1
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Spivak M, Stone JE, Ribeiro J, Saam J, Freddolino PL, Bernardi RC, Tajkhorshid E. VMD as a Platform for Interactive Small Molecule Preparation and Visualization in Quantum and Classical Simulations. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:4664-4678. [PMID: 37506321 PMCID: PMC10516160 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Modeling and simulation of small molecules such as drugs and biological cofactors have been both a major focus of computational chemistry for decades and a growing need among computational biophysicists who seek to investigate the interaction of different types of ligands with biomolecules. Of particular interest in this regard are quantum mechanical (QM) calculations that are used to more accurately describe such small molecules, which can be of heterogeneous structures and chemistry, either in purely QM calculations or in hybrid QM/molecular mechanics (MM) simulations. QM programs are also used to develop MM force field parameters for small molecules to be used along with established force fields for biomolecules in classical simulations. With this growing need in mind, here we report a set of software tools developed and closely integrated within the broadly used molecular visualization/analysis program, VMD, that allow the user to construct, modify, and parametrize small molecules and prepare them for QM, hybrid QM/MM, or classical simulations. The tools also provide interactive analysis and visualization capabilities in an easy-to-use and integrated environment. In this paper, we briefly report on these tools and their major features and capabilities, along with examples of how they can facilitate molecular research in computational biophysics that might be otherwise prohibitively complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariano Spivak
- Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group, NIH Resource for Macromolecular Modeling and Visualization, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - John E Stone
- Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group, NIH Resource for Macromolecular Modeling and Visualization, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - João Ribeiro
- Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group, NIH Resource for Macromolecular Modeling and Visualization, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Jan Saam
- Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group, NIH Resource for Macromolecular Modeling and Visualization, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Peter L Freddolino
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Rafael C Bernardi
- Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group, NIH Resource for Macromolecular Modeling and Visualization, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Department of Physics, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849, United States
| | - Emad Tajkhorshid
- Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group, NIH Resource for Macromolecular Modeling and Visualization, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Department of Biochemistry, Center for Biophyics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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2
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Oh CK, Nakamura T, Beutler N, Zhang X, Piña-Crespo J, Talantova M, Ghatak S, Trudler D, Carnevale LN, McKercher SR, Bakowski MA, Diedrich JK, Roberts AJ, Woods AK, Chi V, Gupta AK, Rosenfeld MA, Kearns FL, Casalino L, Shaabani N, Liu H, Wilson IA, Amaro RE, Burton DR, Yates JR, Becker C, Rogers TF, Chatterjee AK, Lipton SA. Targeted protein S-nitrosylation of ACE2 inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nat Chem Biol 2023; 19:275-283. [PMID: 36175661 PMCID: PMC10127945 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-022-01149-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Prevention of infection and propagation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a high priority in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Here we describe S-nitrosylation of multiple proteins involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection, including angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the receptor for viral entry. This reaction prevents binding of ACE2 to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, thereby inhibiting viral entry, infectivity and cytotoxicity. Aminoadamantane compounds also inhibit coronavirus ion channels formed by envelope (E) protein. Accordingly, we developed dual-mechanism aminoadamantane nitrate compounds that inhibit viral entry and, thus, the spread of infection by S-nitrosylating ACE2 via targeted delivery of the drug after E protein channel blockade. These non-toxic compounds are active in vitro and in vivo in the Syrian hamster COVID-19 model and, thus, provide a novel avenue to pursue therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang-Ki Oh
- Departments of Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration New Medicines Center, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Tomohiro Nakamura
- Departments of Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration New Medicines Center, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Nathan Beutler
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Xu Zhang
- Departments of Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration New Medicines Center, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Juan Piña-Crespo
- Departments of Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration New Medicines Center, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Maria Talantova
- Departments of Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration New Medicines Center, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Swagata Ghatak
- Departments of Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration New Medicines Center, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Dorit Trudler
- Departments of Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration New Medicines Center, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Lauren N Carnevale
- Departments of Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration New Medicines Center, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Scott R McKercher
- Departments of Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration New Medicines Center, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Malina A Bakowski
- Calibr, a division of the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Jolene K Diedrich
- Departments of Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration New Medicines Center, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Amanda J Roberts
- Animal Models Core, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Ashley K Woods
- Calibr, a division of the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Victor Chi
- Calibr, a division of the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Anil K Gupta
- Calibr, a division of the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Mia A Rosenfeld
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Fiona L Kearns
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Lorenzo Casalino
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Namir Shaabani
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Hejun Liu
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Ian A Wilson
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Rommie E Amaro
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Dennis R Burton
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - John R Yates
- Departments of Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration New Medicines Center, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | | | - Thomas F Rogers
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | | | - Stuart A Lipton
- Departments of Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration New Medicines Center, La Jolla, CA, USA.
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
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3
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Pipitò L, Rujan R, Reynolds CA, Deganutti G. Molecular dynamics studies reveal structural and functional features of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Bioessays 2022; 44:e2200060. [PMID: 35843871 PMCID: PMC9350306 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202200060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic the world experience since 2019. The protein responsible for the first steps of cell invasion, the spike protein, has probably received the most attention in light of its central role during infection. Computational approaches are among the tools employed by the scientific community in the enormous effort to study this new affliction. One of these methods, namely molecular dynamics (MD), has been used to characterize the function of the spike protein at the atomic level and unveil its structural features from a dynamic perspective. In this review, we focus on these main findings, including spike protein flexibility, rare S protein conformational changes, cryptic epitopes, the role of glycans, drug repurposing, and the effect of spike protein variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludovico Pipitò
- Centre for Sport, Exercise and Life Sciences (CSELS)Faculty of Health and Life SciencesCoventry UniversityCoventryUK
| | - Roxana‐Maria Rujan
- Centre for Sport, Exercise and Life Sciences (CSELS)Faculty of Health and Life SciencesCoventry UniversityCoventryUK
| | - Christopher A. Reynolds
- Centre for Sport, Exercise and Life Sciences (CSELS)Faculty of Health and Life SciencesCoventry UniversityCoventryUK
| | - Giuseppe Deganutti
- Centre for Sport, Exercise and Life Sciences (CSELS)Faculty of Health and Life SciencesCoventry UniversityCoventryUK
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4
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Oh CK, Nakamura T, Beutler N, Zhang X, Piña-Crespo J, Talantova M, Ghatak S, Trudler D, Carnevale LN, McKercher SR, Bakowski MA, Diedrich JK, Roberts AJ, Woods AK, Chi V, Gupta AK, Rosenfeld MA, Kearns FL, Casalino L, Shaabani N, Liu H, Wilson IA, Amaro RE, Burton DR, Yates JR, Becker C, Rogers TF, Chatterjee AK, Lipton SA. Targeted protein S-nitrosylation of ACE2 as potential treatment to prevent spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2022:2022.04.05.487060. [PMID: 35411336 PMCID: PMC8996617 DOI: 10.1101/2022.04.05.487060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Prevention of infection and propagation of SARS-CoV-2 is of high priority in the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we describe S-nitrosylation of multiple proteins involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection, including angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the receptor for viral entry. This reaction prevents binding of ACE2 to the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein, thereby inhibiting viral entry, infectivity, and cytotoxicity. Aminoadamantane compounds also inhibit coronavirus ion channels formed by envelope (E) protein. Accordingly, we developed dual-mechanism aminoadamantane nitrate compounds that inhibit viral entry and thus spread of infection by S-nitrosylating ACE2 via targeted delivery of the drug after E-protein channel blockade. These non-toxic compounds are active in vitro and in vivo in the Syrian hamster COVID-19 model, and thus provide a novel avenue for therapy.
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5
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Solis-Vasquez L, Tillack AF, Santos-Martins D, Koch A, LeGrand S, Forli S. Benchmarking the Performance of Irregular Computations in AutoDock-GPU Molecular Docking. PARALLEL COMPUTING 2022; 109:102861. [PMID: 34898769 PMCID: PMC8654209 DOI: 10.1016/j.parco.2021.102861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Irregular applications can be found in different scientific fields. In computer-aided drug design, molecular docking simulations play an important role in finding promising drug candidates. AutoDock is a software application widely used for predicting molecular interactions at close distances. It is characterized by irregular computations and long execution runtimes. In recent years, a hardware-accelerated version of AutoDock, called AutoDock-GPU, has been under active development. This work benchmarks the recent code and algorithmic enhancements incorporated into AutoDock-GPU. Particularly, we analyze the impact on execution runtime of techniques based on early termination. These enable AutoDock-GPU to explore the molecular space as necessary, while safely avoiding redundant computations. Our results indicate that it is possible to achieve average runtime reductions of 50% by using these techniques. Furthermore, a comprehensive literature review is also provided, where our work is compared to relevant approaches leveraging hardware acceleration for molecular docking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Solis-Vasquez
- Embedded Systems and Applications Group. Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
- Hochschulstr. 10, D-64289, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Andreas F. Tillack
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology. The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Diogo Santos-Martins
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology. The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Andreas Koch
- Embedded Systems and Applications Group. Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | | | - Stefano Forli
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology. The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, United States
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6
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Capponi S, Wang S, Navarro EJ, Bianco S. AI-driven prediction of SARS-CoV-2 variant binding trends from atomistic simulations. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. E, SOFT MATTER 2021; 44:123. [PMID: 34613523 PMCID: PMC8493367 DOI: 10.1140/epje/s10189-021-00119-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
We present a novel technique to predict binding affinity trends between two molecules from atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. The technique uses a neural network algorithm applied to a series of images encoding the distance between two molecules in time. We demonstrate that our algorithm is capable of separating with high accuracy non-hydrophobic mutations with low binding affinity from those with high binding affinity. Moreover, we show high accuracy in prediction using a small subset of the simulation, therefore requiring a much shorter simulation time. We apply our algorithm to the binding between several variants of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and the human receptor ACE2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Capponi
- IBM Almaden Research Center, 650 Harry Rd, San Jose, CA, 95120, USA
- Center for Cellular Construction, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
| | - Shangying Wang
- IBM Almaden Research Center, 650 Harry Rd, San Jose, CA, 95120, USA
- Center for Cellular Construction, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
| | - Erik J Navarro
- IBM Almaden Research Center, 650 Harry Rd, San Jose, CA, 95120, USA
- Center for Cellular Construction, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
- Graduate Program in Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
| | - Simone Bianco
- IBM Almaden Research Center, 650 Harry Rd, San Jose, CA, 95120, USA.
- Center for Cellular Construction, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.
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7
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Triveri A, Serapian SA, Marchetti F, Doria F, Pavoni S, Cinquini F, Moroni E, Rasola A, Frigerio F, Colombo G. SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Mutations and Escape from Antibodies: A Computational Model of Epitope Loss in Variants of Concern. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:4687-4700. [PMID: 34468141 PMCID: PMC8479857 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein is exposed on the viral surface and is the first point of contact between the virus and the host. For these reasons it represents the prime target for Covid-19 vaccines. In recent months, variants of this protein have started to emerge. Their ability to reduce or evade recognition by S-targeting antibodies poses a threat to immunological treatments and raises concerns for their consequences on vaccine efficacy. To develop a model able to predict the potential impact of S-protein mutations on antibody binding sites, we performed unbiased multi-microsecond molecular dynamics of several glycosylated S-protein variants and applied a straightforward structure-dynamics-energy based strategy to predict potential changes in immunogenic regions on each variant. We recover known epitopes on the reference D614G sequence. By comparing our results, obtained on isolated S-proteins in solution, to recently published data on antibody binding and reactivity in new S variants, we directly show that modifications in the S-protein consistently translate into the loss of potentially immunoreactive regions. Our findings can thus be qualitatively reconnected to the experimentally characterized decreased ability of some of the Abs elicited against the dominant S-sequence to recognize variants. While based on the study of SARS-CoV-2 spike variants, our computational epitope-prediction strategy is portable and could be applied to study immunoreactivity in mutants of proteins of interest whose structures have been characterized, helping the development/selection of vaccines and antibodies able to control emerging variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Triveri
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 12, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Stefano A. Serapian
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 12, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Filippo Marchetti
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 12, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Filippo Doria
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 12, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Silvia Pavoni
- Department
of Physical Chemistry, R&D Eni SpA, Via Maritano 27, San Donato Milanese, Milan 20097, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Cinquini
- Upstream
& Technical Services—TECS/STES—Eni Spa, Via Emilia 1, San
Donato Milanese, Milan 20097, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Moroni
- Istituto
di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche “Giulio Natta”—SCITEC, CNR Via Mario Bianco 9, Milano 20131, Italy
| | - Andrea Rasola
- Department
of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, Viale G. Colombo 3, Padova 35131, Italy
| | - Francesco Frigerio
- Department
of Physical Chemistry, R&D Eni SpA, Via Maritano 27, San Donato Milanese, Milan 20097, Italy
| | - Giorgio Colombo
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 12, Pavia 27100, Italy
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8
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Lobo VR, Warwicker J. Predicted pH-dependent stability of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein trimer from interfacial acidic groups. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2021; 19:5140-5148. [PMID: 34490059 PMCID: PMC8410215 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2021.08.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2021] [Revised: 08/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Transition between receptor binding domain (RBD) up and down forms of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein trimer is coupled to receptor binding and is one route by which variants can alter viral properties. It is becoming apparent that key roles in the transition are played by pH and a more compact closed form, termed locked. Calculations of pH-dependence are made for a large set of spike trimers, including locked form trimer structures that have recently become available. Several acidic sidechains become sufficiently buried in the locked form to give a predicted pH-dependence in the mild acidic range, with stabilisation of the locked form as pH reduces from 7.5 to 5, consistent with emerging characterisation by cryo-electron microscopy. The calculated pH effects in pre-fusion spike trimers are modulated mainly by aspartic acid residues, rather than the more familiar histidine role at mild acidic pH. These acidic sidechains are generally surface located and weakly interacting when not in a locked conformation. According to this model, their replacement (perhaps with asparagine) would remove the pH-dependent destabilisation of locked spike trimer conformations, and increase their recovery at neutral pH. This would provide an alternative or supplement to the insertion of disulphide linkages for stabilising spike protein trimers, with potential relevance for vaccine design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa R. Lobo
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Jim Warwicker
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
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9
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Uyar A, Dickson A. Perturbation of ACE2 Structural Ensembles by SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Binding. J Chem Theory Comput 2021; 17:5896-5906. [PMID: 34383488 PMCID: PMC8370119 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
The human ACE2 enzyme serves as a critical first recognition point of coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2. In particular, the extracellular domain of ACE2 interacts directly with the S1 tailspike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virion through a broad protein-protein interface. Although this interaction has been characterized by X-ray crystallography, these structures do not reveal significant differences in the ACE2 structure upon S1 protein binding. In this work, using several all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we show persistent differences in the ACE2 structure upon binding. These differences are determined with the linear discriminant analysis (LDA) machine learning method and validated using independent training and testing datasets, including long trajectories generated by D. E. Shaw Research on the Anton 2 supercomputer. In addition, long trajectories for 78 potent ACE2-binding compounds, also generated by D. E. Shaw Research, were projected onto the LDA classification vector in order to determine whether the ligand-bound ACE2 structures were compatible with S1 protein binding. This allows us to predict which compounds are "apo-like" versus "complex-like" and to pinpoint long-range ligand-induced allosteric changes in the ACE2 structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arzu Uyar
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Alex Dickson
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing Michigan 48824, United States.,Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing Michigan 48824, United States
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10
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Yagi K, Ito S, Sugita Y. Exploring the Minimum-Energy Pathways and Free-Energy Profiles of Enzymatic Reactions with QM/MM Calculations. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:4701-4713. [PMID: 33914537 PMCID: PMC10986901 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c01862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Understanding molecular mechanisms of enzymatic reactions is of vital importance in biochemistry and biophysics. Here, we introduce new functions of hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) calculations in the GENESIS program to compute the minimum-energy pathways (MEPs) and free-energy profiles of enzymatic reactions. For this purpose, an interface in GENESIS is developed to utilize a highly parallel electronic structure program, QSimulate-QM (https://qsimulate.com), calling it as a shared library from GENESIS. Second, algorithms to search the MEP are implemented, combining the string method (E et al. J. Chem. Phys. 2007, 126, 164103) with the energy minimization of the buffer MM region. The method implemented in GENESIS is applied to an enzyme, triosephosphate isomerase, which converts dihyroxyacetone phosphate to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate in four proton-transfer processes. QM/MM-molecular dynamics simulations show performances of greater than 1 ns/day with the density functional tight binding (DFTB), and 10-30 ps/day with the hybrid density functional theory, B3LYP-D3. These performances allow us to compute not only MEP but also the potential of mean force (PMF) of the enzymatic reactions using the QM/MM calculations. The barrier height obtained as 13 kcal mol-1 with B3LYP-D3 in the QM/MM calculation is in agreement with the experimental results. The impact of conformational sampling in PMF calculations and the level of electronic structure calculations (DFTB vs B3LYP-D3) suggests reliable computational protocols for enzymatic reactions without high computational costs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiyoshi Yagi
- Theoretical
Molecular Science Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster
for Pioneering Research, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Shingo Ito
- Theoretical
Molecular Science Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster
for Pioneering Research, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Yuji Sugita
- Theoretical
Molecular Science Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster
for Pioneering Research, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
- Computational
Biophysics Research Team, RIKEN Center for
Computational Science, 7-1-26 minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan
- Laboratory
for Biomolecular Function Simulation, RIKEN
Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 1-6-5 minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan
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11
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Bennett AL, Henderson R. HIV-1 Envelope Conformation, Allostery, and Dynamics. Viruses 2021; 13:852. [PMID: 34067073 PMCID: PMC8150877 DOI: 10.3390/v13050852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) mediates host cell fusion and is the primary target for HIV-1 vaccine design. The Env undergoes a series of functionally important conformational rearrangements upon engagement of its host cell receptor, CD4. As the sole target for broadly neutralizing antibodies, our understanding of these transitions plays a critical role in vaccine immunogen design. Here, we review available experimental data interrogating the HIV-1 Env conformation and detail computational efforts aimed at delineating the series of conformational changes connecting these rearrangements. These studies have provided a structural mapping of prefusion closed, open, and transition intermediate structures, the allosteric elements controlling rearrangements, and state-to-state transition dynamics. The combination of these investigations and innovations in molecular modeling set the stage for advanced studies examining rearrangements at greater spatial and temporal resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rory Henderson
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Durham, NC 27710, USA;
- Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
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12
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Sun D, Sang Z, Kim YJ, Xiang Y, Cohen T, Belford AK, Huet A, Conway JF, Sun J, Taylor DJ, Schneidman-Duhovny D, Zhang C, Huang W, Shi Y. Potent neutralizing nanobodies resist convergent circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2 by targeting novel and conserved epitopes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2021:2021.03.09.434592. [PMID: 33758850 PMCID: PMC7987009 DOI: 10.1101/2021.03.09.434592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
There is an urgent need to develop effective interventions resistant to the evolving variants of SARS-CoV-2. Nanobodies (Nbs) are stable and cost-effective agents that can be delivered by novel aerosolization route to treat SARS-CoV-2 infections efficiently. However, it remains unknown if they possess broadly neutralizing activities against the prevalent circulating strains. We found that potent neutralizing Nbs are highly resistant to the convergent variants of concern that evade a large panel of neutralizing antibodies (Abs) and significantly reduce the activities of convalescent or vaccine-elicited sera. Subsequent determination of 9 high-resolution structures involving 6 potent neutralizing Nbs by cryoelectron microscopy reveals conserved and novel epitopes on virus spike inaccessible to Abs. Systematic structural comparison of neutralizing Abs and Nbs provides critical insights into how Nbs uniquely target the spike to achieve high-affinity and broadly neutralizing activity against the evolving virus. Our study will inform the rational design of novel pan-coronavirus vaccines and therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dapeng Sun
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh
| | - Zhe Sang
- The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University Program for Computational Biology, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Yong Joon Kim
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Yufei Xiang
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tomer Cohen
- School of Computer Science and Engineering, Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
| | | | - Alexis Huet
- Department of Structural Biology, University of Pittsburgh
| | | | - Ji Sun
- Department of Structure Biology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Derek J. Taylor
- Department of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University, Clevaland, OH, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Clevaland, OH, USA
| | - Dina Schneidman-Duhovny
- School of Computer Science and Engineering, Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Cheng Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh
| | - Wei Huang
- Department of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University, Clevaland, OH, USA
| | - Yi Shi
- The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University Program for Computational Biology, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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13
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Verkhivker GM, Di Paola L. Dynamic Network Modeling of Allosteric Interactions and Communication Pathways in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Trimer Mutants: Differential Modulation of Conformational Landscapes and Signal Transmission via Cascades of Regulatory Switches. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:850-873. [PMID: 33448856 PMCID: PMC7839160 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c10637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Revised: 01/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The rapidly growing body of structural and biochemical studies of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein has revealed a variety of distinct functional states with radically different arrangements of the receptor-binding domain, highlighting a remarkable function-driven conformational plasticity and adaptability of the spike proteins. In this study, we examined molecular mechanisms underlying conformational and dynamic changes in the SARS-CoV-2 spike mutant trimers through the lens of dynamic analysis of allosteric interaction networks and atomistic modeling of signal transmission. Using an integrated approach that combined coarse-grained molecular simulations, protein stability analysis, and perturbation-based modeling of residue interaction networks, we examined how mutations in the regulatory regions of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can differentially affect dynamics and allosteric signaling in distinct functional states. The results of this study revealed key functional regions and regulatory centers that govern collective dynamics, allosteric interactions, and control signal transmission in the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins. We found that the experimentally confirmed regulatory hotspots that dictate dynamic switching between conformational states of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein correspond to the key hinge sites and global mediating centers of the allosteric interaction networks. The results of this study provide a novel insight into allosteric regulatory mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins showing that mutations at the key regulatory positions can differentially modulate distribution of states and determine topography of signal communication pathways operating through state-specific cascades of control switch points. This analysis provides a plausible strategy for allosteric probing of the conformational equilibrium and therapeutic intervention by targeting specific hotspots of allosteric interactions and communications in the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gennady M. Verkhivker
- Keck
Center for Science and Engineering, Schmid College of Science and
Technology, Chapman University, One University Drive, Orange, California 92866, United States
- Department
of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chapman University School of Pharmacy, Irvine, California 92618, United States
| | - Luisa Di Paola
- Unit
of Chemical-Physics Fundamentals in Chemical Engineering, Department
of Engineering, Università Campus
Bio-Medico di Roma, via
Álvaro del Portillo 21, 00128 Rome, Italy
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14
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Li ZL, Buck M. Neuropilin-1 Assists SARS-CoV-2 Infection by Stimulating the Separation of Spike Protein Domains S1 and S2. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2021:2021.01.06.425627. [PMID: 33442700 PMCID: PMC7805474 DOI: 10.1101/2021.01.06.425627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The cell surface receptor Neuropilin-1 (Nrp1) was recently identified as a host factor for SARS-CoV-2 entry. As the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 is cleaved into the S1 and the S2 domain by furin protease, Nrp1 binds to the newly created C-terminal RRAR amino acid sequence of the S1 domain. In this study, we model the association of a Nrp1 (a2-b1-b2) protein with the Spike protein computationally and analyze the topological constraints in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein for binding with Nrp1 and ACE2. Importantly, we study the exit mechanism of S2 from the S1 domain with the assistance of ACE2 as well as Nrp1 by molecular dynamics pulling simulations. In the presence of Nrp1, by binding the S1 more strongly to the host membrane, there is a high probability of S2 being pulled out, rather than S1 being stretched. Thus, Nrp1 binding could stimulate the exit of S2 from the S1 domain, which will likely increase virus infectivity as the liberated S2 domain mediates the fusion of virus and host membranes. Understanding of such a Nrp1-assisted viral infection opens the gate for the generation of protein-protein inhibitors, such as antibodies, which could attenuate the infection mechanism and protect certain cells in a future combination therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen-Lu Li
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, U. S. A
| | - Matthias Buck
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, U. S. A
- Department of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, U. S. A
- Department of Neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, U. S. A
- Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, U. S. A
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15
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Gundelach L, Fox T, Tautermann CS, Skylaris CK. Protein–ligand free energies of binding from full-protein DFT calculations: convergence and choice of exchange–correlation functional. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:9381-9393. [DOI: 10.1039/d1cp00206f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Quantum mechanical binding free energies based on thousands of full-protein DFT calculations are tractable, reproducible and converge well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lennart Gundelach
- University of Southampton Faculty of Engineering Science and Mathematics, Chemistry
- University Road
- Southampton
- UK
| | - Thomas Fox
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co KG
- Medicinal Chemistry
- 88397 Biberach an der Riss
- Germany
| | | | - Chris-Kriton Skylaris
- University of Southampton Faculty of Engineering Science and Mathematics, Chemistry
- University Road
- Southampton
- UK
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16
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Andreano E, Piccini G, Licastro D, Casalino L, Johnson NV, Paciello I, Dal Monego S, Pantano E, Manganaro N, Manenti A, Manna R, Casa E, Hyseni I, Benincasa L, Montomoli E, Amaro RE, McLellan JS, Rappuoli R. SARS-CoV-2 escape in vitro from a highly neutralizing COVID-19 convalescent plasma. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2020:2020.12.28.424451. [PMID: 33398278 PMCID: PMC7781313 DOI: 10.1101/2020.12.28.424451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
To investigate the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in the immune population, we co-incubated authentic virus with a highly neutralizing plasma from a COVID-19 convalescent patient. The plasma fully neutralized the virus for 7 passages, but after 45 days, the deletion of F140 in the spike N-terminal domain (NTD) N3 loop led to partial breakthrough. At day 73, an E484K substitution in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) occurred, followed at day 80 by an insertion in the NTD N5 loop containing a new glycan sequon, which generated a variant completely resistant to plasma neutralization. Computational modeling predicts that the deletion and insertion in loops N3 and N5 prevent binding of neutralizing antibodies. The recent emergence in the United Kingdom and South Africa of natural variants with similar changes suggests that SARS-CoV-2 has the potential to escape an effective immune response and that vaccines and antibodies able to control emerging variants should be developed. ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY Three mutations allowed SARS-CoV-2 to evade the polyclonal antibody response of a highly neutralizing COVID-19 convalescent plasma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuele Andreano
- Monoclonal Antibody Discovery (MAD) Lab, Fondazione Toscana Life Sciences, Siena, Italy
| | | | - Danilo Licastro
- ARGO Open Lab Platform for Genome sequencing, AREA Science Park, Padriciano, 99, 34149, Trieste, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Casalino
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Nicole V. Johnson
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Ida Paciello
- Monoclonal Antibody Discovery (MAD) Lab, Fondazione Toscana Life Sciences, Siena, Italy
| | - Simeone Dal Monego
- ARGO Open Lab Platform for Genome sequencing, AREA Science Park, Padriciano, 99, 34149, Trieste, Italy
| | - Elisa Pantano
- Monoclonal Antibody Discovery (MAD) Lab, Fondazione Toscana Life Sciences, Siena, Italy
| | - Noemi Manganaro
- Monoclonal Antibody Discovery (MAD) Lab, Fondazione Toscana Life Sciences, Siena, Italy
| | | | | | - Elisa Casa
- VisMederi S.r.l, Siena, Italy
- VisMederi Research S.r.l., Siena, Italy
| | - Inesa Hyseni
- VisMederi S.r.l, Siena, Italy
- VisMederi Research S.r.l., Siena, Italy
| | | | - Emanuele Montomoli
- VisMederi S.r.l, Siena, Italy
- VisMederi Research S.r.l., Siena, Italy
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Rommie E. Amaro
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Jason S. McLellan
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Rino Rappuoli
- Monoclonal Antibody Discovery (MAD) Lab, Fondazione Toscana Life Sciences, Siena, Italy
- Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
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