1
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Sieradzan AK, Korneev A, Begun A, Kachlishvili K, Scheraga HA, Molochkov A, Senet P, Niemi AJ, Maisuradze GG. Investigation of Phosphorylation-Induced Folding of an Intrinsically Disordered Protein by Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics. J Chem Theory Comput 2021; 17:3203-3220. [PMID: 33909430 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Apart from being the most common mechanism of regulating protein function and transmitting signals throughout the cell, phosphorylation has an ability to induce disorder-to-order transition in an intrinsically disordered protein. In particular, it was shown that folding of the intrinsically disordered protein, eIF4E-binding protein isoform 2 (4E-BP2), can be induced by multisite phosphorylation. Here, the principles that govern the folding of phosphorylated 4E-BP2 (pT37pT46 4E-BP218-62) are investigated by analyzing canonical and replica exchange molecular dynamics trajectories, generated with the coarse-grained united-residue force field, in terms of local and global motions and the time dependence of formation of contacts between Cαs of selected pairs of residues. The key residues involved in the folding of the pT37pT46 4E-BP218-62 are elucidated by this analysis. The correlations between local and global motions are identified. Moreover, for a better understanding of the physics of the formation of the folded state, the experimental structure of the pT37pT46 4E-BP218-62 is analyzed in terms of a kink (heteroclinic standing wave solution) of a generalized discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation. It is shown that without molecular dynamics simulations the kinks are able to identify not only the phosphorylated sites of protein, the key players in folding, but also the reasons for the weak stability of the pT37pT46 4E-BP218-62.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam K Sieradzan
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Anatolii Korneev
- Pacific Quantum Center, Far Eastern Federal University, 10 Ajax Bay, 690922 Russky Island, Vladivostok, Russia
| | - Alexander Begun
- Pacific Quantum Center, Far Eastern Federal University, 10 Ajax Bay, 690922 Russky Island, Vladivostok, Russia
| | - Khatuna Kachlishvili
- Baker Laboratory of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-1301, United States
| | - Harold A Scheraga
- Baker Laboratory of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-1301, United States
| | - Alexander Molochkov
- Pacific Quantum Center, Far Eastern Federal University, 10 Ajax Bay, 690922 Russky Island, Vladivostok, Russia
| | - Patrick Senet
- Baker Laboratory of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-1301, United States.,Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Carnot de Bourgogne, UMR 6303 CNRS-Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 9 Av. A. Savary, BP 47 870, F-21078 Dijon Cedex, France
| | - Antti J Niemi
- Pacific Quantum Center, Far Eastern Federal University, 10 Ajax Bay, 690922 Russky Island, Vladivostok, Russia.,Laboratoire de Mathematiques et Physique Theorique, CNRS UMR 6083, Fédération Denis Poisson, Université de Tours, Parc de Grandmont, F37200 Tours, France.,Nordita, Stockholm University and Uppsala University, Roslagstullsbacken 23, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.,School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, P.R. China
| | - Gia G Maisuradze
- Baker Laboratory of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-1301, United States
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2
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Kachlishvili K, Korneev A, Maisuradze L, Liu J, Scheraga HA, Molochkov A, Senet P, Niemi AJ, Maisuradze GG. New Insights into Folding, Misfolding, and Nonfolding Dynamics of a WW Domain. J Phys Chem B 2020; 124:3855-3872. [PMID: 32271570 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c00628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Intermediate states in protein folding are associated with formation of amyloid fibrils, which are responsible for a number of neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, prevention of the aggregation of folding intermediates is one of the most important problems to overcome. Recently, we studied the origins and prevention of formation of intermediate states with the example of the Formin binding protein 28 (FBP28) WW domain. We demonstrated that the replacement of Leu26 by Asp26 or Trp26 (in ∼15% of the folding trajectories) can alter the folding scenario from three-state folding, a major folding scenario for the FBP28 WW domain (WT) and its mutants, toward two-state or downhill folding at temperatures below the melting point. Here, for a better understanding of the physics of the formation/elimination of intermediates, (i) the dynamics and energetics of formation of β-strands in folding, misfolding, and nonfolding trajectories of these mutants (L26D and L26W) is investigated; (ii) the experimental structures of WT, L26D, and L26W are analyzed in terms of a kink (heteroclinic standing wave solution) of a generalized discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation. We show that the formation of each β-strand in folding trajectories is accompanied by the emergence of kinks in internal coordinate space as well as a decrease in local free energy. In particular, the decrease in downhill folding trajectory is ∼7 kcal/mol, while it varies between 31 and 48 kcal/mol for the three-state folding trajectory. The kink analyses of the experimental structures give new insights into formation of intermediates, which may become a useful tool for preventing aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khatuna Kachlishvili
- Baker Laboratory of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca 14853-1301, New York, United States
| | - Anatolii Korneev
- Laboratory of Physics of Living Matter, Far Eastern Federal University, Sukhanova 8, Vladivostok 690950, Russia
| | - Luka Maisuradze
- Baker Laboratory of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca 14853-1301, New York, United States.,Biochemistry, Quantitative Biology, Biophysics, and Structural Biology (BQBS) Track, Yale University, New Haven 06520-8084, ConnecticutUnited States
| | - Jiaojiao Liu
- School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, P. R. China
| | - Harold A Scheraga
- Baker Laboratory of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca 14853-1301, New York, United States
| | - Alexander Molochkov
- Laboratory of Physics of Living Matter, Far Eastern Federal University, Sukhanova 8, Vladivostok 690950, Russia
| | - Patrick Senet
- Baker Laboratory of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca 14853-1301, New York, United States.,Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Carnot de Bourgogne, UMR 6303 CNRS-Univ. de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 9 Av. A. Savary, BP 47 870, Dijon Cedex F-21078, France
| | - Antti J Niemi
- Laboratory of Physics of Living Matter, Far Eastern Federal University, Sukhanova 8, Vladivostok 690950, Russia.,School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, P. R. China.,Laboratoire de Mathematiques et Physique Theorique CNRS UMR 6083, Fédération Denis Poisson, Université de Tours, Parc de Grandmont, Tours F37200, France.,Nordita, Stockholm University, Roslagstullsbacken 23, Stockholm SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Gia G Maisuradze
- Baker Laboratory of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca 14853-1301, New York, United States
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Melnikov D, Niemi AJ, Sedrakyan A. Topological Indices of Proteins. Sci Rep 2019; 9:14641. [PMID: 31601844 PMCID: PMC6787103 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-50809-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2019] [Accepted: 09/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Protein molecules can be approximated by discrete polygonal chains of amino acids. Standard topological tools can be applied to the smoothening of the polygons to introduce a topological classification of folded states of proteins, for example, using the self-linking number of the corresponding framed curves. In this paper we extend this classification to the discrete version, taking advantage of the “randomness” of such curves. Known definitions of the self-linking number apply to non-singular framings: for example, the Frenet framing cannot be used if the curve has inflection points. However, in the discrete proteins the special points are naturally resolved. Consequently, a separate integer topological characteristics can be introduced, which takes into account the intrinsic features of the special points. This works well for the proteins in our analysis, for which we compute integer topological indices associated with the singularities of the Frenet framing. We show how a version of the Calugareanu’s theorem is satisfied for the associated self-linking number of a discrete curve. Since the singularities of the Frenet framing correspond to the structural motifs of proteins, we propose topological indices as a technical tool for the description of the folding dynamics of proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitry Melnikov
- International Institute of Physics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Campus Universitário, Lagoa Nova, Natal-RN, 59078-970, Brazil. .,Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics, B. Cheremushkinskaya 25, Moscow, 117218, Russia.
| | - Antti J Niemi
- Laboratoire de Mathematiques et Physique Theorique CNRS UMR 6083, Fédération Denis Poisson, Université de Tours, Parc de Grandmont, F37200, Tours, France.,Nordita, Stockholm University, Roslagstullsbacken 23, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.,Laboratory of Physics of Living Matter, Far Eastern Federal University, Sukhanova 8, Vladivostok, 690950, Russia.,Department of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Haidian District, Beijing, 100081, P. R. China
| | - Ara Sedrakyan
- International Institute of Physics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Campus Universitário, Lagoa Nova, Natal-RN, 59078-970, Brazil.,National Laboratory after Alikhanyan, Yerevan Physics Institute, Br.Alikhanyan 2, Yerevan, 0036, Armenia
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Nasedkin A, Davidsson J, Niemi AJ, Peng X. Solution x-ray scattering and structure formation in protein dynamics. Phys Rev E 2018; 96:062405. [PMID: 29347365 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.96.062405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
We propose a computationally effective approach that builds on Landau mean-field theory in combination with modern nonequilibrium statistical mechanics to model and interpret protein dynamics and structure formation in small- to wide-angle x-ray scattering (S/WAXS) experiments. We develop the methodology by analyzing experimental data in the case of Engrailed homeodomain protein as an example. We demonstrate how to interpret S/WAXS data qualitatively with a good precision and over an extended temperature range. We explain experimental observations in terms of protein phase structure, and we make predictions for future experiments and for how to analyze data at different ambient temperature values. We conclude that the approach we propose has the potential to become a highly accurate, computationally effective, and predictive tool for analyzing S/WAXS data. For this, we compare our results with those obtained previously in an all-atom molecular dynamics simulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandr Nasedkin
- Department of Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Jan Davidsson
- Department of Chemistry, Uppsala University, P. O. Box 803, S-75108, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Antti J Niemi
- Department of Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden.,Nordita, Stockholm University, Roslagstullsbacken 23, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, P. O. Box 803, S-75108, Uppsala, Sweden.,Laboratoire de Mathematiques et Physique Theorique CNRS UMR 6083, Fédération Denis Poisson, Université de Tours, Parc de Grandmont, F37200, Tours, France.,School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, P.R. China.,Laboratory of Physics of Living Matter, School of Biomedicine, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok 690090, Russia¶
| | - Xubiao Peng
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T1Z4, Canada
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5
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Liu J, Dai J, He J, Niemi AJ, Ilieva N. Multistage modeling of protein dynamics with monomeric Myc oncoprotein as an example. Phys Rev E 2017; 95:032406. [PMID: 28415220 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.95.032406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
We propose to combine a mean-field approach with all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) into a multistage algorithm that can model protein folding and dynamics over very long time periods yet with atomic-level precision. As an example, we investigate an isolated monomeric Myc oncoprotein that has been implicated in carcinomas including those in colon, breast, and lungs. Under physiological conditions a monomeric Myc is presumed to be an example of intrinsically disordered proteins that pose a serious challenge to existing modeling techniques. We argue that a room-temperature monomeric Myc is in a dynamical state, it oscillates between different conformations that we identify. For this we adopt the Cα backbone of Myc in a crystallographic heteromer as an initial ansatz for the monomeric structure. We construct a multisoliton of the pertinent Landau free energy to describe the Cα profile with ultrahigh precision. We use Glauber dynamics to resolve how the multisoliton responds to repeated increases and decreases in ambient temperature. We confirm that the initial structure is unstable in isolation. We reveal a highly degenerate ground-state landscape, an attractive set towards which Glauber dynamics converges in the limit of vanishing ambient temperature. We analyze the thermal stability of this Glauber attractor using room-temperature molecular dynamics. We identify and scrutinize a particularly stable subset in which the two helical segments of the original multisoliton align in parallel next to each other. During the MD time evolution of a representative structure from this subset, we observe intermittent quasiparticle oscillations along the C-terminal α helix, some of which resemble a translating Davydov's Amide-I soliton. We propose that the presence of oscillatory motion is in line with the expected intrinsically disordered character of Myc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaojiao Liu
- School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Jin Dai
- School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianfeng He
- School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Antti J Niemi
- School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China.,Nordita, Stockholm University, Roslagstullsbacken 23, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, P. O. Box 803, S-75108, Uppsala, Sweden.,Laboratoire de Mathematiques et Physique Theorique CNRS UMR 6083, Fédération Denis Poisson, Université de Tours, Parc de Grandmont, F37200, Tours, France.,Physics of Living Matter, School of Biomedicine, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok 690950, Russia
| | - Nevena Ilieva
- Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 25A, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., Sofia 1113, Bulgaria
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Peng X, Sieradzan AK, Niemi AJ. Thermal unfolding of myoglobin in the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson approach. Phys Rev E 2016; 94:062405. [PMID: 28085346 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.94.062405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson paradigm is applied to model the low-temperature crystallographic Cα backbone structure of sperm whale myoglobin. The Glauber protocol is employed to simulate its response to an increase in ambient temperature. The myoglobin is found to unfold from its native state by a succession of α-helical intermediates, fully in line with the observed folding and unfolding patterns in denaturation experiments. In particular, a molten globule intermediate is identified with experimentally correct attributes. A detailed, experimentally testable contact map is constructed to characterize the specifics of the unfolding pathway, including the formation of long-range interactions. The results reveal how the unfolding process of a protein is driven by the interplay between, and a successive melting of, its modular secondary structure components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xubiao Peng
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T1Z4, Canada
| | - Adam K Sieradzan
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Antti J Niemi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, P. O. Box 803, S-75108, Uppsala, Sweden.,Laboratoire de Mathematiques et Physique Theorique CNRS UMR 6083, Fédération Denis Poisson, Université de Tours, Parc de Grandmont, F37200, Tours, France.,Department of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Haidian District, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China
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He J, Dai J, Li J, Peng X, Niemi AJ. Aspects of structural landscape of human islet amyloid polypeptide. J Chem Phys 2015; 142:045102. [PMID: 25638009 DOI: 10.1063/1.4905586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) co-operates with insulin to maintain glycemic balance. It also constitutes the amyloid plaques that aggregate in the pancreas of type-II diabetic patients. We have performed extensive in silico investigations to analyse the structural landscape of monomeric hIAPP, which is presumed to be intrinsically disordered. For this, we construct from first principles a highly predictive energy function that describes a monomeric hIAPP observed in a nuclear magnetic resonance experiment, as a local energy minimum. We subject our theoretical model of hIAPP to repeated heating and cooling simulations, back and forth between a high temperature regime where the conformation resembles a random walker and a low temperature limit where no thermal motions prevail. We find that the final low temperature conformations display a high level of degeneracy, in a manner which is fully in line with the presumed intrinsically disordered character of hIAPP. In particular, we identify an isolated family of α-helical conformations that might cause the transition to amyloidosis, by nucleation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianfeng He
- School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Jin Dai
- School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Jing Li
- Institute of Biopharmaceutical Research, Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group Beijing Haiyan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Xubiao Peng
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 803, S-75108 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Antti J Niemi
- School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China
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Krokhotin A, Nicolis S, Niemi AJ. Long range correlations and folding angle with applications to α-helical proteins. J Chem Phys 2014; 140:095103. [PMID: 24606382 DOI: 10.1063/1.4865933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The conformational complexity of chain-like macromolecules such as proteins and other linear polymers is much larger than that of point-like atoms and molecules. Unlike particles, chains can bend, twist, and even become knotted. Thus chains might also display a much richer phase structure. Unfortunately, it is not very easy to characterize the phase of a long chain. Essentially, the only known attribute is the radius of gyration. The way how it changes when the degree of polymerization becomes different, and how it evolves when the ambient temperature and solvent properties change, is commonly used to disclose the phase. But in any finite length chain there are corrections to scaling that complicate the detailed analysis of the phase structure. Here we introduce a quantity that we call the folding angle to identify and scrutinize the phase structure, as a complement to the radius of gyration. We argue for a mean-field level relationship between the folding angle and the scaling exponent in the radius of gyration. We then estimate the value of the folding angle in the case of crystallographic α-helical protein structures in the Protein Data Bank. We also show how the experimental value of the folding angle can be obtained computationally, using a semiclassical Born-Oppenheimer description of α-helical chiral chains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Krokhotin
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 803, S-75108, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Stam Nicolis
- Laboratoire de Mathematiques et Physique Theorique CNRS UMR 6083, Fédération Denis Poisson, Université de Tours, Parc de Grandmont, F37200 Tours, France
| | - Antti J Niemi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 803, S-75108, Uppsala, Sweden
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Krokhotin A, Liwo A, Maisuradze GG, Niemi AJ, Scheraga HA. Kinks, loops, and protein folding, with protein A as an example. J Chem Phys 2014; 140:025101. [PMID: 24437917 PMCID: PMC3899063 DOI: 10.1063/1.4855735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2013] [Accepted: 12/10/2013] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The dynamics and energetics of formation of loops in the 46-residue N-terminal fragment of the B-domain of staphylococcal protein A has been studied. Numerical simulations have been performed using coarse-grained molecular dynamics with the united-residue (UNRES) force field. The results have been analyzed in terms of a kink (heteroclinic standing wave solution) of a generalized discrete nonlinear Schrödinger (DNLS) equation. In the case of proteins, the DNLS equation arises from a C(α)-trace-based energy function. Three individual kink profiles were identified in the experimental three-α-helix structure of protein A, in the range of the Glu16-Asn29, Leu20-Asn29, and Gln33-Asn44 residues, respectively; these correspond to two loops in the native structure. UNRES simulations were started from the full right-handed α-helix to obtain a clear picture of kink formation, which would otherwise be blurred by helix formation. All three kinks emerged during coarse-grained simulations. It was found that the formation of each is accompanied by a local free energy increase; this is expressed as the change of UNRES energy which has the physical sense of the potential of mean force of a polypeptide chain. The increase is about 7 kcal/mol. This value can thus be considered as the free energy barrier to kink formation in full α-helical segments of polypeptide chains. During the simulations, the kinks emerge, disappear, propagate, and annihilate each other many times. It was found that the formation of a kink is initiated by an abrupt change in the orientation of a pair of consecutive side chains in the loop region. This resembles the formation of a Bloch wall along a spin chain, where the C(α) backbone corresponds to the chain, and the amino acid side chains are interpreted as the spin variables. This observation suggests that nearest-neighbor side chain-side chain interactions are responsible for initiation of loop formation. It was also found that the individual kinks are reflected as clear peaks in the principal modes of the analyzed trajectory of protein A, the shapes of which resemble the directional derivatives of the kinks along the chain. These observations suggest that the kinks of the DNLS equation determine the functionally important motions of proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Krokhotin
- Department of Physics and Astronomy and Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 803, S-75108 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Adam Liwo
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdansk, ul. Sobieskiego 18, 80-952 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Gia G Maisuradze
- Baker Laboratory of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-1301, USA
| | - Antti J Niemi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy and Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 803, S-75108 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Harold A Scheraga
- Baker Laboratory of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-1301, USA
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Krokhotin A, Niemi AJ, Peng X. On the role of thermal backbone fluctuations in myoglobin ligand gate dynamics. J Chem Phys 2013; 138:175101. [PMID: 23656161 DOI: 10.1063/1.4801330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
We construct an energy function that describes the crystallographic structure of sperm whale myoglobin backbone. As a model in our construction, we use the Protein Data Bank entry 1ABS that has been measured at liquid helium temperature. Consequently, the thermal B-factor fluctuations are very small, which is an advantage in our construction. The energy function that we utilize resembles that of the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Likewise, ours supports topological solitons as local minimum energy configurations. We describe the 1ABS backbone in terms of topological solitons with a precision that deviates from 1ABS by an average root-mean-square distance, which is less than the experimentally observed Debye-Waller B-factor fluctuation distance. We then subject the topological multi-soliton solution to extensive numerical heating and cooling experiments, over a very wide range of temperatures. We concentrate in particular to temperatures above 300 K and below the Θ-point unfolding temperature, which is around 348 K. We confirm that the behavior of the topological multi-soliton is fully consistent with Anfinsen's thermodynamic principle, up to very high temperatures. We observe that the structure responds to an increase of temperature consistently in a very similar manner. This enables us to characterize the onset of thermally induced conformational changes in terms of three distinct backbone ligand gates. One of the gates is made of the helix F and the helix E. The two other gates are chosen similarly, when open they provide a direct access route for a ligand to reach the heme. We find that out of the three gates we investigate, the one which is formed by helices B and G is the most sensitive to thermally induced conformational changes. Our approach provides a novel perspective to the important problem of ligand entry and exit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Krokhotin
- Department of Physics and Astronomy and Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 803, S-75108 Uppsala, Sweden.
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