scholarly journals Native proteins trap high-energy transit conformations

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (9) ◽  
pp. e1501188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew E. Brereton ◽  
P. Andrew Karplus
Keyword(s):  
Protein Folding ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Protein Function ◽  
Protein Structures ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Native Proteins ◽  
Regulate Protein ◽  
The Right ◽  
And Function ◽  
Open Question

During protein folding and as part of some conformational changes that regulate protein function, the polypeptide chain must traverse high-energy barriers that separate the commonly adopted low-energy conformations. How distortions in peptide geometry allow these barrier-crossing transitions is a fundamental open question. One such important transition involves the movement of a non-glycine residue between the left side of the Ramachandran plot (that is, ϕ < 0°) and the right side (that is, ϕ > 0°). We report that high-energy conformations with ϕ ~ 0°, normally expected to occur only as fleeting transition states, are stably trapped in certain highly resolved native protein structures and that an analysis of these residues provides a detailed, experimentally derived map of the bond angle distortions taking place along the transition path. This unanticipated information lays to rest any uncertainty about whether such transitions are possible and how they occur, and in doing so lays a firm foundation for theoretical studies to better understand the transitions between basins that have been little studied but are integrally involved in protein folding and function. Also, the context of one such residue shows that even a designed highly stable protein can harbor substantial unfavorable interactions.

scholarly journals CoRINs: A tool to compare residue interaction networks from homologous proteins and conformers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe V. da Fonseca ◽  
Romildo O. Souza Júnior ◽  
Marília V. A. de Almeida ◽  
Thiago D. Soares ◽  
Diego A. A. Morais ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Structure ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Protein Function ◽  
Protein Structures ◽  
Software Tool ◽  
Interaction Networks ◽  
Homologous Proteins ◽  
Residue Interaction ◽  
And Function

ABSTRACTMotivationA useful approach to evaluate protein structure and quickly visualize crucial physicochemical interactions related to protein function is to construct Residue Interactions Networks (RINs). By using this application of graphs theory, the amino acid residues constitute the nodes, and the edges represent their interactions with other structural elements. Although several tools that construct RINs are available, many of them do not compare RINs from distinct protein structures. This comparison can give valuable insights into the understanding of conformational changes and the effects of amino acid substitutions in protein structure and function. With that in mind, we present CoRINs (Comparator of Residue Interaction Networks), a software tool that extensively compares RINs. The program has an accessible and user-friendly web interface, which summarizes the differences in several network parameters using interactive plots and tables. As a usage example of CoRINs, we compared RINs from conformers of two cancer-associated proteins.AvailabilityThe program is available at https://github.com/LasisUFRN/CoRINs.

T26248G-transversion mutation in exon7 of the putative methyltransferase Nsun7 gene causes a change in protein folding associated with reduced sperm motility in asthenospermic men

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nahid Khosronezhad ◽  
Abasalt Hosseinzadeh Colagar ◽  
Syed Golam Ali Jorsarayi
Keyword(s):  
Protein Folding ◽  
Sperm Motility ◽  
Protein Function ◽  
Direct Sequencing ◽  
Protein Structures ◽  
Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism ◽  
Extraction Methods ◽  
World Health ◽  
Transversion Mutation ◽  
Health Organization

The NOP2/Sun domain family, member 7 (Nsun7) gene, which encodes putative methyltransferase Nsun7, has a role in sperm motility in mice. In humans, this gene is located on chromosome 4 with 12 exons. The aim of the present study was to investigate mutations of exon 7 in the normospermic and asthenospermic men. Semen samples were collected from the Fatemezahra IVF centre (Babol, Iran) and analysed on the basis of World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines using general phenol–chloroform DNA extraction methods. Exon 7 was amplified using Sun7-F and Sun7-R primers. Bands on samples from asthenospermic men that exhibited different patterns of movement on single-strand conformation polymorphism gels compared with normal samples were identified and subjected to sequencing for further identification of possible mutations. Direct sequencing of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products, along with their analysis, confirmed C26232T-transition and T26248G-transversion mutations in asthenospermic men. Comparison of normal and mutant protein structures of Nsun7 indicated that the amino acid serine was converted to alanine, the structure of the helix, coil and strand was changed, and the protein folding and ligand binding sites were changed in samples from asthenospermic men with a transversion mutation in exon 7, indicating impairment of protein function. Because Nsun7 gene products have a role in sperm motility, if an impairment occurs in exon 7 of this gene, it may lead to infertility. The transversion mutation in exon 7 of the Nsun7 gene can be used as an infertility marker in asthenospermic men.

scholarly journals Simplified geometric representations of protein structures identify complementary interaction interfaces

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlyn L. McCafferty ◽  
Edward M. Marcotte ◽  
David W. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Protein Interaction ◽  
Protein Function ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Predictive Accuracy ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Protein Structures ◽  
Molecular Properties ◽  
3D Structures ◽  
Geometric Representations

ABSTRACTProtein-protein interactions are critical to protein function, but three-dimensional (3D) arrangements of interacting proteins have proven hard to predict, even given the identities and 3D structures of the interacting partners. Specifically, identifying the relevant pairwise interaction surfaces remains difficult, often relying on shape complementarity with molecular docking while accounting for molecular motions to optimize rigid 3D translations and rotations. However, such approaches can be computationally expensive, and faster, less accurate approximations may prove useful for large-scale prediction and assembly of 3D structures of multi-protein complexes. We asked if a reduced representation of protein geometry retains enough information about molecular properties to predict pairwise protein interaction interfaces that are tolerant of limited structural rearrangements. Here, we describe a cuboid transformation of 3D protein accessible surfaces on which molecular properties such as charge, hydrophobicity, and mutation rate can be easily mapped, implemented in the MorphProt package. Pairs of surfaces are compared to rapidly assess partner-specific potential surface complementarity. On two available benchmarks of 85 overall known protein complexes, we observed F1 scores (a weighted combination of precision and recall) of 19-34% at correctly identifying protein interaction surfaces, comparable to more computationally intensive 3D docking methods in the annual Critical Assessment of PRedicted Interactions. Furthermore, we examined the effect of molecular motion through normal mode simulation on a benchmark receptor-ligand pair and observed no marked loss of predictive accuracy for distortions of up to 6 Å RMSD. Thus, a cuboid transformation of protein surfaces retains considerable information about surface complementarity, offers enhanced speed of comparison relative to more complex geometric representations, and exhibits tolerance to conformational changes.

3. Proteins

2021 ◽  
pp. 34-51
Author(s):  
Mark Lorch
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Protein Folding ◽  
Protein Structure ◽  
Protein Structures ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Vast Array ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Cellular Machinery ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter examines proteins, the dominant proportion of cellular machinery, and the relationship between protein structure and function. The multitude of biological processes needed to keep cells functioning are managed in the organism or cell by a massive cohort of proteins, together known as the proteome. The twenty amino acids that make up the bulk of proteins produce the vast array of protein structures. However, amino acids alone do not provide quite enough chemical variety to complete all of the biochemical activity of a cell, so the chapter also explores post-translation modifications. It finishes by looking as some dynamic aspects of proteins, including enzyme kinetics and the protein folding problem.

scholarly journals A code within the genetic code: codon usage regulates co-translational protein folding

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Liu
Keyword(s):  
Protein Folding ◽  
Codon Usage ◽  
Genetic Code ◽  
Synonymous Codon ◽  
Protein Structures ◽  
Translation Efficiency ◽  
Intrinsically Disordered ◽  
Synonymous Codons ◽  
Eukaryotic Organisms ◽  
And Function

Abstract The genetic code is degenerate, and most amino acids are encoded by two to six synonymous codons. Codon usage bias, the preference for certain synonymous codons, is a universal feature of all genomes examined. Synonymous codon mutations were previously thought to be silent; however, a growing body evidence now shows that codon usage regulates protein structure and gene expression through effects on co-translational protein folding, translation efficiency and accuracy, mRNA stability, and transcription. Codon usage regulates the speed of translation elongation, resulting in non-uniform ribosome decoding rates on mRNAs during translation that is adapted to co-translational protein folding process. Biochemical and genetic evidence demonstrate that codon usage plays an important role in regulating protein folding and function in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Certain protein structural types are more sensitive than others to the effects of codon usage on protein folding, and predicted intrinsically disordered domains are more prone to misfolding caused by codon usage changes than other domain types. Bioinformatic analyses revealed that gene codon usage correlates with different protein structures in diverse organisms, indicating the existence of a codon usage code for co-translational protein folding. This review focuses on recent literature on the role and mechanism of codon usage in regulating translation kinetics and co-translational protein folding.

scholarly journals Functional determinants of protein assembly into homomeric complexes

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Therese Bergendahl ◽  
Joseph A. Marsh
Keyword(s):  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Protein Function ◽  
Quaternary Structure ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Functional Annotations ◽  
Evolutionary Selection ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Different Types ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractApproximately half of proteins with experimentally determined structures can interact with other copies of themselves and assemble into homomeric complexes, the overwhelming majority of which (>96%) are symmetric. Although homomerisation is often assumed to be functionally beneficial and the result of evolutionary selection, there has been little systematic analysis of the relationship between homomer structure and function. Here, utilizing the large numbers of structures and functional annotations now available, we have investigated how proteins that assemble into different types of homomers are associated with different biological functions. We observe that homomers from different symmetry groups are significantly enriched in distinct functions, and can often provide simple physical and geometrical explanations for these associations in regards to substrate recognition or physical environment. One of the strongest associations is the tendency for metabolic enzymes to form dihedral complexes, which we suggest is closely related to allosteric regulation. We provide a physical explanation for why allostery is related to dihedral complexes: it allows for efficient propagation of conformational changes across isologous (i.e. symmetric) interfaces. Overall we demonstrate a clear relationship between protein function and homomer symmetry that has important implications for understanding protein evolution, as well as for predicting protein function and quaternary structure.

scholarly journals Including Functional Annotations and Extending the Collection of Structural Classifications of Protein Loops (ArchDB)

2007 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 117793220700100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoni Hermoso ◽  
Jordi Espadaler ◽  
E Enrique Querol ◽  
Francesc X. Aviles ◽  
Michael J.E. Sternberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Function ◽  
Structure Prediction ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Protein Structures ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Loop Structure ◽  
Biological Databases ◽  
Loop Modeling ◽  
And Function

Loops represent an important part of protein structures. The study of loop is critical for two main reasons: First, loops are often involved in protein function, stability and folding. Second, despite improvements in experimental and computational structure prediction methods, modeling the conformation of loops remains problematic. Here, we present a structural classification of loops, ArchDB, a mine of information with application in both mentioned fields: loop structure prediction and function prediction. ArchDB ( http://sbi.imim.es/archdb ) is a database of classified protein loop motifs. The current database provides four different classification sets tailored for different purposes. ArchDB-40, a loop classification derived from SCOP40, well suited for modeling common loop motifs. Since features relevant to loop structure or function can be more easily determined on well-populated clusters, we have developed ArchDB-95, a loop classification derived from SCOP95. This new classification set shows a ~40% increase in the number of subclasses, and a large 7-fold increase in the number of putative structure/function-related subclasses. We also present ArchDB-EC, a classification of loop motifs from enzymes, and ArchDB-KI, a manually annotated classification of loop motifs from kinases. Information about ligand contacts and PDB sites has been included in all classification sets. Improvements in our classification scheme are described, as well as several new database features, such as the ability to query by conserved annotations, sequence similarity, or uploading 3D coordinates of a protein. The lengths of classified loops range between 0 and 36 residues long. ArchDB offers an exhaustive sampling of loop structures. Functional information about loops and links with related biological databases are also provided. All this information and the possibility to browse/query the database through a web-server outline an useful tool with application in the comparative study of loops, the analysis of loops involved in protein function and to obtain templates for loop modeling.

scholarly journals Protein dynamics and function from solution state NMR spectroscopy

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kovermann ◽  
Per Rogne ◽  
Magnus Wolf-Watz
Keyword(s):  
Nmr Spectroscopy ◽  
Protein Dynamics ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Protein Function ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Energy Landscape Theory ◽  
Nmr Techniques ◽  
Dynamics And Function ◽  
And Function ◽  
Design Experiments

AbstractIt is well-established that dynamics are central to protein function; their importance is implicitly acknowledged in the principles of the Monod, Wyman and Changeux model of binding cooperativity, which was originally proposed in 1965. Nowadays the concept of protein dynamics is formulated in terms of the energy landscape theory, which can be used to understand protein folding and conformational changes in proteins. Because protein dynamics are so important, a key to understanding protein function at the molecular level is to design experiments that allow their quantitative analysis. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is uniquely suited for this purpose because major advances in theory, hardware, and experimental methods have made it possible to characterize protein dynamics at an unprecedented level of detail. Unique features of NMR include the ability to quantify dynamics (i) under equilibrium conditions without external perturbations, (ii) using many probes simultaneously, and (iii) over large time intervals. Here we review NMR techniques for quantifying protein dynamics on fast (ps-ns), slow (μs-ms), and very slow (s-min) time scales. These techniques are discussed with reference to some major discoveries in protein science that have been made possible by NMR spectroscopy.

scholarly journals Predictingβ-Turns in Protein Using Kernel Logistic Regression

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murtada Khalafallah Elbashir ◽  
Yu Sheng ◽  
Jianxin Wang ◽  
FangXiang Wu ◽  
Min Li
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Protein Structures ◽  
Structure Type ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Classification Problems ◽  
Structure Information ◽  
Kernel Logistic Regression ◽  
Scoring Matrices ◽  
The Right ◽  
And Function

Aβ-turn is a secondary protein structure type that plays a significant role in protein configuration and function. On average 25% of amino acids in protein structures are located inβ-turns. It is very important to develope an accurate and efficient method forβ-turns prediction. Most of the current successfulβ-turns prediction methods use support vector machines (SVMs) or neural networks (NNs). The kernel logistic regression (KLR) is a powerful classification technique that has been applied successfully in many classification problems. However, it is often not found inβ-turns classification, mainly because it is computationally expensive. In this paper, we used KLR to obtain sparseβ-turns prediction in short evolution time. Secondary structure information and position-specific scoring matrices (PSSMs) are utilized as input features. We achievedQtotalof 80.7% and MCC of 50% on BT426 dataset. These results show that KLR method with the right algorithm can yield performance equivalent to or even better than NNs and SVMs inβ-turns prediction. In addition, KLR yields probabilistic outcome and has a well-defined extension to multiclass case.

scholarly journals Characterizing Protein Conformational Spaces using Dimensionality Reduction and Algebraic Topology

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arpita Joshi ◽  
Nurit Haspel ◽  
Eduardo Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Dimensionality Reduction ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Algebraic Topology ◽  
Protein Structures ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Feature Reduction ◽  
Conformational Space ◽  
Reduction Methods ◽  
Conformational Spaces ◽  
Effective Dimensionality

Datasets representing the conformational landscapes of protein structures are high dimensional and hence present computational challenges. Efficient and effective dimensionality reduction of these datasets is therefore paramount to our ability to analyze the conformational landscapes of proteins and extract important information regarding protein folding, conformational changes and binding. Representing the structures with fewer attributes that capture the most variance of the data, makes for quicker and precise analysis of these structures. In this work we make use of dimensionality reduction methods for reducing the number of instances and for feature reduction. The reduced dataset that is obtained is then subjected to topological and quantitative analysis. In this step we perform hierarchical clustering to obtain different sets of conformation clusters that may correspond to intermediate structures. The structures represented by these conformations are then analyzed by studying their high dimension topological properties to identify truly distinct conformations and holes in the conformational space that may represent high energy barriers. Our results show that the clusters closely follow known experimental results about intermediate structures, as well as binding and folding events.

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