Free energy calculations and molecular dynamics simulations of wild-type and variants of the DNA-EcoRI complex.

Molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations of the wild-type EcoRI-DNA complex and several variants have been performed in aqueous solvent. In general, he theoretical estimations of the free energy differences (DeltaDeltaA) qualitatively agree well with the corresponding experimental data. The modifications which were experimentally found unfavorable compared to the wild-type complex were also found to be so in theoretical estimates. The mutant where the amino group of the base Ade(6) was replaced by a hydrogen atom eliminating one H-bond between the DNA and the protein, was experimentally found to be more stable than the wild-type complex. It was speculated that the modification also caused a structural relaxation in the DNA making DeltaDeltaA favorable. Our theoretical estimate yields a positive DeltaDeltaA in this case, but the difference is small, and no significant local structural relaxation was observed. The major H-bonds between the DNA and the protein in the wild-type complex are found to be maintained in the different mutants although the specific and non-specific interaction energies between the interacting the DNA bases and the protein residues are different in different mutants. The interaction pattern of the other nearby nucleotides are significantly influenced by each modification. Thus, the alteration of the non-specific interactions may also play an indirect role in determining the specificity of the complex. The interaction of the Gua(4) of the DNA with the protein is found to be most sensitive to any alteration in the recognition site. Because Gua(4) is the nucleotide closest to the scissile bond, this extra sensitivity seems to play an important role in altering the functional activity of the complex.     

Molecular dynamics simulation and steered molecular dynamics simulation on irisin dimers

Irisin is found closely associated with promoting the browning of beige fat cells in white adipose tissue. The crystal structure reveals that irisin forms a continuous inter-subunit β-sheet dimer. Here, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulation were performed to investigate the dissociation process and the intricate interactions between the two irisin monomers. In the process of MD, the interactions between the monomers were roughly analyzed through the average numbers of both hydrophobic contacts and H-bonds. Then, SMD was performed to investigate the accurate interaction energy between the monomers. By the analysis of dissociation energy, the van der Waals (vdW) force was identified as the major energy to maintain the dimer structure, which also verified the results of MD simulation. Meanwhile, 11 essential residues were discovered by the magnitude of rupture force during dissociation. Among them, residues Arg75, Glu79, Ile77, Ala88, and Trp90 were reported in a previous study using the method of mutagenesis and size exclusion chromatography, and several new important residues (Arg72, Leu74, Phe76, Gln78, Val80, and Asp91) were also identified. Interestingly, the new important residues that we discovered and the important residues that were reported are located in the opposite side of the β-sheet of the dimer.     

Molecular dynamics simulations of pea (Pisum sativum) lectin structure with octyl glucoside detergents: the ligand interactions and dynamics

The mitogenic pea (Pisum sativum) lectin is a legume protein of non-immunoglobulin nature capable of specific recognition of glucose derivatives without altering its structure. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed in a realistic environment to investigate the structure and interaction properties of pea lectin with various concentrations of n-octyl-beta-d-glucopyranoside (OG) detergent monomers distributed inside explicit solvent cell. In addition, the diffusion coefficients of the ligands (OG, Ca2+, Mn2+, and Cl-) and the water molecules were also reported. The structural flexibility of the lectin was conserved in all simulations. The self-assembly of OG monomers into a small micelle at the hydrophobic site of the lectin was noticed in the simulation with 20 OG monomers. The interaction energy analysis concludes that the lectin was appropriately termed an adaptive structure. One or rarely two binding sites were observed at an instant in each simulation that were electrostatically favoured for the OG to interact with the surface amino acid residues. Enhanced binding of OG to the pea lectin was quantified in the system containing only Ca2+ divalent ions. Interestingly, no binding was observed in the simulation without divalent ions. Furthermore, the lectin-ligand complex was stabilized by multiple hydrogen bonds and at least one water bridge. Finally, the work was also in accordance with the published work elsewhere that the simulations performed with different initial conditions and using higher nonbonded cutoffs for the van der Waals and electrostatic interactions provide more accurate information and clues than the single large simulation of the biomolecular system of interest.     

Base-specific binding of copper(II) to Z-DNA. The 1.3-A single crystal structure of d(m5CGUAm5CG) in the presence of CuCl2

The single crystal structure of d(m5CGUAm5CG) soaked with copper(II) chloride was solved to atomic (1.3 A) resolution to study the base specificity of copper binding to double-stranded DNA. In the present copper(II) chloride-soaked structure, four crystallographically unique copper(II) complexes were observed bound to five of the six purine bases in the hexamer duplex. Covalent copper(II) binding occurred at N-7 of all four guanine bases and at one of the two adenine bases in the DNA duplex. Copper binding was not observed at the position (Ade4) located in an open solvent channel, whereas the second adenine site (Ade10) shared a complex with a guanine residue (Gua12) of a neighboring symmetry-related hexamer. The coordination geometries and distribution of these copper(II) complexes at the guanine bases in the crystal were comparable to the analogous sites in the isomorphous copper(II) chloride-soaked d(CGCGCG) crystal (Kagawa, T., Geierstanger, B. H., Wang, A. H.-J., and Ho, P.S. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 20175-20184). Thus, the decreased copper(II) binding affinity for Ade4 was not an artifact of crystal packing, but is intrinsic to the chemical properties of this purine base in duplex DNA. This suggests that the adenine bases in dilute solutions of Z-DNA and more generally other duplex DNA conformations are not susceptible to copper(II) modification. Thus, preferential copper(II) binding at guanine bases over adenine bases in double-stranded DNA may explain the observed specificity of copper(II)-induced oxidative DNA damage near guanine residues (Yamamoto, K., and Kawanishi, S. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 15435-15440; Sagripanti, J.-L., and Kraemer, K. H. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 1729-1734). The sharing of a single copper(II) complex by Ade10 and Gua12 of an adjacent hexamer suggests that additional and perhaps specific DNA-DNA interactions, as may be found in the densely packed environment of the nuclear matrix in the cell, may render N-7 of adenine bases prone to copper(II) modification.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of a human thiopurine S-methyltransferase complexed with 6-mercaptopurine model

Human thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT) is an essential protein in 6-mercaptopurine (6MP) drug metabolism. To understand the pharmacogenetics of TPMT and 6MP, X-ray co-crystal structures of TPMT complexes with S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet) and 6MP are required. However, the co-crystal structure of this complex has not been reported because 6MP is poorly water soluble. We used molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to predict the structure of the complex of human TPMT-AdoHcy(CH₂)6MP, where the sulfur atoms of AdoHcy and 6MP were linked by a CH₂ group. After 1300 picoseconds of MD simulation, the trajectory showed that 6MP was stabilized in the TPMT active site by formation of non-bonded interactions between 6MP and Phe40, Pro196 and Arg226 side chains of TPMT. The intersulfur distance between AdoHcy and 6MP as well as the binding modes and the interactions of our TPMT-AdoHcy model are consistent with those observed in the X-ray crystal structure of murine TPMT-AdoHcy-6MP complex. The predicted binding modes of AdoHcy and 6MP in our model are consistent with those observed in murine TPMT X-ray crystal structures, which provides structural insights into the interactions of TPMT, AdoHcy, and 6MP at the atomic level and may be used as a starting point for further study of thiopurine drug pharmacogenetics.     

Interaction of human SRY protein with DNA: A molecular dynamics study

Molecular dynamics simulations have been conducted to study the interaction of human sex-determining region Y (hSRY) protein with DNA. For this purpose, simulations of the hSRY high mobility group (HMG) domain (hSRY-HMG) with and without its DNA target site, a DNA octamer, and the DNA octamer alone have been carried out, employing the NMR solution structure of hSRY-HMG–DNA complex as a starting model. Analyses of the simulation results demonstrated that the interaction between hSRY and DNA was hydrophobic, just a few hydrogen bonds and only one water molecule as hydrogen-bonding bridge were observed at the protein–DNA interface. These two hydrophobic cores in the hSRY-HMG domain were the physical basis of hSRY-HMG–DNA specific interaction. They not only maintained the stability of the complex, but also primarily caused the DNA deformation. The salt bridges formed between the positive-charged residues of hSRY and phosphate groups of DNA made the phosphate electroneutral, which was advantageous for the deformation of DNA and the formation of a stable complex. We predicted the structure of hSRY-HMG domain in the free state and found that both hSRY and DNA changed their conformations to achieve greater complementarity of geometries and properties during the binding process; that is, the protein increased the angle between its long and short arms to accommodate the DNA, and the DNA became bent severely to adapt to the protein, although the conformational change of DNA was more severe than that of the hSRY-HMG domain. The sequence specificity and the role of residue Met9 are also discussed. Proteins 31:417–433, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Protein dynamics in solution and in a crystalline environment: a molecular dynamics study

The effect of a solvent and a crystalline environment on the dynamics of proteins is investigated by the method of computer simulation. Three 25-ps molecular dynamics simulations at 300 K of the bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI), consisting of 454 heavy atoms, are compared: one of BPTI in vacuo, one of BPTI in a box with 2647 spherical nonpolar solvent atoms, and one of BPTI surrounded by fixed crystal image atoms. Both average and time-dependent molecular properties are examined to determine the effect of the environment on the behavior of the protein. The dynamics of BPTI in solution or in the crystal environment are found to be very similar to that found in the vacuum calculation. The primary difference in the average properties is that the equilibrium structure in the presence of solvent or the crystal field is significantly closer to the X-ray structure than is the vacuum result; concomitantly, the more realistic environment leads to a number density closer to experiment. The presence of solvent has a negligible effect on the overall magnitude of the positional or dihedral angle fluctuations in the interior of the protein; however, there are changes in the decay times of the fluctuations of interior atoms. For surface residues, both the magnitude and the time course of the motions are significantly altered by the solvent. There tends to be an increase in the displacements of long side chains and the flexible parts of the main chain that protrude into the solvent. Further, these motions tend to have a more diffusive character with longer relaxation times than in vacuo. The crystal environment has a specific effect on a number of side chains which are held in relatively fixed positions through hydrogen-bond and electric interactions with the neighboring protein atoms. Most of the effects of the solution environment seem to be sufficiently nonspecific that it may be possible to model them by applying a mean field and stochastic dynamic methods.     

DNA G-quartets in a 1.86 A resolution structure of an Oxytricha nova telomeric protein-DNA complex.

The Oxytricha nova telomere end binding protein (OnTEBP) recognizes, binds and protects the single-stranded 3'-terminal DNA extension found at the ends of macronuclear chromosomes. The structure of this complex shows that the single strand GGGGTTTTGGGG DNA binds in a deep cleft between the two protein subunits of OnTEBP, adopting a non-helical and irregular conformation. In extending the resolution limit of this structure to 1.86 A, we were surprised to find a G-quartet linked dimer of the GGGGTTTTGGGG DNA also packing within the crystal lattice and interacting with the telomere end binding protein. The G-quartet DNA exhibits the same structure and topology as previously observed in solution by NMR with diagonally crossing d(TTTT) loops at either end of the four-stranded helix. Additionally, the crystal structure reveals clearly visible Na(+), and specific patterns of bound water molecules in the four non-equivalent grooves. Although the G-quartet:protein contact surfaces are modest and might simply represent crystal packing interactions, it is interesting to speculate that the two types of telomeric DNA-protein interactions observed here might both be important in telomere biology.     

Molecular dynamics study of the structure and dynamics of a protein molecule in a crystalline ionic environment, Streptomyces griseus protease A

A large-scale molecular dynamics simulation of the behavior of a serine protease (Streptomyces griseus protease A) in a crystalline environment has been performed. All atoms (including hydrogens) of two protein molecules and the surrounding solvent of crystallization, consisting of both water and salt ions, were explicitly represented, and a relatively long range of interactions (up to 15 A) were included. The simulation is the longest so far reported for a protein in such an environment (60 ps). The use of the full crystalline environment allows a direct comparison of the structure and dynamic properties of the protein and surrounding solvent to be made with the experimental X-ray structure. Here we report the comparison of the protein structures and analyze the energetics of the system, including interaction with the aqueous environment. Subsequent papers will deal with other aspects of the simulation. The overall root mean square differences between the time-averaged molecular dynamics structure and that from crystallography, for all well-ordered, non-hydrogen atoms, are 1.67 and 1.25 A for the two molecules taken as the asymmetric unit. An extensive analysis of the conformation of substructural elements and individual residues and their deviation from experiment has revealed a strong influence of the ionic medium on their behavior. Implications of the results for free energy calculations and for future directions are also discussed.     

Ricin A-chain structural determinant for binding substrate analogues: A molecular dynamics simulation analysis

Ricin A-chain is a cytotoxic protein that attacks ribosomes by hydrolyzing a specific adenine base from a highly conserved, single-stranded rRNA hairpin containing the tetraloop sequence GAGA. Molecular-dynamics simulation methods are used to analyze the structural determinant for three substrate analogues bound to the ricin A-chain molecule. Simulations were applied to the binding of the dinucleotide adenyl-3′,5′-guanosine employing the x-ray crystal structure of the ricin complex and a modeled CGAGAG hexanucleotide loop taken from the NMR solution structure of a 29-mer oligonucleotide hairpin. A third simulation model is also presented describing a conformational search of the docked 29-mer structure by using a simulated-annealing method. Analysis of the structural interaction energies for each model shows the overall binding dominated by nonspecific interactions, which are mediated by specific arginine contacts from the highly basic region on the protein surface. The tetraloop conformation of the 29-mer was found to make specific interactions with conserved protein residues, in a manner that favored the GAGA sequence. A comparison of the two docked loop conformations with the NMR structure revealed significant positional deviations, suggesting that ricin may use an induced fit mechanism to recognize and bind the rRNA substrate. The conserved Tyr-80 may play an important confirmational entropic role in the binding and release of the target adenine in the active site. Proteins 27:80–95 © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Understanding the molecular interaction of human argonaute-2 and miR-20a complex: A molecular dynamics approach

Argonaute-2 (AGO2), a member of the Argonaute family, is the only member possessing catalytic and RNA silencing activity. In here, a molecular dynamics (MDs) simulation was performed using the crystal structure of human AGO2 protein complex with miR-20a. miR-20a is involved with various kind of biological process like heart and lung development, oncogenic process, etc. In precise, MD simulation was carried out with AGO2 protein complex with wild type, two mutant sites and four mutant sites in guided microRNA (miRNA). It has been noted that root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) of atomic positions of nucleic acid for wild type and two mutant sites guided miRNA has the same pattern of fluctuations, which stabilizes around 0.27 nm after 2 ns. Cα atom of AGO2 protein in the complex shows that this complex with wild type and two mutant site mutation duplex has a stable RMSD value after 20 ns, ranging between 0.14 and 0.21 nm. From the root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF), we observed an increased pattern of fluctuations for the atoms of four mutant complex of AGO2-miR-20a complex. This increased RMSF of non-mutated nucleic acids is contributed by U-A bond breaking at the site of the nucleotide of U2 of guided miRNA, as observed from the duplex structure taken at different time steps of the simulation. Superimposed structure of the miRNA-mRNA duplex for the three complexes depicts that the three miRNA-mRNA duplexes are stable during the simulation. Current work demonstrates the possible correlations between the conformational changes of this AGO2-miR-20a duplex structure and the interactions of different atoms.     

Molecular dynamics simulations of a calmodulin-peptide complex in solution

We have performed an 4-ns MD simulation of calmodulin complexed with a target peptide in explicit water, under realistic conditions of constant temperature and pressure, in the presence of a physiological concentration of counterions and using Ewald summation to avoid truncation of long-range electrostatic forces. During the simulation the system tended to perform small fluctuations around a structure similar to, but somewhat looser than the starting crystal structure. The calmodulin-peptide complex was quite rigid and did not exhibit any large amplitude domain motions such as previously seen in apo- and calcium-bound calmodulin. We analyzed the calmodulin-peptide interactions by calculating buried surface areas, CHARMM interaction energies and continuum model interaction free energies. In the trajectory, the protein surface area buried by contact with the peptide is 1373 A(2) approximately evenly divided between the calmodulin N-terminal, C-terminal and central linker regions. A majority of this buried surface, 803 A(2), comes from nonpolar residues, in contrast to the protein as a whole, for which the surface is made up of mostly polar and charged groups. Our continuum calculations indicate that the largest favorable contribution to peptide binding comes from burial of molecular surface upon complex formation. Electrostatic contributions are favorable but smaller in the trajectory structures, and actually unfavorable for binding in the crystal structure. Since nonpolar groups make up most of buried surface of the protein, our calculations suggest that the hydrophobic effect is the main driving force for binding the helical peptide to calmodulin, consistent with thermodynamic analysis of experimental data. Besides the burial of nonpolar surface area, secondary contributions to peptide binding come from burial of polar surface and electrostatic interactions. In the nonpolar interactions a crucial role is played by the nine methionines of calmodulin. In the electrostatic interactions the negatively charged protein residues and positively charged peptide residues play a dominant role.     

Molecular dynamics of immune complex of photoadduct-containing DNA with Fab-Anti-DNA antibody fragment

Antibodies to DNA play an important role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. The elucidation of structural mechanisms of both the antigen recognition and the interaction of anti-DNA antibodies with DNA will help to understand the role of DNA-containing immune complexes in various pathologies and can provide a basis for new treatment modalities. Moreover, the DNA-antibody complex is an analog of specific intracellular DNA-protein interactions. In this work, we used in silico molecular dynamic simulations of bimolecular complexes of the dsDNA segment containing the Fab fragment of an anti-DNA antibody to obtain the detailed thermodynamic and structural characteristics of dynamic intermolecular interactions. Using computationally modified crystal structure of the Fab-DNA complex (PDB ID: 3VW3), we studied the equilibrium molecular dynamics of the 64M-5 antibody Fab fragment associated with the dsDNA fragment containing the thymine dimer, the product of DNA photodamage. Amino acid residues that constitute paratopes and the complementary nucleotide epitopes for the Fab-DNA construct were identified. Stacking and electrostatic interactions were found to play the main role in mediating the most specific antibodydsDNA contacts, while hydrogen bonds were less significant. These findings may shed light on the formation and properties of pathogenic anti-DNA antibodies in autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus associated with skin photosensitivity and DNA photodamage.     

Molecular dynamics simulations of papilloma virus E2 DNA sequences: dynamical models for oligonucleotide structures in solution

The specificity of papilloma virus E2 protein-DNA binding depends critically upon the sequence of a region of the DNA not in direct contact with the protein, and represents one of the simplest known examples of indirect readout. A detailed characterization of this system in solution is important to the further investigation hypothesis of a structural code for DNA recognition by regulatory proteins. In the crystalline state, the E2 DNA oligonucleotide sequence, d(ACCGAATTCGGT), exhibits three different structural forms. We report herein studies of the structure of E2 DNA in solution based on a series of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations including counterions and water, utilizing both the canonical and various crystallographic structures as initial points of departure. All MDs converged on a single dynamical structure of d(ACCGAATTCGGT) in solution. The predicted structure is in close accord with two of the three crystal structures, and indicates that a significant kink in the double helix at the central ApT step in the other crystal molecule may be a packing effect. The dynamical fine structure was analyzed on the basis of helicoidal parameters. The calculated curvature in the sequence was found to originate primarily from YPR steps in the regions flanking the central AATT tract. In order to study the role of structural adaptation of the DNA in the binding process, a subsequent simulation on the 16-mer cognate sequence d(CAACCGAATTCGGTTG) was initiated from the crystallographic coordinates of the bound DNA in the crystal structure of the protein DNA complex. MD simulations starting with the protein-bound form relaxed rapidly back to the dynamical structure predicted from the previous simulations on the uncomplexed DNA. The MD results show that the bound form E2 DNA is a dynamically unstable structure in the absence of protein, and arises as a consequence of both structural changes intrinsic to the sequence and induced by the interaction with protein.     

Three-dimensional solution structure of an insulin dimer. A study of the B9(Asp) mutant of human insulin using nuclear magnetic resonance, distance geometry and restrained molecular dynamics.

The solution structure of the B9(Asp) mutant of human insulin has been determined by two-dimensional 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Thirty structures were calculated by distance geometry from 451 interproton distance restraints based on intra-residue, sequential and long-range nuclear Overhauser enhancement data, 17 restraints on phi torsional angles obtained from 3JH alpha HN coupling constants, and the restraints from 17 hydrogen bonds, and the three disulphide bridges. The distance geometry structures were optimized using restrained molecular dynamics (RMD) and energy minimization. The average root-mean-square deviation for the best 20 RMD refined structures is 2.26 A for the backbone and 3.14 A for all atoms if the less well-defined N and C-terminal residues are excluded. The helical regions are better defined, with root-mean-square deviation values of 1.11 A for the backbone and 2.03 A for all atoms. The data analysis and the calculations show that B9(Asp) insulin, in water solution at the applied pH (1.8 to 1.9), is a well-defined dimer with no detectable difference between the two monomers. The association of the two monomers in the solution dimer is relatively loose as compared with the crystal dimer. The overall secondary and tertiary structures of the monomers in the 2Zn crystal hexamer is found to be preserved. The conformation-averaged NMR structures obtained for the monomer is close to the structure of molecule 1 in the hexamer of the 2Zn insulin crystal. However, minor, but significant deviations from this structure, as well as from the structure of monomeric insulin in solution, exist and are ascribed to the absence of the hexamer and crystal packing forces, and to the presence of monomer-monomer interactions, respectively. Thus, the monomer in the solution dimer shows a conformation similar to that of the crystal monomer in molecular regions close to the monomer-monomer interface, whereas it assumes a conformation similar to that of the solution structure of monomeric insulin in other regions, suggesting that B9(Asp) insulin adopts a monomer-like conformation when this is not inconsistent with the monomer-monomer arrangement in the dimer.