Structural and dynamic properties of liquid alkali metals: molecular dynamics

Molecular dynamics simulations in the canonical ensemble have been performed to calculate structural and transport properties of liquid alkali metals. The alkali metals considered in this work were Na, K, Rb and Cs. Two Yukawa-type potentials were employed as the interaction law among particles. This function is written in terms of two adjustment parameters which make possible tuning the softness of the potential core and the range of the attractive part. The radial distribution functions and transport properties such as self-diffusion and shear viscosity, were calculated in a thermodynamic state near the melting point. The radial distribution function calculated for each alkali metal was compared with previous simulation results where a more elaborated potential was employed. From this comparison we found an excellent agreement. Our results for transport properties were also compared with the available experimental data and a good agreement was found.     

Towards a quantitative rationalization of multicomponent glass properties by means of molecular dynamics simulations

This review summarizes the achievements obtained by making use of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in the elucidation of the structure of multicomponent glasses exerting bioactive properties. Emphasis on critical aspects of MD simulations for oxide glasses treatment is given. The potentiality of the quantitative structure–property relationships (QSPR) analysis as a tool for interpretative and predictive purposes is highlighted.     

The consistency of large concerted motions in proteins in molecular dynamics simulations.

A detailed investigation is presented into the effect of limited sampling time and small changes in the force field on molecular dynamics simulations of a protein. Thirteen independent simulations of the B1 IgG-binding domain of streptococcal protein G were performed, with small changes in the simulation parameters in each simulation. Parameters studied included temperature, bond constraints, cut-off radius for electrostatic interactions, and initial placement of hydrogen atoms. The essential dynamics technique was used to reveal dynamic differences between the simulations. Similar essential dynamics properties were found for all simulations, indicating that the large concerted motions found in the simulations are not particularly sensitive to small changes in the force field. A thorough investigation into the stability of the essential dynamics properties as derived from a molecular dynamics simulation of a few hundred picoseconds is provided. Although the definition of the essential modes of motion has not fully converged in these short simulations, the subspace in which these modes are confined is found to be reproducible.     

Structure and dynamics of one-dimensional ionic solutions in biological transmembrane channels.

The structure and dynamics of solvated alkali metal cations in transmembrane channels are treated using the molecular dynamics simulation technique. The simulations are based on a modified Fischer-Brickmann model (Fischer, W., and J. Brickmann, 1983, Biophys. Chem., 18:323-337) for gramicidin A-type channels. The trajectories of all particles in the channel as well as two-dimensional pair correlation functions are analyzed. It is found from the analysis of the stationary simulation state that one-dimensional solvation complexes are formed and that the number of water molecules in the channel varies for different alkali metal cations.     

Dynamics and entropy of a calmodulin-peptide complex studied by NMR and molecular dynamics

All-atom, explicit water molecular dynamics simulations of calcium-loaded calmodulin complexed with a peptide corresponding to the smooth muscle myosin light chain kinase target were carried out at 295 and 346 K. Amide and side chain methyl angular generalized order parameters were calculated and analyzed in the context of the protein's structure and dynamics. The agreement between amide order parameters measured by NMR and those from the simulations was found to be good, especially at the higher temperature, indicating both better convergence for the latter and excellent transferrability of the CHARMM parameters to the higher temperature. Subtle dynamical features such as helix fraying were reproduced. A large range of order parameters for the nine calmodulin methionines was observed in the NMR, and reproduced quite well in the simulations. The major determinant of the methionine order parameter was found to be the proximity to side chains of aromatic residues. An upper bound estimate of the difference in backbone entropy between loop and helical regions was extracted from the order parameters using a model of motion in an effective potential. Although loop regions are more flexible than helical regions, it was found that the entropy loss per residue upon folding was only approximately 20% less for loops than for helices. Pairwise correlated motions, which could significantly lower entropy estimates obtained from order parameter analysis alone, were found to be largely absent.     

Coarse graining the dynamics of nano-confined solutes: the case of ions in clays

We investigate the possibility of describing by a continuous solvent model the dynamics of solutes confined down to the molecular scale. We derive a generalised Langevin equation (GLE) for the generic motion of a solute in an external potential using the Mori–Zwanzig formalism. We then compute the corresponding memory function from molecular simulations, in the case of cesium ions confined in the interlayer porosity of montmorillonite clays, with a very low water content (only six solvent molecules per ion). Previous attempts to describe the dynamics of cesium in this system by a simple Langevin equation were unsuccessful. The purpose of this work is not to carry out GLE simulations using the memory function from molecular simulations, but rather to analyse the separation of time scales between the confined ions and solvent. We show that such a separation is not achieved and discuss the relative contribution of the ion–surface, ion–solvent and ion–ion interactions to the dynamics. On the picosecond time scale, the ion oscillates in a surface-and-solvent cage, which relaxes on much longer time scales extending to several nanoseconds. The resulting overall dynamics resembles that of glasses or diffusion inside a solid by site-to-site hopping.     

Comparison of molecular dynamics simulation methods for amyloid β(1-42) monomers containing D-aspartic acid residues for predicting retention times in chromatography

Molecular dynamics simulations of amyloid β(1-42) containing D-aspartic acid residues were performed using several continuous solvent models to investigate the usefulness of simulation methods for D-amino acid-containing proteins and peptides. Normal molecular dynamics simulations and replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations, which are one of the generalized-ensemble algorithms, were performed. Because the β-structure contents of amyloid β(1-42) peptides obtained by replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations with Onufriev-Bashford-Case generalized Born implicit solvent were qualitatively consistent with experimental data, replica exchange molecular dynamics rather than other methods appeared to be more reasonable for calculations of amyloid β(1-42) containing D-aspartic acid residues. Computational results revealed that peptides with stereoinversion of Asp23 tend to form β-sheet structures by themselves, in contrast to the wild-type peptides that form β-sheet structures only after aggregation. These results are expected to be useful for computational investigations of proteins and peptides such as prediction of retention time of peptides and proteins containing D-aspartic acid residues.     

Transition networks for modeling the kinetics of conformational change in macromolecules

The kinetics and thermodynamics of complex transitions in biomolecules can be modeled in terms of a network of transitions between the relevant conformational substates. Such a transition network, which overcomes the fundamental limitations of reaction-coordinate-based methods, can be constructed either based on the features of the energy landscape, or from molecular dynamics simulations. Energy-landscape-based networks are generated with the aid of automated path-optimization methods, and, using graph-theoretical adaptive methods, can now be constructed for large molecules such as proteins. Dynamics-based networks, also called Markov State Models, can be interpreted and adaptively improved using statistical concepts, such as the mean first passage time, reactive flux and sampling error analysis. This makes transition networks powerful tools for understanding large-scale conformational changes.     

Segmented Transition Pathway of the Signaling Protein Nitrogen Regulatory Protein C

Recent advances in experimental methods provide increasing evidence that proteins sample the conformational substates that are important for function in the absence of their ligands. An example is the receiver domain of nitrogen regulatory protein C, a member of the phosphorylation-mediated signaling family of “two-component systems.” The receiver domain of nitrogen regulatory protein C samples both inactive conformation and the active conformation before phosphorylation. Here we determine a possible pathway of interconversion between the active state and the inactive state by targeted molecular dynamics simulations and quasi-harmonic analysis; these methods are used because the experimental conversion rate is in the high microsecond range, longer than those that are easily accessible to atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. The calculated pathway is found to be composed of four consecutive stages described by different progress variables. The lowest quasi-harmonic principal components from unbiased molecular dynamics simulations on the active state correspond to the first stage, but not to the subsequent stages of the transition. The targeted molecular dynamics pathway suggests that several transient nonnative hydrogen bonds may facilitate the transition.     

Methods for molecular dynamics simulations of protein folding/unfolding in solution

All atom molecular dynamics simulations have become a standard method for mapping equilibrium protein dynamics and non-equilibrium events like folding and unfolding. Here, we present detailed methods for performing such simulations. Generic protocols for minimization, solvation, simulation, and analysis derived from previous studies are also presented. As a measure of validation, our water model is compared with experiment. An example of current applications of these methods, simulations of the ultrafast folding protein Engrailed Homeodomain are presented including the experimental evidence used to verify their results. Ultrafast folders are an invaluable tool for studying protein behavior as folding and unfolding events measured by experiment occur on timescales accessible with the high-resolution molecular dynamics methods we describe. Finally, to demonstrate the prospect of these methods for folding proteins, a temperature quench simulation of a thermal unfolding intermediate of the Engrailed Homeodomain is described.     

Molecular modelling of membrane sterols with the use of the GROMOS 96 force field

Membrane located sterols determine the structure and function of eucariotic cell membranes. Moreover, they are targets for important antifungal antibiotic amphotericin B. Knowledge about the geometry and dynamics of sterols in the environment of lipidic membranes is necessary to understand their functions. However, due to the dynamic character of the membrane, no experimental data about sterol behaviour on the molecular level is available. Hence molecular modelling simulations could be a source of useful information. The main goal of this paper is to prove the adequacy of the GROMOS 96 force field for molecular simulations of membrane sterols. We focused our attention on the reproduction of characteristic geometrical features observed in the crystal of cholesterol hemiethanolate by molecular dynamics simulations. The results presented clearly indicate that the GROMOS 96 force field can be a useful tool to simulate the highly lipophilic systems. Moreover, interactions responsible for the stability of such systems can also be recognised.     

Mass-weighted molecular dynamics simulation and conformational analysis of polypeptide.

Atomic motions in protein molecules have been studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations; dynamics simulation methods have also been employed in conformational studies of polypeptide molecules. It was found that when atomic masses are weighted, the molecular dynamics method can significantly increase the sampling of dihedral conformation space in such studies, compared to a conventional MD simulation of the same total simulation time length. Herein the theoretical study of molecular conformation sampling by the molecular dynamics-based simulation method in which atomic masses are weighted is reported in detail; moreover, a numerical scheme for analyzing the extensive conformational sampling in the simulation of a tetrapeptide amide molecule is presented. From numerical analyses of the mass-weighted molecular dynamics trajectories of backbone dihedral angles, low-resolution structures covering the entire backbone dihedral conformation space of the molecule were determined, and the distribution of rotationally stable conformations in this space were analyzed quantitatively. The theoretical analyses based on the computer simulation and numerical analytical methods suggest that distinctive regimes in the conformational space of the peptide molecule can be identified.     

Adaptive conformational sampling based on replicas

Computer simulations of biomolecules such as molecular dynamics simulations are limited by the time scale of conformational rearrangements. Several sampling techniques are available to search the multi-minima free energy landscape but most efficient, time-dependent methods do generally not produce a canonical ensemble. A sampling algorithm based on a self-regulating ladder of searching copies in the dihedral subspace is developped in this paper. The learning process using short- and long-term memory functions allows an efficient search in phase space while combining a deterministic dynamics and stochastic swaps with the searching copies conserves a canonical limit. The sampling efficiency and accuracy are indicated by comparing the ansatz with conventional molecular dynamics and replica exchange simulations.     

Hydroxymethyluracil modifications enhance the flexibility and hydrophilicity of double-stranded DNA

Oxidation of a DNA thymine to 5-hydroxymethyluracil is one of several recently discovered epigenetic modifications. Here, we report the results of nanopore translocation experiments and molecular dynamics simulations that provide insight into the impact of this modification on the structure and dynamics of DNA. When transported through ultrathin solid-state nanopores, short DNA fragments containing thymine modifications were found to exhibit distinct, reproducible features in their transport characteristics that differentiate them from unmodified molecules. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest that 5-hydroxymethyluracil alters the flexibility and hydrophilicity of the DNA molecules, which may account for the differences observed in our nanopore translocation experiments. The altered physico-chemical properties of DNA produced by the thymine modifications may have implications for recognition and processing of such modifications by regulatory DNA-binding proteins.     

On using time-averaging restraints in molecular dynamics simulation

Introducing experimental values as restraints into molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to bias the values of particular molecular properties, such as nuclear Overhauser effect intensities or distances, 3J coupling constants, chemical shifts or crystallographic structure factors, towards experimental values is a widely used structure refinement method. To account for the averaging of experimentally derived quantities inherent in the experimental techniques, time-averaging restraining methods may be used. In the case of structure refinement using 3J coupling constants from NMR experiments, time-averaging methods previously proposed can suffer from large artificially induced structural fluctuations. A modified time-averaged restraining potential energy function is proposed which overcomes this problem. The different possible approaches are compared using stochastic dynamics simulations of antamanide, a cyclic peptide of ten residues.     

Recent developments in structural proteomics for protein structure determination

The major challenges in structural proteomics include identifying all the proteins on the genome-wide scale, determining their structure-function relationships, and outlining the precise three-dimensional structures of the proteins. Protein structures are typically determined by experimental approaches such as X-ray crystallography or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. However, the knowledge of three-dimensional space by these techniques is still limited. Thus, computational methods such as comparative and de novo approaches and molecular dynamic simulations are intensively used as alternative tools to predict the three-dimensional structures and dynamic behavior of proteins. This review summarizes recent developments in structural proteomics for protein structure determination; including instrumental methods such as X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy, and computational methods such as comparative and de novo structure prediction and molecular dynamics simulations.     

Flexible fitting of atomic structures into electron microscopy maps using molecular dynamics

A novel method to flexibly fit atomic structures into electron microscopy (EM) maps using molecular dynamics simulations is presented. The simulations incorporate the EM data as an external potential added to the molecular dynamics force field, allowing all internal features present in the EM map to be used in the fitting process, while the model remains fully flexible and stereochemically correct. The molecular dynamics flexible fitting (MDFF) method is validated for available crystal structures of protein and RNA in different conformations; measures to assess and monitor the fitting process are introduced. The MDFF method is then used to obtain high-resolution structures of the E. coli ribosome in different functional states imaged by cryo-EM.     

Substrate binding and formation of an occluded state in the leucine transporter

Translocation through the extracellular vestibule and binding of leucine in the leucine transporter (LeuT) have been studied with molecular dynamics simulations. More than 0.1 μs of all-atom molecular dynamics simulations have been performed on different combinations of LeuT, bound substrate, and bound structural Na⁺ ions to describe molecular events involved in substrate binding and in the formation of the occluded state and to investigate the dynamics of this state. Three structural features are found to be directly involved in the initial steps of leucine transport: a Na⁺ ion directly coordinated to leucine (Na-1), two aromatic residues closing the binding site toward the extracellular vestibule (Tyr-108 and Phe-253), and a salt bridge in the extracellular vestibule (Arg-30 and Asp-404). These features account for observed differences between simulations of LeuT with and without bound substrate and for a possible pathway for leucine binding and thereby formation of the occluded LeuT binding site.     

Piecewise All-Atom SMD Simulations Reveal Key Secondary Structures in Luciferase Unfolding Pathway

Although the folding of single-domain proteins is well characterized theoretically and experimentally, the folding of large multidomain proteins is less well known. Firefly luciferase, a 550 residue three-domain protein, has been commonly used as a substrate to study chaperone reactions and as a model system for the study of folding of long polypeptide chains, including related phenomena such as cotranslational folding. Despite being characterized by various experimental techniques, the atomic-level contributions of various secondary structures of luciferase to its fold’s mechanical stability remain unknown. Here, we developed a piecewise approach for all-atom steered molecular dynamics simulations to examine specific secondary structures that resist mechanical unfolding while minimizing the amount of computational resources required by the large water box of standard all-atom steered molecular dynamics simulations. We validated the robustness of this approach with a small NI3C protein and used our approach to elucidate the specific secondary structures that provide the largest contributions to luciferase mechanostability. In doing so, we show that piecewise all-atom steered molecular dynamics simulations can provide novel atomic resolution details regarding mechanostability and can serve as a platform for novel mutagenesis studies as well as a point for comparison with high-resolution force spectroscopy experiments.     

Refinement of protein structure homology models via long, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations

Accurate computational prediction of protein structure represents a longstanding challenge in molecular biology and structure-based drug design. Although homology modeling techniques are widely used to produce low-resolution models, refining these models to high resolution has proven difficult. With long enough simulations and sufficiently accurate force fields, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations should in principle allow such refinement, but efforts to refine homology models using MD have for the most part yielded disappointing results. It has thus far been unclear whether MD-based refinement is limited primarily by accessible simulation timescales, force field accuracy, or both. Here, we examine MD as a technique for homology model refinement using all-atom simulations, each at least 100 μs long-more than 100 times longer than previous refinement simulations-and a physics-based force field that was recently shown to successfully fold a structurally diverse set of fast-folding proteins. In MD simulations of 24 proteins chosen from the refinement category of recent Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction (CASP) experiments, we find that in most cases, simulations initiated from homology models drift away from the native structure. Comparison with simulations initiated from the native structure suggests that force field accuracy is the primary factor limiting MD-based refinement. This problem can be mitigated to some extent by restricting sampling to the neighborhood of the initial model, leading to structural improvement that, while limited, is roughly comparable to the leading alternative methods.