scholarly journals Investigating the interactions of the first 17 amino acid residues of Huntingtin with lipid vesicles using mass spectrometry and molecular dynamics

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Kiani Karanji ◽  
Maryssa Beasley ◽  
Daud Sharif ◽  
Ali Ranjbaran ◽  
Justin Legleiter ◽  
...  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan J. R. Ferrari ◽  
Fabio C. Gozzo ◽  
Leandro Martinez

<div><p>Chemical cross-linking/Mass Spectrometry (XLMS) is an experimental method to obtain distance constraints between amino acid residues, which can be applied to structural modeling of tertiary and quaternary biomolecular structures. These constraints provide, in principle, only upper limits to the distance between amino acid residues along the surface of the biomolecule. In practice, attempts to use of XLMS constraints for tertiary protein structure determination have not been widely successful. This indicates the need of specifically designed strategies for the representation of these constraints within modeling algorithms. Here, a force-field designed to represent XLMS-derived constraints is proposed. The potential energy functions are obtained by computing, in the database of known protein structures, the probability of satisfaction of a topological cross-linking distance as a function of the Euclidean distance between amino acid residues. The force-field can be easily incorporated into current modeling methods and software. In this work, the force-field was implemented within the Rosetta ab initio relax protocol. We show a significant improvement in the quality of the models obtained relative to current strategies for constraint representation. This force-field contributes to the long-desired goal of obtaining the tertiary structures of proteins using XLMS data. Force-field parameters and usage instructions are freely available at http://m3g.iqm.unicamp.br/topolink/xlff <br></p></div><p></p><p></p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 451-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fortunatus C. Ezebuo ◽  
Ikemefuna C. Uzochukwu

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.


2009 ◽  
Vol 633 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mostafa Pournamdari ◽  
Ahmed Saadi ◽  
Elizabeth Ellis ◽  
Ruth Andrew ◽  
Brian Walker ◽  
...  

RSC Advances ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (89) ◽  
pp. 48621-48631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor R. Turpin ◽  
Sam Mulholland ◽  
Andrew M. Teale ◽  
Boyan B. Bonev ◽  
Jonathan D. Hirst

Author(s):  
Huichao Wang ◽  
Tong Zhao ◽  
Shuhui Yang ◽  
Liang Zou ◽  
Xiaolong Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Under the severe situation of the current global epidemic, researchers have been working hard to find a reliable way to suppress the infection of the virus and prevent the spread of the epidemic. Studies have shown that the recognition and binding of human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) by the receptor-binding domain (BRD) of spike protein on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 is a crucial step for SARS-CoV-2 to invade human receptor cells, and blocking this process can inhibit the virus from invading human normal cells. Plasma treatment can disrupt the structure of the RBD and effectively block the binding process. However, the mechanism by which plasma blocks the recognition and binding between the two is not clear. In this study, reaction process between reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plasma and the molecular model of RBD was simulated using a reactive molecular dynamics method. The results showed that the destruction of RBD molecule by ROS was triggered by hydrogen abstraction reactions. O and OH abstracted H atoms from RBD, while the H atoms of H2O2 and HO2 were abstracted by RBD. The hydrogen abstraction resulted in the breakage of C-H, N-H, O-H and C=O bonds and the formation of C=C, C=N bonds. The addition reaction of OH increased the number of O-H bonds and caused the formation of C-O, N-O and O-H bonds. The dissociation of N-H bonds led to the destruction of the original structure of peptide bonds and amino acid residues, change the type of amino acid residues, and caused the conversion of N-C and N=C, C=O and C-O. The simulation partially elucidated the microscopic mechanism of the interaction between ROS in plasma and the capsid protein of SARS-CoV-2, providing theoretical support for the control of SARS-CoV-2 infection by plasma, a contribution to overcoming the global epidemic problem.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yana A. Lyon ◽  
Dylan L. Riggs ◽  
Miranda P. Collier ◽  
Matteo T. Degiacomi ◽  
Justin L.P. Benesch ◽  
...  

AbstractLong-lived proteins are subject to spontaneous degradation and may accumulate a range of modifications over time, including subtle alterations such as isomerization. Recently, tandem-mass spectrometry approaches have enabled the identification and detailed characterization of such peptide isomers, including those differing only in chirality. However, the structural and functional consequences of these perturbations remain largely unexplored. Here we examine the site-specific impact of isomerization of aspartic acid and epimerization of serine in human αA- and αB-crystallin. From a total of 81 sites of modification identified in aged eye lenses, four (αBSer59, αASer162, αBAsp62, αBAsp109) map to crucial oligomeric interfaces. To characterize the effect of isomerization on quaternary assembly, molecular dynamics calculations and native mass spectrometry experiments were performed on recombinant forms of αA- and αB-crystallin that incorporate, or mimic, isomerized residues. In all cases, oligomerization is significantly affected, with epimerization of a single serine residue (αASer162) sufficing to weaken inter-subunit binding dramatically. Furthermore, phosphorylation of αBSer59, known to play an important regulatory role in oligomerization, is severely inhibited by serine epimerization and altered by isomerization of nearby αBAsp62. Similarly, isomerization of αBAsp109 disrupts a vital salt-bridge with αBArg120, a loss previously shown to yield aberrant oligomerization and aggregation in several disease variants. Our results illustrate how isomerization of amino-acid residues, which may seem like a minor structural perturbation, can have profound consequences on protein assembly and activity by disrupting specific hydrogen bonds and salt bridges.Significance StatementProteins play numerous critical roles in our bodies but suffer damage with increasing age. For example, isomerization is a spontaneous post-translational modification that alters the three-dimensional connectivity of an amino acid, yet remains invisible to traditional proteomic experiments. Herein, radical-based fragmentation was used for isomer identification while molecular dynamics and native mass spectrometry were utilized to assess structural consequences. The results demonstrate that isomerization disrupts both oligomeric assembly and phosphorylation in the α-crystallins, which are long-lived proteins in the lens of the eye. The loss of function associated with these modifications is likely connected to age-related diseases such as cataract and neurodegenerative disorders, while the methodologies we present represent a framework for structure-function studies on other isomerized proteins.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (9) ◽  
pp. 928-938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Palazzolo ◽  
Chiara Paravicini ◽  
Tommaso Laurenzi ◽  
Sara Adobati ◽  
Simona Saporiti ◽  
...  

SLC6A14 (ATB0,+) is a sodium- and chloride-dependent neutral and dibasic amino acid transporter that regulates the distribution of amino acids across cell membranes. The transporter is overexpressed in many human cancers characterized by an increased demand for amino acids; as such, it was recently acknowledged as a novel target for cancer therapy. The knowledge on the molecular mechanism of SLC6A14 transport is still limited, but some elegant studies on related transporters report the involvement of the 12 transmembrane α-helices in the transport mechanism, and describe structural rearrangements mediated by electrostatic interactions with some pivotal gating residues. In the present work, we constructed a SLC6A14 model in outward-facing conformation via homology modeling and used molecular dynamics simulations to predict amino acid residues critical for substrate recognition and translocation. We docked the proteinogenic amino acids and other known substrates in the SLC6A14 binding site to study both gating regions and the exposed residues involved in transport. Interestingly, some of these residues correspond to those previously identified in other LeuT-fold transporters; however, we could also identify a novel relevant residue with such function. For the first time, by combined approaches of molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations, we highlight the potential role of these residues in neutral amino acid transport. This novel information unravels new aspects of the human SLC6A14 structure–function relationship and may have important outcomes for cancer treatment through the design of novel inhibitors of SLC6A14-mediated transport.


1996 ◽  
Vol 49 (12) ◽  
pp. 1325 ◽  
Author(s):  
AM Bradford ◽  
JH Bowie ◽  
MJ Tyler ◽  
JC Wallace

The dorsal glandular extract of the toadlet Uperoleia mjobergii contains more than 20 peptides. We report the amino acid sequences of the seven major peptides: these were determined by a combination of mass spectrometry and automated Edman sequencing. Three of these peptides have 19 amino acid residues and belong to the uperin 2 group of peptides [e.g. uperin 2.6, Gly Ile Leu Asp Ile Ala Lys Lys Leu Val Gly Gly Ile Arg Asn Val Leu Gly Ile (OH)], while the other four have 17 residues and are classified as uperins 3 [e.g. Uperin 3.4, Gly Val Gly Asp Leu Ile Arg Lys Ala Val Ala Ala Ile Lys Asn Ile Val (NH2)]. Several of these cationic peptides have been synthesized in order for bioassays to be carried out: they show significant antibiotic activity against a range of Gram-positive microorganisms. A major skin peptide from the related species Uperoleia inundata is a powerful neuropeptide named uperin 1.1 ([Ala2] uperolein ): no corresponding neuropeptide is detected in the skin glands of Uperoleia mjobergii.


1997 ◽  
Vol 52 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 89-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thereza Amélia Soares ◽  
Roberto Dias Lins ◽  
Ricardo Longo ◽  
Richard Garratt ◽  
Ricardo Ferreira

Abstract By computer simulations -molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics with the amber force field (Weiner et al., (1986), J. Comp. Chem. 7, 2 30-252) -we have determined the stabilities of oligoribotide strands built with ᴅ -and ʟ-riboses, and of peptide chains with ᴅ -and ʟ-amino acid residues. In particular, complementary double-chains of oligoribotides were studied, since they are an important feature of the growing mechanism of modern nucleic acids. Peptide chains on the other hand, grow without need of a template. We found that mixed oligoribotides are less stable than homochiral ones, and that this chiral effect is less noticeable in peptide chains. The results support the interpretation that ʟ-riboses act as terminators to the template-assisted growth of oligo-r-Gᴅ (enantiomeric cross-inhibition; Joyce et al., (1987), Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84, 4398-4402). Based on this effect, a chemical pathway is proposed which could, under assumed prebiotic conditions, bypass the hindrance of homochiral growth.


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