多尺度分子模拟研究来自于无类囊体蓝藻的五聚体门控离子通道门控机理

五聚体门控离子通道是一个重要膜蛋白家族, 在生理学过程中起到重要作用. 我们以来自无类囊体蓝藻(Gloebacter violaceus: GLIC)的五聚体门控离子通道X-ray结构为模型, 进行总共1.05 μs的粗粒化分子模拟, 并结合原子级分子模拟方法, 观察到其离子通道的闭合和相应的四级结构扭转. 我们发现其位于跨膜区组成通道的M2螺旋通过倾斜-旋转(指向通道中心)的协调运动来完成通道闭合. 进一步分析并结合前人的实验结果, 我们提出了该离子通道门控过程的可能的“连锁反应”机理: 由单独亚基的M2螺旋前部构象变化引发, 使该亚基发生整体的构象变化, 并且将这种变化传递到了邻近的亚基, 进而带动整个通道的构象变化, 最终完成通道的闭合.     

胰高血糖素样肽-1受体胞外区域突变体复合物的动力学研究

采用分子动力学模拟方法研究了胰高血糖素样肽-1(GLP-1)与GLP-1受体(GLP-1R)胞外区域的相互作用.结果表明,配体的结合导致受体的构象发生改变,Loop2区域的氨基酸Pro90和Trp91以及C末端的Glu128向配体移动.根据保守位点突变受体(P73A,V81L,Y88A,P90A和W91A)后所得多肽模拟数据,发现Loop2区域在突变体中的结构和柔性均发生了明显变化,Trp91和Tyr88的突变将导致配体亲和力丧失.研究结果证明,P73A突变型受体和野生型受体分别与配体相互作用后,二者数值差别不大,因此Pro73不是关键残基;V81L突变体则会导致配体亲和力的丧失.该结果为GLP-1药物设计提供了重要理论依据.     

SARS冠状病毒E蛋白的结构研究及功能预测

结合生物信息学方法及分子模拟手段,选择较高准确度的方法,预测了SARSE蛋白的分子结构并探讨其潜在的生物学活性和功能.研究结果表明,SARSE蛋白跨膜区25个疏水的氨基酸形成α-螺旋结构,包埋于病毒外壳磷脂双分子层中;N端10个氨基酸残基位于膜外;C端41个残基则附着于磷脂双分子膜内侧.同时发现,C端由9个氨基酸组成的劈裂是一个可能的活性部位.对分子进行进一步静电势分析证实,E蛋白C端可能的活性部位具有较大的静电势,可能的活性残基具有最大电荷密度,故有较强的结合受体或与其它蛋白相互作用的能力.     

基于疏水性小波分析的膜蛋白结构预测

膜蛋白在细胞膜上具有重要的生理功能,大部分膜蛋白在药物设计、转运蛋白和免疫识别等方面起着关键的作用,从分子水平上预测这类蛋白质的结构具有非常重要的意义.本文提出一种基于氨基酸疏水性小波变换技术预测膜蛋白跨膜区段数目和位置的新方法.以代码为upkb-bovin的膜蛋白为例,对跨膜螺旋区数目和位置的预测分析进行了描述.从膜蛋白数据库中随机抽取36个蛋白质(含跨膜螺旋区232)作为测试集检验小波分析的预测方法,其中226个跨膜螺旋区能被准确预测,准确率为96.8%.结果表明,这种预测方法具有较高的预测准确性.     

分子动力学模拟研究A1408G突变对核糖体16S rRNA片段的影响

利用分子动力学模拟方法, 研究了原核生物核糖体小亚基中的16S rRNA片段与氨基糖苷类抗生素巴龙霉素复合物结构的柔性. 结果表明, 16S rRNA片段中的1408位点的腺嘌呤(A)突变为鸟嘌呤(G), 改变了与tRNA中反密码子环识别相关的2个腺嘌呤A1492和A1493的空间构象, 阻碍了氨基糖苷类抗生素与核糖体的结合, 从而影响原核生物蛋白转录过程. 模拟结果与实验测定的晶体结构相吻合, 可为基于核糖体16S rRNA的药物分子设计提供较可靠的结构信息.     

基于疏水性小波分析的膜蛋白结构预测

膜蛋白在细胞膜上具有重要的生理功能,大部分膜蛋白在药物设计、转运蛋白和免疫识别等方面起着关键的作用,从分子水平上预测这类蛋白质的结构具有非常重要的意义。本文提出一种基于氨基酸疏水性小波变换技术预测膜蛋白跨膜区段数目和位置的新方法。以代码为upkb_bovin的膜蛋白为例,对跨膜螺旋区数目和位置的预测分析进行了描述。从膜蛋白数据库中随机抽取36个蛋白质(含跨膜螺旋区232)作为测试集检验小波分析的预测方法,其中226个跨膜螺旋区能被准确预测,准确率为96．8％。结果表明,这种预测方法具有较高的准确性。     

膜蛋白跨膜区段的预测分析

将连续小波变换技术的时频局部化特点和氨基酸的疏水特性相结合,提出了一种用于预测膜蛋白跨膜区段数目和位置的新方法,以代码为1YST的膜蛋白为例,对小波尺度和疏水值的种类进行了选择,同时描述了该法对跨膜螺旋区数目和位置的预测分析过程.从膜蛋白数据库中随机抽取36个蛋白质(含跨膜螺旋区232)作为测试集,采用该方法对其跨膜螺旋区进行预测,其中222个跨膜螺旋区能被准确预测,准确率为96.1%.结果表明,该法具有较高的预测准确性.     

低聚壳聚糖与角质层蛋白相互作用的体外研究

以脱脂鼠角质层和提取角蛋白为模型,利用电化学交流阻抗谱、SEM、DSC、FTIR等手段,研究了低聚壳聚糖及氨基葡萄糖与角质层蛋白之间的相互作用.结果发现,氨基葡萄糖溶液处理不影响脱脂角质层膜的阻抗,而低聚壳聚糖溶液处理却可明显降低脱脂角质层膜的阻抗,阻抗值由3.79×106Ω·cm2降至8.379×105Ω·cm2.此外,壳聚糖溶液和氨基葡萄糖溶液都可明显破坏角蛋白表面致密均匀的结构,并使得角蛋白二级结构中α-螺旋结构含量减少,同时推动角蛋白α-螺旋结构向β-折叠结构和无规则卷曲结构转变.这些结果表明低聚壳聚糖与角质层蛋白相互作用,一方面可有效降低鼠角质层结构的紧密程度,另一方面可影响角蛋白的微结构,使其结构松散并出现微细孔道,从而为药物的经皮吸收与传送疏通了通道.     

LepA蛋白羧基末端结构域组成及物种分布的生物信息学分析

LepA蛋白是核糖体延伸因子,在蛋白质翻译过程中催化核糖体进行反转位.LepA的羧基末端结构域（LepA_CTD）的氨基酸序列非常保守,结构预测显示其与已知的任何结构模体都不存在相似性,但迄今为止其三维结构尚未被解析,因此无法进行结构与相关功能的研究.本文通过生物信息学的方法对LepA_CTD的相关数据进行系统整理,发现：（1）LepA_CTD结构域总是与LepA前四个结构域共存,并具有组成上的高度保守性;（2）LepA蛋白存在于几乎全部的细菌和真核生物中,并具有物种分布上的高度保守性;（3）LepA_CTD结构域靠近C末端的区域具有保守且带正电的结构模体,可能是其发挥生物学功能的关键位点.     

寡肽Asterin B和C溶液构象的NMR研究 Ⅱ. NMR及分子动力学模拟

利用NMR和分子动力学方法研究了寡肽Asterin B和C的溶液构象.结果表明,Asterin B在溶液中形成了某种非氢键的转角结构,并由残基间的疏水相互作用使整个分子具有两亲性,这种结构特征可能和其生物活性有关.并进一步讨论了这种结构的形成在蛋白质卷曲的起始过程中的意义.而Asterin C在溶液中柔性较大,存在多种构象的平均.     

Biomimetic Transmembrane Channels with High Stability and Transporting Efficiency from Helically Folded Macromolecules

Membrane channels span the cellular lipid bilayers to transport ions and molecules into cells with sophisticated properties including high efficiency and selectivity. It is of particular biological importance in developing biomimetic transmembrane channels with unique functions by means of chemically synthetic strategies. An artificial unimolecular transmembrane channel using pore‐containing helical macromolecules is reported. The self‐folding, shape‐persistent, pore‐containing helical macromolecules are able to span the lipid bilayer, and thus result in extraordinary channel stability and high transporting efficiency for protons and cations. The lifetime of this artificial unimolecular channel in the lipid bilayer membrane is impressively long, rivaling those of natural protein channels. Natural channel mimics designed by helically folded polymeric scaffolds will display robust and versatile transport‐related properties at single‐molecule level.     

Drug–protein interaction with Vpu from HIV-1: proposing binding sites for amiloride and one of its derivatives

Vpu is an 81-amino-acid auxiliary protein of the genome of HIV-1. It is proposed that one of its roles is to enhance particle release by self-assembling to form water-filled channels enabling the flux of ions at the site of the plasma membrane of the infected cell. Hexamethylene amiloride has been shown to block Vpu channel activity when the protein is reconstituted into lipid bilayers. In a docking approach with monomeric, pentameric and hexameric bundle models of Vpu corresponding to the transmembrane part of the protein, a putative binding site of hexamethylene amiloride is proposed and is compared with the site for the nonpotent amiloride. The binding mode for both ligands is achieved by optimizing hydrogen bond interactions with serines. Binding energies and binding constants are the lowest for protonated hexamethylene amiloride in the pentameric bundle. Figure The proposed binding site of the Vpu channel blocker hexamethylene amiloride within the lumen of the Vpu bundle. The bundle is a homo-pentamer with each monomer consisting of the first 32 amino acids of Vpu including the transmembrane part of the protein which is encoded by HIV-1. The bundle atoms are shown in their van der Waals representation and the helix backbone in a ribbon representation. Residues Trp-23 and Ser-24 are highlighted as sticks. Hexamethylene amiloride is shown in yellow (C atoms) and blue (N atoms)     

Alamethicin channels in a membrane: molecular dynamics simulations

Alamethicin (Alm) is a 20 residue peptide which forms a kinked alpha-helix in membrane and membrane-mimetic environments. Ion channels formed by intramembraneous aggregates of Alm are thought to be formed by bundles of approximately parallel Alm helices surrounding a central bilayer pore. Different channel conductance levels correspond to different numbers of helices per bundle, ranging from N = 5 to N > 8. Calculation of the predicted pKA values of the ring of Glu18 sidechains at the C-terminal mouth of the pore suggests that at neutral pH most or all of these sidechains will remain protonated. Nanosecond molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of N = 5, 6, 7 and 8 bundles of Alm helices in a POPC bilayer have been run, corresponding to a total simulation time of 4 ns. These simulations explore the stability and conformational dynamics of these helix bundle channels when embedded in a full phospholipid bilayer in an aqueous environment. The structural and dynamic properties of water in these model channels are examined. As in earlier in vacuo simulations (J. Breed, R. Sankararamakrishnan, I. D. Kerr and M. S. P. Sansom, Biophys. J., 1996, 70, 1643) the dipole moments of water molecules within the pores are aligned antiparallel to the helix dipoles. This helps to contribute to the stability of the helix bundles.     

Barriers to ion translocation in cationic and anionic receptors from the Cys-loop family

Understanding the mechanisms of gating and ion permeation in biological channels and receptors has been a long-standing challenge in biophysics. Recent advances in structural biology have revealed the architecture of a number of transmembrane channels and allowed detailed, molecular-level insight into these systems. Herein, we have examined the barriers to ion conductance and origins of ion selectivity in models of the cationic human alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) and the anionic alpha1 glycine receptor (GlyR), based on the structure of Torpedo nAChR. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to determine water density profiles along the channel length, and they established that both receptor pores were fully hydrated. The very low water density in the middle of the nAChR pore indicated the existence of a hydrophobic constriction. By contrast, the pore of GlyR was lined with hydrophilic residues and remained well-hydrated throughout. Adaptive biasing force simulations allowed us to reconstruct potentials of mean force (PMFs) for chloride and sodium ions in the two receptors. For the nicotinic receptor we observed barriers to ion translocation associated with rings of hydrophobic residues-Val13' and Leu9'-in the middle of the transmembrane domain. This finding further substantiates the hydrophobic gating hypothesis for nAChR. The PMF revealed no significant hydrophobic barrier for chloride translocation in GlyR. For both receptors nonpermeant ions displayed considerable barriers. Thus, the overall electrostatics and the presence of rings of charged residues at the entrance and exit of the channels were sufficient to explain the experimentally observed anion and cation selectivity.     

Homology modeling of the receptor binding domain of human thrombopoietin

Platelet production in blood is regulated by a lineage specific humoral factor, thrombopoietin (TPO). The amino terminal domain of TPO (TPO-N) is responsible for the signal transduction mediated by the TPO receptor, c-mpl. From the predicted length of helices we found that TPO-N belongs to the long-chain subfamily of the four-helix bundle cytokine family. We built a three dimensional model of TPO-N by a comparative homology modeling procedure. The four helices of TPO-N with an up-up-down-down topology are stabilized by a tightly packed central hydrophobic core and the extended loop AB makes an additional hydrophobic core with helices B and D outside of the four helix bundle scaffold. An interpretation of the previous site directed mutageneses results in light of the model enabled us to identify two isolated receptor binding sites. The surface made of Lys 136, Lys 138 and Lys 140 in helix D, and Pro 42 and Glu 50 in loop AB forms the first receptor binding site, while the surface of Asp 8, Arg 10 and Lys14 in helix A represents the second binding site for the sequential receptor oligomerization.     

Ambidextrous α,γ‐Hybrid Peptide Foldamers

Molecular chirality is ubiquitous in nature. The natural biopolymers, proteins and DNA, preferred a right‐handed helical bias due to the inherent stereochemistry of the monomer building blocks. Here, we are reporting a rare co‐existence of left‐ and right‐handed helical conformations and helix‐terminating property at the C‐terminus within a single molecule of α,γ‐hybrid peptide foldamers composed of achiral Aib (α‐aminoisobutyric acid) and 3,3‐dimethyl‐substituted γ‐amino acid (Adb; 4‐amino‐3,3‐dimethylbutanoic acid). At the molecular level, the left‐ and right‐handed helical screw sense of α,γ‐hybrid peptides are representing a macroscopic tendril perversion. The pronounced helix‐terminating behaviour of C‐terminal Adb residues was further explored to design helix–Schellman loop mimetics and to study their conformations in solution and single crystals. The stereochemical constraints of dialkyl substitutions on γ‐amino acids showed a marked impact on the folding behaviour of α,γ‐hybrid peptides.     

Charge Neutralization Drives the Shape Reconfiguration of DNA Nanotubes

Reconfiguration of membrane protein channels for gated transport is highly regulated under physiological conditions. However, a mechanistic understanding of such channels remains challenging owing to the difficulty in probing subtle gating‐associated structural changes. Herein, we show that charge neutralization can drive the shape reconfiguration of a biomimetic 6‐helix bundle DNA nanotube (6HB). Specifically, 6HB adopts a compact state when its charge is neutralized by Mg²⁺; whereas Na⁺ switches it to the expanded state, as revealed by MD simulations, small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS), and FRET characterization. Furthermore, partial neutralization of the DNA backbone charges by chemical modification renders 6HB compact and insensitive to ions, suggesting an interplay between electrostatic and hydrophobic forces in the channels. This system provides a platform for understanding the structure–function relationship of biological channels and designing rules for the shape control of DNA nanostructures in biomedical applications.     

Highly Selective Artificial Potassium Ion Channels Constructed from Pore‐Containing Helical Oligomers

Potassium ion channels specifically transport K⁺ ions over Na⁺ ions across a cell membrane. A queue of four binding sites in the K⁺ channel pore plays significant roles during highly selective conduction. A kind of aromatic helical oligomer was synthesized that can selectively bind K⁺ over Na⁺. By aromatic stacking of helical oligomers, a type of artificial K⁺ channels with contiguous K⁺ binding sites was constructed. Such artificial channels exhibited exceptionally high K⁺/Na⁺ selectivity ratios during transmembrane ion conduction.     

Reversible Ligand‐Gated Ion Channel via Interconversion between Hollow Single Helix and Intertwined Double Helix

Ligand responsiveness is one of the typical mechanisms in biological organization to trigger sophisticated channel switching. Here, we report a new type of helical trimer which can undergo transition between a hollow single helix and an intertwined double helix with no cavity by complexation and decomplexation of Cu ions. In addition, the one dimensional (1D) hollow helical tubes spontaneously generated from single helices via π‐π interactions embedded into the lipid bilayers and displayed satisfactory channel stability and efficiency. With the addition of Cu^I ions and further extraction with ammonia, the disassembly and reassembly of 1D hollow helical tubes gave rise to the reversible switching of channel activity in situ inside the bilayers. The synthetic helical system provides the first model of reversible ligand‐gated ion channel by means of dynamic transition between single and double helices, which will be available for developing intelligent artificial nanochannels for potential biological and medicinal applications.