1
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Shin H, Yoon T, You J, Na S. A study of forecasting the Nephila clavipes silk fiber's ultimate tensile strength using machine learning strategies. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater 2024; 157:106643. [PMID: 38945120 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2024.106643] [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: 05/06/2024] [Revised: 06/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Recent advancements in biomaterial research conduct artificial intelligence for predicting diverse material properties. However, research predicting the mechanical properties of biomaterial based on amino acid sequences have been notably absent. This research pioneers the use of classification models to predict ultimate tensile strength from silk fiber amino acid sequences, employing logistic regression, support vector machines with various kernels, and a deep neural network (DNN). Remarkably, the model demonstrates a high accuracy of 0.83 during the generalization test. The study introduces an innovative approach to predicting biomaterial mechanical properties beyond traditional experimental methods. Recognizing the limitations of conventional linear prediction models, the research emphasizes the future trajectory toward DNNs that can adeptly capture non-linear relationships with high precision. Moreover, through comprehensive performance comparisons among diverse prediction models, the study offers insights into the effectiveness of specific models for predicting the mechanical properties of certain materials. In conclusion, this study serves as a pioneering contribution, laying the groundwork for future endeavors and advocating for the seamless integration of AI methodologies into materials research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongchul Shin
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Taeyoung Yoon
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Juneseok You
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi, 31977, Republic of Korea.
| | - Sungsoo Na
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea.
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2
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Negahdari B, Sarkoohi P, Ghasemi Nezhad F, Shahbazi B, Ahmadi K. Design of multi-epitope vaccine candidate based on OmpA, CarO and ZnuD proteins against multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Heliyon 2024; 10:e34690. [PMID: 39149030 PMCID: PMC11324976 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e34690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2024] [Accepted: 07/15/2024] [Indexed: 08/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Acinetobacter baumannii has been identified as a major cause of nosocomial infections. Acinetobacter infections are often difficult to treat with multidrug resistant phenotypes. One of the most effective ways to combat infectious diseases is through vaccination. In this study, an attempt was made to select the most protective and potent immunostimulatory epitopes based on the epitope-rich domains of the ZnuD, OmpA and CarO proteins of Acinetobacter baumannii to design a vaccine that can protect against this infection. After predicting the epitope of B- and T-cells, seven antigenic regions of three proteins CarO, ZnuD and OmpA, were selected. These regions were bound by a GGGS linker. The binding affinity and molecular interactions of the vaccine with the immune receptors TLR2 and TLR4 were studied using molecular docking analysis. This vaccine design was subjected to in silico immune simulations using C-ImmSim. The designed vaccine was highly antigenic, non-allergenic and stable. TLR2 and TLR4 were selected to analyze the ability of the modeled chimeric protein to interact with immune system receptors. The results showed strong interaction between the designed protein vaccine with TLR2 (-18.8 kcal mol-1) and TLR4 (-15.1 kcal mol-1). To verify the stability of the interactions and the structure of the designed protein, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed for 200 ns. Various analyses using MD showed that the protein structure is stable alone and in interaction with TLR2 and TLR4. The ability of the vaccine candidate protein to stimulate the immune system to produce the necessary cytokines and antibodies against Acinetobacter baumannii was also demonstrated by the ability of the protein designed using the C-ImmSim web server to induce an immune response. Therefore, the designed protein vaccine may be a suitable candidate for in vivo as well as in vitro studies against Acinetobacter baumannii infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Batul Negahdari
- Student Research Committee, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran
| | - Parisa Sarkoohi
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran
| | - Forozan Ghasemi Nezhad
- Student Research Committee, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran
| | - Behzad Shahbazi
- School of Pharmacy, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
- Nervous System Stem Cells Research Center, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
| | - Khadijeh Ahmadi
- Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center, Hormozgan Health Institute, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran
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3
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Goncalves BG, Heise RM, Banerjee IA. Development of Self-Assembled Biomimetic Nanoscale Collagen-like Peptide-Based Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering: An In Silico and Laboratory Study. Biomimetics (Basel) 2023; 8:548. [PMID: 37999189 PMCID: PMC10669358 DOI: 10.3390/biomimetics8070548] [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: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Development of biocomposite scaffolds has gained tremendous attention due to their potential for tissue regeneration. However, most scaffolds often contain animal-derived collagen that may elicit an immunological response, necessitating the development of new biomaterials. Herein, we developed a new collagen-like peptide,(Pro-Ala-His)10 (PAH)10, and explored its ability to be utilized as a functional biomaterial by incorporating it with a newly synthesized peptide-based self-assembled gel. The gel was prepared by conjugating a pectin derivative, galataric acid, with a pro-angiogenic peptide (LHYQDLLQLQY) and further functionalized with a cortistatin-derived peptide, (Phe-Trp-Lys-Thr)4 (FWKT)4, and the bio-ionic liquid choline acetate. The self-assembly of (PAH)10 and its interactions with the galactarate-peptide conjugates were examined using replica exchange molecular dynamics (REMD) simulations. Results revealed the formation of a multi-layered scaffold, with enhanced stability at higher temperatures. We then synthesized the scaffold and examined its physicochemical properties and its ability to integrate with aortic smooth muscle cells. The scaffold was further utilized as a bioink for bioprinting to form three-dimensional cell-scaffold matrices. Furthermore, the formation of actin filaments and elongated cell morphology was observed. These results indicate that the (PAH)10 hybrid scaffold provides a suitable environment for cell adhesion, proliferation and growth, making it a potentially valuable biomaterial for tissue engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ipsita A. Banerjee
- Department of Chemistry, Fordham University, 441 East Fordham Road, Bronx, New York, NY 10458, USA; (B.G.G.); (R.M.H.)
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4
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Ingraham JB, Baranov M, Costello Z, Barber KW, Wang W, Ismail A, Frappier V, Lord DM, Ng-Thow-Hing C, Van Vlack ER, Tie S, Xue V, Cowles SC, Leung A, Rodrigues JV, Morales-Perez CL, Ayoub AM, Green R, Puentes K, Oplinger F, Panwar NV, Obermeyer F, Root AR, Beam AL, Poelwijk FJ, Grigoryan G. Illuminating protein space with a programmable generative model. Nature 2023; 623:1070-1078. [PMID: 37968394 PMCID: PMC10686827 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06728-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 46.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023]
Abstract
Three billion years of evolution has produced a tremendous diversity of protein molecules1, but the full potential of proteins is likely to be much greater. Accessing this potential has been challenging for both computation and experiments because the space of possible protein molecules is much larger than the space of those likely to have functions. Here we introduce Chroma, a generative model for proteins and protein complexes that can directly sample novel protein structures and sequences, and that can be conditioned to steer the generative process towards desired properties and functions. To enable this, we introduce a diffusion process that respects the conformational statistics of polymer ensembles, an efficient neural architecture for molecular systems that enables long-range reasoning with sub-quadratic scaling, layers for efficiently synthesizing three-dimensional structures of proteins from predicted inter-residue geometries and a general low-temperature sampling algorithm for diffusion models. Chroma achieves protein design as Bayesian inference under external constraints, which can involve symmetries, substructure, shape, semantics and even natural-language prompts. The experimental characterization of 310 proteins shows that sampling from Chroma results in proteins that are highly expressed, fold and have favourable biophysical properties. The crystal structures of two designed proteins exhibit atomistic agreement with Chroma samples (a backbone root-mean-square deviation of around 1.0 Å). With this unified approach to protein design, we hope to accelerate the programming of protein matter to benefit human health, materials science and synthetic biology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Wujie Wang
- Generate Biomedicines, Somerville, MA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Shan Tie
- Generate Biomedicines, Somerville, MA, USA
| | | | | | - Alan Leung
- Generate Biomedicines, Somerville, MA, USA
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5
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Gouda AM, Soltan MA, Abd-Elghany K, Sileem AE, Elnahas HM, Ateya MAM, Elbatreek MH, Darwish KM, Bogari HA, Lashkar MO, Aldurdunji MM, Elhady SS, Ahmad TA, Said AM. Integration of immunoinformatics and cheminformatics to design and evaluate a multitope vaccine against Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa coinfection. Front Mol Biosci 2023; 10:1123411. [PMID: 36911530 PMCID: PMC9999731 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1123411] [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: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) are the most common Gram-negative bacteria associated with pneumonia and coinfecting the same patient. Despite their high virulence, there is no effective vaccine against them. Methods: In the current study, the screening of several proteins from both pathogens highlighted FepA and OmpK35 for K. pneumonia in addition to HasR and OprF from P. aeruginosa as promising candidates for epitope mapping. Those four proteins were linked to form a multitope vaccine, that was formulated with a suitable adjuvant, and PADRE peptides to finalize the multitope vaccine construct. The final vaccine's physicochemical features, antigenicity, toxicity, allergenicity, and solubility were evaluated for use in humans. Results: The output of the computational analysis revealed that the designed multitope construct has passed these assessments with satisfactory scores where, as the last stage, we performed a molecular docking study between the potential vaccine construct and K. pneumonia associated immune receptors, TLR4 and TLR2, showing affinitive to both targets with preferentiality for the TLR4 receptor protein. Validation of the docking studies has proceeded through molecular dynamics simulation, which estimated a strong binding and supported the nomination of the designed vaccine as a putative solution for K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa coinfection. Here, we describe the approach for the design and assessment of our potential vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed M Gouda
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
| | - Mohamed A Soltan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sinai University-Kantara Branch, Ismailia, Egypt
| | - Khalid Abd-Elghany
- Department of Microbiology-Microbial Biotechnology, Egyptian Drug Authority, Giza, Egypt
| | - Ashraf E Sileem
- Department of Chest Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
| | - Hanan M Elnahas
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
| | | | - Mahmoud H Elbatreek
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
| | - Khaled M Darwish
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt
| | - Hanin A Bogari
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Manar O Lashkar
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammed M Aldurdunji
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sameh S Elhady
- Department of Natural Products, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.,Center for Artificial Intelligence in Precision Medicines, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Tarek A Ahmad
- Library Sector, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt
| | - Ahmed Mohamed Said
- Department of Chest Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
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6
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Taheri-Ledari M, Zandieh A, Shariatpanahi SP, Eslahchi C. Assignment of structural domains in proteins using diffusion kernels on graphs. BMC Bioinformatics 2022; 23:369. [PMID: 36076174 PMCID: PMC9461149 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-022-04902-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Though proposing algorithmic approaches for protein domain decomposition has been of high interest, the inherent ambiguity to the problem makes it still an active area of research. Besides, accurate automated methods are in high demand as the number of solved structures for complex proteins is on the rise. While majority of the previous efforts for decomposition of 3D structures are centered on the developing clustering algorithms, employing enhanced measures of proximity between the amino acids has remained rather uncharted. If there exists a kernel function that in its reproducing kernel Hilbert space, structural domains of proteins become well separated, then protein structures can be parsed into domains without the need to use a complex clustering algorithm. Inspired by this idea, we developed a protein domain decomposition method based on diffusion kernels on protein graphs. We examined all combinations of four graph node kernels and two clustering algorithms to investigate their capability to decompose protein structures. The proposed method is tested on five of the most commonly used benchmark datasets for protein domain assignment plus a comprehensive non-redundant dataset. The results show a competitive performance of the method utilizing one of the diffusion kernels compared to four of the best automatic methods. Our method is also able to offer alternative partitionings for the same structure which is in line with the subjective definition of protein domain. With a competitive accuracy and balanced performance for the simple and complex structures despite relying on a relatively naive criterion to choose optimal decomposition, the proposed method revealed that diffusion kernels on graphs in particular, and kernel functions in general are promising measures to facilitate parsing proteins into domains and performing different structural analysis on proteins. The size and interconnectedness of the protein graphs make them promising targets for diffusion kernels as measures of affinity between amino acids. The versatility of our method allows the implementation of future kernels with higher performance. The source code of the proposed method is accessible at https://github.com/taherimo/kludo . Also, the proposed method is available as a web application from https://cbph.ir/tools/kludo .
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Taheri-Ledari
- Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics (IBB), University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Amirali Zandieh
- Department of Biophysics, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics (IBB), University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Seyed Peyman Shariatpanahi
- Department of Biophysics, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics (IBB), University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Changiz Eslahchi
- Department of Computer and Data Sciences, Faculty of Mathematical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran. .,School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran.
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7
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Shityakov S, Skorb EV, Nosonovsky M. Topological bio-scaling analysis as a universal measure of protein folding. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220160. [PMID: 35845855 PMCID: PMC9277272 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Scaling relationships for polymeric molecules establish power law dependencies between the number of molecular segments and linear dimensions, such as the radius of gyration. They also establish spatial topological properties of the chains, such as their dimensionality. In the spatial domain, power exponents α = 1 (linear stretched molecule), α = 0.5 (the ideal chain) and α = 0.333 (compact globule) are significant. During folding, the molecule undergoes the transition from the one-dimensional linear to the three-dimensional globular state within a very short time. However, intermediate states with fractional dimensions can be stabilized by modifying the solubility (e.g. by changing the solution temperature). Topological properties, such as dimension, correlate with the interaction energy, and thus by tuning the solubility one can control molecular interaction. We investigate these correlations using the example of a well-studied short model of Trp-cage protein. The radius of gyration is used to estimate the fractal dimension of the chain at different stages of folding. It is expected that the same principle is applicable to much larger molecules and that topological (dimensional) characteristics can provide insights into molecular folding and interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergey Shityakov
- Infochemistry Scientific Center (ISC), ITMO University, 9 Lomonosova St., St Petersburg 191002, Russia
| | - Ekaterina V. Skorb
- Infochemistry Scientific Center (ISC), ITMO University, 9 Lomonosova St., St Petersburg 191002, Russia
| | - Michael Nosonovsky
- Infochemistry Scientific Center (ISC), ITMO University, 9 Lomonosova St., St Petersburg 191002, Russia
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8
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Binder JL, Berendzen J, Stevens AO, He Y, Wang J, Dokholyan NV, Oprea TI. AlphaFold illuminates half of the dark human proteins. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2022; 74:102372. [PMID: 35439658 PMCID: PMC10669925 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2022.102372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Revised: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the use of confidence scores to evaluate the accuracy of a given AlphaFold (AF2) protein model for drug discovery. Prediction of accuracy is improved by not considering confidence scores below 80 due to the effects of disorder. On a set of recent crystal structures, 95% are likely to have accurate folds. Conformational discordance in the training set has a much more significant effect on accuracy than sequence divergence. We propose criteria for models and residues that are possibly useful for virtual screening. Based on these criteria, AF2 provides models for half of understudied (dark) human proteins and two-thirds of residues in those models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica L Binder
- Translational Informatics Division, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA. https://twitter.com/@jessicamaine
| | - Joel Berendzen
- Translational Informatics Division, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Amy O Stevens
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Yi He
- Translational Informatics Division, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA; Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Jian Wang
- Department of Pharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033, USA
| | - Nikolay V Dokholyan
- Department of Pharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033, USA; Department of Chemistry and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States
| | - Tudor I Oprea
- Translational Informatics Division, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA; UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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9
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Rowaiye AB, Ogugua AJ, Ibeanu G, Bur D, Asala MT, Ogbeide OB, Abraham EO, Usman HB. Identifying potential natural inhibitors of Brucella melitensis Methionyl-tRNA synthetase through an in-silico approach. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022; 16:e0009799. [PMID: 35312681 PMCID: PMC8970508 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella. Although it is the most common zoonosis worldwide, there are increasing reports of drug resistance and cases of relapse after long term treatment with the existing drugs of choice. This study therefore aims at identifying possible natural inhibitors of Brucella melitensis Methionyl-tRNA synthetase through an in-silico approach. Methods Using PyRx 0.8 virtual screening software, the target was docked against a library of natural compounds obtained from edible African plants. The compound, 2-({3-[(3,5-dichlorobenzyl) amino] propyl} amino) quinolin-4(1H)-one (OOU) which is a co-crystallized ligand with the target was used as the reference compound. Screening of the molecular descriptors of the compounds for bioavailability, pharmacokinetic properties, and bioactivity was performed using the SWISSADME, pkCSM, and Molinspiration web servers respectively. The Fpocket and PLIP webservers were used to perform the analyses of the binding pockets and the protein ligand interactions. Analysis of the time-resolved trajectories of the Apo and Holo forms of the target was performed using the Galaxy and MDWeb servers. Results The lead compounds, Strophanthidin and Isopteropodin are present in Corchorus olitorius and Uncaria tomentosa (Cat’s-claw) plants respectively. Isopteropodin had a binding affinity score of -8.9 kcal / ml with the target and had 17 anti-correlating residues in Pocket 1 after molecular dynamics simulation. The complex formed by Isopteropodin and the target had a total RMSD of 4.408 and a total RMSF of 9.8067. However, Strophanthidin formed 3 hydrogen bonds with the target at ILE21, GLY262 and LEU294, and induced a total RMSF of 5.4541 at Pocket 1. Conclusion Overall, Isopteropodin and Strophanthidin were found to be better drug candidates than OOU and they showed potentials to inhibit the Brucella melitensis Methionyl-tRNA synthetase at Pocket 1, hence abilities to treat brucellosis. In-vivo and in-vitro investigations are needed to further evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the lead compounds. The cure for brucellosis involves a long course of treatment with a combination of antibiotics. However, some of the drugs are not recommended for very young children and pregnant women. Moreover, cases of relapse and resistance to these drugs are reported. With the Brucella Methionyl-tRNA synthetase as a target, molecular docking and virtual screening was used to identify possible drug candidates from a library of 1524 compounds obtained from edible African plants. Two lead compounds, Strophanthidin and Isopteropodin usually present in Corchorus olitorius and Uncaria tomentosa (Cat’s claw) plants showed potentials to inhibit the Brucella melitensis Methionyl-tRNA synthetase. Their bioactivities were also confirmed in their molecular dynamic simulation with the target protein. Consequently, both compounds have potentials for safety and efficacy in the treatment of brucellosis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Akwoba Joseph Ogugua
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
- * E-mail:
| | - Gordon Ibeanu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Science, North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Doofan Bur
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, National Biotechnology Development Agency, Abuja, Nigeria
| | - Mercy Titilayo Asala
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, National Biotechnology Development Agency, Abuja, Nigeria
| | | | | | - Hamzah Bundu Usman
- Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, Federal University Gusau, Gusau, Nigeria
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10
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Pražnikar J, Attygalle NT. Quantitative analysis of visual codewords of a protein distance matrix. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0263566. [PMID: 35120181 PMCID: PMC8815937 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
3D protein structures can be analyzed using a distance matrix calculated as the pairwise distance between all Cα atoms in the protein model. Although researchers have efficiently used distance matrices to classify proteins and find homologous proteins, much less work has been done on quantitative analysis of distance matrix features. Therefore, the distance matrix was analyzed as gray scale image using KAZE feature extractor algorithm with Bag of Visual Words model. In this study, each protein was represented as a histogram of visual codewords. The analysis showed that a very small number of codewords (~1%) have a high relative frequency (> 0.25) and that the majority of codewords have a relative frequency around 0.05. We have also shown that there is a relationship between the frequency of codewords and the position of the features in a distance matrix. The codewords that are more frequent are located closer to the main diagonal. Less frequent codewords, on the other hand, are located in the corners of the distance matrix, far from the main diagonal. Moreover, the analysis showed a correlation between the number of unique codewords and the 3D repeats in the protein structure. The solenoid and tandem repeats proteins have a significantly lower number of unique codewords than the globular proteins. Finally, the codeword histograms and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier were used to classify solenoid and globular proteins. The result showed that the SVM classifier fed with codeword histograms correctly classified 352 out of 354 proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jure Pražnikar
- Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, Koper, Slovenia
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology, Institute Jožef Stefan, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- * E-mail:
| | - Nuwan Tharanga Attygalle
- Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, Koper, Slovenia
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11
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Guo ZH, Yuan L, Tan YL, Zhang BG, Shi YZ. RNAStat: An Integrated Tool for Statistical Analysis of RNA 3D Structures. FRONTIERS IN BIOINFORMATICS 2022; 1:809082. [PMID: 36303785 PMCID: PMC9580920 DOI: 10.3389/fbinf.2021.809082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The 3D architectures of RNAs are essential for understanding their cellular functions. While an accurate scoring function based on the statistics of known RNA structures is a key component for successful RNA structure prediction or evaluation, there are few tools or web servers that can be directly used to make comprehensive statistical analysis for RNA 3D structures. In this work, we developed RNAStat, an integrated tool for making statistics on RNA 3D structures. For given RNA structures, RNAStat automatically calculates RNA structural properties such as size and shape, and shows their distributions. Based on the RNA structure annotation from DSSR, RNAStat provides statistical information of RNA secondary structure motifs including canonical/non-canonical base pairs, stems, and various loops. In particular, the geometry of base-pairing/stacking can be calculated in RNAStat by constructing a local coordinate system for each base. In addition, RNAStat also supplies the distribution of distance between any atoms to the users to help build distance-based RNA statistical potentials. To test the usability of the tool, we established a non-redundant RNA 3D structure dataset, and based on the dataset, we made a comprehensive statistical analysis on RNA structures, which could have the guiding significance for RNA structure modeling. The python code of RNAStat, the dataset used in this work, and corresponding statistical data files are freely available at GitHub (https://github.com/RNA-folding-lab/RNAStat).
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi-Hao Guo
- Research Center of Nonlinear Science, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan, China
- School of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan, China
| | - Li Yuan
- Research Center of Nonlinear Science, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan, China
- School of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan, China
| | - Ya-Lan Tan
- Research Center of Nonlinear Science, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan, China
| | - Ben-Gong Zhang
- Research Center of Nonlinear Science, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan, China
| | - Ya-Zhou Shi
- Research Center of Nonlinear Science, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan, China
- *Correspondence: Ya-Zhou Shi,
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12
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Thambu K, Glomb V, Hernadez R, Facelli JC. Microproteins: a 3D protein structure prediction analysis. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2021; 40:13738-13746. [PMID: 34705603 PMCID: PMC9489054 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2021.1993343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Microproteins are a novel and expanding group of small proteins encoded by less than 100-150 codons that are translated from small open reading frames (smORFs). It has been shown that smORFs and their corresponding microproteins make up a sizable fraction of the genome and proteome, but very little information on microproteins' structural features exists in the literature. In this paper, we present the results of analyzing the predicted structures of 44 microproteins. The results show that this set of microproteins have a different amino acid composition profiles, similar structural characteristics and fewer small-molecule ligand binding sites than regular proteins.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kishan Thambu
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
| | - Victoria Glomb
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
| | - Rolando Hernadez
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
| | - Julio C. Facelli
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
- Center for Clinical and Translational Science, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
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13
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Le Vay K, Carter BM, Watkins DW, Dora Tang TY, Ting VP, Cölfen H, Rambo RP, Smith AJ, Ross Anderson JL, Perriman AW. Controlling Protein Nanocage Assembly with Hydrostatic Pressure. J Am Chem Soc 2020; 142:20640-20650. [PMID: 33252237 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c07285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Controlling the assembly and disassembly of nanoscale protein cages for the capture and internalization of protein or non-proteinaceous components is fundamentally important to a diverse range of bionanotechnological applications. Here, we study the reversible, pressure-induced dissociation of a natural protein nanocage, E. coli bacterioferritin (Bfr), using synchrotron radiation small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and circular dichroism (CD). We demonstrate that hydrostatic pressures of 450 MPa are sufficient to completely dissociate the Bfr 24-mer into protein dimers, and the reversibility and kinetics of the reassembly process can be controlled by selecting appropriate buffer conditions. We also demonstrate that the heme B prosthetic group present at the subunit dimer interface influences the stability and pressure lability of the cage, despite its location being discrete from the interdimer interface that is key to cage assembly. This indicates a major cage-stabilizing role for heme within this family of ferritins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristian Le Vay
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K
- Bristol Centre for Functional Nanomaterials, HH Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL, U.K
| | - Ben M Carter
- School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K
| | - Daniel W Watkins
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K
| | - T-Y Dora Tang
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K
| | - Valeska P Ting
- Bristol Composites Institute (ACCIS), Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, Queen's Building, Bristol BS8 1TR, U.K
| | - Helmut Cölfen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Robert P Rambo
- Diamond House, Diamond Light Source Ltd., Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Fermi Ave., Didcot OX11 0DE, U.K
| | - Andrew J Smith
- Diamond House, Diamond Light Source Ltd., Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Fermi Ave., Didcot OX11 0DE, U.K
| | - J L Ross Anderson
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K
- BrisSynBio Synthetic Biology Research Centre, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, U.K
| | - Adam W Perriman
- School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K
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14
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Changes of Conformation in Albumin with Temperature by Molecular Dynamics Simulations. ENTROPY 2020; 22:e22040405. [PMID: 33286179 PMCID: PMC7516880 DOI: 10.3390/e22040405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Revised: 03/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
This work presents the analysis of the conformation of albumin in the temperature range of 300K–312K, i.e., in the physiological range. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we calculate values of the backbone and dihedral angles for this molecule. We analyze the global dynamic properties of albumin treated as a chain. In this range of temperature, we study parameters of the molecule and the conformational entropy derived from two angles that reflect global dynamics in the conformational space. A thorough rationalization, based on the scaling theory, for the subdiffusion Flory–De Gennes type exponent of 0.4 unfolds in conjunction with picking up the most appreciable fluctuations of the corresponding statistical-test parameter. These fluctuations coincide adequately with entropy fluctuations, namely the oscillations out of thermodynamic equilibrium. Using Fisher’s test, we investigate the conformational entropy over time and suggest its oscillatory properties in the corresponding time domain. Using the Kruscal–Wallis test, we also analyze differences between the root mean square displacement of a molecule at various temperatures. Here we show that its values in the range of 306K–309K are different than in another temperature. Using the Kullback–Leibler theory, we investigate differences between the distribution of the root mean square displacement for each temperature and time window.
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15
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De Bruyn P, Hadži S, Vandervelde A, Konijnenberg A, Prolič-Kalinšek M, Sterckx YGJ, Sobott F, Lah J, Van Melderen L, Loris R. Thermodynamic Stability of the Transcription Regulator PaaR2 from Escherichia coli O157:H7. Biophys J 2019; 116:1420-1431. [PMID: 30979547 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2019.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2018] [Revised: 02/26/2019] [Accepted: 03/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
PaaR2 is a putative transcription regulator encoded by a three-component parDE-like toxin-antitoxin module from Escherichia coli O157:H7. Although this module's toxin, antitoxin, and toxin-antitoxin complex have been more thoroughly investigated, little remains known about its transcription regulator PaaR2. Using a wide range of biophysical techniques (circular dichroism spectroscopy, size-exclusion chromatography-multiangle laser light scattering, dynamic light scattering, small-angle x-ray scattering, and native mass spectrometry), we demonstrate that PaaR2 mainly consists of α-helices and displays a concentration-dependent octameric build-up in solution and that this octamer contains a global shape that is significantly nonspherical. Thermal unfolding of PaaR2 is reversible and displays several transitions, suggesting a complex unfolding mechanism. The unfolding data obtained from spectroscopic and calorimetric methods were combined into a unifying thermodynamic model, which suggests a five-state unfolding trajectory. Furthermore, the model allows the calculation of a stability phase diagram, which shows that, under physiological conditions, PaaR2 mainly exists as a dimer that can swiftly oligomerize into an octamer depending on local protein concentrations. These findings, based on a thorough biophysical and thermodynamic analysis of PaaR2, may provide important insights into biological function such as DNA binding and transcriptional regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pieter De Bruyn
- Structural Biology Brussels, Department of Biotechnology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Center for Structural Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Brussels, Belgium
| | - San Hadži
- Structural Biology Brussels, Department of Biotechnology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Center for Structural Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Alexandra Vandervelde
- Structural Biology Brussels, Department of Biotechnology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Center for Structural Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Albert Konijnenberg
- Structural Biology Brussels, Department of Biotechnology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Center for Structural Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Brussels, Belgium; Biomolecular and Analytical Mass Spectrometry Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Maruša Prolič-Kalinšek
- Structural Biology Brussels, Department of Biotechnology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Center for Structural Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Yann G-J Sterckx
- Structural Biology Brussels, Department of Biotechnology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Center for Structural Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Brussels, Belgium; Laboratory of Medical Biochemistry, University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Frank Sobott
- Biomolecular and Analytical Mass Spectrometry Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium; Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, Leeds, United Kingdom; School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Jurij Lah
- Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Laurence Van Melderen
- Cellular and Molecular Microbiology, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Gosselies, Belgium
| | - Remy Loris
- Structural Biology Brussels, Department of Biotechnology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Center for Structural Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Brussels, Belgium.
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16
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Korasick DA, Tanner JJ. Determination of protein oligomeric structure from small-angle X-ray scattering. Protein Sci 2018; 27:814-824. [PMID: 29352739 DOI: 10.1002/pro.3376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2018] [Revised: 01/16/2018] [Accepted: 01/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is useful for determining the oligomeric states and quaternary structures of proteins in solution. The average molecular mass in solution can be calculated directly from a single SAXS curve collected on an arbitrary scale from a sample of unknown protein concentration without the need for beamline calibration or protein standards. The quaternary structure in solution can be deduced by comparing the experimental SAXS curve to theoretical curves calculated from proposed models of the oligomer. This approach is especially robust when the crystal structure of the target protein is known, and the candidate oligomer models are derived from the crystal lattice. When SAXS data are obtained at multiple protein concentrations, this analysis can provide insight into dynamic self-association equilibria. Herein, we summarize the computational methods that are used to determine protein molecular mass and quaternary structure from SAXS data. These methods are organized into a workflow and demonstrated with four case studies using experimental SAXS data from the published literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Korasick
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 65211
| | - John J Tanner
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 65211.,Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 65211
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