‘Hot spot’ amino acid distribution in Ha-ras oncogene product p21: Relationship to guanine binding site

1991 ◽  
Vol 4 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 57-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irena Cosic ◽  
Milton T. W. Hearn
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Ras Oncogene ◽  
Amino Acid Distribution

Schistosomal Sulfotransferase Interaction with Oxamniquine Involves Hybrid Mechanism of Induced-fit and Conformational Selection

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 451-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fortunatus C. Ezebuo ◽  
Ikemefuna C. Uzochukwu
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Binding Energy ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Conformational Dynamics ◽  
Side Chain ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
Conformational Selection ◽  
Hybrid Mechanism ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

Background: Sulfotransferase family comprises key enzymes involved in drug metabolism. Oxamniquine is a pro-drug converted into its active form by schistosomal sulfotransferase. The conformational dynamics of side-chain amino acid residues at the binding site of schistosomal sulfotransferase towards activation of oxamniquine has not received attention. Objective: The study investigated the conformational dynamics of binding site residues in free and oxamniquine bound schistosomal sulfotransferase systems and their contribution to the mechanism of oxamniquine activation by schistosomal sulfotransferase using molecular dynamics simulations and binding energy calculations. Methods: Schistosomal sulfotransferase was obtained from Protein Data Bank and both the free and oxamniquine bound forms were subjected to molecular dynamics simulations using GROMACS-4.5.5 after modeling it’s missing amino acid residues with SWISS-MODEL. Amino acid residues at its binding site for oxamniquine was determined and used for Principal Component Analysis and calculations of side-chain dihedrals. In addition, binding energy of the oxamniquine bound system was calculated using g_MMPBSA. Results: The results showed that binding site amino acid residues in free and oxamniquine bound sulfotransferase sampled different conformational space involving several rotameric states. Importantly, Phe45, Ile145 and Leu241 generated newly induced conformations, whereas Phe41 exhibited shift in equilibrium of its conformational distribution. In addition, the result showed binding energy of -130.091 ± 8.800 KJ/mol and Phe45 contributed -9.8576 KJ/mol. Conclusion: The results showed that schistosomal sulfotransferase binds oxamniquine by relying on hybrid mechanism of induced fit and conformational selection models. The findings offer new insight into sulfotransferase engineering and design of new drugs that target sulfotransferase.

scholarly journals Binding Interactions of Peptide Aptamers

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (24) ◽  
pp. 6055
Author(s):  
Roger R. C. New ◽  
Tam T. T. Bui ◽  
Michal Bogus
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Cyclic Peptides ◽  
Binding Interactions ◽  
Peptide Aptamers ◽  
Linear Peptide ◽  
Signalling Molecules ◽  
Antibody Binding Site ◽  
Linear Chains ◽  
Protein Receptors

Peptide aptamers are short amino acid chains that are capable of binding specifically to ligands in the same way as their much larger counterparts, antibodies. Ligands of therapeutic interest that can be targeted are other peptide chains or loops located on the surface of protein receptors (e.g., GCPR), which take part in cell-to-cell communications either directly or via the intermediary of hormones or signalling molecules. To confer on aptamers the same sort of conformational rigidity that characterises an antibody binding site, aptamers are often constructed in the form of cyclic peptides, on the assumption that this will encourage stronger binding interactions than would occur if the aptamers were simply linear chains. However, no formal studies have been conducted to confirm the hypothesis that linear peptides will engage in stronger binding interactions with cyclic peptides than with other linear peptides. In this study, the interaction of a model cyclic decamer with a series of linear peptide constructs was compared with that of a linear peptide with the same sequence, showing that the cyclic configuration does confer benefits by increasing the strength of binding.

scholarly journals Mitigating the Adverse Effects of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Derivatives on Estrogenic Activity via Molecular Modification Techniques

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 4999
Author(s):  
Wei He ◽  
Wenhui Zhang ◽  
Zhenhua Chu ◽  
Yu Li
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Hydrophobic Interaction ◽  
Oestrogen Receptor ◽  
Polychlorinated Biphenyl ◽  
Hydrophobic Interactions ◽  
Estrogenic Activity ◽  
Average Distance ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
Hydrophobic Amino Acid

The aim of this paper is to explore the mechanism of the change in oestrogenic activity of PCBs molecules before and after modification by designing new PCBs derivatives in combination with molecular docking techniques through the constructed model of oestrogenic activity of PCBs molecules. We found that the weakened hydrophobic interaction between the hydrophobic amino acid residues and hydrophobic substituents at the binding site of PCB derivatives and human oestrogen receptor alpha (hERα) was the main reason for the weakened binding force and reduced anti-oestrogenic activity. It was consistent with the information that the hydrophobic field displayed by the 3D contour maps in the constructed oestrogen activity CoMSIA model was one of the main influencing force fields. The hydrophobic interaction between PCB derivatives and oestrogen-active receptors was negatively correlated with the average distance between hydrophobic substituents and hydrophobic amino acid residues at the hERα-binding site, and positively correlated with the number of hydrophobic amino acid residues. In other words, the smaller the average distance between the hydrophobic amino acid residues at the binding sites between the two and the more the number of them, and the stronger the oestrogen activity expression degree of PCBS derivative molecules. Therefore, hydrophobic interactions between PCB derivatives and the oestrogen receptor can be reduced by altering the microenvironmental conditions in humans. This reduces the ability of PCB derivatives to bind to the oestrogen receptor and can effectively modulate the risk of residual PCB derivatives to produce oestrogenic activity in humans.

Nicotinic receptor binding site probed with unnatural amino acid incorporation in intact cells

Science ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 268 (5209) ◽  
pp. 439-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Nowak ◽  
P. Kearney ◽  
Sampson ◽  
M. Saks ◽  
C. Labarca ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Receptor Binding ◽  
Nicotinic Receptor ◽  
Unnatural Amino Acid ◽  
Amino Acid Incorporation ◽  
Receptor Binding Site ◽  
Intact Cells ◽  
Acid Incorporation

scholarly journals Nuclear Import of Adenovirus DNA Involves Direct Interaction of Hexon with an N-Terminal Domain of the Nucleoporin Nup214

2014 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 1719-1730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélia Cassany ◽  
Jessica Ragues ◽  
Tinglu Guan ◽  
Dominique Bégu ◽  
Harald Wodrich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Nuclear Import ◽  
Viral Genome ◽  
Molecular Basis ◽  
Nuclear Pore ◽  
Viral Dna ◽  
Terminal Domain ◽  
Cytoplasmic Face ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTIn this study, we characterized the molecular basis for binding of adenovirus (AdV) to the cytoplasmic face of the nuclear pore complex (NPC), a key step during delivery of the viral genome into the nucleus. We used RNA interference (RNAi) to deplete cells of either Nup214 or Nup358, the two major Phe-Gly (FG) repeat nucleoporins localized on the cytoplasmic side of the NPC, and evaluated the impact on hexon binding and AdV infection. The accumulation of purified hexon trimers or partially disassembled AdV at the nuclear envelope (NE) was observed in digitonin-permeabilized cells in the absence of cytosolic factors. Bothin vitrohexon binding andin vivonuclear import of the AdV genome were strongly reduced in Nup214-depleted cells but still occurred in Nup358-depleted cells, suggesting that Nup214 is a major binding site of AdV during infection. The expression of an NPC-targeted N-terminal domain of Nup214 in Nup214-depleted cells restored the binding of hexon at the NE and the nuclear import of protein VII (pVII), indicating that this region is sufficient to allow AdV binding. We further narrowed the binding site to a 137-amino-acid segment in the N-terminal domain of Nup214. Together, our results have identified a specific region within the N terminus of Nup214 that acts as a direct NPC binding site for AdV.IMPORTANCEAdVs, which have the largest genome of nonenveloped DNA viruses, are being extensively explored for use in gene therapy, especially in alternative treatments for cancers that are refractory to traditional therapies. In this study, we characterized the molecular basis for binding of AdV to the cytoplasmic face of the NPC, a key step for delivery of the viral genome into the nucleus. Our data indicate that a 137-amino-acid region of the nucleoporin Nup214 is a binding site for the major AdV capsid protein, hexon, and that this interaction is required for viral DNA import. These findings provide additional insight on how AdV exploits the nuclear transport machinery for infection. The results could promote the development of new strategies for gene transfer and enhance understanding of the nuclear import of other viral DNA genomes, such as those of papillomavirus or hepatitis B virus that induce specific cancers.

scholarly journals The Clinical Value of PET with Amino Acid Tracers for Gliomas WHO Grade II

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Smits ◽  
Brigitta G. Baumert
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Biological Behavior ◽  
Optimal Timing ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Clinical Value ◽  
Who Grade ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Therapeutic Procedures

The clinical management of adults with low-grade gliomas (LGGs) remains a challenge. There is no curative treatment, and management of individual patients is a matter of deciding optimal timing as well as right treatment modality. In addition to conventional imaging techniques, positron emission tomography (PET) with amino acid tracers can facilitate diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. In this paper, the clinical applications of PET with amino acid tracers 11C-methyl-L-methionine (MET) and 18F-fluoro-ethyl-L-tyrosine (FET) for patients with LGG are summarized. We also discuss the value of PET for the long-term followup of this patient group. Monitoring metabolic activity by PET in individual patients during course of disease will provide insight in the biological behavior and evolution of these tumors. As such, spatial changes in tumor activity over time, including shifts of hot-spot regions within the tumor, may reflect intratumoral heterogeneity and correlate to clinical parameters.

scholarly journals Protein structure prediction and design in a biologically-realistic implicit membrane

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca F. Alford ◽  
Patrick J. Fleming ◽  
Karen G. Fleming ◽  
Jeffrey J. Gray
Keyword(s):  
Protein Structure ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Membrane Proteins ◽  
Membrane Protein ◽  
Protein Structure Prediction ◽  
Protein Design ◽  
Structure Prediction ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Computational Design ◽  
Amino Acid Distribution

ABSTRACTProtein design is a powerful tool for elucidating mechanisms of function and engineering new therapeutics and nanotechnologies. While soluble protein design has advanced, membrane protein design remains challenging due to difficulties in modeling the lipid bilayer. In this work, we developed an implicit approach that captures the anisotropic structure, shape of water-filled pores, and nanoscale dimensions of membranes with different lipid compositions. The model improves performance in computational bench-marks against experimental targets including prediction of protein orientations in the bilayer, ΔΔG calculations, native structure dis-crimination, and native sequence recovery. When applied to de novo protein design, this approach designs sequences with an amino acid distribution near the native amino acid distribution in membrane proteins, overcoming a critical flaw in previous membrane models that were prone to generating leucine-rich designs. Further, the proteins designed in the new membrane model exhibit native-like features including interfacial aromatic side chains, hydrophobic lengths compatible with bilayer thickness, and polar pores. Our method advances high-resolution membrane protein structure prediction and design toward tackling key biological questions and engineering challenges.Significance StatementMembrane proteins participate in many life processes including transport, signaling, and catalysis. They constitute over 30% of all proteins and are targets for over 60% of pharmaceuticals. Computational design tools for membrane proteins will transform the interrogation of basic science questions such as membrane protein thermodynamics and the pipeline for engineering new therapeutics and nanotechnologies. Existing tools are either too expensive to compute or rely on manual design strategies. In this work, we developed a fast and accurate method for membrane protein design. The tool is available to the public and will accelerate the experimental design pipeline for membrane proteins.

scholarly journals Amino acid substitutions in human growth hormone affect coiled-coil content and receptor binding

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei Rajkovic ◽  
Sandesh Kanchugal ◽  
Eldar Abdurakhmanov ◽  
Rebecca Howard ◽  
Astrid Gräslund ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Hormone ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Human Growth Hormone ◽  
Receptor Binding ◽  
Coiled Coil ◽  
Human Growth ◽  
Zinc Binding ◽  
Amino Acid Substitutions ◽  
Great Relevance

The interaction between human Growth Hormone (hGH) and hGH Receptor (hGHR) has great relevance to human diseases such as acromegaly and cancer. HGH has been extensively engineered by other workers to improve binding and other properties. We used a computational screen to select substitutions at single hGH positions within the hGHR-binding site. We find that, while many successfully slow down dissociation of the hGH-hGHR complex once bound, they also slow down the association of hGH to hGHR. We are particularly interested in E174 which belongs to the hGH zinc-binding triad, and which spans coiled-coil helices and obeys the coiled-coil heptad pattern. Surprisingly, substituting E174 with A leads to substantial increase in an experimental measure of coiled-coil content. E174A is known to increase affinity of hGH against hGHR; here we show that this is simply because the off-rate is slowed down more than the on-rate, in line with what has been found for other affinity-improving mutations. For E174Y (and mutations at other sites) the slowdown in on-rate was greater, leading to decreased affinity. The results point to a link between coiled-coiling, zinc binding, and hGHR-binding affinity in hGH, and also suggest rules for choosing affinity-increasing substitutions.

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