FKBP12蛋白与其抑制剂结合的分子动力学模拟和结合自由能计算

FKBP12 (FK506-binding protein-12)是一种具有神经保护和促神经再生作用的蛋白. 采用分子动力学模拟取样, 运用MM-GBSA方法计算了FKBP12和3个抑制剂(GPI-1046, 308和107)的绝对结合自由能, GPI-1046的结合能最小, 308小于107的结合能. 通过能量分解的方法考察了FKBP12蛋白的主要残基与抑制剂之间的相互作用和识别, 计算结果表明: 3个抑制剂具有相似的结合模式, Ile56和Tyr82主要表现为氢键作用, Tyr26, Phe46, Val55, Ile56, Trp59, Tyr82, Tyr87和Phe99形成疏水作用区. 计算结果和实验结果吻合.     

分子动力学模拟残基突变对芳香烃受体配体结合区的影响

芳香烃受体(Aryl hydrocarbon receptor,AhR)属于配体依赖性的转录因子蛋白。本文通过对AhR配体结合区域(Ligand binding domain,LBD)的结构功能及物种特异性分析,发现在其结合腔口有一些关键残基可能起到"门控"作用,进一步将野生型(WT)和3个突变模型(Phe289Ala、Tyr316Ala、Ile319Ala)进行分子动力学模拟,从蛋白稳定性、蛋白结构变化、蛋白结合腔变化及蛋白和配体结合能力4个方面分析3个残基的门控作用。研究发现,Phe289、Tyr316、Ile319氨基酸残基通过形成疏水作用为AhR LBD起到"门控"作用;而将这些氨基酸分别突变后,其蛋白稳定性降低,整体运动性增加,配体亲和力减弱,其中Tyr316、Ile319对腔内体积影响较大,Phe289使腔内环境稳定性降低。本研究可为基于芳香烃受体的药物设计提供相关理论指导。     

白色念珠菌N-肉豆蔻酰基转移酶中药物结合位点的MCSS分析

采用多拷贝同时搜寻方法(MCSS)分析得到了CaNMT活性位点的疏水区域、氢键结合位点和负电性区域. MCSS计算结果显示, CaNMT活性位点有两个疏水性比较强的区域: 一个由Tyr107, Tyr109, Val108, Phe117, Phe123, Ala127, Phe176和Leu337等残基组成; 另一个由Phe115, Phe240和Phe339组成. CaNMT活性位点发现有两个氢键作用区域, 其中Tyr119, His227, Asn392和Leu451是与已有抑制剂的氢键结合位点, Tyr107, Asn175, Thr211和Asp412是新发现的氢键结合位点, 而且在NMT家族中高度稳定, 它们对设计新结构类型的CaNMT抑制剂具有重要作用. Leu451是负电性兼氢键作用位点, 是抑制剂设计时所必需考虑的位点.     

血管紧张素转换酶与抑制肽结合模式的分子动力学研究

应用分子模拟方法研究了血管紧张素转换酶(Angiotensin-converting enzyme,ACE)C端结构域(C-domain)与两种抑制肽(RIGLF/AHEPVK)的结合机制,预测了两个体系的结合模式,提出在C-domain-RIGLF中His353,Asp377,Asp453,Phe457,His513,Tyr523和Phe527为RIGLF主要结合残基,而在C-domainAHEPVK中Gln281,His353,Ser355,Glu384,Lys511,His513和Tyr523等残基起关键作用.应用结合自由能计算比较了两个体系的结合能力,结果表明,RIGLF和AHEPVK均与C-domain活性位点残基存在较强作用,且AHEPVK对C-domain的结合能力较强,与实验结果一致.     

稀土金属离子及pH诱导牛血清白蛋白构象变化的同步荧光光谱研究

用同步荧光法并辅以普通荧光法对不同浓度稀土离子及pH诱导的牛血清白蛋白(BSA)构象变化进行了详细研究, 发现稀土离子使色氨酸(Trp)残基的荧光蓝移, 荧光强度降低; 酪氨酸(Tyr)残基荧光峰位置不变, 稀土离子浓度较低时, 荧光峰强度降低, 而当浓度较高时, Tyr残基荧光峰强度反而增强. 据此推断了稀土离子与BSA结合反应中Trp残基微环境和Tyr残基微环境及构象的变化并与pH引起的变化进行了比较.     

新型二氟甲基磷酸类酪氨酸蛋白磷酸酯酶1B抑制剂的分子动力学模拟和结合自由能计算

通过分子对接建立了一系列含二氟甲基磷酸基团(DFMP)或二氟甲基硫酸基团(DFMS)的抑制剂与酪氨酸蛋白磷酸酯酶1B(PTP1B)的相互作用模式, 并通过1 ns的分子动力学模拟和molecular mechanics/generalized Born surface area (MM/GBSA)方法计算了其结合自由能. 计算获得的结合自由能排序和抑制剂与靶酶间结合能力排序一致; 通过基于主方程的自由能计算方法, 获得了抑制剂与靶酶残基间相互作用的信息, 这些信息显示DFMP/DFMS基团的负电荷中心与PTP1B的221位精氨酸正电荷中心之间的静电相互作用强弱决定了此类抑制剂的活性, 进一步的分析还显示位于DFMP/DFMS基团中的氟原子或其他具有适当原子半径的氢键供体原子会增进此类抑制剂与PTP1B活性位点的结合能力.     

分子动力学模拟研究点突变(Met108→Leu108)对树胶醛糖结合蛋白与配体作用的影响

为了研究点突变(Met108→Leu108)对树胶醛糖结合蛋白(ABP)与配体结合能力的影响,对ABP、ABP结合树胶醛糖复合物及ABP结合半乳糖复合物以及它们各自的突变体分别进行60 ns的分子动力学模拟.模拟结果表明,108号残基突变前后,电子等排体的两个氨基酸残基,使蛋白与配体间的范德华相互作用发生明显变化,同时导致蛋白的内部运动也发生变化,进而影响蛋白与配体的相互作用.进一步分析表明,突变前后的蛋白构象变化都趋向于两个结构域张开,而与配体的结合可减缓张开程度.     

神经红蛋白突变体Tyr44Phe的制备、表征和稳定性研究

构建了突变体蛋白Tyr44Phe的基因, 进行了蛋白的表达、分离纯化、谱学表征和稳定性研究. 由电喷雾质谱所得突变体蛋白的分子量与理论值一致; UV-Vis吸收光谱、荧光光谱和圆二色光谱表明, Tyr44Phe的点突变虽没有改变血红素的六配位结构, 但对血红素的构象有所影响. 突变体蛋白的热、酸稳定性研究表明, 定点突变降低了血红素与蛋白肽链之间的结合力, 导致血红素易从疏水腔中脱出, 说明Tyr44对蛋白的结构稳定性起一定的作用.     

基于拉伸分子动力学模拟的黄嘌呤氧化酶抑制剂解离途径的理论研究

采用拉伸分子动力学模拟的方法研究了黄嘌呤氧化酶(Xanthine oxidase, XO)抑制剂别嘌呤醇(Allopurinol)和葛根素(Puerarin)从XO离去通道解离的动态过程. 分子对接结果表明, 别嘌呤醇和葛根素均结合在XO的钼蝶呤中心(Molybdopterin, Mo-pt); 丙氨酸扫描的结果显示, Val789, Arg880, Phe911, Phe914和Val1081在XO与抑制剂的结合中起到非常重要的作用. 拉伸分子动力学模拟结果显示, 相比于葛根素, 别嘌呤醇需要更大的外力和更长的时间才能从XO中解离, 拉伸过程中Arg880, Phe1009, Thr1010, Val1011和Ala1079均对维持2种复合物的结构稳定起到重要作用, Phe649和Phe1013在抑制剂解离过程中起到门控的作用, His875起到阻碍抑制剂解离的作用.     

凝血因子Xa的S4口袋部分关键残基对利伐沙班结合的不同作用机制

通过生物信息学对比、 分子动力学模拟和结合自由能计算分析了利伐沙班与凝血因子Xa的S4口袋部分关键残基之间动态相互作用的细节. 结果表明, 利伐沙班与凝血因子Xa结合不稳定是由S4口袋关键残基突变对疏水盒子完整性的破坏所致. 其中Trp215侧链的疏水作用对抑制剂结合的作用较大, 但对整体结构的影响短时间内较小. Tyr99虽然在结合自由能中贡献较小, 但其突变可能导致99 loop所在结构域的整体构象变化, 从而对于抑制剂或底物的结合特异性产生影响. S4口袋关键残基的不同作用在凝血因子Xa直接抑制剂的药物设计及其拮抗剂的开发中应予以充分考虑.     

Protein:Ligand binding free energies: A stringent test for computational protein design

A computational protein design method is extended to allow Monte Carlo simulations where two ligands are titrated into a protein binding pocket, yielding binding free energy differences. These provide a stringent test of the physical model, including the energy surface and sidechain rotamer definition. As a test, we consider tyrosyl‐tRNA synthetase (TyrRS), which has been extensively redesigned experimentally. We consider its specificity for its substrate l ‐tyrosine (l ‐Tyr), compared to the analogs d ‐Tyr, p‐acetyl‐, and p‐azido‐phenylalanine (ac‐Phe, az‐Phe). We simulate l ‐ and d ‐Tyr binding to TyrRS and six mutants, and compare the structures and binding free energies to a more rigorous “MD/GBSA” procedure: molecular dynamics with explicit solvent for structures and a Generalized Born + Surface Area model for binding free energies. Next, we consider l ‐Tyr, ac‐ and az‐Phe binding to six other TyrRS variants. The titration results are sensitive to the precise rotamer definition, which involves a short energy minimization for each sidechain pair to help relax bad contacts induced by the discrete rotamer set. However, when designed mutant structures are rescored with a standard GBSA energy model, results agree well with the more rigorous MD/GBSA. As a third test, we redesign three amino acid positions in the substrate coordination sphere, with either l ‐Tyr or d ‐Tyr as the ligand. For two, we obtain good agreement with experiment, recovering the wildtype residue when l ‐Tyr is the ligand and a d ‐Tyr specific mutant when d ‐Tyr is the ligand. For the third, we recover His with either ligand, instead of wildtype Gln. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Exploring a model of a chemokine receptor/ligand complex in an explicit membrane environment by molecular dynamics simulation: the human CCR1 receptor

The seven transmembrane helices G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) form one of the largest superfamilies of signaling proteins found in humans. Homology modeling, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation were carried out to construct a reliable model for CCR1 as one of the GPCRs and to explore the structural features and the binding mechanism of BX471 as one of the most potent CCR1 inhibitors. In this study, BX471 has been docked into the active site of the CCR1 protein. After docking, one 20 ns MD simulation was performed on the CCR1-ligand complex to explore effects of the presence of lipid membrane in the vicinity of the CCR1-ligand complex. At the end of the MD simulation, a change in the position and orientation of the ligand in the binding site was observed. This important observation indicated that the application of MD simulation after docking of ligands is useful. Explorative runs of molecular dynamics simulation on the receptor-ligand complex revealed that except for Phe85, Phe112, Tyr113, and Ile259, the rest of the residues in the active site determined by docking are changed. The results obtained are in good agreement with most of the experimental data reported by others. Our results show that molecular modeling and rational drug design for chemokine targets is a possible approach.     

The role of cation-pi interactions in biomolecular association. Design of peptides favoring interactions between cationic and aromatic amino acid side chains.

Cation-pi interactions between amino acid side chains are increasingly being recognized as important structural and functional features of proteins and other biomolecules. Although these interactions have been found in static protein structures, they have not yet been detected in dynamic biomolecular systems. We determined, by (1)H NMR spectroscopic titrations, the energies of cation-pi interactions of the amino acid derivative AcLysOMe (1) with AcPheOEt (2) and with AcTyrOEt (3) in aqueous and three organic solvents. The interaction energy is substantial; it ranges from -2.1 to -3.4 kcal/mol and depends only slightly on the dielectric constant of the solvent. To assess the effects of auxiliary interactions and structural preorganization on formation of cation-pi interactions, we studied these interactions in the association of pentapeptides. Upon binding of the positively-charged peptide AcLysLysLysLysLysNH(2) (5) to the negatively-charged partner AcAspAspXAspAspNH(2) (6), in which X is Leu (6a), Tyr (6b), and Phe (6c), multiple interactions occur. Association of the two pentapeptides is dynamic. Free peptides and their complex are in fast exchange on the NMR time-scale, and 2D (1)H ROESY spectra of the complex of the two pentapeptides do not show intermolecular ROESY peaks. Perturbations of the chemical shifts indicated that the aromatic groups in peptides 6b and 6c were affected by the association with 5. The association constants K(A) for 5 with 6a and with 6b are nearly equal, (4.0 +/- 0.7) x 10(3) and (5.0 +/- 1.0) x 10(3) M(-)(1), respectively, while K(A) for 5 with 6c is larger, (8.3 +/- 1.3) x 10(3) M(-)(1). Molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations of the pentapeptide pairs confirmed that their association is dynamic and showed that cation-pi contacts between the two peptides are stereochemically possible. A transient complex between 5 and 6 with a prominent cation-pi interaction, obtained from MD simulations, was used as a template to design cyclic peptides C(X) featuring persistent cation-pi interactions. The cyclic peptide C(X) had a sequence in which X is Tyr, Phe, and Leu. The first two peptides do, but the third does not, contain the aromatic residue capable of interacting with a cationic Lys residue. This covalent construct offered conformational stability over the noncovalent complexes and allowed thorough studies by 2D NMR spectroscopy. Multiple conformations of the cyclic peptides C(Tyr) and C(Phe) are in slow exchange on the NMR time-scale. In one of these conformations, cation-pi interaction between Lys3 and Tyr9/Phe9 is clearly evident. Multiple NOEs between the side chains of residues 3 and 9 are observed; chemical-shift changes are consistent with the placement of the side chain of Lys3 over the aromatic ring. In contrast, the cyclic peptide C(Leu) showed no evidence for close approach of the side chains of Lys3 and Leu9. The cation-pi interaction persists in both DMSO and aqueous solvents. When the disulfide bond in the cyclic peptide C(Phe) was removed, the cation-pi interaction in the acyclic peptide AC(Phe) remained. To test the reliability of the pK(a) criterion for the existence of cation-pi interactions, we determined residue-specific pK(a) values of all four Lys side chains in all three cyclic peptides C(X). While NOE cross-peaks and perturbations of the chemical shifts clearly show the existence of the cation-pi interaction, pK(a) values of Lys3 in C(Tyr) and in C(Phe) differ only marginally from those values of other lysines in these dynamic peptides. Our experimental results with dynamic peptide systems highlight the role of cation-pi interactions in both intermolecular recognition at the protein-protein interface and intramolecular processes such as protein folding.     

Interaction between insulin and calf thymus DNA, and quantification of insulin and calf thymus DNA by a resonance Rayleigh scattering method

The interaction of insulin with calf thymus deoxyribonucleic acid (ctDNA) leads to a complex that displays remarkably enhanced resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS). The complex and its formation were investigated by atomic force microscopy and by absorption, fluorescence and circular dichroism spectroscopies. We show that the Tyr B16, Tyr B26 and Phe B24 amino acids near the active center (Phe B25) were influenced by the interaction, whereas Tyr A14, Tyr A19 and Phe B1 (which are located far away from the active center) were less influenced. The interaction provide a way in the quantitation of both ctDNA and insulin with high sensitivity. When ctDNA is used as a probe to quantify insulin, the detection limit (3σ) is 6.0?ng?mL^-1. If, inversely, insulin is used as a probe to quantify ctDNA, the detection limit (3σ) is 7.2?ng?mL^-1. The analysis of synthetic DNA samples and an insulin infection sample provided satisfactory results.

Amino acids of ricin and its polypeptides

Ricin and its corresponding polypeptides (A & B chain) were purified from castor seed. The molecular weight of ricin subunits were 29,000 and 28,000 daltons. The amino acids in ricin determined were Asp45 The22 Ser40 Glu53 Cys4 Gly96 His5 Ile21 Leu33 Lys20 Met4 Phe13 Pro37 Tyr11 Ala45 Val23 Arg20 indicating that ricin contains approximately 516 amino acid residues. The amino acids of the two subunits of ricin A and B chains were Asp23 The12 Ser21 Glu29 Cys2 Gly48 His3 Ile12, Leu17 Lys10 Met2 Phe6 Pro17 Tyr7 Ala35 Val13 Arg13 while in B chain the amino acids were Asp22 The10 Ser19 Glu25 Cys2 Gly47 His1 Ile10, Leu15 Lys11 Met1 Phe7 Pro6 Tyr5 Ala32Val11 Arg10. The total helical content of ricin came around 53.6% which is a new observation.     

GC-CI-MS-SIM方法诊断新生儿苯丙酮尿症

苯丙酮尿症 (PKU)的发病原因是患者苯丙氨酸羟化酶的缺陷 ,从而导致体内苯丙氨酸 (Phe)不能正常代谢为酪氨酸 (Tyr) ,前者在体内大量堆积并氧化为有害的苯丙酮酸 .PKU是目前筛查范围最广的氨基酸代谢遗传疾病 ,全世界每年约有一千万婴儿接受 PKU筛查 ;在中国 PKU也是卫生部要求重点筛查的病种[1] .目前常规筛查方法是细菌抑制法 (BIA) ,它的特点是费用低、速度慢、容易产生假阳性 ;Chace等 [2 ,3] 报道了 MS- MS方法筛查新生儿 PKU.曲峻等 [4 ] 发展了 Chace的方法 ,采用 HPLC与MS- MS联用方法 (LC- MS- MS)筛查新生儿 PK…     

Aromatic ring-flipping in supercooled water: implications for NMR-based structural biology of proteins.

We have characterized, for the first time, motional modes of a protein dissolved in supercooled water: the flipping kinetics of phenylalanyl and tyrosinyl rings of the 6 kDa protein BPTI have been investigated by NMR at temperatures between -3 and -16.5 degrees C. At T = -15 degrees C, the ring-flipping rate constants of Tyr 23, Tyr 35, and Phe 45 are smaller than 2 s(-1), i.e., flip-broadening of aromatic NMR lines is reduced beyond detection and averaging of NOEs through ring-flipping is abolished. This allows neat detection of distinct NOE sets for the individual aromatic (1)H spins. In contrast, the rings of Phe 4, Tyr 10, Tyr 21, Phe 22, and Phe 33 are flipping rapidly on the chemical shift time scale with rate constants being in the range from approximately 10(2) to 10(5) s(-1) even at T = -15 degrees C. Line width measurements in 2D [(1)H,(1)H]-NOESY showed that flipping of the Phe 4 and Phe 33 rings is, however, slowed to an extent that the onset of associated line broadening in the fast exchange limit is registered. The reduced ring-flipping rate constant of Phe 45 in supercooled water allowed very precise determination of Eyring activation enthalpy and entropy from cross relaxation suppressed 2D [(1)H,(1)H]-exchange spectroscopy. This yielded DeltaH = 14 +/- 0.5 kcal.mol(-1) and DeltaS = -4 +/- 1 cal.mol(-1).K(-1), i.e., values close to those previously derived by Wagner and Wüthrich for the temperature range from 4 to 72 degrees C (DeltaH = 16 +/- 1 kcal.mol(-1) and DeltaS = 6 +/- 2 cal.mol(-1).K(-1)). The preservation of the so far uniquely low value for DeltaS indicates that the distribution of internal motional modes associated with the ring flip of Phe 45 is hardly affected by lowering T well below 0 degrees C. Hence, if a globular protein does not cold denature, aromatic flipping rates, and thus likely also the rates of other conformational and/or chemical exchange processes occurring in supercooled water, can be expected to be well estimated from activation parameters obtained at ambient T. This is of keen interest to predict the impact of supercooling for future studies of biological macromolecules, and shows that our approach enables one to conduct NMR-based structural biology at below 0 degrees C in an unperturbed aqueous environment. A search of the BioMagResBank indicated that the overwhelming majority of the Phe and Tyr rings (>95%) are flipping rapidly on the chemical shift time scale at ambient T, while our data for BPTI and activation parameters available for ring-flipping in Iso-2-cytochrome c reveal that in these smaller proteins a total of six out of seventeen rings ( approximately 35%) are "frozen in" at T = -15 degrees C. This suggests that a large fraction of Tyr and Phe rings in globular proteins that are flipping rapidly on the chemical shift time scale at ambient T can be effectively slowed in supercooled water. The present investigation demonstrates that supercooling of protein solutions appears to be an effective means to (i) harvest potential benefits of stalled ring-flipping for refining NMR solution structures, (ii) recruit additional aromatic rings for investigating protein dynamics, and (iii) use multiple slowly flipping rings to probe cold denaturation. The implications for NMR-based structural biology in supercooled water are addressed.     

Identification of the quinolinedione inhibitor binding site in Cdc25 phosphatase B through docking and molecular dynamics simulations

Cdc25 phosphatase B, a potential target for cancer therapy, is inhibited by a series of quinones. The binding site and mode of quinone inhibitors to Cdc25B remains unclear, whereas this information is important for structure-based drug design. We investigated the potential binding site of NSC663284 [DA3003-1 or 6-chloro-7-(2-morpholin-4-yl-ethylamino)-quinoline-5, 8-dione] through docking and molecular dynamics simulations. Of the two main binding sites suggested by docking, the molecular dynamics simulations only support one site for stable binding of the inhibitor. Binding sites in and near the Cdc25B catalytic site that have been suggested previously do not lead to stable binding in 50 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In contrast, a shallow pocket between the C-terminal helix and the catalytic site provides a favourable binding site that shows high stability. Two similar binding modes featuring protein-inhibitor interactions involving Tyr428, Arg482, Thr547 and Ser549 are identified by clustering analysis of all stable MD trajectories. The relatively flexible C-terminal region of Cdc25B contributes to inhibitor binding. The binding mode of NSC663284, identified through MD simulation, likely prevents the binding of protein substrates to Cdc25B. The present results provide useful information for the design of quinone inhibitors and their mechanism of inhibition.     

Intramolecular quenching of tryptophan phosphorescence in short peptides and proteins

The phosphorescence lifetime (tau) of tryptophan (Trp) residues in proteins in aqueous solutions at ambient temperature can vary several orders of magnitude depending on the flexibility of the local structure and the rate of intramolecular quenching reactions. For a more quantitative interpretation of tau in terms of the local protein structure, knowledge of all potential quenching moieties in proteins and of their reaction rates is required. The quenching effectiveness of each amino acid (X) side chain and of the peptide backbone was investigated by monitoring their intramolecular quenching rate (k(obs)) in tripeptides of the form acetyl-Trp-Gly-X-CONH2 (WGX), where Trp is joined to X by a flexible Gly link. The results indicate that among the various groups present in proteins only the side chains of Cys, His, Tyr and Phe are able to quench Trp phosphorescence at a detectable rate (k(obs) > 40 s(-1)), with the quenching effectiveness for rotationally unrestricted side chains ranking in the order Cys > His+ > Tyr > Phe approximately His. For the aromatic side chains the corresponding contact rate at 20 degrees C is estimated to be between 3-4 x 10(9) s(-1) for Cys (as determined by Lapidus et al.), 0.8-8 x 10(6) s(-1) for His+, 0.37-3.7 x 10(6) s(-1) for Tyr and 0.2-2 x 10(5) s(-1) for Phe and His. In the cases of His and Tyr, k(obs) drops sharply with increasing pH, with midpoint transitions about 1 pH unit above the pKa, indicating that quenching is almost exclusive to the protonated form. From the temperature dependence of the rate, obtained in 50/50 propylene glycol/water between -20 degrees C and 20 degrees C, the reaction is characterized by activation energies of about 5 kcal.M(-1) for His+ and Tyr and 8 kcal.M(-1) for Phe. An analysis of the groups in contact with Trp residues in proteins that exhibit long phosphorescence lifetimes at ambient temperature leads to the conclusion that the contact rate of the peptide group and of the remaining side chains is lower than 0.1 s(-1), showing that these moieties are practically inert with respect to the triplet-state lifetime. It shows further that the immobilization of the aromatic side chains within the globular fold cuts their quenching effectiveness drastically to contact rates < 2 s(-1), a phenomenon attributed to the low probability of forming a stacked exciplex with the indole ring. All evidence suggests that, except in the case of nearby Cys or Trp residues, whose interaction with the triplet state reaches beyond van der Waals contact, the emission of buried Trp residues is unlikely to be quenched by surrounding protein groups.