分子动力学研究2-乙酸苯并噻吩在HIV-1蛋白酶与抑制剂结合中的作用

为了研究别构小分子2-乙酸苯并噻吩(2FX)在HIV-1蛋白酶与抑制剂结合中的作用, 利用分子动力学方法分别对未结合和结合2FX的HIV-1蛋白酶抑制剂体系进行了100 ns的模拟, 模拟计算中对每种体系均采用两种新的分子力场ff99SBildn和ff12SB. 研究了2FX对体系构象的影响和两体系在不同力场下的动力学行为, 分析了两体系的均方根偏差和残基的B因子, 比较了计算结构和晶体结构, 最后采用MM-PB/GBSA两种方法计算了两体系的结合自由能. 研究表明, 两种力场计算的结果虽有差异, 但都说明2FX的结合导致蛋白酶构象的变化, 使得体系更加稳定, 尤其是flap的柔性减弱, 使得蛋白酶和抑制剂的结合更牢固; 另外, 还发现ff12SB力场动力学过程更稳定. 研究结果有助于为设计新的别构抑制剂提供理论依据.     

用分子对接方法预测HIV-1整合酶与金精三羧酸抑制剂的相互作用

用分子对接方法(Docking)研究了HIV-1整合酶与其抑制剂金精三羧酸的结合过程.为弄清金属离子在结合中所起的作用,选择含有一个Mg+2或不含Mg+2的两种不同的整合酶受体分别与金精三羧酸对接.结果表明, Mg+2对稳定配体与受体的结合起了重要作用. 金精三羧酸配体与含有一个金属Mg+2的整合酶受体对接,最优结合自由能为-45.19 kJ/mol. 当Mg+2失去后,整合酶的活性中心构象将发生变化,使金精三羧酸抑制剂与整合酶的结合自由能(-24.35 kJ/mol)明显增加. 预测了未知的HIV-1整合酶与其抑制剂金精三羧酸的复合物结构, 并可对基于结构的抗HIV-1整合酶的药物设计提供重要信息.     

金丝桃素分子结构及其与HIV病毒蛋白酶作用的分子动力学研究

采用用计算化学方法研究金丝桃素分子结构特征, 并用分子动力学方法研究其与HIV蛋白酶的相互作用, 探讨其可能的抗HIV病毒作用机理. 结果表明, 金丝桃素分子结构具有刚性特征, 与HIV蛋白酶在酶的催化活性位点与ASP-A25 and ASP-B25以氢键作用相结合.     

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.     

HIV-1蛋白酶与抑制剂作用的结合自由能计算

HIV-1蛋白酶是治疗艾滋病的重要靶标酶之一. 采用分子动力学模拟, 运用MM-PBSA方法计算了HIV-1蛋白酶与三个抑制剂BE4, BE5和BE6的结合自由能, 结果表明抑制剂P₁/ 位置的苄基上双氟原子的不同位置对结合自由能产生不同的影响. 通过能量分解的方法考察了HIV-1蛋白酶的主要残基与三个抑制剂间的相互作用与识别, 结果表明三个抑制剂以相同的作用模式与HIV-1蛋白酶结合, 计算结果与实验结果基本吻合.     

双金属存在下整合酶和抑制剂5CITEP的分子对接研究

在HIV-1整合酶(IN)和5CITEP复合物晶体结构的基础上, 用分子对接程序(Affinity)将含有单Mg2+和双Mg2+ 的HIV-1 IN核心区与抑制剂5CITEP进行对接, 获得了能形成复合物结构的理论模型. 通过配体与受体之间的相互作用能和结构分析给出此种抑制剂的结合模式, 并与晶体结构进行比较, 揭示出引入的第二个Mg2+原子在整合过程中所起的重要作用. 前后相互作用能的变化趋势很明显, 配体和受体的作用模式比单Mg2+体系更加清晰. 由单Mg2+体系的4种作用方式改变到双Mg2+体系的两种作用方式, 相互作用能提高了将近40 kJ/mol. 为基于整合酶结构的药物设计提供了参考信息.     

A structure-based design approach to advance the allyltyrosine-based series of HIV integrase inhibitors

As of mid-2017, only one structure of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) integrase core domain co-crystallised with an active site inhibitor was reported. In this structure (1QS4), integrase is complexed with a diketo-acid based strand-transfer inhibitor (INSTI). This structure has been a preferred platform for the structure-based design of INSTIs despite concerns relating to structural irregularities arising from crystallographic packing effects. A survey of the current pool of 297 reported integrase catalytic core structures indicated that the anatomy of the active site in the complex structure 1QS4 exhibits subtle variations relative to all other structures examined. Consequently, the 1QS4 structure was employed for docking studies. From the docking of twenty-seven allyltyrosine analogues, a 3-point inhibitor binding motif required for activity was established and successfully utilised in the development of a tripeptide displaying an EC₅₀ value of 10 ± 5 μM in HIV infected human T-cells. Additional docking of “in-house” compound libraries unearthed a methyl ester based nitrile derivative displaying an IC₅₀ value of 0.5 μM in a combined 3′-processing and strand-transfer assay.     

分子动力学模拟别构抑制剂Efavirenz对HIV-1逆转录酶的作用

为了理解非核苷类逆转录酶抑制剂(NNRTIs)与HIV-1逆转录酶(RT)的相互作用机制,利用新力场ff12SB对未结合和结合Efavirenz (EFV)逆转录酶的三种RT大分子体系分别进行了100 ns的长时间动力学模拟。通过分析EFV对RT结构的影响、不同残基柔性和不同体系构象的动力学行为等,发现EFV的结合会导致RT结构变化,从而影响RT的活性;证实了EFV的“分子楔”作用;还发现EFV的结合不但引起“拇指关节炎”,而且引起轻度“手指关节炎”;整个模拟过程中没有出现不同构象间的跃迁,但是无别构分子时的RT张开构象表现出明显的闭合倾向。这些结果有助于理解NNRTIs的抑制机制和RT构象变化的动力学性质。另外,还比较分析了模拟方法对计算结果的影响,对大分子体系的动力学模拟具有重要借鉴意义。     

Molecular modeling study of checkpoint kinase 1 inhibitors by multiple docking strategies and prime/MM-GBSA calculation

Developing chemicals that inhibit checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) is a promising adjuvant therapeutic to improve the efficacy and selectivity of DNA-targeting agents. Reliable prediction of binding-free energy and binding affinity of Chk1 inhibitors can provide a guide for rational drug design. In this study, multiple docking strategies and Prime/Molecular Mechanics Generalized Born Surface Area (Prime/MM-GBSA) calculation were applied to predict the binding mode and free energy for a series of benzoisoquinolinones as Chk1 inhibitors. Reliable docking results were obtained using induced-fit docking and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) docking, which showed superior performance on both ligand binding pose and docking score accuracy to the rigid-receptor docking. Then, the Prime/MM-GBSA method based on the docking complex was used to predict the binding-free energy. The combined use of QM/MM docking and Prime/MM-GBSA method could give a high correlation between the predicted binding-free energy and experimentally determined pIC(50) . The molecular docking combined with Prime/MM-GBSA simulation can not only be used to rapidly and accurately predict the binding-free energy of novel Chk1 inhibitors but also provide a novel strategy for lead discovery and optimization targeting Chk1.     

3MBA类FtsZ蛋白抑制剂的分子动力学模拟及抗菌作用机制

采用分子动力学模拟、蛋白质二级结构测定(DSSP)、口袋体积测量(POVME)以及MM-PBSA(molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area)方法, 系统研究了金黄色葡萄球菌丝状温度敏感性蛋白Z (SaFtsZ)-二磷酸鸟苷(GDP)二元复合物和SaFtsZ-GDP-3MBA (3-甲氧基苯甲酰胺)类衍生物三元复合物体系的稳定性、蛋白质二级结构、蛋白质构象、关键残基质心距、活性口袋体积以及相对结合自由能的变化规律. 研究表明: 当不含抑制剂存在时SaFtsZ-GDP二元复合物体系稳定性较差, 其T7Loop区域残基(203-209)波动较大, 且蛋白二级结构发生明显变化, 活性口袋体积急剧减小, 底物通道显著变窄且不稳定. 而含有抑制剂PC190723、Compound1 的类衍生物三元复合物体系的表现截然不同, 这主要是由于它们均能和活性口袋T7Loop区周围残基形成关键性的氢键以及疏水作用, 与FtsZ 蛋白紧密结合. 在SaFtsZ-GDP-3MBA三元复合物体系中, 3MBA仅能与活性口袋中部分残基形成疏水作用, 与FtsZ 蛋白亲和力较弱, 使其不能稳定地存在于活性口袋中, 进一步导致它的抗菌活性明显低于PC190723、Compound1. 这些发现深入揭示了3MBA类衍生物对FtsZ 蛋白的作用机制和影响规律, 为该类FtsZ 蛋白抑制剂的结构优化和产品开发应用提供了重要的理论依据.     

Inhibition Mechanism of Hydroxyproline-like Small Inhibitors to Disorder HIF-VHL Interaction by Molecular Dynamic Simulations and Binding Free Energy Calculations

Protein-protein interactions are vital for a wide range of biological processes. The interactions between the hypoxia-inducible factor and von Hippel Lindau (VHL) are attractive drug targets for ischemic heart disease. In order to disrupt this interaction, the strategy to target VHL binding site using a hydroxyproline-like (pro-like) small molecule has been reported. In this study, we focused on the inhibition mechanism between the pro-like inhibitors and the VHL protein, which were investigated via molecular dynamics simulations and binding free energy calculations. It was found that pro-like inhibitors showed a strong binding affinity toward VHL. Binding free energy calculations and free energy decompositions suggested that the modification of various regions of pro-like inhibitors may provide useful information for future drug design.     

人类细胞色素P450 2E1酶在不同乙醇浓度下构象变化的分子动力学模拟

细胞色素P450(CYP) 2E1家族酶是一种具有双重功能的单加氧酶, 能够参与市场上6%药物的代谢而具有重要的作用. 这类酶与酒精的消耗、 糖尿病、 肥胖症以及厌食症等密切相关, 引起了广泛的研究兴趣. 目前尚未见从原子水平上对这种酶在不同乙醇浓度下构象行为的研究. 基于此, 本文研究了花生四烯酸(AA)与CYP2E1复合物结构在不同乙醇浓度下构象与能量变化的特点. 对于在不同乙醇浓度下AA与CYP2E1的复合物结构, 采用分子动力学模拟结合自由能计算的方法进行研究. 分子动力学模拟结果表明, His109和Lys243氨基酸残基对AA与CYP2E1的结合起到了至关重要的作用. 当体系的乙醇浓度较高时, AA的结合能力有所下降, 这种结合能力的下降是由于AA与CYP2E1之间氢键相互作用力的减弱所致. 本研究对于AA与CYP2E1复合物结构在不同乙醇浓度下, AA分子与CYP2E1分子结合能力下降以及CYP2E1的构象变化给出了详细的解释. 本研究工作得到的结论对于实验和理论研究均有重要意义, 可为后续细胞色素P450酶类催化活性的研究提供理论支持.     

Effect of the R119G mutation on human P5CR structure and its interactions with NAD: Insights derived from molecular dynamics simulation and free energy analysis

Pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase (P5CR), an enzyme with conserved housekeeping roles, is involved in the etiology of cutis laxa. While previous work has shown that the R119G point mutation in the P5CR protein is involved, the structural mechanism behind the pathology remains to be elucidated. In order to probe the role of the R119G mutation in cutis laxa, we performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, essential dynamics (ED) analysis, and Molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) binding free energy calculations on wild type (WT) and mutant P5CR-NAD complex. These MD simulations and ED analyses suggest that the R119G mutation decreases the flexibility of P5CR, specifically in the substrate binding pocket, which could decrease the kinetics of the cofactor entrance and egress. Furthermore, the MM-PBSA calculations suggest the R119G mutant has a lower cofactor binding affinity for NAD than WT. Our study provides insight into the possible role of the R119G mutation during interactions between P5CR and NAD, thus bettering our understanding of how the mutation promotes cutis laxa.     

Discovery of potential inhibitors targeting the kinase domain of polynucleotide kinase/phosphatase (PNKP): Homology modeling,virtual screening based on multiple conformations,and molecular dynamics simulation

In recent years, the level of interest has been increased in developing the DNA-repair inhibitors, to enhance the cytotoxic effects in the treatment of cancers. Polynucleotide kinase/phosphatase (PNKP) is a critical human DNA repair enzyme that repairs DNA strand breaks by catalyzing the restoration of 5’-phosphate and 3’-hydroxyl termini that are required for subsequent processing by DNA ligases and polymerases. PNKP is the only protein that repairs the 3′-hydroxyl group and 5′-phosphate group, which depicts PNKP as a potential therapeutic target. Besides, PNKP is the only DNA-repair enzyme that contains the 5′-kinase activity, therefore, targeting this kinase domain would motivate the development of novel PNKP-specific inhibitors. However, there are neither crystal structures of human PNKP nor the kinase inhibitors reported so far. Thus, in this present study, a sequential molecular docking-based virtual screening with multiple PNKP conformations integrating homology modeling, molecular dynamics simulation, and binding free energy calculation was developed to discover novel PNKP kinase inhibitors, and the top-scored molecule was finally submitted to molecular dynamics simulation to reveal the binding mechanism between the inhibitor and PNKP. Taken together, the current study could provide some guidance for the molecular docking based-virtual screening of novel PNKP kinase inhibitors.     

用分子对接方法研究HIV-1整合酶与病毒DNA的结合模式

用分子对接方法研究了HIV-1整合酶(Integrase, IN)二聚体与3’ 端加工(3’ Processing, 3’-P)前的8 bp及27 bp病毒DNA的相互作用, 并获得IN与27 bp病毒DNA的特异性结合模式. 模拟结果表明, IN有特异性DNA结合区和非特异性DNA结合区; IN二聚体B链的K14, R20, K156, K159, K160, K186, K188, R199和A链的K219, W243, K244, R262, R263是IN结合病毒DNA的关键残基; 并从结构上解释了能使IN发挥活性的病毒DNA的最小长度是15 bp. 通过分析结合能发现, IN与DNA稳定结合的主要因素是非极性相互作用, 而关键残基与病毒DNA相互识别主要依赖于极性相互作用. 模拟结果与实验数据较吻合.     

Electronic Structure Insights into the Solvation of Magnesium Ions with Cyclic and Acyclic Carbonates

A computational framework to rank the solvation behavior of Mg²⁺ in carbonates by using molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory is reported. Based on the binding energies and enthalpies of solvation calculated at the M06‐2X/6‐311++G(d,p) level of theory and the free energies of solvation from ABF‐MD simulations, we find that ethylene carbonate (EC) and the ethylene carbonate:propylene carbonate (EC:PC) binary mixture are the best carbonate solvents for interacting with Mg²⁺. Natural bond orbital and quantum theory of atoms in molecules analyses support the thermochemistry calculations with the highest values of charge transfer, perturbative stabilization energies, electron densities, and Wiberg bond indices being observed in the Mg²⁺(EC) and Mg²⁺(EC:PC) complexes. The plots of the noncovalent interactions indicate that those responsible for the formation of Mg²⁺ carbonate complexes are strong‐to‐weak attractive interactions, depending on the regions that are interacting. Finally, density of state calculations indicate that the interactions between Mg²⁺ and the carbonate solvents affects the HOMO and LUMO states of all carbonate solvents and moves them to more negative energy values.     

Mechanistic Insights into the Mechanism of Inhibitor Selectivity toward the Dark Kinase STK17B against Its High Homology STK17A

As a member of the death-associated protein kinase (DAPK) family, STK17B plays an important role in the regulation of cellular apoptosis and has been considered as a promising drug target for hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the highly conserved ATP-binding site of protein kinases represents a challenge to design selective inhibitors for a specific DAPK isoform. In this study, molecular docking, multiple large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and binding free energy calculations were performed to decipher the molecular mechanism of the binding selectivity of PKIS43 toward STK17B against its high homology STK17A. MD simulations revealed that STK17A underwent a significant conformational arrangement of the activation loop compared to STK17B. The binding free energy predictions suggested that the driving force to control the binding selectivity of PKIS43 was derived from the difference in the protein–ligand electrostatic interactions. Furthermore, the per-residue free energy decomposition unveiled that the energy contribution from Arg41 at the phosphate-binding loop of STK17B was the determinant factor responsible for the binding specificity of PKIS43. This study may provide useful information for the rational design of novel and potent selective inhibitors toward STK17B.     

超临界水中碳酸钠团簇成核与生长分子动力学模拟

应用分子动力学方法研究了碳酸钠颗粒在超临界水中的成核与生长过程. 计算了温度为700-1100 K、压力在23-30 MPa下碳酸钠的团聚过程, 计算时间为1 ns. 对体系结合能与径向分布函数的分析表明, 碳酸钠成核过程主要受静电作用的影响. 在超临界态下, 水分子与Na⁺和CO₃^2- 之间的静电作用降低, Na⁺与CO₃^2- 能够很容易碰撞形成Na₂CO₃小团簇. 在Na₂CO₃整个成核过程中, 单个离子的碰撞在前50 ps 内完成, 同时离子碰撞速率达到10³⁰ cm^-3·s^-1. 另外, 在成核阶段温度的影响比压力更加明显, 温度越高, 离子碰撞速率越快, 形成的初始团簇越多. 而压力对Na₂CO₃团簇的进一步生长影响较大.     

Molecular mechanism of HIV-1 integrase-vDNA interactions and strand transfer inhibitor action: a molecular modeling perspective

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) integrase (IN) is an essential enzyme for splicing a viral DNA (vDNA) replica of its genome into host cell chromosomal DNA (hDNA) and has been recently recognized as a promising therapeutic target for developing anti-AIDS agents. The interaction between HIV-1 IN and vDNA plays an important role in the integration process of the virus. However, a detailed understanding about the mechanism of this interactions as well as the action of the anti-HIV drug raltegravir (RAL, approved by FDA in 2007) targeting HIV-1 IN in the inhibition of the vDNA strand transfer is still absent. In the present work, a molecular modeling study by combining homology modeling, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA), and molecular mechanics Generalized-Born surface area (MM-GBSA) calculations was performed to investigate the molecular mechanism of HIV-1 IN-vDNA interactions and the inhibition action of vDNA strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) RAL. The structural analysis showed that RAL did not influence the interaction between vDNA and HIV-1 IN, but rather targeted a special conformation of HIV-1 IN to compete with host DNA and block the function of HIV-1 IN by forcing the 3'-OH of the terminal A17 nucleotide away from the three catalytic residues (Asp64, Asp116, and Glu152) and two Mg(2+) ions. Thus, the obtained results could be helpful for understanding of the integration process of the HIV-1 virus and provide some new clues for the rational design and discovery of potential compounds that would specifically block HIV-1 virus replication.