Dynamical network of residue-residue contacts reveals coupled allosteric effects in recognition, catalysis, and mutation.

Detailed understanding of how conformational dynamics orchestrates function in allosteric regulation of recognition and catalysis remains ambiguous. Here, we simulate CypA using multiple-microsecond-long atomistic molecular dynamics in explicit solvent and carry out NMR experiments. We analyze a large amount of time-dependent multidimensional data with a coarse-grained approach and map key dynamical features within individual macrostates by defining dynamics in terms of residue-residue contacts.

Enhanced molecular dynamics sampling of drug target conformations.

Computational docking and virtual screening are two main important methods employed in structure-based drug design. Unlike the traditional approach that allows docking of a flexible ligand against a handful of receptor structures, receptor flexibility has now been appreciated and increasingly incorporated in computer-aided docking. Using a diverse set of receptor conformations increases the chances of finding potential drugs and inhibitors.

Towards fast, rigorous and efficient conformational sampling of biomolecules: Advances in accelerated molecular dynamics.

Background: Accelerated molecular dynamics (aMD) has been proven to be a powerful biasing method for enhanced sampling of biomolecular conformations on general-purpose computational platforms. Biologically important long timescale events that are beyond the reach of standard molecular dynamics can be accessed without losing the detailed atomistic description of the system in aMD. Over other biasing methods, aMD offers the advantages of tuning the level of acceleration to access the desired timescale without any advance knowledge of the reaction coordinate.

Achieving Rigorous Accelerated Conformational Sampling in Explicit Solvent.

Molecular dynamics simulations can provide valuable atomistic insights into biomolecular function. However, the accuracy of molecular simulations on general-purpose computers depends on the time scale of the events of interest. Advanced simulation methods, such as accelerated molecular dynamics, have shown tremendous promise in sampling the conformational dynamics of biomolecules, where standard molecular dynamics simulations are nonergodic.

The dilemma of conformational dynamics in enzyme catalysis: perspectives from theory and experiment.

The role of protein dynamics in catalysis is a contemporary issue that has stirred intense debate in the field. This chapter provides a brief overview of the approaches and findings of a wide range of experimental, computational and theoretical studies that have addressed this issue. We summarize the results of our recent atomistic molecular dynamic studies on cis-trans isomerase.

Improved Statistical Sampling and Accuracy with Accelerated Molecular Dynamics on Rotatable Torsions.

In enhanced sampling techniques, the precision of the reweighted ensemble properties is often decreased due to large variation in statistical weights and reduction in the effective sampling size. To abate this reweighting problem, here, we propose a general accelerated molecular dynamics (aMD) approach in which only the rotatable dihedrals are subjected to aMD (RaMD), unlike the typical implementation wherein all dihedrals are boosted (all-aMD). Nonrotatable and improper dihedrals are marginally important to conformational changes or the different rotameric states.

Resolving the complex role of enzyme conformational dynamics in catalytic function.

Despite growing evidence suggesting the importance of enzyme conformational dynamics (ECD) in catalysis, a consensus on how precisely ECD influences the chemical step and reaction rates is yet to be reached. Here, we characterize ECD in Cyclophilin A, a well-studied peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase, using normal and accelerated, atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. Kinetics and free energy landscape of the isomerization reaction in solution and enzyme are explored in unconstrained simulations by allowing significantly lower torsional barriers, but in no way compromising the atomistic description of the system or the explicit solvent.

Atomic-level insights into metabolite recognition and specificity of the SAM-II riboswitch.

Although S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), a metabolic by-product of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), differs from SAM only by a single methyl group and an overall positive charge, SAH binds the SAM-II riboswitch with more than 1000-fold less affinity than SAM. Using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, we investigated the molecular basis of such high selectivity in ligand recognition by SAM-II riboswitch. The biosynthesis of SAM exclusively generates the (S,S) stereoisomer, and (S,S)-SAM can spontaneously convert to the (R,S) form.

Extracting Realistic Kinetics of Rare Activated Processes from Accelerated Molecular Dynamics Using Kramers' Theory.

The cis-trans isomerization of peptide bonds is very slow, occurring in hundreds of seconds. Kinetic studies of such processes using straightforward molecular dynamics are currently not possible. Here, we use Kramers' rate theory in the high friction regime in combination with accelerated molecular dynamics in explicit solvent to successfully retrieve the normal rate of cis to trans switching in the glycyl-prolyl dipeptide.

Water's Contribution to the Energetic Roughness from Peptide Dynamics.

Water plays a very important role in the dynamics and function of proteins. Apart from protein-protein and protein-water interactions, protein motions are accompanied by the formation and breakage of hydrogen-bonding network of the surrounding water molecules. This ordering and reordering of water also adds to the underlying roughness of the energy landscape of proteins and thereby alters their dynamics.

Examining the limits of time reweighting and Kramers' rate theory to obtain correct kinetics from accelerated molecular dynamics.

Accelerated molecular dynamics simulations are routinely being used to recover the correct canonical probability distributions corresponding to the original potential energy landscape of biomolecular systems. However, the limits of time reweighting, based on transition state theory, in obtaining true kinetic rates from accelerated molecular dynamics for biomolecular systems are less obvious. Here, we investigate this issue by studying the kinetics of cis-trans isomerization of peptidic omega bond by accelerated molecular dynamics.

Reoptimization of the AMBER force field parameters for peptide bond (Omega) torsions using accelerated molecular dynamics.

Improving the accuracy of molecular mechanics force field parameters for atomistic simulations of proteins and nucleic acids has been an ongoing effort. The availability of computer power and improved methodologies for conformational sampling has allowed the assessment of these parameters by comparing the free energies calculated from molecular dynamic (MD) simulations and those measured from thermodynamic experiments. Here, we focus on testing and optimizing the AMBER force field parameters for the omega dihedral, which represents rotation around the peptide bond of proteins.

Protein folding rates and stability: how much is there beyond size?

An intriguing feature of protein folding is that the overall behavior obeys simple physical rules, but the finer details show a great deal of complexity. The scaling of thermodynamic and kinetic properties with protein size is one such rule. However, it is not clear to what extent biologically relevant folding properties (i.

Protein folding kinetics: barrier effects in chemical and thermal denaturation experiments.

Recent experimental work on fast protein folding brings about an intriguing paradox. Microsecond-folding proteins are supposed to fold near or at the folding speed limit (downhill folding), but yet their folding behavior seems to comply with classical two-state analyses, which imply the crossing of high free energy barriers. However, close inspection of chemical and thermal denaturation kinetic experiments in fast-folding proteins reveals systematic deviations from two-state behavior.

Dynamics, energetics, and structure in protein folding.

For many decades, protein folding experimentalists have worked with no information about the time scales of relevant protein folding motions and without methods for estimating the height of folding barriers. Protein folding experiments have been interpreted using chemical models in which the folding process is characterized as a series of equilibria between two or more distinct states that interconvert with activated kinetics. Accordingly, the information to be extracted from experiments was circumscribed to apparent equilibrium constants and relative folding rates.

Role for the alpha-helix in aberrant protein aggregation.

Is the alpha-helix structure capable of triggering the formation of aberrant protein aggregates? To answer this question, we investigate the in vitro aggregation of tau protein in the presence of the helix-inducing agent TFE. Tau is a natively unfolded protein that binds to microtubules and forms aggregates in Alzheimer's disease. We find that full-length tau has residual alpha-helix structure, which is further enhanced by three mutations involved in genetic neurological disorders.