1
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Teimouri H, Medvedeva A, Kolomeisky AB. Unraveling the role of physicochemical differences in predicting protein-protein interactions. J Chem Phys 2024; 161:045102. [PMID: 39051836 DOI: 10.1063/5.0219501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 07/09/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024] Open
Abstract
The ability to accurately predict protein-protein interactions is critically important for understanding major cellular processes. However, current experimental and computational approaches for identifying them are technically very challenging and still have limited success. We propose a new computational method for predicting protein-protein interactions using only primary sequence information. It utilizes the concept of physicochemical similarity to determine which interactions will most likely occur. In our approach, the physicochemical features of proteins are extracted using bioinformatics tools for different organisms. Then they are utilized in a machine-learning method to identify successful protein-protein interactions via correlation analysis. It was found that the most important property that correlates most with the protein-protein interactions for all studied organisms is dipeptide amino acid composition (the frequency of specific amino acid pairs in a protein sequence). While current approaches often overlook the specificity of protein-protein interactions with different organisms, our method yields context-specific features that determine protein-protein interactions. The analysis is specifically applied to the bacterial two-component system that includes histidine kinase and transcriptional response regulators, as well as to the barnase-barstar complex, demonstrating the method's versatility across different biological systems. Our approach can be applied to predict protein-protein interactions in any biological system, providing an important tool for investigating complex biological processes' mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamid Teimouri
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
| | - Angela Medvedeva
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
| | - Anatoly B Kolomeisky
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
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2
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D’Ursi P, Rondina A, Zani A, Uggeri M, Messali S, Caruso A, Caccuri F. Molecular Mechanisms Involved in the B Cell Growth and Clonogenic Activity of HIV-1 Matrix Protein p17 Variants. Viruses 2024; 16:1048. [PMID: 39066211 PMCID: PMC11281387 DOI: 10.3390/v16071048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2024] [Revised: 06/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) matrix protein p17 (p17) is released from infected cells as a protein capable of deregulating the biological activity of different cells. P17 variants (vp17s), more frequently detected in the plasma of HIV-1+ patients with rather than without lymphoma and characterized by amino acids insertions in their C-terminal region, were found to trigger B cell growth and clonogenicity. Vp17s endowed with B-cell-growth-promoting activity are drastically destabilized, whereas, in a properly folded state, reference p17 (refp17) does not exert any biological activity on B cell growth and clonogenicity. However, misfolding of refp17 is necessary to expose a masked functional epitope, interacting with the protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR-1), endowed with B cell clonogenicity. Indeed, it is worth noting that changes in the secondary structure can strongly impact the function of a protein. Here, we performed computational studies to show that the gain of function of vp17s is linked to dramatic conformational changes due to structural modification in the secondary-structure elements and in the rearrangement of the hydrogen bond (H-bond) network. In particular, all clonogenic vp17s showed the disengagement of two critical residues, namely Trp16 and Tyr29, from their hydrophobic core. Biological data showed that the mutation of Trp16 and Tyr29 to Ala in the refp17 backbone, alone or in combination, resulted in a protein endowed with B cell clonogenic activity. These data show the pivotal role of the hydrophobic component in maintaining refp17 stability and identify a novel potential therapeutic target to counteract vp17-driven lymphomagenesis in HIV-1+ patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pasqualina D’Ursi
- Institute of Technologies in Biomedicine, National Research Council, 20090 Segrate, Italy
| | - Alessandro Rondina
- Section of Microbiology, Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy (M.U.)
| | - Alberto Zani
- Section of Microbiology, Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy (M.U.)
| | - Matteo Uggeri
- Section of Microbiology, Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy (M.U.)
- Lifescience Innovation Good Healthcare Technology—LIGHT s.c.ar.l., 25123 Brescia, Italy
| | - Serena Messali
- Section of Microbiology, Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy (M.U.)
| | - Arnaldo Caruso
- Section of Microbiology, Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy (M.U.)
- Centre for Advanced Medical and Pharmaceutical Research, “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania
| | - Francesca Caccuri
- Section of Microbiology, Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy (M.U.)
- Centre for Advanced Medical and Pharmaceutical Research, “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania
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3
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Manav N, Jit BP, Kataria B, Sharma A. Cellular and epigenetic perspective of protein stability and its implications in the biological system. Epigenomics 2024:1-22. [PMID: 38884355 DOI: 10.1080/17501911.2024.2351788] [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: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Protein stability is a fundamental prerequisite in both experimental and therapeutic applications. Current advancements in high throughput experimental techniques and functional ontology approaches have elucidated that impairment in the structure and stability of proteins is intricately associated with the cause and cure of several diseases. Therefore, it is paramount to deeply understand the physical and molecular confounding factors governing the stability of proteins. In this review article, we comprehensively investigated the evolution of protein stability, examining its emergence over time, its relationship with organizational aspects and the experimental methods used to understand it. Furthermore, we have also emphasized the role of Epigenetics and its interplay with post-translational modifications (PTMs) in regulating the stability of proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nisha Manav
- Department of Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi, Ansari Nagar, 110029, India
| | - Bimal Prasad Jit
- Department of Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi, Ansari Nagar, 110029, India
| | - Babita Kataria
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Institute, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jhajjar, 124105, India
| | - Ashok Sharma
- Department of Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi, Ansari Nagar, 110029, India
- Department of Biochemistry, National Cancer Institute, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jhajjar, 124105, India
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4
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Yang Y, Ahmad E, Premkumar V, Liu A, Ashikur Rahman SM, Nikolovska‐Coleska Z. Structural studies of intrinsically disordered MLL-fusion protein AF9 in complex with peptidomimetic inhibitors. Protein Sci 2024; 33:e5019. [PMID: 38747396 PMCID: PMC11094776 DOI: 10.1002/pro.5019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2023] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024]
Abstract
AF9 (MLLT3) and its paralog ENL(MLLT1) are members of the YEATS family of proteins with important role in transcriptional and epigenetic regulatory complexes. These proteins are two common MLL fusion partners in MLL-rearranged leukemias. The oncofusion proteins MLL-AF9/ENL recruit multiple binding partners, including the histone methyltransferase DOT1L, leading to aberrant transcriptional activation and enhancing the expression of a characteristic set of genes that drive leukemogenesis. The interaction between AF9 and DOT1L is mediated by an intrinsically disordered C-terminal ANC1 homology domain (AHD) in AF9, which undergoes folding upon binding of DOT1L and other partner proteins. We have recently reported peptidomimetics that disrupt the recruitment of DOT1L by AF9 and ENL, providing a proof-of-concept for targeting AHD and assessing its druggability. Intrinsically disordered proteins, such as AF9 AHD, are difficult to study and characterize experimentally on a structural level. In this study, we present a successful protein engineering strategy to facilitate structural investigation of the intrinsically disordered AF9 AHD domain in complex with peptidomimetic inhibitors by using maltose binding protein (MBP) as a crystallization chaperone connected with linkers of varying flexibility and length. The strategic incorporation of disulfide bonds provided diffraction-quality crystals of the two disulfide-bridged MBP-AF9 AHD fusion proteins in complex with the peptidomimetics. These successfully determined first series of 2.1-2.6 Å crystal complex structures provide high-resolution insights into the interactions between AHD and its inhibitors, shedding light on the role of AHD in recruiting various binding partner proteins. We show that the overall complex structures closely resemble the reported NMR structure of AF9 AHD/DOT1L with notable difference in the conformation of the β-hairpin region, stabilized through conserved hydrogen bonds network. These first series of AF9 AHD/peptidomimetics complex structures are providing insights of the protein-inhibitor interactions and will facilitate further development of novel inhibitors targeting the AF9/ENL AHD domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuting Yang
- Department of PathologyUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Ejaz Ahmad
- Department of PathologyUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Vidhya Premkumar
- Department of PathologyUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Alicen Liu
- Department of PathologyUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - S. M. Ashikur Rahman
- Department of PathologyUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Zaneta Nikolovska‐Coleska
- Department of PathologyUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMichiganUSA
- Rogel Cancer CenterUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMichiganUSA
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5
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Kim HI, Park J, Zhu Y, Wang X, Han Y, Zhang D. Recent advances in extracellular vesicles for therapeutic cargo delivery. Exp Mol Med 2024; 56:836-849. [PMID: 38556545 PMCID: PMC11059217 DOI: 10.1038/s12276-024-01201-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2023] [Revised: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Exosomes, which are nanosized vesicles secreted by cells, are attracting increasing interest in the field of biomedical research due to their unique properties, including biocompatibility, cargo loading capacity, and deep tissue penetration. They serve as natural signaling agents in intercellular communication, and their inherent ability to carry proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids endows them with remarkable therapeutic potential. Thus, exosomes can be exploited for diverse therapeutic applications, including chemotherapy, gene therapy, and photothermal therapy. Moreover, their capacity for homotypic targeting and self-recognition provides opportunities for personalized medicine. Despite their advantages as novel therapeutic agents, there are several challenges in optimizing cargo loading efficiency and structural stability and in defining exosome origins. Future research should include the development of large-scale, quality-controllable production methods, the refinement of drug loading strategies, and extensive in vivo studies and clinical trials. Despite the unresolved difficulties, the use of exosomes as efficient, stable, and safe therapeutic delivery systems is an interesting area in biomedical research. Therefore, this review describes exosomes and summarizes cutting-edge studies published in high-impact journals that have introduced novel or enhanced therapeutic effects using exosomes as a drug delivery system in the past 2 years. We provide an informative overview of the current state of exosome research, highlighting the unique properties and therapeutic applications of exosomes. We also emphasize challenges and future directions, underscoring the importance of addressing key issues in the field. With this review, we encourage researchers to further develop exosome-based drugs for clinical application, as such drugs may be among the most promising next-generation therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyo In Kim
- Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Jinbong Park
- Department of Pharmacology, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 02447, Republic of Korea
| | - Yin Zhu
- Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Georgia and Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA
| | - Xiaoyun Wang
- Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Georgia and Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA
| | - Yohan Han
- Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Georgia and Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA.
- Department of Microbiology, Wonkwang University School of Medicine, Iksan, 54538, Republic of Korea.
- Sarcopenia Total Solution Center, Wonkwang University, Iksan, 54538, Republic of Korea.
| | - Duo Zhang
- Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Georgia and Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA.
- Department of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA.
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6
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Di Bartolo AL, Caparotta M, Polo LM, Masone D. Myomerger Induces Membrane Hemifusion and Regulates Fusion Pore Expansion. Biochemistry 2024; 63:815-826. [PMID: 38349279 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.3c00682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
Membrane fusion is a crucial mechanism in a wide variety of important events in cell biology from viral infection to exocytosis. However, despite many efforts and much progress, cell-cell fusion has remained elusive to our understanding. Along the life of the fusion pore, large conformational changes take place from the initial lipid bilayer bending, passing through the hemifusion intermediates, and ending with the formation of the first nascent fusion pore. In this sense, computer simulations are an ideal technique for describing such complex lipid remodeling at the molecular level. In this work, we studied the role played by the muscle-specific membrane protein Myomerger during the formation of the fusion pore. We have conducted μs length atomistic and coarse-grained molecular dynamics, together with free-energy calculations using ad hoc collective variables. Our results show that Myomerger favors the hemifusion diaphragm-stalk transition, reduces the nucleation-expansion energy difference, and promotes the formation of nonenlarging fusion pores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ary Lautaro Di Bartolo
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (UNCuyo), 5500 Mendoza, Argentina
| | - Marcelo Caparotta
- Quantum Theory Project, Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
| | - Luis Mariano Polo
- Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza (IHEM)─Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, 5500 Mendoza, Argentina
| | - Diego Masone
- Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza (IHEM)─Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, 5500 Mendoza, Argentina
- Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, 5500 Mendoza, Argentina
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7
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Teimouri H, Medvedeva A, Kolomeisky AB. Physical-Chemical Features Selection Reveals That Differences in Dipeptide Compositions Correlate Most with Protein-Protein Interactions. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.27.582345. [PMID: 38464064 PMCID: PMC10925282 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.27.582345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
The ability to accurately predict protein-protein interactions is critically important for our understanding of major cellular processes. However, current experimental and computational approaches for identifying them are technically very challenging and still have limited success. We propose a new computational method for predicting protein-protein interactions using only primary sequence information. It utilizes a concept of physical-chemical similarity to determine which interactions will most probably occur. In our approach, the physical-chemical features of protein are extracted using bioinformatics tools for different organisms, and then they are utilized in a machine-learning method to identify successful protein-protein interactions via correlation analysis. It is found that the most important property that correlates most with the protein-protein interactions for all studied organisms is dipeptide amino acid compositions. The analysis is specifically applied to the bacterial two-component system that includes histidine kinase and transcriptional response regulators. Our theoretical approach provides a simple and robust method for quantifying the important details of complex mechanisms of biological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamid Teimouri
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas, United States
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, Texas, United States
| | - Angela Medvedeva
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas, United States
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, Texas, United States
| | - Anatoly B. Kolomeisky
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas, United States
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, Texas, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas, United States
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, TX, United States
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8
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Roterman I, Konieczny L, Stapor K, Słupina M. Hydrophobicity-Based Force Field In Enzymes. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:8188-8203. [PMID: 38405467 PMCID: PMC10882594 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c08728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
The biocatalysis process takes place with the participation of enzymes, which, depending on the reaction carried out, require, apart from the appropriate arrangement of catalytic residues, an appropriate external force field. It is generated by the protein body. The relatively small size of the part directly involved in the process itself is supported by the presence of an often complex structure of the protein body, the purpose of which is to provide an appropriate local force field, eliminating the influence of water. Very often, the large size of the enzyme is an expression of the complex form of this field. In this paper, a comparative analysis of arbitrarily selected enzymes, representatives of different enzyme classes, was carried out, focusing on the measurement of the diversity of the force field provided by a given protein. This analysis was based on the fuzzy oil drop model (FOD) and its modified version (FOD-M), which takes into account the participation of nonaqueous external factors in shaping the structure and thus the force field within the protein. The degree and type of ordering of the hydrophobicity distribution in the protein molecule is the result of the influence of the environment but also the supplier of the local environment for a given process, including the catalysis process in particular. Determining the share of a nonaqueous environment is important due to the ubiquity of polar water, whose participation in processes with high specificity requires control. It can be assumed that some enzymes in their composition have a permanently built-in part, the role of which is reduced to that of a permanent chaperone. It provides a specific external force field needed for the process. The proposed model, generalized to other types of proteins, may also provide a form of recording the environment model for the simulation of the in silico protein folding process, taking into account the impact of its differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irena Roterman
- Department
of Bioinformatics and Telemedicine, Jagiellonian
University—Medical College, Medyczna 7, 30-688 Kraków, Poland
| | - Leszek Konieczny
- Chair
of Medical Biochemistry, Jagiellonian University—Medical
College, Kopernika 7, 31-034 Kraków, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Stapor
- Faculty
of Automatic, Electronics and Computer Science, Department of Applied
Informatics, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka 16, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
| | - Mateusz Słupina
- ALSTOM
ZWUS Sp. z o.o, Modelarska
12, 40-142 Katowice, Poland
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9
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Castorina LV, Ünal SM, Subr K, Wood CW. TIMED-Design: flexible and accessible protein sequence design with convolutional neural networks. Protein Eng Des Sel 2024; 37:gzae002. [PMID: 38288671 PMCID: PMC10939383 DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzae002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Sequence design is a crucial step in the process of designing or engineering proteins. Traditionally, physics-based methods have been used to solve for optimal sequences, with the main disadvantages being that they are computationally intensive for the end user. Deep learning-based methods offer an attractive alternative, outperforming physics-based methods at a significantly lower computational cost. In this paper, we explore the application of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for sequence design. We describe the development and benchmarking of a range of networks, as well as reimplementations of previously described CNNs. We demonstrate the flexibility of representing proteins in a three-dimensional voxel grid by encoding additional design constraints into the input data. Finally, we describe TIMED-Design, a web application and command line tool for exploring and applying the models described in this paper. The user interface will be available at the URL: https://pragmaticproteindesign.bio.ed.ac.uk/timed. The source code for TIMED-Design is available at https://github.com/wells-wood-research/timed-design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo V Castorina
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, 10 Crichton Street, Edinburgh EH8 9AB United Kingdom
| | - Suleyman Mert Ünal
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Roger Land Building, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, United Kingdom
| | - Kartic Subr
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, 10 Crichton Street, Edinburgh EH8 9AB United Kingdom
| | - Christopher W Wood
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Roger Land Building, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, United Kingdom
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10
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Kao CF, Liu CY, Hsieh CL, Carillo KJD, Tzou DLM, Wang HC, Chang W. Structural and functional analyses of viral H2 protein of the vaccinia virus entry fusion complex. J Virol 2023; 97:e0134323. [PMID: 37975688 PMCID: PMC10734489 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01343-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Vaccinia virus infection requires virus-cell membrane fusion to complete entry during endocytosis; however, it contains a large viral fusion protein complex of 11 viral proteins that share no structure or sequence homology to all the known viral fusion proteins, including type I, II, and III fusion proteins. It is thus very challenging to investigate how the vaccinia fusion complex works to trigger membrane fusion with host cells. In this study, we crystallized the ectodomain of vaccinia H2 protein, one component of the viral fusion complex. Furthermore, we performed a series of mutational, biochemical, and molecular analyses and identified two surface loops containing 170LGYSG174 and 125RRGTGDAW132 as the A28-binding region. We also showed that residues in the N-terminal helical region (amino acids 51-90) are also important for H2 function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi-Fei Kao
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chang-Yi Liu
- The PhD Program for Translational Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University and Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Translational Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Lin Hsieh
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | | | | | - Hao-Ching Wang
- The PhD Program for Translational Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University and Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Translational Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen Chang
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
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11
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Challapa-Mamani MR, Tomás-Alvarado E, Espinoza-Baigorria A, León-Figueroa DA, Sah R, Rodriguez-Morales AJ, Barboza JJ. Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamics Simulations in Related to Leishmania donovani: An Update and Literature Review. Trop Med Infect Dis 2023; 8:457. [PMID: 37888585 PMCID: PMC10610989 DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed8100457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis, a disease caused by Leishmania parasites and transmitted via sandflies, presents in two main forms: cutaneous and visceral, the latter being more severe. With 0.7 to 1 million new cases each year, primarily in Brazil, diagnosing remains challenging due to diverse disease manifestations. Traditionally, the identification of Leishmania species is inferred from clinical and epidemiological data. Advances in disease management depend on technological progress and the improvement of parasite identification programs. Current treatments, despite the high incidence, show limited efficacy due to factors like cost, toxicity, and lengthy regimens causing poor adherence and resistance development. Diagnostic techniques have improved but a significant gap remains between scientific progress and application in endemic areas. Complete genomic sequence knowledge of Leishmania allows for the identification of therapeutic targets. With the aid of computational tools, testing, searching, and detecting affinity in molecular docking are optimized, and strategies that assess advantages among different options are developed. The review focuses on the use of molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation for drug development. It also discusses the limitations and advancements of current treatments, emphasizing the importance of new techniques in improving disease management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mabel R. Challapa-Mamani
- Escuela de Medicina, Universidad Cesar Vallejo, Trujillo 13007, Peru;
- Sociedad Científica de Estudiantes de Medicina de la Universidad César Vallejo, Trujillo 13007, Peru
| | - Eduardo Tomás-Alvarado
- Hospital General Regional 17, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Cancún 75533, Mexico;
| | | | | | - Ranjit Sah
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal;
- Department of Microbiology, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune 411018, Maharashtra, India
| | - Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima 150152, Peru;
- Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Beirut 350000, Lebanon
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12
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Roterman I, Stapor K, Konieczny L. New insights on the catalytic center of proteins from peptidylprolyl isomerase group based on the FOD-M model. J Cell Biochem 2023. [PMID: 37139783 DOI: 10.1002/jcb.30407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Generating the structure of the hydrophobic core is based on the orientation of hydrophobic residues towards the central part of the protein molecule with the simultaneous exposure of polar residues. Such a course of the protein folding process takes place with the active participation of the polar water environment. While the self-assembly process leading to the formation of micelles concerns freely moving bi-polar molecules, bipolar amino acids in polypeptide chain have limited mobility due to the covalent bonds. Therefore, proteins form a more or less perfect micelle-like structure. The criterion is the hydrophobicity distribution, which to a greater or lesser extent reproduces the distribution expressed by the 3D Gaussian function on the protein body. The vast majority of proteins must ensure solubility, so a certain part of it-as it is expected-should reproduce the structuring of micelles. The biological activity of proteins is encoded in the part that does not reproduce the micelle-like system. The location and quantitative assessment of the contribution of orderliness to disorder is of critical importance for the determination of biological activity. The form of maladjustment to the 3D Gauss function may be varied-hence the obtained high diversity of specific interactions with strictly defined molecules: ligands or substrates. The correctness of this interpretation was verified on the basis of the group of enzymes Peptidylprolyl isomerase-E.C.5.2.1.8. In proteins representing this class of enzymes, zones responsible for solubility-micelle-like hydrophobicity system-the location and specificity of the incompatible part in which the specific activity of the enzyme is located and coded were identified. The present study showed that the enzymes of the discussed group show two different schemes of the structure of catalytic center (taking into account the status as defined by the fuzzy oil drop model).
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Affiliation(s)
- Irena Roterman
- Department of Bioinformatics and Telemedicine, Jagiellonian University-Medical College, Kraków, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Stapor
- Department of Applied Informatics, Faculty of Automatic, Electronics and Computer Science, Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland
| | - Leszek Konieczny
- Chair of Medical Biochemistry, Jagiellonian University-Medical College, Kraków, Poland
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13
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The Role of Transmembrane Proteins in Plant Growth, Development, and Stress Responses. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232113627. [PMID: 36362412 PMCID: PMC9655316 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232113627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Transmembrane proteins participate in various physiological activities in plants, including signal transduction, substance transport, and energy conversion. Although more than 20% of gene products are predicted to be transmembrane proteins in the genome era, due to the complexity of transmembrane domains they are difficult to reliably identify in the predicted protein, and they may have different overall three-dimensional structures. Therefore, it is challenging to study their biological function. In this review, we describe the typical structures of transmembrane proteins and their roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses. We propose a model illustrating the roles of transmembrane proteins during plant growth and response to various stresses, which will provide important references for crop breeding.
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14
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High-level expression and improved pepsin activity by enhancing the conserved domain stability based on a scissor-like model. Lebensm Wiss Technol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lwt.2022.113877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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15
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Biswas G, Ghosh S, Basu S, Bhattacharyya D, Datta AK, Banerjee R. Can the jigsaw puzzle model of protein folding re‐assemble a hydrophobic core? Proteins 2022; 90:1390-1412. [DOI: 10.1002/prot.26321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gargi Biswas
- Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics Kolkata India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute Mumbai India
| | | | - Sankar Basu
- Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics Kolkata India
| | | | | | - Rahul Banerjee
- Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics Kolkata India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute Mumbai India
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16
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Culver JA, Li X, Jordan M, Mariappan M. A second chance for protein targeting/folding: Ubiquitination and deubiquitination of nascent proteins. Bioessays 2022; 44:e2200014. [PMID: 35357021 PMCID: PMC9133216 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202200014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Molecular chaperones in cells constantly monitor and bind to exposed hydrophobicity in newly synthesized proteins and assist them in folding or targeting to cellular membranes for insertion. However, proteins can be misfolded or mistargeted, which often causes hydrophobic amino acids to be exposed to the aqueous cytosol. Again, chaperones recognize exposed hydrophobicity in these proteins to prevent nonspecific interactions and aggregation, which are harmful to cells. The chaperone-bound misfolded proteins are then decorated with ubiquitin chains denoting them for proteasomal degradation. It remains enigmatic how molecular chaperones can mediate both maturation of nascent proteins and ubiquitination of misfolded proteins solely based on their exposed hydrophobic signals. In this review, we propose a dynamic ubiquitination and deubiquitination model in which ubiquitination of newly synthesized proteins serves as a "fix me" signal for either refolding of soluble proteins or retargeting of membrane proteins with the help of chaperones and deubiquitinases. Such a model would provide additional time for aberrant nascent proteins to fold or route for membrane insertion, thus avoiding excessive protein degradation and saving cellular energy spent on protein synthesis. Also see the video abstract here: https://youtu.be/gkElfmqaKG4.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob A. Culver
- Department of Cell Biology, Nanobiology Institute, Yale School of Medicine, Yale West Campus, West Haven, CT 06516, USA
| | - Xia Li
- Department of Cell Biology, Nanobiology Institute, Yale School of Medicine, Yale West Campus, West Haven, CT 06516, USA
| | - Matthew Jordan
- Department of Cell Biology, Nanobiology Institute, Yale School of Medicine, Yale West Campus, West Haven, CT 06516, USA
| | - Malaiyalam Mariappan
- Department of Cell Biology, Nanobiology Institute, Yale School of Medicine, Yale West Campus, West Haven, CT 06516, USA
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17
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Stapor K, Kotowski K, Smolarczyk T, Roterman I. Lightweight ProteinUnet2 network for protein secondary structure prediction: a step towards proper evaluation. BMC Bioinformatics 2022; 23:100. [PMID: 35317722 PMCID: PMC8939211 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-022-04623-z] [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: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The prediction of protein secondary structures is a crucial and significant step for ab initio tertiary structure prediction which delivers the information about proteins activity and functions. As the experimental methods are expensive and sometimes impossible, many SS predictors, mainly based on different machine learning methods have been proposed for many years. Currently, most of the top methods use evolutionary-based input features produced by PSSM and HHblits software, although quite recently the embeddings—the new description of protein sequences generated by language models (LM) have appeared that could be leveraged as input features. Apart from input features calculation, the top models usually need extensive computational resources for training and prediction and are barely possible to run on a regular PC. SS prediction as the imbalanced classification problem should not be judged by the commonly used Q3/Q8 metrics. Moreover, as the benchmark datasets are not random samples, the classical statistical null hypothesis testing based on the Neyman–Pearson approach is not appropriate. Results We present a lightweight deep network ProteinUnet2 for SS prediction which is based on U-Net convolutional architecture and evolutionary-based input features (from PSSM and HHblits) as well as SPOT-Contact features. Through an extensive evaluation study, we report the performance of ProteinUnet2 in comparison with top SS prediction methods based on evolutionary information (SAINT and SPOT-1D). We also propose a new statistical methodology for prediction performance assessment based on the significance from Fisher–Pitman permutation tests accompanied by practical significance measured by Cohen’s effect size. Conclusions Our results suggest that ProteinUnet2 architecture has much shorter training and inference times while maintaining results similar to SAINT and SPOT-1D predictors. Taking into account the relatively long times of calculating evolutionary-based features (from PSSM in particular), it would be worth conducting the predictive ability tests on embeddings as input features in the future. We strongly believe that our proposed here statistical methodology for the evaluation of SS prediction results will be adopted and used (and even expanded) by the research community. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12859-022-04623-z.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Stapor
- Department of Applied Informatics, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka 16, 44-100, Gliwice, Poland.
| | - Krzysztof Kotowski
- Department of Applied Informatics, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka 16, 44-100, Gliwice, Poland
| | - Tomasz Smolarczyk
- Department of Applied Informatics, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka 16, 44-100, Gliwice, Poland
| | - Irena Roterman
- Department of Bioinformatics and Telemedicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Medyczna 7, 30-688, Kraków, Poland
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18
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Roterman I, Sieradzan A, Stapor K, Fabian P, Wesołowski P, Konieczny L. On the need to introduce environmental characteristics in ab initio protein structure prediction using a coarse-grained UNRES force field. J Mol Graph Model 2022; 114:108166. [PMID: 35325843 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmgm.2022.108166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
During the protein folding process in computer simulations involving the use of a United RESidue (UNRES) force field, an additional module was introduced to represent directly the presence of a polar solvent in water form. This module implements the fuzzy oil drop model (FOD) where the 3D Gauss function expresses the presence of a polar environment which directs the polypeptide chain folding process towards the generation of a centric hydrophobic core. Sample test polypeptide chains of 8 proteins with chain lengths ranging from 37 to 75 aa were simulated in silico using the UNRES (U) package with an implicit solvent model and a built-in module expressing the FOD model (UNRES-FOD-UNRES (U + F) interleaved simulation). The protein structure obtained by both *** simulation schemes, i.e., accordingly***U and U + F, for all the analyzed protein models shows the presence of a hydrophobic core including where it is absent in the native structure. The proposed FOD-M model (M-modified) explaining the source of this phenomenon reveals the need to modify the external field expressing the role of a folding environment. The modification takes into account the influence of other than polar factors present in the folding environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irena Roterman
- Department of Bioinformatics and Telemedicine, Jagiellonian University - Medical College Medyczna 7, 30-688, Kraków, Poland.
| | - Adam Sieradzan
- Faculty of Chemistry, Gdansk University, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308, Gdańsk, Poland.
| | - Katarzyna Stapor
- Faculty of Automatic, Electronics and Computer Science, Department of Applied Informatics, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka 16, 44-100, Gliwice, Poland.
| | - Piotr Fabian
- Faculty of Automatic, Electronics and Computer Science, Department of Algorithmics and Software, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka 16, 44-100, Gliwice, Poland.
| | - Patryk Wesołowski
- Faculty of Chemistry, Gdansk University, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308, Gdańsk, Poland; Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk and Medical University of Gdańsk, ul. Abrahama 58, 80-307, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Leszek Konieczny
- Chair of Medical Biochemistry - Jagiellonian University - Medical College, Kopernika 7, 31-034, Kraków, Poland.
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Roterman I, Stapor K, Gądek K, Gubała T, Nowakowski P, Fabian P, Konieczny L. On the Dependence of Prion and Amyloid Structure on the Folding Environment. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms222413494. [PMID: 34948291 PMCID: PMC8707753 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222413494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Currently available analyses of amyloid proteins reveal the necessity of the existence of radical structural changes in amyloid transformation processes. The analysis carried out in this paper based on the model called fuzzy oil drop (FOD) and its modified form (FOD-M) allows quantifying the role of the environment, particularly including the aquatic environment. The starting point and basis for the present presentation is the statement about the presence of two fundamentally different methods of organizing polypeptides into ordered conformations—globular proteins and amyloids. The present study shows the source of the differences between these two paths resulting from the specificity of the external force field coming from the environment, including the aquatic and hydrophobic one. The water environment expressed in the fuzzy oil drop model using the 3D Gauss function directs the folding process towards the construction of a micelle-like system with a hydrophobic core in the central part and the exposure of polarity on the surface. The hydrophobicity distribution of membrane proteins has the opposite characteristic: Exposure of hydrophobicity at the surface of the membrane protein with an often polar center (as in the case of ion channels) is expected. The structure of most proteins is influenced by a more or less modified force field generated by water through the appropriate presence of a non-polar (membrane-like) environment. The determination of the proportion of a factor different from polar water enables the assessment of the protein status by indicating factors favoring the structure it represents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irena Roterman
- Department of Bioinformatics and Telemedicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 31-034 Kopernika 7, 30-688 Krakow, Poland
- Correspondence:
| | - Katarzyna Stapor
- Department of Applied Informatics, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka 16, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland;
| | - Krzysztof Gądek
- Sano Centre for Computation Medicine, Czarnowiejska 36, 30-054 Kraków, Poland; (K.G.); (T.G.); (P.N.)
| | - Tomasz Gubała
- Sano Centre for Computation Medicine, Czarnowiejska 36, 30-054 Kraków, Poland; (K.G.); (T.G.); (P.N.)
| | - Piotr Nowakowski
- Sano Centre for Computation Medicine, Czarnowiejska 36, 30-054 Kraków, Poland; (K.G.); (T.G.); (P.N.)
| | - Piotr Fabian
- Department of Algorithmics and Software, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka 16, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland;
| | - Leszek Konieczny
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 31-034 Kopernika 7, 31-034 Krakow, Poland;
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20
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Huang TY, Chang CH, Baskaran N, Wei Y. Correlation between surface friction and the hydrophobicity of structure-related side-chain exposure of albumin on contact lens. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2021; 209:112152. [PMID: 34655983 DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2021.112152] [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: 03/16/2021] [Revised: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The management of contact lens discomfort remains a challenge leading to the increased contact lens dropout rates. Tear protein accumulates on the lens surfaces with different configurations observed are correlated to the lens friction, with the improved comfort experienced by reduced surface friction in the eye. However, protein adsorption is a complex process with the combined protein-protein interactions (PPI) and protein-surface interactions (PSI) involved, which is difficult to explain the complicated tribological behavior in terms of protein structural shifts alone on lens surfaces. On the other hand, the type of solvent-exposed side chains from specific protein conformations on lens surfaces should be more important to the lens friction involved. We aim to investigate the correlation between the structure-related side-chain exposure and corresponding lens friction of adsorbed tear proteins on lens surfaces under varied PPI and PSI. Albumin was the model protein adsorbed onto the conventional lens material. Such as polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or the poly-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (PHEMA) surfaces applied here. Adsorption was conducted under varying protein solution concentrations to saturate the model surface to change the PPI effects over a wide range. Our results indicate that PPI effects help stabilize protein structures on both surfaces. When PPI is minimized, a distinct correlation was observed between the surface friction and the hydrophobicity of structure-related side-chain exposure of albumin on lens surfaces depending on the different PSI involved. At a fundamental understanding, our results would provide insights for developing new lens materials or the lens care solution designs to reduce the lens discomfort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tzu-Yin Huang
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, National Taipei University of Technology, 1, Sec. 3, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Taipei 10608, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Hua Chang
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, National Taipei University of Technology, 1, Sec. 3, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Taipei 10608, Taiwan
| | - Nareshkumar Baskaran
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, National Taipei University of Technology, 1, Sec. 3, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Taipei 10608, Taiwan
| | - Yang Wei
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, National Taipei University of Technology, 1, Sec. 3, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Taipei 10608, Taiwan.
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21
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Divergence Entropy-Based Evaluation of Hydrophobic Core in Aggressive and Resistant Forms of Transthyretin. ENTROPY 2021; 23:e23040458. [PMID: 33924717 PMCID: PMC8070611 DOI: 10.3390/e23040458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Revised: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The two forms of transthyretin differing slightly in the tertiary structure, despite the presence of five mutations, show radically different properties in terms of susceptibility to the amyloid transformation process. These two forms of transthyretin are the object of analysis. The search for the sources of these differences was carried out by means of a comparative analysis of the structure of these molecules in their native and early intermediate stage forms in the folding process. The criterion for assessing the degree of similarity and differences is the status of the hydrophobic core. The comparison of the level of arrangement of the hydrophobic core and its initial stages is possible thanks to the application of divergence entropy for the early intermediate stage and for the final forms. It was shown that the minimal differences observed in the structure of the hydrophobic core of the forms available in PDB, turned out to be significantly different in the early stage (ES) structure in folding process. The determined values of divergence entropy for both ES forms indicate the presence of the seed of hydrophobic core only in the form resistant to amyloid transformation. In the form of aggressively undergoing amyloid transformation, the structure lacking such a seed is revealed, being a stretched one with a high content of β-type structure. In the discussed case, the active presence of water in the structural transformation of proteins expressed in the fuzzy oil drop model (FOD) is of decisive importance for the generation of the final protein structure. It has been shown that the resistant form tends to generate a centric hydrophobic core with the possibility of creating a globular structure, i.e., a spherical micelle-like form. The aggressively transforming form reveals in the structure of its early intermediate, a tendency to form the ribbon-like micelle as observed in amyloid.
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22
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Ferrando J, Solomon LA. Recent Progress Using De Novo Design to Study Protein Structure, Design and Binding Interactions. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:life11030225. [PMID: 33802210 PMCID: PMC7999464 DOI: 10.3390/life11030225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
De novo protein design is a powerful methodology used to study natural functions in an artificial-protein context. Since its inception, it has been used to reproduce a plethora of reactions and uncover biophysical principles that are often difficult to extract from direct studies of natural proteins. Natural proteins are capable of assuming a variety of different structures and subsequently binding ligands at impressively high levels of both specificity and affinity. Here, we will review recent examples of de novo design studies on binding reactions for small molecules, nucleic acids, and the formation of protein-protein interactions. We will then discuss some new structural advances in the field. Finally, we will discuss some advancements in computational modeling and design approaches and provide an overview of some modern algorithmic tools being used to design these proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Ferrando
- Department of Biology, George Mason University, 4400 University Dr, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA;
| | - Lee A. Solomon
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, George Mason University, 10920 George Mason Circle, Manassas, VA 20110, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +703-993-6418
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23
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Downhill, Ultrafast and Fast Folding Proteins Revised. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21207632. [PMID: 33076540 PMCID: PMC7589632 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21207632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2020] [Revised: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/11/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Research on the protein folding problem differentiates the protein folding process with respect to the duration of this process. The current structure encoded in sequence dogma seems to be clearly justified, especially in the case of proteins referred to as fast-folding, ultra-fast-folding or downhill. In the present work, an attempt to determine the characteristics of this group of proteins using fuzzy oil drop model is undertaken. According to the fuzzy oil drop model, a protein is a specific micelle composed of bi-polar molecules such as amino acids. Protein folding is regarded as a spherical micelle formation process. The presence of covalent peptide bonds between amino acids eliminates the possibility of free mutual arrangement of neighbors. An example would be the construction of co-micelles composed of more than one type of bipolar molecules. In the case of fast folding proteins, the amino acid sequence represents the optimal bipolarity system to generate a spherical micelle. In order to achieve the native form, it is enough to have an external force field provided by the water environment which directs the folding process towards the generation of a centric hydrophobic core. The influence of the external field can be expressed using the 3D Gaussian function which is a mathematical model of the folding process orientation towards the concentration of hydrophobic residues in the center with polar residues exposed on the surface. The set of proteins under study reveals a hydrophobicity distribution compatible with a 3D Gaussian distribution, taken as representing an idealized micelle-like distribution. The structure of the present hydrophobic core is also discussed in relation to the distribution of hydrophobic residues in a partially unfolded form.
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Abstract
There is an opinion in professional literature that edge-strands in β-sheet are critical to the processes of amyloid transformation. Propagation of fibrillar forms mainly takes place on the basis of β-sheet type interactions. In many proteins, the edge strands represent only a partially matched form to the β-sheet. Therefore, the edge-strand takes slightly distorted forms. The assessment of the level of arrangement can be carried out based on studying the secondary structure as well as the structure of the hydrophobic core. For this purpose, a fuzzy oil drop model was used to determine the contribution of each fragment with a specific secondary structure to the construction of the system being the effect of a certain synergy, which results in the construction of a hydrophobic core. Studying the participation of β-sheets edge fragments in the hydrophobic core construction is the subject of the current analysis. Statuses of these edge fragments in β-sheets in ferredoxin-like folds are treated as factors that disturb the symmetry of the system.
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