scholarly journals Capturing the Flexibility of a Protein-Ligand Complex: Binding Free Energies from Different Enhanced Sampling Techniques

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Wingbermühle ◽  
Lars V. Schäfer
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Md Simulations ◽  
Umbrella Sampling ◽  
Replica Exchange ◽  
Sampling Techniques ◽  
Enhanced Sampling ◽  
Ligand Complex ◽  
Mhc I ◽  
Partial Dissociation

Enhanced sampling techniques are a promising approach to obtain reliable binding free energy profiles for flexible protein-ligand complexes from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. To put four popular enhanced sampling techniques to a biologically relevant and challenging test, we studied the partial dissociation of an antigenic peptide from the Major Histocompatibility Complex I (MHC I) HLA-B*35:01 to systematically investigate the performance of Umbrella Sampling (US), Replica Exchange with Solute Tempering 2 (REST2), Bias Exchange Umbrella Sampling (BEUS, or replica-exchange umbrella sampling), and well-tempered Metadynamics (MTD). With regard to the speed of sampling and convergence, the peptide-MHC I complex (pMHC I) under study showcases intrinsic strengths and weaknesses of the four enhanced sampling techniques used. We found that BEUS can handle best the sampling challenges that arise from the coexistence of an enthalpically and an entropically stabilized free energy minimum in the pMHC I under study. These findings might be relevant also for other flexible biomolecular systems with competing enthalpically and entropically stabilized minima.<br>

scholarly journals Capturing the Flexibility of a Protein-Ligand Complex: Binding Free Energies from Different Enhanced Sampling Techniques

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Wingbermühle ◽  
Lars V. Schäfer
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Md Simulations ◽  
Umbrella Sampling ◽  
Replica Exchange ◽  
Sampling Techniques ◽  
Enhanced Sampling ◽  
Ligand Complex ◽  
Mhc I ◽  
Partial Dissociation

Enhanced sampling techniques are a promising approach to obtain reliable binding free energy profiles for flexible protein-ligand complexes from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. To put four popular enhanced sampling techniques to a biologically relevant and challenging test, we studied the partial dissociation of an antigenic peptide from the Major Histocompatibility Complex I (MHC I) HLA-B*35:01 to systematically investigate the performance of Umbrella Sampling (US), Replica Exchange with Solute Tempering 2 (REST2), Bias Exchange Umbrella Sampling (BEUS, or replica-exchange umbrella sampling), and well-tempered Metadynamics (MTD). With regard to the speed of sampling and convergence, the peptide-MHC I complex (pMHC I) under study showcases intrinsic strengths and weaknesses of the four enhanced sampling techniques used. We found that BEUS can handle best the sampling challenges that arise from the coexistence of an enthalpically and an entropically stabilized free energy minimum in the pMHC I under study. These findings might be relevant also for other flexible biomolecular systems with competing enthalpically and entropically stabilized minima.<br>

scholarly journals Capturing the Flexibility of a Protein-Ligand Complex: Binding Free Energies from Different Enhanced Sampling Techniques

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Wingbermühle ◽  
Lars V. Schäfer
Keyword(s):  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Md Simulations ◽  
Umbrella Sampling ◽  
Replica Exchange ◽  
Sampling Techniques ◽  
Enhanced Sampling ◽  
Ligand Complex ◽  
Mhc I ◽  
Flexible Protein ◽  
Partial Dissociation

Enhanced sampling techniques are a promising approach to obtain reliable binding free energy profiles for flexible protein-ligand complexes from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. To put four popular enhanced sampling techniques to a biologically relevant and challenging test, we studied the partial dissociation of an antigenic peptide from the Major Histocompatibility Complex I (MHC I) HLA-B*35:01 to systematically investigate the performance of Umbrella Sampling (US), Replica Exchange with Solute Tempering 2 (REST2), Bias Exchange Umbrella Sampling (BEUS, or replica-exchange umbrella sampling), and well-tempered Metadynamics (MTD). With regard to the speed of sampling and convergence, the peptide-MHC I complex (pMHC I) under study showcases systematic strengths and weaknesses of the four enhanced sampling techniques used, demonstrating that BEUS can handle best the enthalpic and entropic sampling challenges posed by the system. We expect these findings to be relevant also for other flexible protein-ligand complexes with competing enthalpically and entropically stabilized minima.<br>

Capturing the Flexibility of a Protein-Ligand Complex with Enhanced Sampling Techniques: Binding Free Energies from Umbrella Sampling, REST2, and Bias Exchange

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Wingbermühle ◽  
Lars V. Schäfer
Keyword(s):  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Statistical Error ◽  
Umbrella Sampling ◽  
Potential Of Mean Force ◽  
Sampling Techniques ◽  
Enhanced Sampling ◽  
Ligand Complex ◽  
Mhc I ◽  
Binding Groove

The performance of the three popular enhanced sampling techniques Umbrella Sampling (US), Replica Exchange with Solute Tempering 2 (REST2), and Bias Exchange (BE) is tested on Major Histocompatibility Complex I (MHC I) binding an antigenic peptide. The configurational flexibility of peptide-MHC I complexes (pMHC I) is key to their immunological function and must therefore be captured thoroughly by the sampling techniques used to yield accurate thermodynamics of pMHC I. Here, we calculate the Potential of Mean Force (PMF) for the dissociation of the peptide N-terminus from the MHC I binding groove. We carefully analyze the statistical error of the resulting PMF and the sampling of the orthogonal degrees of freedom to assess how well the three sampling techniques used can handle large-scale configurational flexibility.<br>

scholarly journals A replica exchange umbrella sampling (REUS) approach to predict host–guest binding free energies in SAMPL8 challenge

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahdi Ghorbani ◽  
Phillip S. Hudson ◽  
Michael R. Jones ◽  
Félix Aviat ◽  
Rubén Meana-Pañeda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Umbrella Sampling ◽  
Free Energy Calculations ◽  
Replica Exchange ◽  
Free Energies ◽  
Guest Binding ◽  
Binding Free Energy Calculations ◽  
Force Field Parameters ◽  
Binding Free Energies

AbstractIn this study, we report binding free energy calculations of various drugs-of-abuse to Cucurbit-[8]-uril as part of the SAMPL8 blind challenge. Force-field parameters were obtained from force-matching with different quantum mechanical levels of theory. The Replica Exchange Umbrella Sampling (REUS) approach was used with a cylindrical restraint to enhance the sampling of host–guest binding. Binding free energy was calculated by pulling the guest molecule from one side of the symmetric and cylindrical host, then into and through the host, and out the other side (bidirectional) as compared to pulling only to the bound pose inside the cylindrical host (unidirectional). The initial results with force-matched MP2 parameter set led to RMSE of 4.68 $${\text{kcal}}/{\text{mol}}$$ kcal / mol from experimental values. However, the follow-up study with CHARMM generalized force field parameters and force-matched PM6-D3H4 parameters resulted in RMSEs from experiment of $$2.65$$ 2.65 and $$1.72 {\text{kcal}}/{\text{mol}}$$ 1.72 kcal / mol , respectively, which demonstrates the potential of REUS for accurate binding free energy calculation given a more suitable description of energetics. Moreover, we compared the free energies for the so called bidirectional and unidirectional free energy approach and found that the binding free energies were highly similar. However, one issue in the bidirectional approach is the asymmetry of profile on the two sides of the host. This is mainly due to the insufficient sampling for these larger systems and can be avoided by longer sampling simulations. Overall REUS shows great promise for binding free energy calculations.

scholarly journals Investigation of Molecular Details of Keap1-Nrf2 Inhibitors Using Molecular Dynamics and Umbrella Sampling Techniques

Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (22) ◽  
pp. 4085 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashwini Machhindra Londhe ◽  
Changdev Gorakshnath Gadhe ◽  
Sang Min Lim ◽  
Ae Nim Pae
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Free Energy ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Md Simulations ◽  
Binding Pocket ◽  
Umbrella Sampling ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Protein Protein Interaction ◽  
Kelch Domain ◽  
Insight Into

In this study, we investigate the atomistic details of Keap1-Nrf2 inhibitors by in-depth modeling techniques, including molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and the path-based free energy method of umbrella sampling (US). The protein–protein interaction (PPI) of Keap1-Nrf2 is implicated in several neurodegenerative diseases like cancer, diabetes, and cardiomyopathy. A better understanding of the five sub-pocket binding sites for Nrf2 (ETGE and DLG motifs) inside the Kelch domain would expedite the inhibitor design process. We selected four protein–ligand complexes with distinct co-crystal ligands and binding occupancies inside the Nrf2 binding site. We performed 100 ns of MD simulation for each complex and analyzed the trajectories. From the results, it is evident that one ligand (1VV) has flipped inside the binding pocket, whereas the remaining three were stable. We found that Coulombic (Arg483, Arg415, Ser363, Ser508, and Ser602) and Lennard–Jones (Tyr525, Tyr334, and Tyr572) interactions played a significant role in complex stability. The obtained binding free energy values from US simulations were consistent with the potencies of simulated ligands. US simulation highlight the importance of basic and aromatic residues in the binding pocket. A detailed description of the dissociation process brings valuable insight into the interaction of the four selected protein–ligand complexes, which could help in the future to design more potent PPI inhibitors.

scholarly journals Binding free energy decomposition and multiple unbinding paths of buried ligands in a PreQ1 riboswitch

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. e1009603
Author(s):  
Guodong Hu ◽  
Huan-Xiang Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Hydrogen Bonding ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Md Simulations ◽  
Binding Pocket ◽  
Bound State ◽  
Enhanced Sampling ◽  
Bacterial Gene ◽  
Bacterial Gene Expression ◽  
Free Energy Decomposition

Riboswitches are naturally occurring RNA elements that control bacterial gene expression by binding to specific small molecules. They serve as important models for RNA-small molecule recognition and have also become a novel class of targets for developing antibiotics. Here, we carried out conventional and enhanced-sampling molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, totaling 153.5 μs, to characterize the determinants of binding free energies and unbinding paths for the cognate and synthetic ligands of a PreQ1 riboswitch. Binding free energy analysis showed that two triplets of nucleotides U6-C15-A29 and G5-G11-C16, contribute the most to the binding of the cognate ligands, by hydrogen bonding and by base stacking, respectively. Mg2+ ions are essential in stabilizing the binding pocket. For the synthetic ligands, the hydrogen-bonding contributions of the U6-C15-A29 triplet are significantly compromised, and the bound state resembles the apo state in several respects, including the disengagement of the C15-A14-A13 and A32-G33 base stacks. The bulkier synthetic ligands lead to significantly loosening of the binding pocket, including extrusion of the C15 nucleobase and a widening of the C15-C30 groove. Enhanced-sampling simulations further revealed that the cognate and synthetic ligands unbind in almost opposite directions. Our work offers new insight for designing riboswitch ligands.

scholarly journals Identification of rare Lewis oligosaccharide conformers in aqueous solution using enhanced sampling molecular dynamics

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irfan Alibay ◽  
Kepa K. Burusco ◽  
Neil J. Bruce ◽  
Richard A. Bryce
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Aqueous Solution ◽  
Md Simulations ◽  
Umbrella Sampling ◽  
Biological Action ◽  
Sialyl Lewis X ◽  
Enhanced Sampling ◽  
Sialyl Lewis ◽  
Aqueous Solvent ◽  
A Minor

<p>Determining the conformations accessible to carbohydrate ligands in aqueous solution is important for understanding their biological action. In this work, we evaluate the conformational free energy surfaces of Lewis oligosaccharides in explicit aqueous solvent using a multidimensional variant of the swarm-enhanced sampling molecular dynamics (msesMD) method; we compare with multi-microsecond unbiased MD simulations, umbrella sampling and accelerated MD approaches. For the sialyl Lewis A tetrasaccharide, msesMD simulations in aqueous solution predict conformer landscapes in general agreement with the other biased methods and with triplicate unbiased 10 ms trajectories; these simulations find a predominance of closed conformer and a range of low occupancy open forms. The msesMD simulations also suggest closed-to-open transitions in the tetrasaccharide are facilitated by changes in ring puckering of its GlcNAc residue away from the <sup>4</sup>C<sub>1</sub> form, in line with previous work. For sialyl Lewis X tetrasaccharide, msesMD simulations predict a minor population of an open form in solution, corresponding to a rare lectin-bound pose observed crystallographically. Overall, from comparison with biased MD calculations, we find that triplicate 10 ms unbiased MD simulations may not be enough to fully sample glycan conformations in aqueous solution. However, the computational efficiency and intuitive approach of the msesMD method suggest potential for its application in glycomics as a tool for analysis of oligosaccharide conformation.</p>

Estimation of the ligand-binding free energy of checkpoint kinase 1 via non-equilibrium MD simulations

2020 ◽  
Vol 100 ◽  
pp. 107648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Thi Mai ◽  
Ngo Thi Lan ◽  
Thien Y Vu ◽  
Phuong Thi Mai Duong ◽  
Nguyen Thanh Tung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Ligand Binding ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Md Simulations ◽  
Checkpoint Kinase ◽  
Checkpoint Kinase 1 ◽  
Non Equilibrium

The application of the MM/GBSA method in the binding pose prediction of FGFR inhibitors

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (17) ◽  
pp. 9656-9663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Chen ◽  
Yongxiang Zheng ◽  
Pedro Fong ◽  
Shengjun Mao ◽  
Qiantao Wang
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Md Simulations ◽  
Pose Prediction

The correct conformation had lower MM/GBSA binding free energy in longer MD simulations for each FGFR1 inhibitor.

scholarly journals Rapid, accurate, precise and reproducible ligand–protein binding free energy prediction

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 20200007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shunzhou Wan ◽  
Agastya P. Bhati ◽  
Stefan J. Zasada ◽  
Peter V. Coveney
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Free Energy Calculations ◽  
Enhanced Sampling ◽  
Energy Prediction ◽  
Massive Scale ◽  
Chaotic Nature ◽  
High Level

A central quantity of interest in molecular biology and medicine is the free energy of binding of a molecule to a target biomacromolecule. Until recently, the accurate prediction of binding affinity had been widely regarded as out of reach of theoretical methods owing to the lack of reproducibility of the available methods, not to mention their complexity, computational cost and time-consuming procedures. The lack of reproducibility stems primarily from the chaotic nature of classical molecular dynamics (MD) and the associated extreme sensitivity of trajectories to their initial conditions. Here, we review computational approaches for both relative and absolute binding free energy calculations, and illustrate their application to a diverse set of ligands bound to a range of proteins with immediate relevance in a number of medical domains. We focus on ensemble-based methods which are essential in order to compute statistically robust results, including two we have recently developed, namely thermodynamic integration with enhanced sampling and enhanced sampling of MD with an approximation of continuum solvent. Together, these form a set of rapid, accurate, precise and reproducible free energy methods. They can be used in real-world problems such as hit-to-lead and lead optimization stages in drug discovery, and in personalized medicine. These applications show that individual binding affinities equipped with uncertainty quantification may be computed in a few hours on a massive scale given access to suitable high-end computing resources and workflow automation. A high level of accuracy can be achieved using these approaches.

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