Alcohol reduces muscle fatigue through atomistic interactions with nicotinic receptors.

Alcohol consumption affects many organs and tissues, including skeletal muscle. However, the molecular mechanism of ethanol action on skeletal muscle remains unclear. Here, using molecular dynamics simulations and single channel recordings, we show that ethanol interacts with a negatively charged amino acid within an extracellular region of the neuromuscular nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), thereby altering its global conformation and reducing the single channel current amplitude.

Accelerated Molecular Dynamics Study of the Effects of Surface Hydrophilicity on Protein Adsorption.

The adsorption of streptavidin is studied on two surfaces, graphite and titanium dioxide, using accelerated molecular dynamics. Adsorption on graphite leads to strong conformational changes while the protein spreads out over the surface. Interestingly, also adsorption on the highly hydrophilic rutile surface induces considerable spreading of the protein.

Forced Desorption of Bovine Serum Albumin and Lysozyme from Graphite: Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulation.

We use molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to study the adsorption and desorption of two widely different proteins, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and lysozyme, on a graphite surface. The adsorption is modeled using accelerated MD to allow the proteins to find optimum conformations on the surface. Our results demonstrate that the "hard protein" lysozyme retains much of its secondary structure during adsorption, whereas BSA loses it almost completely.

Accelerating Steered Molecular Dynamics: Toward Smaller Velocities in Forced Unfolding Simulations.

The simulation of forced unfolding experiments, in which proteins are pulled apart, is conventionally done using steered molecular dynamics. We present here a hybrid scheme in which accelerated molecular dynamics is used together with steered molecular dynamics. We show that the new scheme changes the force-distance curves mainly in the region around the force maximum and thus demonstrate that the improved equilibration of the protein-solvent system brought about by using accelerated molecular dynamics makes the simulation more comparable to experimental data.

A structural feature of the non-peptide ligand interactions with mice mu-opioid receptors.

By binding to and activating the G-protein coupled μ-, κ- and δ-opioid receptors in the central nervous system, opiates are known to induce analgesic and sedative effects. In particular, non-peptide opioid ligands are often used in clinical applications to induce these therapeutically beneficial effects, due to their superior pharmacokinetics and bioavailability in comparison to endogenous neuropeptides. However, since opioid alkaloids are highly addictive substances, it is necessary to understand the exact mechanisms of their actions, specifically the ligand-binding properties of the target receptors, in order to safely apply opiates for therapeutic purposes.

Enhancing protein adsorption simulations by using accelerated molecular dynamics.

The atomistic modeling of protein adsorption on surfaces is hampered by the different time scales of the simulation ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]s) and experiment (up to hours), and the accordingly different 'final' adsorption conformations. We provide evidence that the method of accelerated molecular dynamics is an efficient tool to obtain equilibrated adsorption states. As a model system we study the adsorption of the protein BMP-2 on graphite in an explicit salt water environment.

Molecular dynamics simulation of free and forced BSA adsorption on a hydrophobic graphite surface.

The adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) onto a hydrophobic graphite surface is studied using molecular-dynamics simulation. In addition to the free, that is, unsteered, adsorption, we also investigate forced adsorption, in which the action of an AFM tip pushing the protein with constant force to the surface is modeled. Using an implicit inviscid water model, the adsorption dynamics and energetics are monitored for two different initial protein orientations toward the surface.