Second Generation G-Quadruplex Stabilizing Trimethine Cyanines.

G-Quadruplex DNA has been recognized as a highly appealing target for the development of new selective chemotherapeutics, which could result in markedly reduced toxicity toward normal cells. In particular, the cyanine dyes that bind selectively to G-quadruplex structures without targeting duplex DNA have attracted attention due to their high amenability to structural modifications that allows fine-tuning of their biomolecular interactions. We have previously reported pentamethine and symmetric trimethine cyanines designed to effectively bind G-quadruplexes through end stacking interactions. Herein, we are reporting a second generation of drug candidates, the asymmetric trimethine cyanines. These have been synthesized and evaluated for their quadruplex binding properties. Incorporating a benz[c,d]indolenine heterocyclic unit increased overall quadruplex binding, and elongating the alkyl length increases the quadruplex-to-duplex binding specificity.

Mechanisms of peptide hydrolysis by aspartyl and metalloproteases.

Peptide hydrolysis has been involved in a wide range of biological, biotechnological, and industrial applications. In this perspective, the mechanisms of three distinct peptide bond cleaving enzymes, beta secretase (BACE1), insulin degrading enzyme (IDE), and bovine lens leucine aminopeptidase (BILAP), have been discussed. BACE1 is a catalytic Asp dyad [Asp, Asp-] containing aspartyl protease, while IDE and BILAP are mononuclear [Zn(His, His, Glu)] and binuclear [Zn1(Asp, Glu, Asp)-Zn2(Lys, Glu, Asp, Asp)] core possessing metallopeptidases, respectively. Specifically, enzyme-substrate interactions and the roles of metal ion(s), the ligand environment, second coordination shell residues, and the protein environment in the functioning of these enzymes have been elucidated. This information will be useful to design small inhibitors, activators, and synthetic analogues of these enzymes for biomedical, biotechnological, and industrial applications.

Coupled Dynamics and Entropic Contribution to the Allosteric Mechanism of Pin1.

Allosteric communication in proteins regulates a plethora of downstream processes in subcellular signaling pathways. Describing the effects of cooperative ligand binding on the atomic level is a key to understanding many regulatory processes involving biomolecules. Here, we use microsecond-long molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the allosteric mechanism of Pin1, a potential therapeutic target and a phosphorylated-Ser/Thr dependent peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase that regulates several subcellular processes and has been implicated in many diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer's. Experimental studies suggest that the catalytic domain and the noncatalytic WW domain are allosterically coupled; however, an atomic level description of the dynamics associated with the interdomain communication is lacking. We show that binding of the substrate to the WW domain is directly coupled to the dynamics of the catalytic domain, causing rearrangement of the residue-residue contact dynamics from the WW domain to the catalytic domain. The binding affinity of the substrate in the catalytic domain is also enhanced upon binding of the substrate to the WW domain. Modulation of the dynamics of the catalytic domain upon binding of the substrate to the WW domain leads to prepayment of the entropic cost of binding the substrate to the catalytic domain. This study shows that Ile 28 at the interfacial region between the catalytic and WW domains is certainly one of the residues responsible for bridging the communication between the two domains. The results complement previous experiments and provide valuable atomistic insights into the role of dynamics and possible entropic contribution to the allosteric mechanism of proteins.

Conserved Hydration Sites in Pin1 Reveal a Distinctive Water Recognition Motif in Proteins.

Structurally conserved water molecules are important for biomolecular stability, flexibility, and function. X-ray crystallographic studies of Pin1 have resolved a number of water molecules around the enzyme, including two highly conserved water molecules within the protein. The functional role of these localized water molecules remains unknown and unexplored. Pin1 catalyzes cis/trans isomerizations of peptidyl prolyl bonds that are preceded by a phosphorylated serine or threonine residue. Pin1 is involved in many subcellular signaling processes and is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of several life threatening diseases. Here, we investigate the significance of these structurally conserved water molecules in the catalytic domain of Pin1 using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, free energy calculations, analysis of X-ray crystal structures, and circular dichroism (CD) experiments. MD simulations and free energy calculations suggest the tighter binding water molecule plays a crucial role in maintaining the integrity and stability of a critical hydrogen-bonding network in the active site. The second water molecule is exchangeable with bulk solvent and is found in a distinctive helix-turn-coil motif. Structural bioinformatics analysis of nonredundant X-ray crystallographic protein structures in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) suggest this motif is present in several other proteins and can act as a water site, akin to the calcium EF hand. CD experiments suggest the isolated motif is in a distorted PII conformation and requires the protein environment to fully form the α-helix-turn-coil motif. This study provides valuable insights into the role of hydration in the structural integrity of Pin1 that can be exploited in protein engineering and drug design.

Fe(II)/Fe(III) Redox Process Can Significantly Modulate the Conformational Dynamics and Electrostatics of Pirin in NF-κB Regulation.

Pirin is an iron (Fe)-dependent regulatory protein of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) transcription factors. Binding studies have suggested that the oxidative state of iron plays a crucial role in modulating the binding of Pirin to NF-κB p65, in turn enhancing the binding of p65 to DNA. The Fe(III) form of Pirin is the active form and binds to NF-κB, whereas the Fe(II) form does not bind to NF-κB. However, the surprising consequence of a single charge perturbation in the functional modulation of NF-κB is not well understood. Here, we use quantum mechanical calculations and microsecond-long molecular dynamics simulations to explore the free-energy landscapes of the Fe(II) and Fe(III) forms of Pirin. We show that the restricted conformational space and electrostatic complementarity of the Fe(III) form of Pirin are crucial for binding and regulation of NF-κB. Our results suggest that a subtle single-electron redox trigger could significantly modulate the conformational dynamics and electrostatics of proteins in subcellular allosteric regulatory processes.

Pushing the Limits of a Molecular Mechanics Force Field To Probe Weak CH···π Interactions in Proteins.

The relationship among biomolecular structure, dynamics, and function is far from being understood, and the role of subtle, weak interactions in stabilizing different conformational states is even less well-known. The cumulative effect of these interactions has broad implications for biomolecular stability and recognition and determines the equilibrium distribution of the ensemble of conformations that are critical for function. Here, we accurately capture the stabilizing effects of weak CH···π interaction using an empirical molecular mechanics force field in excellent agreement with experiments. We show that the side chain of flanking C-terminal aromatic residues preferentially stabilize the cis isomer of the peptidyl-prolyl bond of the protein backbone through this weak interaction. Cis-trans isomerization of peptidyl-prolyl protein bond plays a pivotal role in many cellular processes, including signal transduction, substrate recognition, and many diseases. Although the cis isomer is relatively less stable than the trans isomer, aromatic side chains of neighboring residues can play a significant role in stabilizing the cis relative to the trans isomer. We carry out extensive regular and accelerated molecular dynamics simulations and establish an approach to simulate the pH profile of the cis/trans ratio in order to probe the stabilizing role of the CH···π interaction. The results agree very well with NMR experiments, provide detailed atomistic description of this crucial biomolecular interaction, and underscore the importance of weak stabilizing interactions in protein function.

An Iron Reservoir to the Catalytic Metal: THE RUBREDOXIN IRON IN AN EXTRADIOL DIOXYGENASE.

The rubredoxin motif is present in over 74,000 protein sequences and 2,000 structures, but few have known functions. A secondary, non-catalytic, rubredoxin-like iron site is conserved in 3-hydroxyanthranilate 3,4-dioxygenase (HAO), from single cellular sources but not multicellular sources. Through the population of the two metal binding sites with various metals in bacterial HAO, the structural and functional relationship of the rubredoxin-like site was investigated using kinetic, spectroscopic, crystallographic, and computational approaches. It is shown that the first metal presented preferentially binds to the catalytic site rather than the rubredoxin-like site, which selectively binds iron when the catalytic site is occupied. Furthermore, an iron ion bound to the rubredoxin-like site is readily delivered to an empty catalytic site of metal-free HAO via an intermolecular transfer mechanism. Through the use of metal analysis and catalytic activity measurements, we show that a downstream metabolic intermediate can selectively remove the catalytic iron. As the prokaryotic HAO is often crucial for cell survival, there is a need for ensuring its activity. These results suggest that the rubredoxin-like site is a possible auxiliary iron source to the catalytic center when it is lost during catalysis in a pathway with metabolic intermediates of metal-chelating properties. A spare tire concept is proposed based on this biochemical study, and this concept opens up a potentially new functional paradigm for iron-sulfur centers in iron-dependent enzymes as transient iron binding and shuttling sites to ensure full metal loading of the catalytic site.

Computational perspective and evaluation of plausible catalytic mechanisms of peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerases.

BACKGROUND: Peptidyl prolyl cis-trans isomerization of the protein backbone is involved in the regulation of many biological processes. Cis-trans isomerization is notoriously slow and is catalyzed by a family of cis-trans peptidyl prolyl isomerases (PPIases) that have been implicated in many diseases. A general consensus on how these enzymes speed up prolyl isomerization has not been reached after decades of both experimental and computational studies. SCOPE OF REVIEW: Computational studies carried out to understand the catalytic mechanism of the prototypical FK506 binding protein 12, Cyclophilin A and peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase NIMA-interacting 1 (Pin1) are reviewed. A summary and an evaluation of the implications of the proposed mechanisms from computational studies are presented. MAJOR CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of computational studies and evaluation of the proposed mechanisms provide a general consensus and a better understanding of PPIase catalysis. The speedup of the rate of peptidyl-prolyl isomerization by PPIases can be best described by a catalytic mechanism in which the substrate in transition state configuration is stabilized. The enzymes preferentially bind the transition state configuration of the substrate relative to the cis conformation, which in most cases is bound better than the trans conformation of the substrate. Stabilization of the transition state configuration of the substrate leads to a lower free energy barrier and a faster rate of isomerization when compared to the uncatalyzed isomerization reaction. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: Fully understanding the catalytic mechanism of PPIases has broad implications for drug design, elucidation of the molecular basis of many diseases, protein engineering, and enzyme catalysis in general. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Proline-directed Foldases: Cell Signaling Catalysts and Drug Targets.

Theoretical insights into the functioning of metallopeptidases and their synthetic analogues.

CONSPECTUS: The selective hydrolysis of a peptide or amide bond (-(O═)C-NH-) by a synthetic metallopeptidase is required in a wide range of biological, biotechnological, and industrial applications. In nature, highly specialized enzymes known as proteases and peptidases are used to accomplish this daunting task. Currently, many peptide bond cleaving enzymes and synthetic reagents have been utilized to achieve efficient peptide hydrolysis. However, they possess some serious limitations. To overcome these inadequacies, a variety of metal complexes have been developed that mimic the activities of natural enzymes (metallopeptidases). However, in comparison to metallopeptidases, the hydrolytic reactions facilitated by their existing synthetic analogues are considerably slower and occur with lower catalytic turnover. This could be due to the following reasons: (1) they lack chemical properties of amino acid residues found within enzyme active sites; (2) they contain a higher metal coordination number compared with naturally occurring enzymes; and (3) they do not have access to second coordination shell residues that provide substantial rate enhancements in enzymes. Additionally, the critical structural and mechanistic information required for the development of the next generation of synthetic metallopeptidases cannot be readily obtained through existing experimental techniques. This is because most experimental techniques cannot follow the individual chemical steps in the catalytic cycle due to the fast rate of enzymes. They are also limited by the fact that the diamagnetic d(10) Zn(II) center is silent to electronic, electron spin resonance, and (67)Zn NMR spectroscopies. Therefore, we have employed molecular dynamics (MD), quantum mechanics (QM), and hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) techniques to derive this information. In particular, the role of the metal ions, ligands, and microenvironment in the functioning of mono- and binuclear metal center containing enzymes such as insulin degrading enzyme (IDE) and bovine lens leucine aminopeptidase (BILAP), respectively, and their synthetic analogues have been investigated. Our results suggested that in the functioning of IDE, the chemical nature of the peptide bond played a role in the energetics of the reaction and the peptide bond cleavage occurred in the rate-limiting step of the mechanism. In the cocatalytic mechanism used by BILAP, one metal center polarized the scissile peptide bond through the formation of a bond between the metal and the carbonyl group of the substrate, while the second metal center delivered the hydroxyl nucleophile. The Zn(N3) [Zn(His, His, His)] core of matrix metalloproteinase was better than the Zn(N2O) [Zn(His, His, Glu)] core of IDE for peptide hydrolysis. Due to the synergistic interaction between the two metal centers, the binuclear metal center containing Pd2(µ-OH)([18]aneN6)](4+) complex was found to be ∼100 times faster than the mononuclear [Pd(H2O)4](2+) complex. A successful small-molecule synthetic analogue of a mononuclear metallopeptidase must contain a metal with a strong Lewis acidity capable of reducing the pKa of its water ligand to less than 7. Ideally, the metal center should include three ligands with low basicity. The steric effects or strain exerted by the microenvironment could be used to weaken the metal-ligand interactions and increase the activity of the metallopeptidase.

Loss of intramolecular electrostatic interactions and limited conformational ensemble may promote self-association of cis-tau peptide.

Self-association of proteins can be triggered by a change in the distribution of the conformational ensemble. Posttranslational modification, such as phosphorylation, can induce a shift in the ensemble of conformations. In the brain of Alzheimer's disease patients, the formation of intra-cellular neurofibrillary tangles deposition is a result of self-aggregation of hyper-phosphorylated tau protein. Biochemical and NMR studies suggest that the cis peptidyl prolyl conformation of a phosphorylated threonine-proline motif in the tau protein renders tau more prone to aggregation than the trans isomer. However, little is known about the role of peptidyl prolyl cis/trans isomerization in tau aggregation. Here, we show that intra-molecular electrostatic interactions are better formed in the trans isomer. We explore the conformational landscape of the tau segment containing the phosphorylated-Thr(231)-Pro(232) motif using accelerated molecular dynamics and show that intra-molecular electrostatic interactions are coupled to the isomeric state of the peptidyl prolyl bond. Our results suggest that the loss of intra-molecular interactions and the more restricted conformational ensemble of the cis isomer could favor self-aggregation. The results are consistent with experiments, providing valuable complementary atomistic insights and a hypothetical model for isomer specific aggregation of the tau protein.

Computational Insights into Substrate and Site Specificities, Catalytic Mechanism, and Protonation States of the Catalytic Asp Dyad of ß -Secretase.

In this review, information regarding substrate and site specificities, catalytic mechanism, and protonation states of the catalytic Asp dyad of ß-secretase (BACE1) derived from computational studies has been discussed. BACE1 catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the generation of Alzheimer amyloid beta peptide through the proteolytic cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein. Due to its biological functioning, this enzyme has been considered as one of the most important targets for finding the cure for Alzheimer's disease. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations suggested that structural differences in the key regions (inserts A, D, and F and the 10s loop) of the enzyme are responsible for the observed difference in its activities towards the WT- and SW-substrates. The modifications in the flap, third strand, and insert F regions were found to be involved in the alteration in the site specificity of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol bound form of BACE1. Our QM and QM/MM calculations suggested that BACE1 hydrolyzed the SW-substrate more efficiently than the WT-substrate and that cleavage of the peptide bond occurred in the rate-determining step. The results from molecular docking studies showed that the information concerning a single protonation state of the Asp dyad is not enough to run an in silico screening campaign.

Cysteine-mediated dynamic hydrogen-bonding network in the active site of Pin1.

Enzymes catalyze a plethora of chemical reactions that are tightly regulated and intricately coupled in biology. Catalysis of phosphorylation-dependent cis-trans isomerization of peptidyl-prolyl bonds, which act as conformational switches in regulating many post-phosphorylation processes, is considered to be one of the most critical. Pin1 is a cis-trans isomerase of peptidyl-prolyl(ω-) bonds of phosphorylated-Ser/Thr-Pro motifs and has been implicated in many diseases. Structural and experimental studies are still unable to resolve the mechanistic role and protonation states of two adjacent histidines (His59 and His157) and a cysteine (Cys113) in the active site of Pin1. Here, we show that the protonation state of Cys113 mediates a dynamic hydrogen-bonding network in the active site of Pin1, involving the two adjacent histidines and several other residues that are highly conserved and necessary for catalysis. We have used detailed free energy calculations and molecular dynamics simulations, complementing previous experiments, to resolve the ambiguities in the orientations of the histidines and protonation states of these key active site residues, details that are critical for fully understanding the mechanism of Pin1 and necessary for developing potent inhibitors. Importantly, Cys113 is shown to alternate between the unprotonated and neutral states, unprotonated in free Pin1 and neutral in substrate-bound Pin1. Our results are consistent with experiments and provide an explanation for the chemical reactivity of free Pin1 that is suggested to be necessary for the regulation of the enzyme.

Comparative molecular dynamics simulation studies for determining factors contributing to the thermostability of chemotaxis protein "CheY".

Comparative molecular dynamics simulations of chemotaxis protein "CheY" from thermophilic origin Thermotoga maritima and its mesophilic counterpart Salmonella enterica have been performed for 10 ns each at 300 and 350 K, and 20 ns each at 400 and 450 K. The trajectories were analyzed in terms of different factors like root-mean-square deviation, root-mean-square fluctuation, radius of gyration, solvent accessible surface area, H-bonds, salt bridge content, and protein-solvent interactions which indicate distinct differences between the two of them. The two proteins also follow dissimilar unfolding pathways. The overall flexibility calculated by the trace of the diagonalized covariance matrix displays similar flexibility of both the proteins near their optimum growth temperatures. However, at higher temperatures mesophilic protein shows increased overall flexibility than its thermophilic counterpart. Principal component analysis also indicates that the essential subspaces explored by the simulations of two proteins at different temperatures are nonoverlapping and they show significantly different directions of motion. However, there are significant overlaps within the trajectories and similar direction of motions are observed for both proteins at 300 K. Overall, the mesophilic protein leads to increased conformational sampling of the phase space than its thermophilic counterpart. This is the first ever study of thermostability of CheY protein homologs by using protein dynamism as a main impact. Our study might be used as a model for studying the molecular basis of thermostability of two homologous proteins from two organisms living at different temperatures with less visible differences.

Elucidating the catalytic mechanism of ß-secretase (BACE1): a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) approach.

In this quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) study, the mechanisms of the hydrolytic cleavage of the Met2-Asp3 and Leu2-Asp3 peptide bonds of the amyloid precursor protein (WT-substrate) and its Swedish mutant (SW) respectively catalyzed by ß-secretase (BACE1) have been investigated by explicitly including the electrostatic and steric effects of the protein environment in the calculations. BACE1 catalyzes the rate-determining step in the generation of Alzheimer amyloid beta peptides and is widely acknowledged as a promising therapeutic target. The general acid-base mechanism followed by the enzyme proceeds through the following two steps: (1) formation of the gem-diol intermediate and (2) cleavage of the peptide bond. The formation of the gem-diol intermediate occurs with the barriers of 19.6 and 16.1 kcal/mol for the WT- and SW-substrate respectively. The QM/MM energetics predict that with the barriers of 21.9 and 17.2 kcal/mol for the WT- and SW-substrate respectively the cleavage of the peptide bond occurs in the rate-determining step. The computed barriers are in excellent agreement with the measured barrier of ∼18.0 kcal/mol for the SW-substrate and in line with the experimental observation that the cleavage of this substrate is sixty times more efficient than the WT-substrate.

Hydrocarbons depending on the chain length and head group adopt different conformations within a water-soluble nanocapsule: 1H NMR and molecular dynamics studies.

In this study we have examined the conformational preference of phenyl-substituted hydrocarbons (alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes) of different chain lengths included within a confined space provided by a molecular capsule made of two host cavitands known by the trivial name "octa acid" (OA). One- and two-dimensional (1)H NMR experiments and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were employed to probe the location and conformation of hydrocarbons within the OA capsule. In general, small hydrocarbons adopted a linear conformation while longer ones preferred a folded conformation. In addition, the extent of folding and the location of the end groups (methyl and phenyl) were dependent on the group (H(2)C-CH(2), HC═CH, and C≡C) adjacent to the phenyl group. In addition, the rotational mobility of the hydrocarbons within the capsule varied; for example, while phenylated alkanes tumbled freely, phenylated alkenes and alkynes resisted such a motion at room temperature. Combined NMR and MD simulation studies have confirmed that molecules could adopt conformations within confined spaces different from that in solution, opening opportunities to modulate chemical behavior of guest molecules.

Protonation states of the catalytic dyad of ß-secretase (BACE1) in the presence of chemically diverse inhibitors: a molecular docking study.

In this molecular docking study, the protonation states of the catalytic Asp dyad of the beta-secretase (BACE1) enzyme in the presence of eight chemically diverse inhibitors have been predicted. BACE1 catalyzes the rate-determining step in the generation of Alzheimer amyloid beta peptides and is widely considered as a promising therapeutic target. All the inhibitors were redocked into their corresponding X-ray structures using a combination of eight different protonation states of the Asp dyad for each inhibitor. Five inhibitors were primarily found to favor two different monoprotonated states, and the remaining three favor a dideprotonated state. In addition, five of them exhibited secondary preference for a diprotonated state. These results show that the knowledge of a single protonation state of the Asp dyad is not sufficient to search for the novel inhibitors of BACE1 and the most plausible state for each inhibitor must be determined prior to conducting in-silico screening.

Dimerization of the full-length Alzheimer amyloid ß-peptide (Aß42) in explicit aqueous solution: a molecular dynamics study.

In this study, the mechanism of dimerization of the full-length Alzheimer amyloid beta (Aß42) peptide and structural properties of the three most stable dimers have been elucidated through 0.8 µs classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The Aß42 dimer has been reported to be the smallest neurotoxic species that adversely affects both memory and synaptic plasticity. On the basis of interactions between the distinct regions of the Aß42 monomer, 10 different starting configurations were developed from their native folded structures. However, only six of them were found to form dimers and among them the three most stable (X(P), C-C(AP), and N-N(P)) were chosen for the detailed analysis. The structural properties of these dimers were compared with the available experimental and theoretical data. The MD simulations show that hydrophobic regions of both monomers play critical roles in the dimerization process. The high content of the α-helical structure in all the dimers is in line with its experimentally proposed role in the oligomerization. The formation of a zipper-like structure in X(P) is also in accordance with its existence in the aggregates of several short amyloidogenic peptides. The computed values of translational (D(T)) and rotational (D(R)) diffusion constants of 0.63 × 10(-6) cm(2)/s and 0.035 ns(-1), respectively, for this dimer are supported by the corresponding values of the Aß42 monomer. These simulations have also elucidated several other key structural properties of these peptides. This information will be very useful to design small molecules for the inhibition and disruption of the critical Aß42 dimers.

Mechanism of peptide hydrolysis by co-catalytic metal centers containing leucine aminopeptidase enzyme: a DFT approach.

In this density functional theory study, reaction mechanisms of a co-catalytic binuclear metal center (Zn1-Zn2) containing enzyme leucine aminopeptidase for two different metal bridging nucleophiles (H(2)O and -OH) have been investigated. In addition, the effects of the substrate (L-leucine-p-nitroanilide → L-leucyl-p-anisidine) and metal (Zn1 → Mg and Zn2 → Co, i.e., Mg1-Zn2 and Mg1-Co2 variants) substitutions on the energetics of the mechanism have been investigated. The general acid/base mechanism utilizing a bicarbonate ion followed by this enzyme is divided into two steps: (1) the formation of the gem-diolate intermediate, and (2) the cleavage of the peptide bond. With the computed barrier of 17.8 kcal/mol, the mechanism utilizing a hydroxyl nucleophile was found to be in excellent agreement with the experimentally measured barrier of 18.7 kcal/mol. The rate-limiting step for reaction with L-leucine-p-nitroanilide is the cleavage of the peptide bond with a barrier of 17.8 kcal/mol. However, for L-leucyl-p-anisidine all steps of the mechanism were found to occur with similar barriers (18.0-19.0 kcal/mol). For the metallovariants, cleavage of the peptide bond occurs in the rate-limiting step with barriers of 17.8, 18.0, and 24.2 kcal/mol for the Zn1-Zn2, Mg1-Zn2, and Mg1-Co2 enzymes, respectively. The nature of the metal ion was found to affect only the creation of the gem-diolate intermediate, and after that all three enzymes follow essentially the same energetics. The results reported in this study have elucidated specific roles of both metal centers, the nucleophile, indirect ligands, and substrates in the catalytic functioning of this important class of binuclear metallopeptidases.

Computational Insights into Dynamics of Protein Aggregation and Enzyme-Substrate Interactions.

In this Perspective, the roles of protein dynamics have been discussed in the aggregation of amyloid beta (Aß) peptides and formation of enzyme-substrate complexes of beta-secretase (BACE1) and insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE). The studies regarding the influence of individual amino acid residues and specific regions on the structures and oligomerization of early Aß aggregates and computations of their translational and rotational diffusion coefficients and order parameters exhibited that even the short-time-scale molecular dynamics simulations can reproduce certain experimental parameters with reasonable accuracy. The simulations elucidating the enzyme-substrate interactions of BACE1 and IDE successfully showed that the chemical nature and length of the substrates influence the dynamics and plasticity of both the enzyme and substrate. An atomic-level understanding of these processes will advance our efforts to develop therapeutic strategies for several deadly diseases through the design of small molecules with antiaggregation properties and substrate-specific "designer" forms of enzymes.

Loss of cleavage at ß'-site contributes to apparent increase in ß-amyloid peptide (Aß) secretion by ß-secretase (BACE1)-glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) processing of amyloid precursor protein.

Several lines of evidence implicate lipid raft microdomains in Alzheimer disease-associated ß-amyloid peptide (Aß) production. Notably, targeting ß-secretase (ß-site amyloid precursor protein (APP)-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1)) exclusively to lipid rafts by the addition of a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor to its ectodomain has been reported to elevate Aß secretion. Paradoxically, Aß secretion is not reduced by the expression of non-raft resident S-palmitoylation-deficient BACE1 (BACE1-4C/A (C474A/C478A/C482A/C485A)). We addressed this apparent discrepancy in raft microdomain-associated BACE1 processing of APP in this study. As previously reported, we found that expression of BACE1-GPI elevated Aß secretion as compared with wild-type BACE1 (WTBACE1) or BACE1-4C/A. However, this increase occurred without any difference in the levels of APP ectodomain released following BACE1 cleavage (soluble APPß), arguing against an overall increase in BACE1 processing of APP per se. Further analysis revealed that WTBACE1 cleaves APP at ß- and ß'-sites, generating +1 and +11 ß-C-terminal fragments and secreting intact as well as N-terminally truncated Aß. In contrast, three different BACE1-GPI chimeras preferentially cleaved APP at the ß-site, mainly generating +1 ß-C-terminal fragment and secreting intact Aß. As a consequence, cells expressing BACE1-GPI secreted relatively higher levels of intact Aß without an increase in BACE1 processing of APP. Markedly reduced cleavage at ß'-site exhibited by BACE1-GPI was cell type-independent and insensitive to subcellular localization of APP or the pathogenic KM/NL mutant. We conclude that the apparent elevation in Aß secretion by BACE1-GPI is mainly attributed to preferential cleavage at the ß-site and failure to detect +11 Aß species secreted by cells expressing WTBACE1.