scholarly journals Cooperative protein allosteric transition mediated by a fluctuating transmission network

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Post ◽  
Benjamin Lickert ◽  
Georg Diez ◽  
Steffen Wolf ◽  
Gerhard Stock
Keyword(s):  
Conformational Transition ◽  
Dynamical Evolution ◽  
Hinge Region ◽  
Type Model ◽  
Transmission Network ◽  
Hydrophobic Core ◽  
Allosteric Transition ◽  
Local Fluctuations ◽  
Cooperative Process ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

Allosteric communication between distant protein sites represents a key mechanism of biomolecular regulation and signal transduction. Compared to other processes such as protein folding, however, the dynamical evolution of allosteric transitions is still not well understood. As example of allosteric coupling between distant protein regions, we consider the global open-closed motion of the two domains of T4 lysozyme, which is triggered by local motions in the hinge region. Combining extensive molecular dynamics simulations with machine learning of contact features, we identify a network of interresidue distances that move in a concerted manner. The cooperative process originates from a cogwheel-like motion of the hydrophobic core in the hinge region, which constitutes a flexible transmission network. Through rigid contacts and the protein backbone, the small local changes of the hydrophobic core are passed on to the distant terminal domains and lead to the emergence of a rare global conformational transition. As in an Ising-type model, the cooperativity of the allosteric transition can be explained via the interaction of local fluctuations.

scholarly journals Folding and Intrinsic Disorder of the Receptor Tyrosine Kinase KIT Insert Domain Seen by Conventional Molecular Dynamics Simulations

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (14) ◽  
pp. 7375
Author(s):  
Julie Ledoux ◽  
Alain Trouvé ◽  
Luba Tchertanov
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Molecular Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Tertiary Structure ◽  
Average Distance ◽  
Intrinsic Disorder ◽  
Accessible Surface Area ◽  
Solvent Accessible Surface Area ◽  
Hydrophobic Core ◽  
Direct Evaluation ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

The kinase insert domain (KID) of RTK KIT is the key recruitment region for downstream signalling proteins. KID, studied by molecular dynamics simulations as a cleaved polypeptide and as a native domain fused to KIT, showed intrinsic disorder represented by a set of heterogeneous conformations. The accurate atomistic models showed that the helical fold of KID is mainly sequence dependent. However, the reduced fold of the native KID suggests that its folding is allosterically controlled by the kinase domain. The tertiary structure of KID represents a compact array of highly variable α- and 310-helices linked by flexible loops playing a principal role in the conformational diversity. The helically folded KID retains a collapsed globule-like shape due to non-covalent interactions associated in a ternary hydrophobic core. The free energy landscapes constructed from first principles—the size, the measure of the average distance between the conformations, the amount of helices and the solvent-accessible surface area—describe the KID disorder through a collection of minima (wells), providing a direct evaluation of conformational ensembles. We found that the cleaved KID simulated with restricted N- and C-ends better reproduces the native KID than the isolated polypeptide. We suggest that a cyclic, generic KID would be best suited for future studies of KID f post-transduction effects.

UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENT LCST LEVELS OF POLY(N-ALKYLACRYLAMIDE)S BY MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS AND QUANTUM MECHANICS CALCULATIONS

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (03) ◽  
pp. 359-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUAN PANG ◽  
HU YANG ◽  
JING MA ◽  
RONGSHI CHENG
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Aqueous Solutions ◽  
Molecular Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Steric Effect ◽  
Conformational Transition ◽  
Methyl Group ◽  
Branched Chain ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Different Levels

Poly(N-alkylacrylamide) is a group of thermo-sensitive polymers that include poly (N-isopropylacrylamide), poly(N-n-propylacrylamide), poly(N-isopropylmethacryl-amide), and so on. The polymers exhibit different levels of lower critical solution temperatures (LCST) in aqueous solutions. In this article, their monomers and oligomers with 10 repeating units are selected, respectively, to demonstrate the cause of different LCST levels of the polymers in aqueous solutions using molecular dynamics simulations and quantum mechanics calculations. The monomers have functional groups of different steric volume that greatly affect the conformational transition of chains and LCST levels of the polymers. A branched chain of N-propyl group in N-isopropylacrylamide and an additional methyl group at α-carbon in N-isopropylmethacrylamide both increase the steric effect, making it more difficult for monomers to draw closer and resulting in higher LCST levels of the polymers. In addition, the simulated results from their corresponding oligomers exhibit the similar trend to those from the monomers.

scholarly journals Inverse design of cholesterol attracting transmembrane helices reveals a paradoxical role of hydrophobic length

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeroen Methorst ◽  
Niek van Hilten ◽  
Herre Jelger Risselada
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Lipid Membranes ◽  
Transmembrane Domain ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Molecular Shape ◽  
Global Optimum ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Hydrophobic Core ◽  
Recognition Motifs ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

The occurrence of linear cholesterol-recognition motifs in alpha-helical transmembrane domains has long been debated. Here, we demonstrate the ability of a genetic algorithm guided by coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations---a method coined evolutionary molecular dynamics (evo-MD)---to directly resolve the sequence which maximally attracts/sorts cholesterol within a single-pass alpha-helical transmembrane domain (TMDs). We illustrate that the evolutionary landscape of cholesterol attraction in membrane proteins is characterized by a sharp, well-defined global optimum. Surprisingly, this optimal solution features an unusual short hydrophobic block, consisting of typically only eight short chain hydrophobic amino acids, surrounded by three successive lysines. Owing to the membrane thickening effect of cholesterol, cholesterol-enriched ordered phases favor TMDs characterized by a long rather than a short hydrophobic length. However, this short hydrophobic pattern evidently offers a pronounced net advantage for the binding of free cholesterol in both coarse-grained and atomistic simulations. Attraction is mediated by the unique ability of cholesterol to snorkel within the hydrophobic core of the membrane and thereby shield deeply located lysines from the unfavorable hydrophobic surrounding. Since this mechanism of attraction is of a thermodynamic nature and is not based on molecular shape specificity, a large diversity of sub-optimal cholesterol attracting sequences can exist. The puzzling sequence variability of proposed linear cholesterol-recognition motifs is thus consistent with sub-optimal, unspecific binding of cholesterol. Importantly, since evo-MD uniquely enables the targeted design of recognition motifs for distinct fluid lipid membranes, we foresee wide applications for evo-MD in the biological and biomedical fields.

scholarly journals First Crystal Structure of Bacterial Oligopeptidase B in an Intermediate State: The Roles of the Hinge Region Modification and Spermine

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1021
Author(s):  
Dmitry E. Petrenko ◽  
Vladimir I. Timofeev ◽  
Vladimir V. Britikov ◽  
Elena V. Britikova ◽  
Sergey Y. Kleymenov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intermediate State ◽  
Conformational Transition ◽  
Dynamic Equilibrium ◽  
Catalytic Triad ◽  
Hinge Region ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Oligopeptidase B ◽  
Ligand Free ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
First Time

Oligopeptidase B (OpB) is a two-domain, trypsin-like serine peptidase belonging to the S9 prolyloligopeptidase (POP) family. Two domains are linked by a hinge region that participates in the transition of the enzyme between two major states—closed and open—in which domains and residues of the catalytic triad are located close to each other and separated, respectively. In this study, we described, for the first time, a structure of OpB from bacteria obtained for an enzyme from Serratia proteomaculans with a modified hinge region (PSPmod). PSPmod was crystallized in a conformation characterized by a disruption of the catalytic triad together with a domain arrangement intermediate between open and closed states found in crystals of ligand-free and inhibitor-bound POP, respectively. Two additional derivatives of PSPmod were crystallized in the same conformation. Neither wild-type PSP nor its corresponding mutated variants were susceptible to crystallization, indicating that the hinge region modification was key in the crystallization process. The second key factor was suggested to be polyamine spermine since all crystals were grown in its presence. The influences of the hinge region modification and spermine on the conformational state of PSP in solution were evaluated by small-angle X-ray scattering. SAXS showed that, in solution, wild-type PSP adopted the open state, spermine caused the conformational transition to the intermediate state, and spermine-free PSPmod contained molecules in the open and intermediate conformations in dynamic equilibrium.

scholarly journals Unsaturated fatty acids augment protein transport via the SecA:SecYEG translocon

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kamel ◽  
Maryna Löwe ◽  
Stephan Schott-Verdugo ◽  
Holger Gohlke ◽  
Alexej Kedrov
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Protein Transport ◽  
Unsaturated Fatty Acids ◽  
Lipid Membrane ◽  
Cell Envelope ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Hydrophobic Core ◽  
Membrane Composition ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

AbstractThe translocon SecYEG forms the primary protein-conducting channel in the cytoplasmic membrane of bacteria, and the associated ATPase SecA provides the energy for the transport of secretory and cell envelope protein precursors. The translocation requires negative charge at the lipid membrane surface, but its dependence on the properties of the membrane hydrophobic core is not known. Here, we demonstrate that SecA:SecYEG-mediated protein transport is immensely stimulated by unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs). Furthermore, UFA-rich tetraoleoyl-cardiolipin, but not bis(palmitoyloleoyl)-cardiolipin, facilitate the translocation via the monomeric translocon. Biophysical analysis and molecular dynamics simulations show that UFAs determine the loosely packed membrane interface, where the N-terminal amphipathic helix of SecA docks. While UFAs do not affect the translocon folding, they promote SecA binding to the membrane, and the effect is enhanced manifold at elevated ionic strength. Tight SecA:lipid interactions convert into the augmented translocation. As bacterial cells actively change their membrane composition in response to their habitat, the modulation of SecA:SecYEG activity via the fatty acids may be crucial for protein secretion over a broad range of environmental conditions.

scholarly journals Dynamic modulation of the lipid translocation groove generates a conductive ion channel in Ca2+-bound nhTMEM16

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
George Khelashvili ◽  
Maria E. Falzone ◽  
Xiaolu Cheng ◽  
Byoung-Cheol Lee ◽  
Alessio Accardi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conformational Transition ◽  
Transmembrane Helix ◽  
Protein Structures ◽  
Transmembrane Proteins ◽  
Interface Residue ◽  
Channel Activity ◽  
Dynamic Modulation ◽  
Ion Translocation ◽  
Interaction Interface ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

Abstract Both lipid and ion translocation by Ca2+-regulated TMEM16 transmembrane proteins utilizes a membrane-exposed hydrophilic groove. Several conformations of the groove are observed in TMEM16 protein structures, but how these conformations form, and what functions they support, remains unknown. From analyses of atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of Ca2+-bound nhTMEM16 we find that the mechanism of a conformational transition of the groove from membrane-exposed to occluded from the membrane involves the repositioning of transmembrane helix 4 (TM4) following its disengagement from a TM3/TM4 interaction interface. Residue L302 is a key element in the hydrophobic TM3/TM4 interaction patch that braces the open-groove conformation, which should be changed by an L302A mutation. The structure of the L302A mutant determined by cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) reveals a partially closed groove that could translocate ions, but not lipids. This is corroborated with functional assays showing severely impaired lipid scrambling, but robust channel activity by L302A.

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