Multiple Binding of Ligands to a Linear Biopolymer

Many major protein–protein interaction networks are maintained by ‘hub’ proteins with multiple binding partners, where interactions are often facilitated by intrinsically disordered protein regions that undergo post-translational modifications, such as phosphorylation. Phosphorylation can directly affect protein function and control recognition by proteins that ‘read’ the phosphorylation code, re-wiring the interactome. The eukaryotic 14-3-3 proteins recognizing multiple phosphoproteins nicely exemplify these concepts. Although recent studies established the biochemical and structural basis for the interaction of the 14-3-3 dimers with several phosphorylated clients, understanding their assembly with partners phosphorylated at multiple sites represents a challenge. Suboptimal sequence context around the phosphorylated residue may reduce binding affinity, resulting in quantitative differences for distinct phosphorylation sites, making hierarchy and priority in their binding rather uncertain. Recently, Stevers et al. [Biochemical Journal (2017) 474: 1273–1287] undertook a remarkable attempt to untangle the mechanism of 14-3-3 dimer binding to leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) that contains multiple candidate 14-3-3-binding sites and is mutated in Parkinson's disease. By using the protein-peptide binding approach, the authors systematically analyzed affinities for a set of LRRK2 phosphopeptides, alone or in combination, to a 14-3-3 protein and determined crystal structures for 14-3-3 complexes with selected phosphopeptides. This study addresses a long-standing question in the 14-3-3 biology, unearthing a range of important details that are relevant for understanding binding mechanisms of other polyvalent proteins.

Download Full-text

Reversibly Sampling Conformations and Binding Modes Using Molecular Darting

10.26434/chemrxiv.12670676.v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Samuel C. Gill ◽

David Mobley

Keyword(s):

Monte Carlo ◽

Ligand Binding ◽

Binding Sites ◽

Degrees Of Freedom ◽

Dynamics Simulation ◽

Hiv Integrase ◽

Binding Modes ◽

System A ◽

Multiple Binding ◽

Internal Degrees Of Freedom

<div>Sampling multiple binding modes of a ligand in a single molecular dynamics simulation is difficult. A given ligand may have many internal degrees of freedom, along with many different ways it might orient itself a binding site or across several binding sites, all of which might be separated by large energy barriers. We have developed a novel Monte Carlo move called Molecular Darting (MolDarting) to reversibly sample between predefined binding modes of a ligand. Here, we couple this with nonequilibrium candidate Monte Carlo (NCMC) to improve acceptance of moves.</div><div>We apply this technique to a simple dipeptide system, a ligand binding to T4 Lysozyme L99A, and ligand binding to HIV integrase in order to test this new method. We observe significant increases in acceptance compared to uniformly sampling the internal, and rotational/translational degrees of freedom in these systems.</div>

Download Full-text

Binding Modes of Ligands Using Enhanced Sampling (BLUES): Rapid Decorrelation of Ligand Binding Modes Using Nonequilibrium Candidate Monte Carlo

10.26434/chemrxiv.5406907.v2 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Samuel Gill ◽

Nathan M. Lim ◽

Patrick Grinaway ◽

Ariën S. Rustenburg ◽

Josh Fass ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Monte Carlo ◽

Ligand Binding ◽

Binding Mode ◽

Free Energy Calculations ◽

Dynamics Simulation ◽

Binding Modes ◽

Enhanced Sampling ◽

Recent Success ◽

Multiple Binding ◽

Proper Sampling

<div>Accurately predicting protein-ligand binding is a major goal in computational chemistry, but even the prediction of ligand binding modes in proteins poses major challenges. Here, we focus on solving the binding mode prediction problem for rigid fragments. That is, we focus on computing the dominant placement, conformation, and orientations of a relatively rigid, fragment-like ligand in a receptor, and the populations of the multiple binding modes which may be relevant. This problem is important in its own right, but is even more timely given the recent success of alchemical free energy calculations. Alchemical calculations are increasingly used to predict binding free energies of ligands to receptors. However, the accuracy of these calculations is dependent on proper sampling of the relevant ligand binding modes. Unfortunately, ligand binding modes may often be uncertain, hard to predict, and/or slow to interconvert on simulation timescales, so proper sampling with current techniques can require prohibitively long simulations. We need new methods which dramatically improve sampling of ligand binding modes. Here, we develop and apply a nonequilibrium candidate Monte Carlo (NCMC) method to improve sampling of ligand binding modes.</div><div><br></div><div>In this technique the ligand is rotated and subsequently allowed to relax in its new position through alchemical perturbation before accepting or rejecting the rotation and relaxation as a nonequilibrium Monte Carlo move. When applied to a T4 lysozyme model binding system, this NCMC method shows over two orders of magnitude improvement in binding mode sampling efficiency compared to a brute force molecular dynamics simulation. This is a first step towards applying this methodology to pharmaceutically relevant binding of fragments and, eventually, drug-like molecules. We are making this approach available via our new Binding Modes of Ligands using Enhanced Sampling (BLUES) package which is freely available on GitHub.</div>

Download Full-text

Binding Modes of Ligands Using Enhanced Sampling (BLUES): Rapid Decorrelation of Ligand Binding Modes Using Nonequilibrium Candidate Monte Carlo

10.26434/chemrxiv.5406907 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Samuel Gill ◽

Nathan M. Lim ◽

Patrick Grinaway ◽

Ariën S. Rustenburg ◽

Josh Fass ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Monte Carlo ◽

Ligand Binding ◽

Binding Mode ◽

Free Energy Calculations ◽

Dynamics Simulation ◽

Binding Modes ◽

Enhanced Sampling ◽

Recent Success ◽

Multiple Binding ◽

Proper Sampling

<div>Accurately predicting protein-ligand binding is a major goal in computational chemistry, but even the prediction of ligand binding modes in proteins poses major challenges. Here, we focus on solving the binding mode prediction problem for rigid fragments. That is, we focus on computing the dominant placement, conformation, and orientations of a relatively rigid, fragment-like ligand in a receptor, and the populations of the multiple binding modes which may be relevant. This problem is important in its own right, but is even more timely given the recent success of alchemical free energy calculations. Alchemical calculations are increasingly used to predict binding free energies of ligands to receptors. However, the accuracy of these calculations is dependent on proper sampling of the relevant ligand binding modes. Unfortunately, ligand binding modes may often be uncertain, hard to predict, and/or slow to interconvert on simulation timescales, so proper sampling with current techniques can require prohibitively long simulations. We need new methods which dramatically improve sampling of ligand binding modes. Here, we develop and apply a nonequilibrium candidate Monte Carlo (NCMC) method to improve sampling of ligand binding modes.</div><div><br></div><div>In this technique the ligand is rotated and subsequently allowed to relax in its new position through alchemical perturbation before accepting or rejecting the rotation and relaxation as a nonequilibrium Monte Carlo move. When applied to a T4 lysozyme model binding system, this NCMC method shows over two orders of magnitude improvement in binding mode sampling efficiency compared to a brute force molecular dynamics simulation. This is a first step towards applying this methodology to pharmaceutically relevant binding of fragments and, eventually, drug-like molecules. We are making this approach available via our new Binding Modes of Ligands using Enhanced Sampling (BLUES) package which is freely available on GitHub.</div>

Download Full-text

Faculty Opinions recommendation of Multiple binding sites for the general anesthetic isoflurane identified in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor transmembrane domain.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.5804956.5786054 ◽

2010 ◽

Author(s):

Edward Bertaccini

Keyword(s):

Acetylcholine Receptor ◽

Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor ◽

Binding Sites ◽

Transmembrane Domain ◽

General Anesthetic ◽

Nicotinic Acetylcholine ◽

Multiple Binding Sites ◽

Multiple Binding

Download Full-text

NMDAR PAMs: Multiple Chemotypes for Multiple Binding Sites

Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry ◽

10.2174/1568026619666191011095341 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (24) ◽

pp. 2239-2253 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Paul J. Goldsmith

Keyword(s):

Binding Sites ◽

Receptor Activation ◽

Research Area ◽

Allosteric Modulators ◽

Nonselective Cation Channels ◽

Multiple Binding Sites ◽

Multiple Binding ◽

Excitatory Neurotransmission ◽

Psychiatric Conditions ◽

High Level

The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) is a member of the ionotropic glutamate receptor (iGluR) family that plays a crucial role in brain signalling and development. NMDARs are nonselective cation channels that are involved with the propagation of excitatory neurotransmission signals with important effects on synaptic plasticity. NMDARs are functionally and structurally complex receptors, they exist as a family of subtypes each with its own unique pharmacological properties. Their implication in a variety of neurological and psychiatric conditions means they have been a focus of research for many decades. Disruption of NMDAR-related signalling is known to adversely affect higherorder cognitive functions (e.g. learning and memory) and the search for molecules that can recover (or even enhance) receptor output is a current strategy for CNS drug discovery. A number of positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) that specifically attempt to overcome NMDAR hypofunction have been discovered. They include various chemotypes that have been found to bind to several different binding sites within the receptor. The heterogeneity of chemotype, binding site and NMDAR subtype provide a broad landscape of ongoing opportunities to uncover new features of NMDAR pharmacology. Research on NMDARs continues to provide novel mechanistic insights into receptor activation and this review will provide a high-level overview of the research area and discuss the various chemical classes of PAMs discovered so far.

Download Full-text

Effects of Multiple Binding Sites on Studies of Hydrogen Bonding between Nitroxide Radicals and Solvent Molecules

Collection of Czechoslovak Chemical Communications ◽

10.1135/cccc19930047 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 58 (1) ◽

pp. 47-52 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Imad Al-Bala'a ◽

Richard D. Bates

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Bonding ◽

Magnetic Resonance ◽

Binding Site ◽

Binding Sites ◽

Hyperfine Coupling Constant ◽

Hydrogen Donor ◽

Complex Formation Constants ◽

Multiple Binding Sites ◽

Multiple Binding ◽

Solvent Molecules

The role of more than one binding site on a nitroxide free radical in magnetic resonance determinations of the properties of the complex formed with a hydrogen donor is examined. The expression that relates observed hyperfine couplings in EPR spectra to complex formation constants and concentrations of each species in solution becomes much more complex when multiple binding sites are present, but reduces to a simpler form when binding at the two sites occurs independently and the binding at the non-nitroxide site does not produce significant differences in the hyperfine coupling constant in the complexed radical. Effects on studies of hydrogen bonding between multiple binding site nitroxides and hydrogen donor solvent molecules by other magnetic resonance methods are potentially more extreme.

Download Full-text

Cryo-EM structure of human Wntless in complex with Wnt3a

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-24731-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Qing Zhong ◽

Yanyu Zhao ◽

Fangfei Ye ◽

Zaiyu Xiao ◽

Gaoxingyu Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Transmembrane Domain ◽

Transmembrane Protein ◽

Multiple Interfaces ◽

Wnt Proteins ◽

Binding Partners ◽

Multiple Binding Sites ◽

Evolutionarily Conserved ◽

Multiple Binding ◽

Hydrophobic Tunnel ◽

Conserved Core

AbstractWntless (WLS), an evolutionarily conserved multi-pass transmembrane protein, is essential for secretion of Wnt proteins. Wnt-triggered signaling pathways control many crucial life events, whereas aberrant Wnt signaling is tightly associated with many human diseases including cancers. Here, we report the cryo-EM structure of human WLS in complex with Wnt3a, the most widely studied Wnt, at 2.2 Å resolution. The transmembrane domain of WLS bears a GPCR fold, with a conserved core cavity and a lateral opening. Wnt3a interacts with WLS at multiple interfaces, with the lipid moiety on Wnt3a traversing a hydrophobic tunnel of WLS transmembrane domain and inserting into membrane. A β-hairpin of Wnt3a containing the conserved palmitoleoylation site interacts with WLS extensively, which is crucial for WLS-mediated Wnt secretion. The flexibility of the Wnt3a loop/hairpin regions involved in the multiple binding sites indicates induced fit might happen when Wnts are bound to different binding partners. Our findings provide important insights into the molecular mechanism of Wnt palmitoleoylation, secretion and signaling.

Download Full-text