Related Articles MSMBuilder: Statistical Models for Biomolecular Dynamics. Biophys J. 2017 Jan 10;112(1):10-15 Authors: Harrigan MP, Sultan MM, Hernández CX, Husic BE, Eastman P, Schwantes CR, Beauchamp KA, McGibbon RT,…
Read moreThe oral microbiome is a dynamic environment inhabited by both commensals and pathogens. Among these is Streptococcus mutans, the causative agent of dental caries, the most prevalent childhood disease. Carolacton has remarkably specific activity against S. mutans, causing acid-mediated cell death during biofilm formation; however, its complex structure limits its utility. Herein, we report the diverted total synthesis and biological evaluation of a rationally designed library of simplified ana…
Read moreThe metabolite 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG) can be produced as either a D-R- or L-S- enantiomer, each of which inhibits α-ketoglutarate (αKG)-dependent enzymes involved in diverse biologic processes. Oncogenic mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) produce D-2HG, which causes a pathologic blockade in cell differentiation. On the other hand, oxygen limitation leads to accumulation of L-2HG, which can facilitate physiologic adaptation to hypoxic stress in both normal and malignant cells. Here w…
Read moreSolvation free energies can now be calculated precisely from molecular simulations, providing a valuable test of the energy functions underlying these simulations. Here, we briefly review “alchemical” approaches for calculating the solvation free energies of small, neutral organic molecules from molecular simulations, and illustrate by applying them to calculate aqueous solvation free energies (hydration free energies). These approaches use a non-physical pathway to compute free energy differe…
Read moreThe catalytic activity of many protein kinases is controlled by conformational changes of a conserved Asp-Phe-Gly (DFG) motif. We used an infrared probe to track the DFG motif of the mitotic kinase Aurora A (AurA) and found that allosteric activation by the spindle-associated protein Tpx2 involves an equilibrium shift toward the active DFG-in state. Förster resonance energy transfer experiments show that the activation loop undergoes a nanometer-scale movement that is tightly coupled to the DF…
Read moreAllosteric (i.e., long-range) communication within proteins is crucial for many biological processes, such as the activation of signaling cascades in response to specific stimuli. However, the physical basis for this communication remains unclear. Existing computational methods for identifying allostery focus on the role of concerted structural changes, but recent experimental work demonstrates that disorder is also an important factor. Here, we introduce the Correlation of All Rotameric and D…
Read moreRelated Articles tICA-Metadynamics: Accelerating Metadynamics by using kinetically selected collective variables. J Chem Theory Comput. 2017 Apr 06;: Authors: M Sultan M, Pande VS Abstract Metadynamics is a powerful enhanced…
Read moreRelated Articles Markov modeling reveals novel intracellular modulation of the human TREK-2 selectivity filter. Sci Rep. 2017 Apr 04;7(1):632 Authors: Harrigan MP, McKiernan KA, Shanmugasundaram V, Denny RA, Pande VS…
Read moreRelated Articles Computationally Discovered Potentiating Role of Glycans on NMDA Receptors. Sci Rep. 2017 Apr 05;7:44578 Authors: Sinitskiy AV, Stanley NH, Hackos DH, Hanson JE, Sellers BD, Pande VS Abstract…
Read moreAllosteric sodium in the helix bundle of a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) can modulate the receptor activation on the intracellular side. This phenomenon has confounded the GPCR community for decades. In this work, we present a theoretical model that reveals the mechanism of the allosteric modulation induced by sodium in the δ-opioid receptor. We found that the allosteric sodium ion exploits a distinct conformation of the key residue Trp2746.48 to propagate the modulation to helices 5 and 6…
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