scholarly journals Understanding the Effect of Structural Diversity in WRKY Transcription Factors on DNA Binding Efficiency through Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Biology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Akshay Singh ◽  
Ajay Kumar Sharma ◽  
Nagendra Kumar Singh ◽  
Humira Sonah ◽  
Rupesh Deshmukh ◽  
...  

A precise understanding of the molecular mechanism involved in stress conditions has great importance for crop improvement. Biomolecules, such as WRKY proteins, which are the largest transcription factor family that is widely distributed in higher plants, plays a significant role in plant defense response against various biotic and abiotic stressors. In the present study, an extensive homology-based three-dimensional model construction and subsequent interaction study of WRKY DNA-binding domain (DBD) in CcWRKY1 (Type I), CcWRKY51 (Type II), and CcWRKY70 (Type III) belonging to pigeonpea, a highly tolerant crop species, was performed. Evaluation of the generated protein models was done to check their reliability and accuracy based on the quantitative and qualitative parameters. The final model was subjected to investigate the comparative binding analysis of different types of WRKY–DBD with DNA-W-box (a cis-acting element) by protein–DNA docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The DNA binding specificity with WRKY variants was scrutinized through protein–DNA interaction using the HADDOCK server. The stability, as well as conformational changes of protein–DNA complex, was investigated through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for 100 ns using GROMACS. Additionally, the comparative stability and dynamic behavior of each residue of the WRKY–DBD type were analyzed in terms of root mean square deviation (RMSD), root mean square fluctuation (RMSF)values of the backbone atoms for each frame taking the minimized structure as a reference. The details of DNA binding activity of three different types of WRKY–DBD provided here will be helpful to better understand the regulation of WRKY gene family members in plants.

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1070
Author(s):  
Muhammad Arba ◽  
Malindo Sufriadin ◽  
Daryono Hadi Tjahjono

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase δ (PI3Kδ) is a validated drug target for the treatment of cancer. The present study aims to search for new inhibitors of PI3Kδ by employing pharmacophore modelling using LigandScout Advanced 4.3 software. The three hydrogen bond acceptors and two hydrophobic features were proposed as a pharmacophore model using LASW1976 structure. The model was then validated using the Area Under Curve (AUC) of Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) and GH score. It was used to screen new molecules in the ZINC database, which resulted in 599 hits. All 599 hits were then docked into PI3Kδ protein, and five best hits were submitted to 50 ns molecular dynamics simulations. Each hit complexed with PI3Kδ underwent minor conformational changes as indicated by the values of Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) and Root Mean Square Fluctuation (RMSF). Furthermore, prediction of the binding free energy using Molecular Mechanics-Poisson Boltzmann Surface Area (MM-PBSA) method showed that five hits, i.e., Lig25/ZINC253496376, Lig682/ZINC98047241, Lig449/ZINC85878047, Lig554/ZINC253389510, and Lig199/ZINC12638303, had lower binding energy compared to LASW1976. This result indicated their potentials as new inhibitors of PI3Kδ.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 7239-7248

The novel coronavirus, recognized as COVID-19, is the cause of an infection outbreak in December 2019. The effect of temperature and pH changes on the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 were investigated using all-atom molecular dynamics simulation. The obtained results from the root mean square deviation (RMSD) and root mean square fluctuations (RMSF) analyses showed that at a constant temperature of 25℃ and pH=5, the conformational change of the main protease is more significant than that of pH=6 and 7. Also, by increasing temperature from 25℃ to 55℃ at constant pH=7, a remarkable change in protein structure was observed. The radial probability of water molecules around the main protease was decreased by increasing temperature and decreasing pH. The weakening of the binding energy between the main protease and water molecules due to the increasing temperature and decreasing pH has reduced the number of hydrogen bonds between the main protease and water molecules. Finding conditions that alter the conformation of the main protease could be fundamental because this change could affect the virus’s functionality and its ability to impose illness.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiguo Chen ◽  
Yi Fu ◽  
Wenbo Xu ◽  
Ming Li

Bacillus amyloliquefaciensribonuclease Barnase (RNase Ba) is a 12 kD (kilodalton) small extracellular ribonuclease. It has broad application prospects in agriculture, clinical medicine, pharmaceutical, and so forth. In this work, the thermal stability of Barnase has been studied using molecular dynamics simulation at different temperatures. The present study focuses on the contribution of noncovalent intramolecular interaction to protein stability and how they affect the thermal stability of the enzyme. Profiles of root mean square deviation and root mean square fluctuation identify thermostable and thermosensitive regions of Barnase. Analyses of trajectories in terms of secondary structure content, intramolecular hydrogen bonds and salt bridge interactions indicate distinct differences in different temperature simulations. In the simulations, Four three-member salt bridge networks (Asp8-Arg110-Asp12, Arg83-Asp75-Arg87, Lys66-Asp93-Arg69, and Asp54-Lys27-Glu73) have been identified as critical salt bridges for thermostability which are maintained stably at higher temperature enhancing stability of three hydrophobic cores. The study may help enlighten our knowledge of protein structural properties, noncovalent interactions which can stabilize secondary peptide structures or promote folding, and also help understand their actions better. Such an understanding is required for designing efficient enzymes with characteristics for particular applications at desired working temperatures.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazanin Pirooznia ◽  
Sadegh Hasannia ◽  
Majid Taghdir ◽  
Fatemeh Rahbarizadeh ◽  
Morteza Eskandani

Adaptive cell immunotherapy with the use of chimeric receptors leads to the best and most specific response against tumors. Chimeric receptors consist of a signaling fragment, extracellular spacer, costimulating domain, and an antibody. Antibodies cause immunogenicity; therefore, VHH is a good replacement for ScFv in chimeric receptors. Since peptide sequences have an influence on chimeric receptors, the effect of peptide domains on each other's conformation were investigated. CD3Zeta, CD28, VHH and CD8α, and FcgIIα are used as signaling moieties, costimulating domain, antibody, and spacers, respectively. To investigate the influence of the ligation of spacers on the conformational structure of VHH, models of VHH were constructed. Molecular dynamics simulation was run to study the influence of the presence of spacers on the conformational changes in the binding sites of VHH. Root mean square deviation and root mean square fluctuation of critical segments in the binding site showed no noticeable differences with those in the native VHH. Results from molecular docking revealed that the presence of spacer FcgIIα causes an increasing effect on VHH with MUC1 interaction. Each of the constructs was transformed into the Jurkat E6.1. Expression analysis and evaluation of their functions were examined. The results showed good expression and function.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan-Ping Pang

ABSTRACTPredicting crystallographic B-factors of a protein from a conventional molecular dynamics simulation is challenging in part because the B-factors calculated through sampling the atomic positional fluctuations in a picosecond molecular dynamics simulation are unreliable and the sampling of a longer simulation yields overly large root mean square deviations between calculated and experimental B-factors. This article reports improved B-factor prediction achieved by sampling the atomic positional fluctuations in multiple picosecond molecular dynamics simulations that use uniformly increased atomic masses by 100-fold to increase time resolution. Using the third immunoglobulin-binding domain of protein G, bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor, ubiquitin, and lysozyme as model systems, the B-factor root mean square deviations (mean ± standard error) of these proteins were 3.1 ± 0.2–9 ± 1 Å2for Cα and 7.3 ± 0.9–9.6 ± 0.2 Å2for Cγ, when the sampling was done, for each of these proteins, over 20 distinct, independent, and 50-picosecond high-mass molecular dynamics simulations using AMBER forcefield FF12MC or FF14SB. These results suggest that sampling the atomic positional fluctuations in multiple picosecond high-mass molecular dynamics simulations may be conducive toa prioriprediction of crystallographic B-factors of a folded globular protein.


2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Mahfuz Ali Khan Shawan ◽  
Sajal Kumar Halder ◽  
Md. Ashraful Hasan

Abstract Background At present, the entire world is in a war against COVID-19 pandemic which has gradually led us toward a more compromised “new normal” life. SARS-CoV-2, the pathogenic microorganism liable for the recent COVID-19 outbreak, is extremely contagious in nature resulting in an unusual number of infections and death globally. The lack of clinically proven therapeutic intervention for COVID-19 has dragged the world’s healthcare system into the biggest challenge. Therefore, development of an efficient treatment scheme is now in great demand. Screening of different biologically active plant-based natural compounds could be a useful strategy for combating this pandemic. In the present research, a collection of 43 flavonoids of 7 different classes with previously recorded antiviral activity was evaluated via computational and bioinformatics tools for their impeding capacity against SARS-CoV-2. In silico drug likeness, pharmacophore and Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion and Toxicity (ADMET) profile analysis of the finest ligands were carried out using DataWarrior, DruLiTo and admetSAR programs, respectively. Molecular docking was executed by AutoDock Vina, while molecular dynamics simulation of the target protein–ligand bound complexes was done using nanoscalable molecular dynamics and visual molecular dynamics software package. Finally, the molecular target analysis of the selected ligands within Homo sapiens was conducted with SwissTargetPredcition web server. Results Out of the forty-three flavonoids, luteolin and abyssinone II were found to develop successful docked complex within the binding sites of target proteins in terms of lowest binding free energy and inhibition constant. The root mean square deviation and root mean square fluctuation values of the docked complex displayed stable interaction and efficient binding between the ligands and target proteins. Both of the flavonoids were found to be safe for human use and possessed good drug likeness properties and target accuracy. Conclusions Conclusively, the current study proposes that luteolin and abyssinone II might act as potential therapeutic candidates for SARS-CoV-2 infection. In vivo and in vitro experiments, however, should be taken under consideration to determine the efficiency and to demonstrate the mechanism of action.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1767
Author(s):  
Mohamed E. Abouelela ◽  
Hamdy K. Assaf ◽  
Reda A. Abdelhamid ◽  
Ehab S. Elkhyat ◽  
Ahmed M. Sayed ◽  
...  

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) disease is a global rapidly spreading virus showing very high rates of complications and mortality. Till now, there is no effective specific treatment for the disease. Aloe is a rich source of isolated phytoconstituents that have an enormous range of biological activities. Since there are no available experimental techniques to examine these compounds for antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2, we employed an in silico approach involving molecular docking, dynamics simulation, and binding free energy calculation using SARS-CoV-2 essential proteins as main protease and spike protein to identify lead compounds from Aloe that may help in novel drug discovery. Results retrieved from docking and molecular dynamics simulation suggested a number of promising inhibitors from Aloe. Root mean square deviation (RMSD) and root mean square fluctuation (RMSF) calculations indicated that compounds 132, 134, and 159 were the best scoring compounds against main protease, while compounds 115, 120, and 131 were the best scoring ones against spike glycoprotein. Compounds 120 and 131 were able to achieve significant stability and binding free energies during molecular dynamics simulation. In addition, the highest scoring compounds were investigated for their pharmacokinetic properties and drug-likeness. The Aloe compounds are promising active phytoconstituents for drug development for SARS-CoV-2.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (21) ◽  
pp. 6538
Author(s):  
Md. Mominur Rahman ◽  
Md. Junaid ◽  
S. M. Zahid Hosen ◽  
Mohammad Mostafa ◽  
Lei Liu ◽  
...  

Inflammation plays an important role in different chronic diseases. Brominated indoles derived from the Australian marine mollusk Dicathais orbita (D. orbita) are of interest for their anti-inflammatory properties. This study evaluates the binding mechanism and potentiality of several brominated indoles (tyrindoxyl sulfate, tyrindoleninone, 6-bromoisatin, and 6,6′-dibromoindirubin) against inflammatory mediators cyclooxygenases-1/2 (COX-1/2) using molecular docking, followed by molecular dynamics simulation, along with physicochemical, drug-likeness, pharmacokinetic (pk), and toxicokinetic (tk) properties. Molecular docking identified that these indole compounds are anchored, with the main amino acid residues, positioned in the binding pocket of the COX-1/2, required for selective inhibition. Moreover, the molecular dynamics simulation based on root mean square deviation (RMSD), radius of gyration (Rg), solvent accessible surface area (SASA), and root mean square fluctuation (RMSF) analyses showed that these natural brominated molecules transit rapidly to a progressive constant configuration during binding with COX-1/2 and seem to accomplish a consistent dynamic behavior by maintaining conformational stability and compactness. The results were comparable to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved selective COX inhibitor, aspirin. Furthermore, the free energy of binding for the compounds assessed by molecular mechanics–Poisson–Boltzmann surface area (MM–PBSA) confirmed the binding capacity of indoles towards COX-1/2, with suitable binding energy values except for the polar precursor tyrindoxyl sulfate (with COX-1). The physicochemical and drug-likeness analysis showed zero violations of Lipinski’s rule, and the compounds are predicted to have excellent pharmacokinetic profiles. These indoles are projected to be non-mutagenic and free from hepatotoxicity, with no inhibition of human ether-a-go–go gene (hERG) I inhibitors, and the oral acute toxicity LD50 in rats is predicted to be similar or lower than aspirin. Overall, this work has identified a plausible mechanism for selective COX inhibition by natural marine indoles as potential therapeutic candidates for the mitigation of inflammation.


Human insulin, a small protein hormone consisting of A-chain (21 residues) and B-chain (30 residues) linked by three disulfide bonds, is crucial for controlling the hyperglycemia in type I diabetes. In the present work molecular dynamics simulation (MD) with human insulin and its mutants was used to assess the influence of 10 point mutations (HisA8, ValA10, AspB10, GlnB17, AlaB17, GlnB18, AspB25, ThrB26, GluB27, AspB28), 6 double mutations (GluA13+GluB10, SerA13+GluB27, GluB1+GluB27, SerB2+AspB10, AspB9+GluB27, GluB16+GluB27) and one triple mutation (GluA15+AspA18+AspB3) in the protein sequence on the structure and dynamics of human insulin. A series of thermal unfolding MD simulations with wild type (WT) human insulin and its mutants was performed at 400 K with GROMACS software (version 5.1) using the CHARMM36m force field. The MD results have been analyzed in terms of the parameters characterizing both the global and local protein structure, such as the backbone root mean-square deviation, gyration radius, solvent accessible surface area, the root mean-square fluctuations and the secondary structure content. The MD simulation data showed that depending on time evolution of integral characteristics, the examined mutants can be tentatively divided into three groups: 1) the mutants HisA8, ValA10, AlaB17, AspB25, ThrB26, GluB27, GluA13+GluB10, GluB1+GluB27 and GluB16+GluB27, which exert stabilizing effect on the protein structure in comparison with wild type insulin; 2) the mutants GlnB17, AspB10, SerB2+AspB10 and GluA15+AspA18+AspB3 that did not significantly affect the dynamical properties of human insulin with a minimal stabilizing impact; 3) the mutants AspB28, AspB9+GluB27 and SerA13+GluB27, GlnB18, destabilizing the protein structure. Analysis of the secondary structure content provided evidence for the influence of AspB28, AspB9+GluB27 and SerA13+GluB27, GlnB18 on the insulin unfolding. Our MD results indicate that the replacement of superficial nonpolar residues in the insulin structure by hydrophilic ones gives rise to the increase in protein stability in comparison with the wild type protein.


NANO ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 06 (01) ◽  
pp. 19-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
SERGEY SHITYAKOV ◽  
THOMAS DANDEKAR

Using classical all-atom molecular dynamics simulation, we investigated the molecular dynamics of palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylcholine and palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylethanolamine membrane bilayers enforced by a single-wall carbon nanotube. We postulated that an insertion of a single-wall carbon nanotube in the center of lipid membrane "strengthens" ambient lipids and prevents the whole system from further destabilization by high temperatures. We implemented root mean square deviation and root mean square fluctuation analyses of simulated structures from their initial states in order to emphasize the molecular dynamics behavior of these structures during 1000 ps simulation time at different temperatures. The data suggest that an intercalated carbon nanotube restrains the conformational freedom of adjacent lipids and hence has an impact on the membrane stabilization dynamics. On the other hand, different lipid membranes may have dissimilarities due to the differing abilities to create a bridge formation between the adherent lipid molecules. The results derived from this work may be of importance in developing stable nanosystems for construction of novel biomaterials and delivery of various biomolecules in the fields of biosensors, biomaterials, and biophysics.


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