| Abstract: | CXCR1 is a G-protein coupled receptor, transducing signals from chemokines, in particular the interleukin-8(IL8)molecules. This study combines homology modeling and molecular dynamics simulation methods to study the structure of CXCR1-IL8 complex. By using CXCR4-v MIP-II crystallography structure as the homologous template, CXCR1-IL8 complex structure was constructed, and then refined using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. Through extensive simulations, CXCR1-IL8 binding poses were investigated in detail. Furthermore, the role of the N-terminal of CXCR1 receptor was studied by comparing four complex models differing in the N-terminal sequences. The results indicate that the receptor N-terminal affects the binding of IL8 significantly. With a shorter N-terminal domain, the binding of IL8 to CXCR1 becomes unstable. The homology modeling and simulations also reveal the key receptor-ligand residues involved in the electrostatic interactions known to be vital for complex formation. |
