scholarly journals Accelerating the Calculation of Protein-Ligand Binding Free Energy and Residence Times using Dynamically Optimized Collective Variables

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Faidon Brotzakis ◽  
Vittorio Limongelli ◽  
Michele Parrinello
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Ligand Binding ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Conformational Dynamics ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Binding Pocket ◽  
Binding Mode ◽  
Collective Variables ◽  
Binding Interaction

AbstractElucidation of the ligand/protein binding interaction is of paramount relevance in pharmacology to increase the success rate of drug design. To this end a number of computational methods have been proposed, however all of them suffer from limitations since the ligand binding/unbinding transitions to the molecular target involve many slow degrees of freedom that hamper a full characterization of the binding process. Being able to express this transition in simple and general slow degrees of freedom, would give a distinctive advantage, since it would require minimal knowledge of the system under study, while in turn it would elucidate its physics and accelerate the convergence speed of enhanced sampling methods relying on collective variables. In this study we pursuit this goal by combining for the first time Variation Approach to Conformational dynamics with Funnel-Metadynamics. In so doing, we predict for the benzamidine/trypsin system the ligand binding mode, and we accurately compute the absolute protein-ligand binding free energy and unbinding rate at unprecedented low computational cost. Finally, our simulation protocol reveals the energetics and structural details of the ligand binding mechanism and shows that water and binding pocket solvation/desolvation are the dominant slow degrees of freedom.

Automated, Accurate, and Scalable Relative Protein-Ligand Binding Free Energy Calculations using Lambda Dynamics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Prabhu Raman ◽  
Thomas J. Paul ◽  
Ryan L. Hayes ◽  
Charles L. Brooks III
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Ligand Binding ◽  
Binding Affinity ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Combinatorial Libraries ◽  
Free Energy Calculations ◽  
Lead Optimization ◽  
Efficient Estimation ◽  
Lead Compound

<p>Accurate predictions of changes to protein-ligand binding affinity in response to chemical modifications are of utility in small molecule lead optimization. Relative free energy perturbation (FEP) approaches are one of the most widely utilized for this goal, but involve significant computational cost, thus limiting their application to small sets of compounds. Lambda dynamics, also rigorously based on the principles of statistical mechanics, provides a more efficient alternative. In this paper, we describe the development of a workflow to setup, execute, and analyze Multi-Site Lambda Dynamics (MSLD) calculations run on GPUs with CHARMm implemented in BIOVIA Discovery Studio and Pipeline Pilot. The workflow establishes a framework for setting up simulation systems for exploratory screening of modifications to a lead compound, enabling the calculation of relative binding affinities of combinatorial libraries. To validate the workflow, a diverse dataset of congeneric ligands for seven proteins with experimental binding affinity data is examined. A protocol to automatically tailor fit biasing potentials iteratively to flatten the free energy landscape of any MSLD system is developed that enhances sampling and allows for efficient estimation of free energy differences. The protocol is first validated on a large number of ligand subsets that model diverse substituents, which shows accurate and reliable performance. The scalability of the workflow is also tested to screen more than a hundred ligands modeled in a single system, which also resulted in accurate predictions. With a cumulative sampling time of 150ns or less, the method results in average unsigned errors of under 1 kcal/mol in most cases for both small and large combinatorial libraries. For the multi-site systems examined, the method is estimated to be more than an order of magnitude more efficient than contemporary FEP applications. The results thus demonstrate the utility of the presented MSLD workflow to efficiently screen combinatorial libraries and explore chemical space around a lead compound, and thus are of utility in lead optimization.</p>

scholarly journals Enhanced Sampling of Protein Conformational Transitions via Dynamically Optimized Collective Variables

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Faidon Brotzakis ◽  
Michele Parrinello
Keyword(s):  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Conformational Transition ◽  
Conformational Dynamics ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Md Simulations ◽  
Conformational Transitions ◽  
Enhanced Sampling ◽  
Collective Variables ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
Combined Data

AbstractProtein conformational transitions often involve many slow degrees of freedom. Their knowledge would give distinctive advantages since it provides chemical and mechanistic insight and accelerates the convergence of enhanced sampling techniques that rely on collective variables. In this study, we implemented a recently developed variational approach to conformational dynamics metadynamics to the conformational transition of the moderate size protein, L99A T4 Lysozyme. In order to find the slow modes of the system we combined data coming from NMR experiments as well as short MD simulations. A Metadynamics simulation based on these information reveals the presence of two intermediate states, at an affordable computational cost.

scholarly journals Markovian Weighted Ensemble Milestoning (M-WEM): Long-time Kinetics from Short Trajectories

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dhiman Ray ◽  
Sharon E. Stone ◽  
Ioan Andricioaei
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Residence Time ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Rare Event ◽  
Kinetic Properties ◽  
Dissociation Kinetics ◽  
Receptor System ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

We introduce a rare-event sampling scheme, named Markovian Weighted Ensemble Milestoning (M-WEM), which inlays the weighted ensemble framework within a Markovian milestoning theory to efficiently calculate thermodynamic and kinetic properties of long-timescale biomolecular processes from short atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. We then showcase the application of this method to the Muller Brown potential model, the conformational switching in alanine dipeptide, and the millisecond timescale protein-ligand unbinding in the trypsin-benzamidine complex. Not only can we predict the kinetics of these processes with quantitative accuracy, but we also present a scheme to reconstruct a multidimensional free energy landscape, along additional degrees of freedom which are not part of the milestoning progress coordinate. For the ligand-receptor system, the experimental residence time, association and dissociation kinetics, and binding free energy could be reproduced using M-WEM approach within a few hundreds of nanoseconds simulation time, which is a fraction of the computational cost of other currently available methods, and close to four orders of magnitude less than the experimental residence time. Due to the high accuracy and low computational cost the M-WEM approach can find potential application in kinetics and free energy based computational drug design.

scholarly journals Ligand deconstruction: Why some fragment binding positions are conserved and others are not

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (20) ◽  
pp. E2585-E2594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dima Kozakov ◽  
David R. Hall ◽  
Stefan Jehle ◽  
Lingqi Luo ◽  
Stefan O. Ochiana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Ligand Binding ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Binding Mode ◽  
Binding Potential ◽  
Binding Modes ◽  
Affinity Ligand ◽  
Ligand Binding Sites ◽  
Free Energy Of Binding

Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) relies on the premise that the fragment binding mode will be conserved on subsequent expansion to a larger ligand. However, no general condition has been established to explain when fragment binding modes will be conserved. We show that a remarkably simple condition can be developed in terms of how fragments coincide with binding energy hot spots—regions of the protein where interactions with a ligand contribute substantial binding free energy—the locations of which can easily be determined computationally. Because a substantial fraction of the free energy of ligand binding comes from interacting with the residues in the energetically most important hot spot, a ligand moiety that sufficiently overlaps with this region will retain its location even when other parts of the ligand are removed. This hypothesis is supported by eight case studies. The condition helps identify whether a protein is suitable for FBDD, predicts the size of fragments required for screening, and determines whether a fragment hit can be extended into a higher affinity ligand. Our results show that ligand binding sites can usefully be thought of in terms of an anchor site, which is the top-ranked hot spot and dominates the free energy of binding, surrounded by a number of weaker satellite sites that confer improved affinity and selectivity for a particular ligand and that it is the intrinsic binding potential of the protein surface that determines whether it can serve as a robust binding site for a suitably optimized ligand.

scholarly journals Ligand binding to telomeric G-quadruplex DNA investigated by funnel-metadynamics simulations

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (11) ◽  
pp. E2136-E2145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Moraca ◽  
Jussara Amato ◽  
Francesco Ortuso ◽  
Anna Artese ◽  
Bruno Pagano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Ligand Binding ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Binding Mode ◽  
Dna Interaction ◽  
Accurate Estimate ◽  
Binding Modes ◽  
Binding Mechanism ◽  
Promoter Regions

G-quadruplexes (G4s) are higher-order DNA structures typically present at promoter regions of genes and telomeres. Here, the G4 formation decreases the replicative DNA at each cell cycle, finally leading to apoptosis. The ability to control this mitotic clock, particularly in cancer cells, is fascinating and passes through a rational understanding of the ligand/G4 interaction. We demonstrate that an accurate description of the ligand/G4 binding mechanism is possible using an innovative free-energy method called funnel-metadynamics (FM), which we have recently developed to investigate ligand/protein interaction. Using FM simulations, we have elucidated the binding mechanism of the anticancer alkaloid berberine to the human telomeric G4 (d[AG3(T2AG3)3]), computing also the binding free-energy landscape. Two ligand binding modes have been identified as the lowest energy states. Furthermore, we have found prebinding sites, which are preparatory to reach the final binding mode. In our simulations, the ions and the water molecules have been explicitly represented and the energetic contribution of the solvent during ligand binding evaluated. Our theoretical results provide an accurate estimate of the absolute ligand/DNA binding free energy (ΔGb0 = −10.3 ± 0.5 kcal/mol) that we validated through steady-state fluorescence binding assays. The good agreement between the theoretical and experimental value demonstrates that FM is a most powerful method to investigate ligand/DNA interaction and can be a useful tool for the rational design also of G4 ligands.

scholarly journals Binding Affinity Estimation From Restrained Umbrella Sampling Simulations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivek Govind Kumar ◽  
Shilpi Agrawal ◽  
Thallapuranam Krishnaswamy Suresh Kumar ◽  
Mahmoud Moradi
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Binding Affinity ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Isothermal Calorimetry ◽  
General Scheme ◽  
Umbrella Sampling ◽  
Estimation Methods ◽  
Collective Variables ◽  
Energy Estimation

The protein-ligand binding affinity quantifies the binding strength between a protein and its ligand. Computer modeling and simulations can be used to estimate the binding affinity or binding free energy using data- or physics-driven methods or a combination thereof. Here, we discuss a purely physics-based sampling approach based on biased molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, which in spirit is similar to the stratification strategy suggested previously by Woo and Roux. The proposed methodology uses umbrella sampling (US) simulations with additional restraints based on collective variables such as the orientation of the ligand. The novel extension of this strategy presented here uses a simplified and more general scheme that can be easily tailored for any system of interest. We estimate the binding affinity of human fibroblast growth factor 1 (hFGF1) to heparin hexasaccharide based on the available crystal structure of the complex as the initial model and four different variations of the proposed method to compare against the experimentally determined binding affinity obtained from isothermal calorimetry (ITC) experiments. Our results indicate that enhanced sampling methods that sample along the ligand-protein distance without restraining other degrees of freedom do not perform as well as those with additional restraint. In particular, restraining the orientation of the ligands plays a crucial role in reaching a reasonable estimate for binding affinity. The general framework presented here provides a flexible scheme for designing practical binding free energy estimation methods.

Automated, Accurate, and Scalable Relative Protein-Ligand Binding Free Energy Calculations using Lambda Dynamics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Prabhu Raman ◽  
Thomas J. Paul ◽  
Ryan L. Hayes ◽  
Charles L. Brooks III
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Ligand Binding ◽  
Binding Affinity ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Combinatorial Libraries ◽  
Free Energy Calculations ◽  
Lead Optimization ◽  
Efficient Estimation ◽  
Lead Compound

<p>Accurate predictions of changes to protein-ligand binding affinity in response to chemical modifications are of utility in small molecule lead optimization. Relative free energy perturbation (FEP) approaches are one of the most widely utilized for this goal, but involve significant computational cost, thus limiting their application to small sets of compounds. Lambda dynamics, also rigorously based on the principles of statistical mechanics, provides a more efficient alternative. In this paper, we describe the development of a workflow to setup, execute, and analyze Multi-Site Lambda Dynamics (MSLD) calculations run on GPUs with CHARMm implemented in BIOVIA Discovery Studio and Pipeline Pilot. The workflow establishes a framework for setting up simulation systems for exploratory screening of modifications to a lead compound, enabling the calculation of relative binding affinities of combinatorial libraries. To validate the workflow, a diverse dataset of congeneric ligands for seven proteins with experimental binding affinity data is examined. A protocol to automatically tailor fit biasing potentials iteratively to flatten the free energy landscape of any MSLD system is developed that enhances sampling and allows for efficient estimation of free energy differences. The protocol is first validated on a large number of ligand subsets that model diverse substituents, which shows accurate and reliable performance. The scalability of the workflow is also tested to screen more than a hundred ligands modeled in a single system, which also resulted in accurate predictions. With a cumulative sampling time of 150ns or less, the method results in average unsigned errors of under 1 kcal/mol in most cases for both small and large combinatorial libraries. For the multi-site systems examined, the method is estimated to be more than an order of magnitude more efficient than contemporary FEP applications. The results thus demonstrate the utility of the presented MSLD workflow to efficiently screen combinatorial libraries and explore chemical space around a lead compound, and thus are of utility in lead optimization.</p>

Application of the ESMACS Binding Free Energy Protocol to a Highly Varied Ligand Dataset: Lactate Dehydogenase A

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wright ◽  
Fouad Husseini ◽  
Shunzhou Wan ◽  
Christophe Meyer ◽  
Herman Van Vlijmen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Normal Mode Analysis ◽  
Binding Mode ◽  
Accessible Surface Area ◽  
Solvent Accessible Surface Area ◽  
Mode Analysis ◽  
Energy Calculation ◽  
Accessible Surface

<div>Here, we evaluate the performance of our range of ensemble simulation based binding free energy calculation protocols, called ESMACS (enhanced sampling of molecular dynamics with approximation of continuum solvent) for use in fragment based drug design scenarios. ESMACS is designed to generate reproducible binding affinity predictions from the widely used molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MMPBSA) approach. We study ligands designed to target two binding pockets in the lactate dehydogenase A target protein, which vary in size, charge and binding mode. When comparing to experimental results, we obtain excellent statistical rankings across this highly diverse set of ligands. In addition, we investigate three approaches to account for entropic contributions not captured by standard MMPBSA calculations: (1) normal mode analysis, (2) weighted solvent accessible surface area (WSAS) and (3) variational entropy. </div>

scholarly journals Testing automatic methods to predict free binding energy of host–guest complexes in SAMPL7 challenge

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-222
Author(s):  
Dylan Serillon ◽  
Carles Bo ◽  
Xavier Barril
Keyword(s):  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Binding Mode ◽  
Specific System ◽  
New Host ◽  
Guest Molecules ◽  
Host Guest Complex ◽  
Automatic Methods ◽  
Material Sciences ◽  
Fundamental Direction

AbstractThe design of new host–guest complexes represents a fundamental challenge in supramolecular chemistry. At the same time, it opens new opportunities in material sciences or biotechnological applications. A computational tool capable of automatically predicting the binding free energy of any host–guest complex would be a great aid in the design of new host systems, or to identify new guest molecules for a given host. We aim to build such a platform and have used the SAMPL7 challenge to test several methods and design a specific computational pipeline. Predictions will be based on machine learning (when previous knowledge is available) or a physics-based method (otherwise). The formerly delivered predictions with an RMSE of 1.67 kcal/mol but will require further work to identify when a specific system is outside of the scope of the model. The latter is combines the semiempirical GFN2B functional, with docking, molecular mechanics, and molecular dynamics. Correct predictions (RMSE of 1.45 kcal/mol) are contingent on the identification of the correct binding mode, which can be very challenging for host–guest systems with a large number of degrees of freedom. Participation in the blind SAMPL7 challenge provided fundamental direction to the project. More advanced versions of the pipeline will be tested against future SAMPL challenges.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document