scholarly journals Dimerization of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein affects sensitivity of ELISA based diagnostics of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wajihul Hasan Khan ◽  
Nida Khan ◽  
Avinash Mishra ◽  
Surbhi Gupta ◽  
Vikrant Bansode ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nucleocapsid Protein ◽  
Accessible Surface Area ◽  
Solvent Accessible Surface Area ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Monomeric Form ◽  
N Protein ◽  
Diagnostic Assays ◽  
Antigenic Properties ◽  
Dimeric Form ◽  
Accessible Surface

Diagnostics has played a significant role in effective management of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Nucleocapsid protein (N protein) is the primary antigen of the virus for development of sensitive diagnostic assays. Thus far, limited knowledge exists about the antigenic properties of the N protein. In this paper, we demonstrate the significant impact of dimerization of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein on sensitivity of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based diagnostics of COVID-19. The expressed purified protein from E.coli consists of two forms, dimeric and monomeric forms, which have been further characterized by biophysical and immunological means. Indirect ELISA indicated elevated susceptibility of the dimeric form of the nucleocapsid protein for identification of protein-specific monoclonal antibody as compared to the monomeric form of the protein. These findings have also been confirmed with the modelled structure of monomeric and dimeric nucleocapsid protein via HHPred software and its solvent accessible surface area, which indicates higher stability and antigenicity of the dimeric type as compared to the monomeric form. It is evident that use of the dimeric form will increase the sensitivity of the current nucleocapsid dependent ELISA for rapid COVID-19 diagnostic. Further, the results indicate that monitoring and maintaining of the monomer-dimer composition is critical for accurate and robust diagnostics.

Application of the ESMACS Binding Free Energy Protocol to a Highly Varied Ligand Dataset: Lactate Dehydogenase A

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wright ◽  
Fouad Husseini ◽  
Shunzhou Wan ◽  
Christophe Meyer ◽  
Herman Van Vlijmen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Normal Mode Analysis ◽  
Binding Mode ◽  
Accessible Surface Area ◽  
Solvent Accessible Surface Area ◽  
Mode Analysis ◽  
Energy Calculation ◽  
Accessible Surface

<div>Here, we evaluate the performance of our range of ensemble simulation based binding free energy calculation protocols, called ESMACS (enhanced sampling of molecular dynamics with approximation of continuum solvent) for use in fragment based drug design scenarios. ESMACS is designed to generate reproducible binding affinity predictions from the widely used molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MMPBSA) approach. We study ligands designed to target two binding pockets in the lactate dehydogenase A target protein, which vary in size, charge and binding mode. When comparing to experimental results, we obtain excellent statistical rankings across this highly diverse set of ligands. In addition, we investigate three approaches to account for entropic contributions not captured by standard MMPBSA calculations: (1) normal mode analysis, (2) weighted solvent accessible surface area (WSAS) and (3) variational entropy. </div>

scholarly journals PAMAM dendrimer: a pH-controlled nanosponge

2017 ◽  
Vol 95 (9) ◽  
pp. 991-998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prabal K. Maiti
Keyword(s):  
Accessible Surface Area ◽  
Pamam Dendrimer ◽  
Low Ph ◽  
Dynamics Simulation ◽  
Solvent Accessible Surface Area ◽  
Water Molecules ◽  
Accessible Volume ◽  
Accessible Surface ◽  
Solvent Accessible Surface ◽  
Ph Controlled

Using fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulation that are several hundred nanoseconds long, we demonstrate the pH-controlled sponge action of PAMAM dendrimer. We show how at varying pH levels, the PAMAM dendrimer acts as a wet sponge; at neutral or low pH levels, the dendrimer expands noticeably and the interior of the dendrimer opens up to host several hundreds to thousands of water molecules depending on the generation number. Increasing the pH (i.e., going from low pH to high pH) leads to the collapse of the dendrimer size, thereby expelling the inner water, which mimics the ‘sponge’ action. As the dendrimer size swells up at a neutral pH or low pH due to the electrostatic repulsion between the primary and tertiary amines that are protonated at this pH, there is dramatic increase in the available solvent accessible surface area (SASA), as well as solvent accessible volume (SAV).

scholarly journals Mutations in RBD of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant result stronger binding to human ACE2 protein

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecylia Severin Lupala ◽  
Yongjin Ye ◽  
Hong Chen ◽  
Xiaodong Su ◽  
Haiguang Liu
Keyword(s):  
Complex Structure ◽  
Tight Binding ◽  
Accessible Surface Area ◽  
Solvent Accessible Surface Area ◽  
Original Strain ◽  
Receptor Binding Domain ◽  
Bonding Interaction ◽  
Accessible Surface ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Solvent Accessible Surface

The spreading of SARS-CoV-2 virus resulted the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused more than 5 millions of death globally. Several major variants of SARS-CoV-2 have emerged and placed challenges in controlling the infections. The recently emerged Omicron variant raised serious concerns about reducing efficacy of antibodies or vaccines, due to its vast mutations. We modelled the complex structure of human ACE2 protein and the receptor binding domain of Omicron variant, then conducted atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to study the binding interactions. The analysis shows that the Omicron variant RBD binds more strongly to the human ACE2 protein than the original strain. The mutation at the ACE2-RBD interface enhanced the tight binding by increasing hydrogen bonding interaction and enlarging buried solvent accessible surface area.

scholarly journals Analysis of Two-State Folding Using Parabolic Approximation I: Hypothesis

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert S Sade
Keyword(s):  
Gibbs Energy ◽  
Accessible Surface Area ◽  
Solvent Accessible Surface Area ◽  
Parabolic Approximation ◽  
Energy Functions ◽  
State Ensemble ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Accessible Surface ◽  
Transition State Ensemble ◽  
Solvent Accessible Surface

A model which treats the denatured and native conformers of spontaneously-folding fixed two-state systems as being confined to harmonic Gibbs energy-wells has been developed. Within the assumptions of this model the Gibbs energy functions of the denatured (DSE) and the native state (NSE) ensembles are described by parabolas, with the mean length of the reaction coordinate (RC) being given by the temperature-invariant denaturant m value. Consequently, the ensemble-averaged position of the transition state ensemble (TSE) along the RC, and the ensemble-averaged Gibbs energy of the TSE are determined by the intersection of the DSE and the NSE-parabolas. The equations derived enable equilibrium stability and the rate constants to be rationalized in terms of the mean and the variance of the Gaussian distribution of the solvent accessible surface area of the conformers in the DSE and the NSE. The implications of this model for protein folding are discussed.

scholarly journals Thermodynamics of DNA: heat capacity changes on duplex unfolding

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 773-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anatoliy Dragan ◽  
Peter Privalov ◽  
Colyn Crane-Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Heat Capacity ◽  
Accessible Surface Area ◽  
Solvent Accessible Surface Area ◽  
Polar Component ◽  
Heat Capacity Change ◽  
Dna Duplex ◽  
Capacity Change ◽  
Heat Capacity Changes ◽  
Accessible Surface ◽  
Lower Magnitude

Abstract The heat capacity change, ΔCp, accompanying the folding/unfolding of macromolecules reflects their changing state of hydration. Thermal denaturation of the DNA duplex is characterized by an increase in ΔCp but of much lower magnitude than observed for proteins. To understand this difference, the changes in solvent accessible surface area (ΔASA) have been determined for unfolding the B-form DNA duplex into disordered single strands. These showed that the polar component represents ~ 55% of the total increase in ASA, in contrast to globular proteins of similar molecular weight for which the polar component is only about 1/3rd of the total. As the exposure of polar surface results in a decrease of ΔCp, this explains the much reduced heat capacity increase observed for DNA and emphasizes the enhanced role of polar interactions in maintaining duplex structure. Appreciation of a non-zero ΔCp for DNA has important consequences for the calculation of duplex melting temperatures (Tm). A modified approach to Tm prediction is required and comparison is made of current methods with an alternative protocol.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document