scholarly journals Optimizing Gō-MARTINI Coarse-Grained Model for F-BAR Protein on Lipid Membrane

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Iqbal Mahmood ◽  
Adolfo B. Poma ◽  
Kei-ichi Okazaki
Keyword(s):  
Structural Changes ◽  
Lipid Membrane ◽  
Interaction Strength ◽  
Md Simulations ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Lateral Interaction ◽  
Attractive Alternative ◽  
Elastic Network Model ◽  
Coarse Grained Model ◽  
Definition Of

Coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations allow us to access much larger length and time scales than atomistic MD simulations, providing an attractive alternative to the conventional simulations. Based on the well-known MARTINI CG force field, the recently developed Gō-MARTINI model for proteins describes large-amplitude structural dynamics, which has not been possible with the commonly used elastic network model. Using the Gō-MARTINI model, we conduct MD simulations of the F-BAR Pacsin1 protein on lipid membrane. We observe that structural changes of the non-globular protein are largely dependent on the definition of the native contacts in the Gō model. To address this issue, we introduced a simple cutoff scheme and tuned the cutoff distance of the native contacts and the interaction strength of the Lennard-Jones potentials in the Gō-MARTINI model. With the optimized Gō-MARTINI model, we show that it reproduces structural fluctuations of the Pacsin1 dimer from atomistic simulations. We also show that two Pacsin1 dimers properly assemble through lateral interaction on the lipid membrane. Our work presents a first step towards describing membrane remodeling processes in the Gō-MARTINI CG framework by simulating a crucial step of protein assembly on the membrane.

A Finite Element-Based Coarse-Grained Model for Cell–Nanomaterial Interactions by Combining Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formula and Brownian Dynamics

2020 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teng Ma ◽  
Yuanpeng Liu ◽  
Guochang Lin ◽  
Changguo Wang ◽  
Huifeng Tan
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Brownian Dynamics ◽  
Lipid Membrane ◽  
Contact Region ◽  
Detection Algorithm ◽  
Polymer Chains ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Absolute Nodal Coordinate ◽  
Coarse Grained Model ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

Abstract A fundamental understanding of the interactions between one-dimensional nanomaterials and the cell membrane is of great importance for assessing the hazardous effects of viruses and improving the performance of drug delivery. Here, we propose a finite element-based coarse-grained model to describe the cell entry of nanomaterials based on an absolute nodal coordinate formula and Brownian dynamics. The interactions between nanoparticles and lipid membrane are described by the Lennard–Jones potential, and a contact detection algorithm is used to determine the contact region. Compared with the theoretical and published experimental results, the correctness of the model has been verified. We take two examples to test the robustness of the model: the endocytosis of nanorods grafted with polymer chains and simultaneous entry of multiple nanorods into a lipid membrane. It shows that the model can not only capture the effect of ligand–receptor binding on the penetration but also accurately characterize the cooperative or separate entry of multiple nanorods. This coarse-grained model is computationally highly efficient and will be powerful in combination with molecular dynamics simulations to provide an understanding of cell–nanomaterial interactions.

scholarly journals Physical mechanisms of amyloid nucleation on fluid membranes

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (52) ◽  
pp. 33090-33098
Author(s):  
Johannes Krausser ◽  
Tuomas P. J. Knowles ◽  
Anđela Šarić
Keyword(s):  
Lipid Membranes ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Amyloid Fibrils ◽  
Lipid Membrane ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Coarse Grained Model ◽  
Physical Mechanisms ◽  
Fluid Membranes ◽  
Protein Membrane ◽  
Protein Rich

Biological membranes can dramatically accelerate the aggregation of normally soluble protein molecules into amyloid fibrils and alter the fibril morphologies, yet the molecular mechanisms through which this accelerated nucleation takes place are not yet understood. Here, we develop a coarse-grained model to systematically explore the effect that the structural properties of the lipid membrane and the nature of protein–membrane interactions have on the nucleation rates of amyloid fibrils. We identify two physically distinct nucleation pathways—protein-rich and lipid-rich—and quantify how the membrane fluidity and protein–membrane affinity control the relative importance of those molecular pathways. We find that the membrane’s susceptibility to reshaping and being incorporated into the fibrillar aggregates is a key determinant of its ability to promote protein aggregation. We then characterize the rates and the free-energy profile associated with this heterogeneous nucleation process, in which the surface itself participates in the aggregate structure. Finally, we compare quantitatively our data to experiments on membrane-catalyzed amyloid aggregation of α-synuclein, a protein implicated in Parkinson’s disease that predominately nucleates on membranes. More generally, our results provide a framework for understanding macromolecular aggregation on lipid membranes in a broad biological and biotechnological context.

scholarly journals A Coarse Grained Model for a Lipid Membrane with Physiological Composition and Leaflet Asymmetry

PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. e0144814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satyan Sharma ◽  
Brian N. Kim ◽  
Phillip J. Stansfeld ◽  
Mark S. P. Sansom ◽  
Manfred Lindau
Keyword(s):  
Lipid Membrane ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Coarse Grained Model

scholarly journals Importance of Interface in the Coarse-Grained Model of CNT /Epoxy Nanocomposites

Nanomaterials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ke Duan ◽  
Li Li ◽  
Fei Wang ◽  
Weishuang Meng ◽  
Yujin Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polymer Nanocomposites ◽  
Cohesive Energy ◽  
Load Transfer ◽  
Interaction Strength ◽  
Coarse Graining ◽  
Thermomechanical Properties ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Strength Parameter ◽  
Coarse Grained Model ◽  
Transfer Behavior

Interface interactions play a crucial role in determining the thermomechanical properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/polymer nanocomposites. They are, however, poorly treated in the current multi-scale coarse-grained (CG) models. To develop suitable CG models of CNTs/polymer nanocomposites, we demonstrate the importance of two aspects for the first time, that is, preserving the interfacial cohesive energy and reproducing the interface load transfer behavior of all-atomistic (AA) systems. Our simulation results indicate that, for CNTs/polymer nanocomposites, the interface cohesive energy and the interface load transfer of CG models are generally inconsistent with their AA counterparts, revealing significant deviations in their predicted mechanical properties. Fortunately, such inconsistency can be “corrected” by phenomenologically adjusting the cohesive interaction strength parameter of the interface LJ potentials in conjunction with choosing a reasonable degree of coarse-graining of incorporated CNTs. We believe that the problem studied here is general for the development of the CG models of nanocomposites, and the proposed strategy used in present work may be applied to polymer nanocomposites reinforced by other nanofillers.

scholarly journals Coupling all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of ions in water with Brownian dynamics

2016 ◽  
Vol 472 (2186) ◽  
pp. 20150556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radek Erban
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Differential Equations ◽  
Aqueous Solutions ◽  
Molecular Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Brownian Dynamics ◽  
Md Simulations ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Computational Domain ◽  
Coarse Grained Model ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of ions (K + , Na + , Ca 2+ and Cl − ) in aqueous solutions are investigated. Water is described using the SPC/E model. A stochastic coarse-grained description for ion behaviour is presented and parametrized using MD simulations. It is given as a system of coupled stochastic and ordinary differential equations, describing the ion position, velocity and acceleration. The stochastic coarse-grained model provides an intermediate description between all-atom MD simulations and Brownian dynamics (BD) models. It is used to develop a multiscale method which uses all-atom MD simulations in parts of the computational domain and (less detailed) BD simulations in the remainder of the domain.

scholarly journals Elucidating the Mechanical Energy for Cyclization of a DNA Origami Tile

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2357
Author(s):  
Ruixin Li ◽  
Haorong Chen ◽  
Hyeongwoon Lee ◽  
Jong Hyun Choi
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Mechanical Energy ◽  
Single Layer ◽  
Md Simulations ◽  
Dna Origami ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Initial Curvature ◽  
Coarse Grained Model ◽  
Reconfigurable Structures ◽  
Computational Platform

DNA origami has emerged as a versatile method to synthesize nanostructures with high precision. This bottom-up self-assembly approach can produce not only complex static architectures, but also dynamic reconfigurable structures with tunable properties. While DNA origami has been explored increasingly for diverse applications, such as biomedical and biophysical tools, related mechanics are also under active investigation. Here we studied the structural properties of DNA origami and investigated the energy needed to deform the DNA structures. We used a single-layer rectangular DNA origami tile as a model system and studied its cyclization process. This origami tile was designed with an inherent twist by placing crossovers every 16 base-pairs (bp), corresponding to a helical pitch of 10.67 bp/turn, which is slightly different from that of native B-form DNA (~10.5 bp/turn). We used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations based on a coarse-grained model on an open-source computational platform, oxDNA. We calculated the energies needed to overcome the initial curvature and induce mechanical deformation by applying linear spring forces. We found that the initial curvature may be overcome gradually during cyclization and a total of ~33.1 kcal/mol is required to complete the deformation. These results provide insights into the DNA origami mechanics and should be useful for diverse applications such as adaptive reconfiguration and energy absorption.

scholarly journals Elucidating the Mechanical Energy for Cyclization of a DNA Origami Tile

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruixin Li ◽  
Haorong Chen ◽  
Hyeongwoon Lee ◽  
Jong Hyun Choi
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Mechanical Energy ◽  
Single Layer ◽  
Md Simulations ◽  
Dna Origami ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Initial Curvature ◽  
Coarse Grained Model ◽  
Reconfigurable Structures ◽  
Computational Platform

ABSTRACTDNA origami has emerged as a versatile method to synthesize nanostructures with high precision. This bottom-up self-assembly approach can produce not only complex static architectures, but also dynamic reconfigurable structures with tunable properties. While DNA origami has been explored increasingly for diverse applications such as biomedical and biophysical tools, related mechanics are also under active investigation. Here we studied the structural properties of DNA origami and investigated the energy needed to deform the DNA structures. We used a single-layer rectangular DNA origami tile as a model system and studied its cyclization process. This origami tile was designed with an inherent twist by placing crossovers every 16 base-pairs (bp), corresponding to a helical pitch of 10.67 bp/turn which is slightly different from that of native B-form DNA (10.5 bp/turn). We used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations based on a coarse-grained model on an open-source computational platform, oxDNA. We calculated the energies needed to overcome the initial curvature and induce mechanical deformation by applying linear spring forces. We found that the initial curvature may be overcome gradually during cyclization and a total of ~33.1 kcal/mol is required to complete the deformation. These results provide insights into the DNA origami mechanics and should be useful for diverse applications such as adaptive reconfiguration and energy absorption.

scholarly journals Curvature induction and sensing of the F-BAR protein Pacsin1 on lipid membranes via molecular dynamics simulations

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Iqbal Mahmood ◽  
Hiroshi Noguchi ◽  
Kei-ichi Okazaki
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Molecular Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Lipid Membranes ◽  
Lipid Membrane ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
Membrane Curvature ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Lateral Interaction ◽  
Bar Domain ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

Abstract F-Bin/Amphiphysin/Rvs (F-BAR) domain proteins play essential roles in biological processes that involve membrane remodelling, such as endocytosis and exocytosis. It has been shown that such proteins transform the lipid membrane into tubes. Notably, Pacsin1 from the Pacsin/Syndapin subfamily has the ability to transform the membrane into various morphologies: striated tubes, featureless wide and thin tubes, and pearling vesicles. The molecular mechanism of this interesting ability remains elusive. In this study, we performed all-atom (AA) and coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the curvature induction and sensing mechanisms of Pacsin1 on a membrane. From AA simulations, we show that Pacsin1 has internal structural flexibility. In CG simulations with parameters tuned from the AA simulations, spontaneous assembly of two Pacsin1 dimers through lateral interaction is observed. Based on the complex structure, we show that the regularly assembled Pacsin1 dimers bend a tensionless membrane. We also show that a single Pacsin1 dimer senses the membrane curvature, binding to a buckled membrane with a preferred curvature. These results provide molecular insights into polymorphic membrane remodelling.

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