scholarly journals Sequence-to-structure dependence of isolated IgG Fc complex biantennary N-glycans: A molecular dynamics study

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aoife M Harbison ◽  
Lorna P Brosnan ◽  
Keith Fenlon ◽  
Elisa Fadda

AbstractFc glycosylation of human immunoglobulins G (IgGs) is essential for their structural integrity and activity. Interestingly, the specific nature of the Fc glycoforms is known to modulate the IgG effector function. Indeed, while core-fucosylation of IgG Fc-glycans greatly affects the antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) function, with obvious repercussions in the design of therapeutic antibodies, sialylation can reverse the antibody inflammatory response, and galactosylation levels have been linked to aging, to the onset of inflammation, and to the predisposition to rheumatoid arthritis. Within the framework of a structure-to-function relationship, we have studied the role of the N-glycan sequence on its intrinsic conformational propensity. Here we report the results of a systematic study, based on extensive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in excess of 62 µs of cumulative simulation time, on the effect of sequence on the structure and dynamics of increasingly larger, complex biantennary N-glycoforms, i.e. from chitobiose to the larger N-glycan species commonly found in the Fc region of human IgGs. Our results show that while core fucosylation and sialylation do not affect the intrinsic dynamics of the isolated (unbound) N-glycans, galactosylation of the α(1-6) arm shifts dramatically its conformational equilibrium from an outstretched to a folded conformation. These findings are in agreement with and can help rationalize recent experimental evidence showing a differential recognition of positional isomers in glycan array data and also the preference of sialyltransferase for the more reachable, outstretched α(1-3) arm in both isolated and Fc-bound N-glycans.

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-300
Author(s):  
Saumya K. Patel ◽  
Mohd Athar ◽  
Prakash C. Jha ◽  
Vijay M. Khedkar ◽  
Yogesh Jasrai ◽  
...  

Background: Combined in-silico and in-vitro approaches were adopted to investigate the antiplasmodial activity of Catharanthus roseus and Tylophora indica plant extracts as well as their isolated components (vinblastine, vincristine and tylophorine). </P><P> Methods: We employed molecular docking to prioritize phytochemicals from a library of 26 compounds against Plasmodium falciparum multidrug-resistance protein 1 (PfMDR1). Furthermore, Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations were performed for a duration of 10 ns to estimate the dynamical structural integrity of ligand-receptor complexes. </P><P> Results: The retrieved bioactive compounds viz. tylophorine, vinblastin and vincristine were found to exhibit significant interacting behaviour; as validated by in-vitro studies on chloroquine sensitive (3D7) as well as chloroquine resistant (RKL9) strain. Moreover, they also displayed stable trajectory (RMSD, RMSF) and molecular properties with consistent interaction profile in molecular dynamics simulations. </P><P> Conclusion: We anticipate that the retrieved phytochemicals can serve as the potential hits and presented findings would be helpful for the designing of malarial therapeutics.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 3524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guodong Hu ◽  
Xiu Yu ◽  
Yunqiang Bian ◽  
Zanxia Cao ◽  
Shicai Xu ◽  
...  

ToxIN is a triangular structure formed by three protein toxins (ToxNs) and three specific noncoding RNA antitoxins (ToxIs). To respond to stimuli, ToxI is preferentially degraded, releasing the ToxN. Thus, the dynamic character is essential in the normal function interactions between ToxN and ToxI. Here, equilibrated molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to study the stability of ToxN and ToxI. The results indicate that ToxI adjusts the conformation of 3′ and 5′ termini to bind to ToxN. Steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations combined with the recently developed thermodynamic integration in 3nD (TI3nD) method were carried out to investigate ToxN unbinding from the ToxIN complex. The potentials of mean force (PMFs) and atomistic pictures suggest the unbinding mechanism as follows: (1) dissociation of the 5′ terminus from ToxN, (2) missing the interactions involved in the 3′ terminus of ToxI without three nucleotides (G31, A32, and A33), (3) starting to unfold for ToxI, (4) leaving the binding package of ToxN for three nucleotides of ToxI, (5) unfolding of ToxI. This work provides information on the structure-function relationship at the atomistic level, which is helpful for designing new potent antibacterial drugs in the future.


Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (24) ◽  
pp. 5853
Author(s):  
Sulejman Skoko ◽  
Matteo Ambrosetti ◽  
Tommaso Giovannini ◽  
Chiara Cappelli

We present a detailed computational study of the UV/Vis spectra of four relevant flavonoids in aqueous solution, namely luteolin, kaempferol, quercetin, and myricetin. The absorption spectra are simulated by exploiting a fully polarizable quantum mechanical (QM)/molecular mechanics (MM) model, based on the fluctuating charge (FQ) force field. Such a model is coupled with configurational sampling obtained by performing classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The calculated QM/FQ spectra are compared with the experiments. We show that an accurate reproduction of the UV/Vis spectra of the selected flavonoids can be obtained by appropriately taking into account the role of configurational sampling, polarization, and hydrogen bonding interactions.


Molecules ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siddharth Gautam ◽  
Tingting Liu ◽  
David Cole

Silicalite is an important nanoporous material that finds applications in several industries, including gas separation and catalysis. While the sorption, structure, and dynamics of several molecules confined in the pores of silicalite have been reported, most of these studies have been restricted to low pressures. Here we report a comparative study of sorption, structure, and dynamics of CO2 and ethane in silicalite at high pressures (up to 100 bar) using a combination of Monte Carlo (MC) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The behavior of the two fluids is studied in terms of the simulated sorption isotherms, the positional and orientational distribution of sorbed molecules in silicalite, and their translational diffusion, vibrational spectra, and rotational motion. Both CO2 and ethane are found to exhibit orientational ordering in silicalite pores; however, at high pressures, while CO2 prefers to reside in the channel intersections, ethane molecules reside mostly in the sinusoidal channels. While CO2 exhibits a higher self-diffusion coefficient than ethane at low pressures, at high pressures, it becomes slower than ethane. Both CO2 and ethane exhibit rotational motion at two time scales. At both time scales, the rotational motion of ethane is faster. The differences observed here in the behavior of CO2 and ethane in silicalite pores can be seen as a consequence of an interplay of the kinetic diameter of the two molecules and the quadrupole moment of CO2.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronak Y. Patel ◽  
Petety V. Balaji

Glycolipids are important constituents of biological membranes, and understanding their structure and dynamics in lipid bilayers provides insights into their physiological and pathological roles. Experimental techniques have provided details into their behavior at model and biological membranes; however, computer simulations are needed to gain atomic level insights. This paper summarizes the insights obtained from MD simulations into the conformational and orientational dynamics of glycosphingolipids and their exposure, hydration, and hydrogen-bonding interactions in membrane environment. The organization of glycosphingolipids in raft-like membranes and their modulation of lipid membrane structure are also reviewed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 10507-10515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitaly V. Chaban

Thermodynamics, structure, and dynamics of diethyl sulfoxide (DESO) and ethyl methyl sulfoxide (EMSO) were investigated using ab initio calculations and non-polarizable potential based molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prasanth Babu Ganta ◽  
Oliver Kühn ◽  
Ashour Ahmed

<div><div><div><p>The fate of phosphorus (P) in the eco-system is strongly affected by the interaction of phos- phates with soil components and especially reactive soil mineral surfaces. As a consequence, P immobilization could occur which eventually leads to P inefficiency and thus unavailability to plants with strong implications on the global food system. A molecular level understanding of the mechanisms of the P binding to soil mineral surfaces could be a key for the development of novel strategies for more efficient P application. Much experimental work has been done to understand P binding to several reactive and abundant minerals especially goethite (α-FeOOH). On the other hand, atomistic modeling of the P-mineral molecular systems using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations is emerging as a new tool which provides more detailed information regarding the mechanisms, nature, and strength of these binding processes. The present study characterize the binding of the most abundant organic phosphates in forest soils, inositol hexaphosphate (IHP) and glycerolphosphate (GP), to the 100 diaspore (α-AlOOH) surface plane. Here, different molecular models have been introduced to simulate typical situations for the P-binding at the diaspore/water interface. For all models, quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) based MD simulations have been performed to explore the diaspore–IHP/GP–water interactions. The results provide evidence for the formation of monodentate (M) and bidentate (B) motifs for GP and M and as well as two monodentate (2M) motifs for IHP with the surface. The calculated interaction energies suggest that GP and IHP prefer to form the B and 2M motif, respectively. Moreover, IHP exhibited stronger binding than GP with diaspore and water. Further, the role of water in controlling binding strengths via promoting of specific binding motifs, formation of H-bonds, adsorption and dissociation at the surface, as well as proton transfer processes is demonstrated. Finally, the P-binding at the 100 diaspore surface plane is weaker than that at the 010 plane highlighting the influential role of the coordination number of Al atoms at the top surface of diaspore.</p></div></div></div>


2019 ◽  
Vol 152 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshiko Yamazawa ◽  
Haruo Ogawa ◽  
Takashi Murayama ◽  
Maki Yamaguchi ◽  
Hideto Oyamada ◽  
...  

Type 1 ryanodine receptor (RYR1) is a Ca2+ release channel in the sarcoplasmic reticulum in skeletal muscle and plays an important role in excitation–contraction coupling. Mutations in the RYR1 gene cause severe muscle diseases such as malignant hyperthermia (MH), which is a disorder of CICR via RYR1. Thus far, &gt;300 mutations in RYR1 have been reported in patients with MH. However, owing to a lack of comprehensive analysis of the structure–function relationship of mutant RYR1, the mechanism remains largely unknown. Here, we combined functional studies and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of RYR1 bearing disease-associated mutations at the N-terminal region. When expressed in HEK293 cells, the mutant RYR1 caused abnormalities in Ca2+ homeostasis. MD simulations of WT and mutant RYR1s were performed using crystal structure of the N-terminal domain (NTD) monomer, consisting of A, B, and C domains. We found that the mutations located around the interdomain region differentially affected hydrogen bonds/salt bridges. Particularly, mutations at R402, which increase the open probability of the channel, cause clockwise rotation of BC domains with respect to the A domain by alteration of the interdomain interactions. Similar results were also obtained with artificial mutations that mimic alteration of the interactions. Our results reveal the importance of interdomain interactions within the NTD in the regulation of the RYR1 channel and provide insights into the mechanism of MH caused by the mutations at the NTD.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Miclot ◽  
Camille Corbier ◽  
Alessio Terenzi ◽  
Cécilia Hognon ◽  
Stéphanie Grandemange ◽  
...  

AbstractHuman telomeric DNA (h-Telo), in G-quadruplex (G4) conformation, is characterized by a remarkable structural stability that confers it the capacity to resist to oxidative stress producing one or even clustered 8-oxoguanine lesions. We present a combined experimental/computational investigation, by using circular dichroism in aqueous solutions, cellular immunofluorescence assays and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, that identifies the crucial role of the stability of G4s to oxidative lesions, related also to their biological role as inhibitors of telomerase, an enzyme overexpressed in most cancers associated to oxidative stress.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shadi Rahnama ◽  
Maryam Azimzadeh Irani ◽  
Mehriar Amininasab ◽  
Mohammad Reza Ejtehadi

AbstractSARS-COV-2 is a strain of Coronavirus family which caused the extensive pandemic of COVID-19, which is still going on. Several studies showed that the glycosylation of virus spike (S) protein and the Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor on the host cell is critical for the virus infectivity. Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations were used to explore the role of a novel mutated O-glycosylation site (D494S) on the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) of S protein. This site was suggested as a key mediator of virus-host interaction. We showed that the decoration of S494 with elongated O-glycans results in stabilized interactions on the direct RBD-ACE2 interface with more favorable binding free energies for longer oligosaccharides. Hence, this crucial factor must be taken into account for any further inhibitory approaches towards RBD-ACE2 interaction.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document