in the online version of this article at 10.1007/s12274-021-4065-9.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingyuan Nie
- State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center (ChemBIC), School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, 163 Xianlin Road, Nanjing, 210023 China
| | - Yibing Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center (ChemBIC), School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, 163 Xianlin Road, Nanjing, 210023 China
| | - Fang Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center (ChemBIC), School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, 163 Xianlin Road, Nanjing, 210023 China
| | - Shengchao Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center (ChemBIC), School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, 163 Xianlin Road, Nanjing, 210023 China
| | - Peng Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center (ChemBIC), School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, 163 Xianlin Road, Nanjing, 210023 China
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Bernardi RC, Durner E, Schoeler C, Malinowska KH, Carvalho BG, Bayer EA, Luthey-Schulten Z, Gaub HE, Nash MA. Mechanisms of Nanonewton Mechanostability in a Protein Complex Revealed by Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy. J Am Chem Soc 2019; 141:14752-14763. [PMID: 31464132 PMCID: PMC6939381 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.9b06776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
![]()
Can molecular dynamics
simulations predict the mechanical behavior of protein complexes?
Can simulations decipher the role of protein domains of unknown function
in large macromolecular complexes? Here, we employ a wide-sampling
computational approach to demonstrate that molecular dynamics simulations,
when carefully performed and combined with single-molecule atomic
force spectroscopy experiments, can predict and explain the behavior
of highly mechanostable protein complexes. As a test case, we studied
a previously unreported homologue from Ruminococcus flavefaciens called X-module-Dockerin (XDoc) bound to its partner Cohesin (Coh).
By performing dozens of short simulation replicas near the rupture
event, and analyzing dynamic network fluctuations, we were able to
generate large simulation statistics and directly compare them with
experiments to uncover the mechanisms involved in mechanical stabilization.
Our single-molecule force spectroscopy experiments show that the XDoc-Coh
homologue complex withstands forces up to 1 nN at loading rates of
105 pN/s. Our simulation results reveal that this remarkable
mechanical stability is achieved by a protein architecture that directs
molecular deformation along paths that run perpendicular to the pulling
axis. The X-module was found to play a crucial role in shielding the
adjacent protein complex from mechanical rupture. These mechanisms
of protein mechanical stabilization have potential applications in
biotechnology for the development of systems exhibiting shear enhanced
adhesion or tunable mechanics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael C Bernardi
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States
| | - Ellis Durner
- Lehrstuhl für Angewandte Physik and Center for Nanoscience , Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität , 80799 Munich , Germany
| | - Constantin Schoeler
- Lehrstuhl für Angewandte Physik and Center for Nanoscience , Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität , 80799 Munich , Germany
| | - Klara H Malinowska
- Lehrstuhl für Angewandte Physik and Center for Nanoscience , Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität , 80799 Munich , Germany
| | - Bruna G Carvalho
- School of Chemical Engineering , University of Campinas , 13083-852 Campinas , Brazil
| | - Edward A Bayer
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences , Weizmann Institute of Science , 76100 Rehovot , Israel
| | - Zaida Luthey-Schulten
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States.,Department of Chemistry , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States
| | - Hermann E Gaub
- Lehrstuhl für Angewandte Physik and Center for Nanoscience , Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität , 80799 Munich , Germany
| | - Michael A Nash
- Department of Chemistry , University of Basel , 4058 Basel , Switzerland.,Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering , ETH Zurich , 4058 Basel , Switzerland
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Ren Z, You W, Wu S, Poetsch A, Xu C. Secretomic analyses of Ruminiclostridium papyrosolvens reveal its enzymatic basis for lignocellulose degradation. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2019; 12:183. [PMID: 31338125 PMCID: PMC6628489 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-019-1522-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 07/05/2019] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Efficient biotechnological conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to valuable products, such as transportation biofuels, is ecologically attractive, yet requires substantially improved mechanistic understanding and optimization to become economically feasible. Cellulolytic clostridia, such as Ruminiclostridium papyrosolvens (previously Clostridium papyrosolvens), produce a wide variety of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) including extracellular multienzyme complexes-cellulosomes with different specificities for enhanced cellulosic biomass degradation. Identification of the secretory components, especially CAZymes, during bacterial growth on lignocellulose and their influence on bacterial catalytic capabilities provide insight into construction of potent cellulase systems of cell factories tuned or optimized for the targeted substrate by matching the type and abundance of enzymes and corresponding transporters. RESULTS In this study, we firstly predicted a total of 174 putative CAZymes from the genome of R. papyrosolvens, including 74 cellulosomal components. To explore profile of secreted proteins involved in lignocellulose degradation, we compared the secretomes of R. papyrosolvens grown on different substrates using label-free quantitative proteomics. CAZymes, extracellular solute-binding proteins (SBPs) of transport systems and proteins involved in spore formation were enriched in the secretome of corn stover for lignocellulose degradation. Furthermore, compared with free CAZymes, complex CAZymes (cellulosomal components) had larger fluctuations in variety and abundance of enzymes among four carbon sources. In particular, cellulosomal proteins encoded by the cip-cel operon and the xyl-doc gene cluster had the highest abundance with corn stover as substrate. Analysis of differential expression of CAZymes revealed a substrate-dependent secretion pattern of CAZymes, which was consistent with their catalytic activity from each secretome determined on different cellulosic substrates. The results suggest that the expression of CAZymes is regulated by the type of substrate in the growth medium. CONCLUSIONS In the present study, our results demonstrated the complexity of the lignocellulose degradation systems of R. papyrosolvens and showed the potency of its biomass degradation activity. Differential proteomic analyses and activity assays of CAZymes secreted by R. papyrosolvens suggested a distinct environment-sensing strategy for cellulose utilization in which R. papyrosolvens modulated the composition of the CAZymes, especially cellulosome, according to the degradation state of its natural substrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenxing Ren
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biotechnology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, 030006 Shanxi China
- Institute of Applied Chemistry, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, 030006 Shanxi China
| | - Wuxin You
- Department of Plant Biochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
| | - Shasha Wu
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biotechnology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, 030006 Shanxi China
| | - Ansgar Poetsch
- Department of Plant Biochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
- School of Biomedical and Healthcare Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, PL48AA UK
| | - Chenggang Xu
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biotechnology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, 030006 Shanxi China
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Gunnoo M, Cazade PA, Bayer EA, Thompson D. Molecular simulations reveal that a short helical loop regulates thermal stability of type I cohesin–dockerin complexes. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018; 20:28445-28451. [DOI: 10.1039/c8cp04800b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Re-engineering linker regions to boost the thermal stability of protein–protein complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissabye Gunnoo
- Department of Physics
- Bernal Institute, University of Limerick
- V94 T9PX
- Ireland
| | - Pierre-André Cazade
- Department of Physics
- Bernal Institute, University of Limerick
- V94 T9PX
- Ireland
| | - Edward A. Bayer
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Biochemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science
- Rehovot
- Israel
| | - Damien Thompson
- Department of Physics
- Bernal Institute, University of Limerick
- V94 T9PX
- Ireland
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