Rigid Body Minimization Research Articles

Coarse-grained and atomic resolution biomolecular docking with the ATTRACT approach.

The ATTRACT protein-protein docking program has been employed to predict protein-protein complex structures in CAPRI rounds 38-45. For 11 out of 16 targets acceptable or better quality solutions have been submitted (~70%). It includes also several cases of peptide-protein docking and the successful prediction of the geometry of carbohydrate-protein interactions. The option of combining rigid body minimization and simultaneous optimization in collective degrees of freedom based on elastic network modes was employed and systematically evaluated. Application to a large benchmark set indicates a modest improvement in docking performance compared to rigid docking. Possible further improvements of the docking approach in particular at the scoring and the flexible refinement steps are discussed.

Energy Minimization on Manifolds for Docking Flexible Molecules.

In this paper, we extend a recently introduced rigid body minimization algorithm, defined on manifolds, to the problem of minimizing the energy of interacting flexible molecules. The goal is to integrate moving the ligand in six dimensional rotational/translational space with internal rotations around rotatable bonds within the two molecules. We show that adding rotational degrees of freedom to the rigid moves of the ligand results in an overall optimization search space that is a manifold to which our manifold optimization approach can be extended. The effectiveness of the method is shown for three different docking problems of increasing complexity. First, we minimize the energy of fragment-size ligands with a single rotatable bond as part of a protein mapping method developed for the identification of binding hot spots. Second, we consider energy minimization for docking a flexible ligand to a rigid protein receptor, an approach frequently used in existing methods. In the third problem, we account for flexibility in both the ligand and the receptor. Results show that minimization using the manifold optimization algorithm is substantially more efficient than minimization using a traditional all-atom optimization algorithm while producing solutions of comparable quality. In addition to the specific problems considered, the method is general enough to be used in a large class of applications such as docking multidomain proteins with flexible hinges. The code is available under open source license (at http://cluspro.bu.edu/Code/Code_Rigtree.tar) and with minimal effort can be incorporated into any molecular modeling package.

Flexible Refinement of Protein-Ligand Docking on Manifolds.

Our work is motivated by energy minimization of biological macromolecules, an essential step in computational docking. By allowing some ligand flexibility, we generalize a recently introduced novel representation of rigid body minimization as an optimization on the [Formula: see text] manifold, rather than on the commonly used Special Euclidean group SE(3). We show that the resulting flexible docking can also be formulated as an optimization on a Lie group that is the direct product of simpler Lie groups for which geodesics and exponential maps can be easily obtained. Our computational results for a local optimization algorithm developed based on this formulation show that it is about an order of magnitude faster than the state-of-the-art local minimization algorithms for computational protein-small molecule docking.

Adenine Binding Mode Is a Key Factor in Triggering the Early Release of NADH in Coenzyme A-dependent Methylmalonate Semialdehyde Dehydrogenase

Structural dynamics associated with cofactor binding have been shown to play key roles in the catalytic mechanism of hydrolytic NAD(P)-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDH). By contrast, no information is available for their CoA-dependent counterparts. We present here the first crystal structure of a CoA-dependent ALDH. The structure of the methylmalonate semialdehyde dehydrogenase (MSDH) from Bacillus subtilis in binary complex with NAD(+) shows that, in contrast to what is observed for hydrolytic ALDHs, the nicotinamide ring is well defined in the electron density due to direct and H(2)O-mediated hydrogen bonds with the carboxamide. The structure also reveals that a conformational isomerization of the NMNH is possible in MSDH, as shown for hydrolytic ALDHs. Finally, the adenine ring is substantially more solvent-exposed, a result that could be explained by the presence of a Val residue at position 229 in helix α(F) that reduces the depth of the binding pocket and the absence of Gly-225 at the N-terminal end of helix α(F). Substitution of glycine for Val-229 and/or insertion of a glycine residue at position 225 resulted in a significant decrease of the rate constant associated with the dissociation of NADH from the NADH/thioacylenzyme complex, thus demonstrating that the weaker stabilization of the adenine ring is a key factor in triggering the early NADH release in the MSDH-catalyzed reaction. This study provides for the first time structural insights into the mechanism whereby the cofactor binding mode is responsible at least in part for the different kinetic behaviors of the hydrolytic and CoA-dependent ALDHs.

A simple and reliable approach to docking protein–protein complexes from very sparse NOE-derived intermolecular distance restraints

A simple and reliable approach for docking protein-protein complexes from very sparse NOE-derived intermolecular distance restraints (as few as three from a single point) in combination with a novel representation for an attractive potential between mapped interaction surfaces is described. Unambiguous assignments of very sparse intermolecular NOEs are obtained using a reverse labeling strategy in which one the components is fully deuterated with the exception of selective protonation of the delta-methyl groups of isoleucine, while the other component is uniformly (13)C-labeled. This labeling strategy can be readily extended to selective protonation of Ala, Leu, Val or Met. The attractive potential is described by a 'reduced' radius of gyration potential applied specifically to a subset of interfacial residues (those with an accessible surface area > or = 50% in the free proteins) that have been delineated by chemical shift perturbation. Docking is achieved by rigid body minimization on the basis of a target function comprising the sparse NOE distance restraints, a van der Waals repulsion potential and the 'reduced' radius of gyration potential. The method is demonstrated for two protein-protein complexes (EIN-HPr and IIA(Glc)-HPr) from the bacterial phosphotransferase system. In both cases, starting from 100 different random orientations of the X-ray structures of the free proteins, 100% convergence is achieved to a single cluster (with near identical atomic positions) with an overall backbone accuracy of approximately 2 A. The approach described is not limited to NMR, since interfaces can also be mapped by alanine scanning mutagenesis, and sparse intermolecular distance restraints can be derived from double cycle mutagenesis, cross-linking combined with mass spectrometry, or fluorescence energy transfer.

Structural and Mutational Analysis of Trypanosoma brucei Prostaglandin H2 Reductase Provides Insight into the Catalytic Mechanism of Aldo-ketoreductases

Trypanosoma brucei prostaglandin F2alpha synthase is an aldo-ketoreductase that catalyzes the reduction of prostaglandin H2 to PGF2alpha in addition to that of 9,10-phenanthrenequinone. We report the crystal structure of TbPGFS.NADP+.citrate at 2.1 angstroms resolution. TbPGFS adopts a parallel (alpha/beta)8-barrel fold lacking the protrudent loops and possesses a hydrophobic core active site that contains a catalytic tetrad of tyrosine, lysine, histidine, and aspartate, which is highly conserved among AKRs. Site-directed mutagenesis of the catalytic tetrad residues revealed that a dyad of Lys77 and His110, and a triad of Tyr52, Lys77, and His110 are essential for the reduction of PGH2 and 9,10-PQ, respectively. Structural and kinetic analysis revealed that His110, acts as the general acid catalyst for PGH2 reduction and that Lys77 facilitates His110 protonation through a water molecule, while exerting an electrostatic repulsion against His110 that maintains the spatial arrangement which allows the formation of a hydrogen bond between His110 and C11 that carbonyl of PGH2. We also show Tyr52 acts as the general acid catalyst for 9,10-PQ reduction, and thus we not only elucidate the catalytic mechanism of a PGH2 reductase but also provide an insight into the catalytic specificity of AKRs.

Interaction interface of human flap endonuclease-1 with its DNA substrates.

Flap endonuclease-1 or FEN-1 is a structure-specific and multifunctional nuclease critical for DNA replication, repair, and recombination; however, its interaction with DNA substrates has not been fully understood. In the current study, we have defined the borders of the interaction between the FEN-1 protein and its DNA substrates and identified six clusters of conserved positively charged amino acid residues, which are in direct contact with DNA substrate. To map further the corresponding interactions between FEN-1 residues and DNA substrates, we performed biochemical assays employing a series of flap DNA substrates lacking some structural components and a series of binding-deficient point mutants of FEN-1. It was revealed that Arg(47), Arg(70), and Lys(326)-Arg(327) of FEN-1 interact with the upstream duplex of DNA substrates, whereas Lys(244)-Arg(245) interact with the downstream duplex. This result indicates the orientation of the FEN-1-DNA interaction. Moreover, Arg(70) and Arg(47) were determined to interact with the sites around the 2nd nucleotide (Arg(70)) or the 5th/6th nucleotide (Arg(47)) of the template strand in the upstream duplex portion counting from the nick point of the flap substrate. Together with previously published data and the crystallographic ainformation from the FEN-1.DNA complex that we published recently (Chapados, B. R., Hosfield, D. J., Han, S., Qiu, J., Yelent, B., Shen, B., Tainer, J. A. (2004) Cell 116, 39-50) we are able to propose a reasonable model for how the human FEN-1 protein interacts with its DNA substrates.

Paper Alert

Paper Alert

Accurate and rapid docking of protein-protein complexes on the basis of intermolecular nuclear overhauser enhancement data and dipolar couplings by rigid body minimization.

A simple and rapid method is presented for solving the three-dimensional structures of protein-protein complexes in solution on the basis of experimental NMR restraints that provide the requisite translational (i.e., intermolecular nuclear Overhauser enhancement, NOE, data) and orientational (i.e., backbone (1)H-(15)N dipolar couplings and intermolecular NOEs) information. Providing high-resolution structures of the proteins in the unbound state are available and no significant backbone conformational changes occur upon complexation (which can readily be assessed by analysis of dipolar couplings measured on the complex), accurate and rapid docking of the two proteins can be achieved. The method, which is demonstrated for the 40-kDa complex of enzyme I and the histidine phosphocarrier protein, involves the application of rigid body minimization using a target function comprising only three terms, namely experimental NOE-derived intermolecular interproton distance and dipolar coupling restraints, and a simple intermolecular van der Waals repulsion potential. This approach promises to dramatically reduce the amount of time and effort required to solve the structures of protein-protein complexes by NMR, and to extend the capabilities of NMR to larger protein-protein complexes, possibly up to molecular masses of 100 kDa or more.

Determination of the Relative Orientation of the Two Halves of the Domain-Swapped Dimer of Cyanovirin-N in Solution Using Dipolar Couplings and Rigid Body Minimization

The HIV-inactivating protein cyanovirin-N (CVN) exists in two forms that are pH- and solvent-dependent: a monomer which predominates at neutral pH (≥90%) and a symmetric domain-swapped dimer. We have investigated the orientation of the two halves of the domain-swapped dimer of CVN at neutral pH in solution using dipolar couplings measured in a neutral liquid crystalline bicelle medium. 1DNH dipolar couplings for the dimer were readily measured for 18 out of 101 residues, and are shown to be inconsistent with the orientation of the two halves of the dimer observed in the X-ray structure obtained from crystals grown at low pH in the presence of organic solvent. The orientation of the two halves of the domain-swapped dimer was determined by rigid body minimization, subject to the requirements of C2 symmetry. The starting coordinates for the calculations consisted of the X-ray coordinates for the two halves (with the linker residues deleted), separated by ∼45 Å and placed in three different relative orientations. One-half of the dimer is held fixed, the other half is free to rotate and translate (6 degrees of freedom), and the alignment tensor for the dipolar couplings is free to rotate (3 degrees of freedom). The target function comprised only four terms: dipolar coupling restraints (18 × 2), distance restraints (12) to link the two halves and to prevent steric clash, a radius of gyration restraint to achieve appropriate compaction, and a quartic van der Waals repulsion term. Structures were calculated for different target values of the radius of gyration, and back-calculation of the alignment tensor and dipolar couplings on the basis of molecular shape was used to filter the resulting structures. Prediction of dipolar couplings in this manner is predicated on the assumption that orientational order is dictated by steric interactions between the liquid crystalline medium and the protein. The validity of this assumption in this particular case is evidenced by the excellent agreement between predicted and observed dipolar couplings for the monomer. We show that the data is only consistent with a very small range of orientations of the two halves of the dimer in which the angle between the long axes of the two halves is ∼110°. The relative orientation of the two halves of the dimer at neutral pH in solution is quite different from that observed in the crystals obtained at low pH in organic solvent. The factors stabilizing the relative orientation of the two halves of the dimer under different conditions are discussed. The methodology presented in this paper should find a wide range of applicability to numerous other structural problems involving multimeric proteins and protein−protein complexes.