scholarly journals Exploring IDP–Ligand Interactions: Tau K18 as a Test Case

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (15) ◽  
pp. 5257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darius Vagrys ◽  
James Davidson ◽  
Ijen Chen ◽  
Roderick E. Hubbard ◽  
Ben Davis
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsically Disordered Proteins ◽  
Disordered Proteins ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Intrinsically Disordered ◽  
Microscale Thermophoresis ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ligand Interactions ◽  
Nmr Diffusion ◽  
Nmr Methods ◽  
The Impact

Over the past decade intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) have emerged as a biologically important class of proteins, many of which are of therapeutic relevance. Here, we investigated the interactions between a model IDP system, tau K18, and nine literature compounds that have been reported as having an effect on tau in order to identify a robust IDP–ligand system for the optimization of a range of biophysical methods. We used NMR, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and microscale thermophoresis (MST) methods to investigate the binding of these compounds to tau K18; only one showed unambiguous interaction with tau K18. Several near neighbors of this compound were synthesized and their interactions with tau K18 characterized using additional NMR methods, including 1D ligand-observed NMR, diffusion-ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) and 19F NMR. This study demonstrates that it is possible to detect and characterize IDP–ligand interactions using biophysical methods. However, care must be taken to account for possible artefacts, particularly the impact of compound solubility and where the protein has to be immobilized.

scholarly journals The impact of O-glycan chemistry on the stability of intrinsically disordered proteins

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (15) ◽  
pp. 3710-3715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica T. Prates ◽  
Xiaoyang Guan ◽  
Yaohao Li ◽  
Xinfeng Wang ◽  
Patrick K. Chaffey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsically Disordered Proteins ◽  
Protein Glycosylation ◽  
Disordered Proteins ◽  
Biological Functions ◽  
Post Translational Modification ◽  
Intrinsically Disordered ◽  
P Protein ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Impact

Protein glycosylation is a diverse post-translational modification that serves myriad biological functions.

scholarly journals The Effect of Multisite Phosphorylation on the Conformational Properties of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (20) ◽  
pp. 11058
Author(s):  
Ellen Rieloff ◽  
Marie Skepö
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsically Disordered Proteins ◽  
Disordered Proteins ◽  
Salt Bridges ◽  
Intrinsically Disordered ◽  
Local Contraction ◽  
Charged Residues ◽  
Common Strategy ◽  
Disordered Peptides ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
The Impact

Intrinsically disordered proteins are involved in many biological processes such as signaling, regulation, and recognition. A common strategy to regulate their function is through phosphorylation, as it can induce changes in conformation, dynamics, and interactions with binding partners. Although phosphorylated intrinsically disordered proteins have received increased attention in recent years, a full understanding of the conformational and structural implications of phosphorylation has not yet been achieved. Here, we present all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of five disordered peptides originated from tau, statherin, and β-casein, in both phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated state, to compare changes in global dimensions and structural elements, in an attempt to gain more insight into the controlling factors. The changes are in qualitative agreement with experimental data, and we observe that the net charge is not enough to predict the impact of phosphorylation on the global dimensions. Instead, the distribution of phosphorylated and positively charged residues throughout the sequence has great impact due to the formation of salt bridges. In statherin, a preference for arginine–phosphoserine interaction over arginine–tyrosine accounts for a global expansion, despite a local contraction of the phosphorylated region, which implies that also non-charged residues can influence the effect of phosphorylation.

scholarly journals Different force fields give rise to different amyloid aggregation pathways in molecular dynamics simulations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suman Samantray ◽  
Feng Yin ◽  
Batuhan Kav ◽  
Birgit Strodel
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Force Field ◽  
Intrinsically Disordered Proteins ◽  
Force Fields ◽  
Md Simulations ◽  
Peptide Sequence ◽  
Disordered Proteins ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Peptide Aggregation ◽  
Intrinsically Disordered

AbstractThe progress towards understanding the molecular basis of Alzheimers’s disease is strongly connected to elucidating the early aggregation events of the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations provide a viable technique to study the aggregation of Aβ into oligomers with high spatial and temporal resolution. However, the results of an MD simulation can only be as good as the underlying force field. A recent study by our group showed that none of the force fields tested can distinguish between aggregation-prone and non-aggregating peptide sequences, producing the same and in most cases too fast aggregation kinetics for all peptides. Since then, new force fields specially designed for intrinsically disordered proteins such as Aβ were developed. Here, we assess the applicability of these new force fields to studying peptide aggregation using the Aβ16−22 peptide and mutations of it as test case. We investigate their performance in modeling the monomeric state, the aggregation into oligomers, and the stability of the aggregation end product, i.e., the fibrillar state. A main finding is that changing the force field has a stronger effect on the simulated aggregation pathway than changing the peptide sequence. Also the new force fields are not able to reproduce the experimental aggregation propensity order of the peptides. Dissecting the various energy contributions shows that AMBER99SB-disp overestimates the interactions between the peptides and water, thereby inhibiting peptide aggregation. More promising results are obtained with CHARMM36m and especially its version with increased protein–water interactions. It is thus recommended to use this force field for peptide aggregation simulations and base future reparameterizations on it.

scholarly journals Information theoretic measures for quantifying sequence–ensemble relationships of intrinsically disordered proteins

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 191-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan C Cohan ◽  
Kiersten M Ruff ◽  
Rohit V Pappu
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsically Disordered Proteins ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Disordered Proteins ◽  
Specific Sequence ◽  
Information Theoretic ◽  
Conformational Ensembles ◽  
Intrinsically Disordered ◽  
Information Theoretic Measures ◽  
Modulating Functions ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) contribute to a multitude of functions. De novo design of IDPs should open the door to modulating functions and phenotypes controlled by these systems. Recent design efforts have focused on compositional biases and specific sequence patterns as the design features. Analysis of the impact of these designs on sequence-function relationships indicates that individual sequence/compositional parameters are insufficient for describing sequence-function relationships in IDPs. To remedy this problem, we have developed information theoretic measures for sequence–ensemble relationships (SERs) of IDPs. These measures rely on prior availability of statistically robust conformational ensembles derived from all atom simulations. We show that the measures we have developed are useful for comparing sequence-ensemble relationships even when sequence is poorly conserved. Based on our results, we propose that de novo designs of IDPs, guided by knowledge of their SERs, should provide improved insights into their sequence–ensemble–function relationships.

scholarly journals Structural and Energetic Characterization of the Denatured State from the Perspectives of Peptides, the Coil Library, and Intrinsically Disordered Proteins

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 634
Author(s):  
Elisia A. Paiz ◽  
Karen A. Lewis ◽  
Steven T. Whitten
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsically Disordered Proteins ◽  
Cell Function ◽  
Thermodynamic Description ◽  
Disordered Proteins ◽  
Hydrodynamic Size ◽  
Sequence Dependence ◽  
Denatured State ◽  
Intrinsically Disordered ◽  
Heat Effects ◽  
The Impact

The α and polyproline II (PPII) basins are the two most populated regions of the Ramachandran map when constructed from the protein coil library, a widely used denatured state model built from the segments of irregular structure found in the Protein Data Bank. This indicates the α and PPII conformations are dominant components of the ensembles of denatured structures that exist in solution for biological proteins, an observation supported in part by structural studies of short, and thus unfolded, peptides. Although intrinsic conformational propensities have been determined experimentally for the common amino acids in short peptides, and estimated from surveys of the protein coil library, the ability of these intrinsic conformational propensities to quantitatively reproduce structural behavior in intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), an increasingly important class of proteins in cell function, has thus far proven elusive to establish. Recently, we demonstrated that the sequence dependence of the mean hydrodynamic size of IDPs in water and the impact of heat on the coil dimensions, provide access to both the sequence dependence and thermodynamic energies that are associated with biases for the α and PPII backbone conformations. Here, we compare results from peptide-based studies of intrinsic conformational propensities and surveys of the protein coil library to those of the sequence-based analysis of heat effects on IDP hydrodynamic size, showing that a common structural and thermodynamic description of the protein denatured state is obtained.

scholarly journals Intrinsically Disordered Proteins: Insights from Poincaré, Waddington, and Lamarck

Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1490
Author(s):  
Prakash Kulkarni
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsically Disordered Proteins ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Disordered Proteins ◽  
Phenotypic Switching ◽  
Cambrian Explosion ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Intrinsically Disordered ◽  
The Past

The past quarter-century may justly be referred to as a period analogous to the “Cambrian explosion” in the history of proteins. This period is marked by the appearance of the intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) on the scene since their discovery in the mid-1990s. Here, I first reflect on how we accidentally stumbled on these fascinating molecules. Next, I describe our research on the IDPs over the past decade and identify six areas as important for future research in this field. In addition, I draw on discoveries others in the field have made to present a more comprehensive essay. More specifically, I discuss the role of IDPs in two fundamental aspects of life: in phenotypic switching, and in multicellularity that marks one of the major evolutionary transitions. I highlight how serendipity, imagination, and an interdisciplinary approach embodying empirical evidence and theoretical insights from the works of Poincaré, Waddington, and Lamarck, shaped our thinking, and how this led us to propose the MRK hypothesis, a conceptual framework addressing phenotypic switching, the emergence of new traits, and adaptive evolution via nongenetic and IDP conformation-based mechanisms. Finally, I present a perspective on the evolutionary link between phenotypic switching and the origin of multicellularity.

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