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Leishmania tarentolae is a non-pathogenic trypanosomatid isolated from lizards widely used for heterologous protein expression and extensively studied to understand the pathogenic mechanisms of leishmaniasis. The repertoire of leishmanolysin genes was reported to be expanded in L. tarentolae genome, but no proteolytic activity was detected. Here, we analyzed L. tarentolae leishmanolysin proteins from the genome to the structural levels and evaluated the enzymatic activity of the wild-type and overexpressing mutants of leishmanolysin. A total of 61 leishmanolysin sequences were retrieved from the L. tarentolae genome. Five of them were selected for phylogenetic analysis, and for three of them, we built 3D models based on the crystallographic structure of L. major ortholog. Molecular dynamics simulations of these models disclosed a less negative electrostatic potential compared to the template. Subsequently, L. major LmjF.10.0460 and L. tarentolae LtaP10.0650 leishmanolysins were cloned in a pLEXSY expression system into L. tarentolae. Proteins from the wild-type and the overexpressing parasites were submitted to enzymatic analysis. Our results revealed that L. tarentolae leishmanolysins harbor a weak enzymatic activity about three times less abundant than L. major leishmanolysin. Our findings strongly suggest that the less negative electrostatic potential of L. tarentolae leishmanolysin can be the reason for the reduced proteolytic activity detected in this parasite.
Assuntos
Leishmania , Leishmaniose , Parasitos , Animais , Leishmania/genética , Leishmania/metabolismo , Leishmaniose/parasitologia , Metaloendopeptidases/metabolismo , FilogeniaRESUMO
The protozoan cysteine proteases cruzain in Trypanosoma cruzi and rhodesain in Trypanosoma brucei are therapeutic targets for Chagas disease and Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), respectively. A benzimidazole series was previously characterized as potent noncovalent competitive cruzain and rhodesain inhibitors with activity against trypanosomes. Common structure-activity relationships (SAR) trends and structural modifications leading to selectivity against each enzyme were described. However, some of these trends could not be understood based on the reported binding mode of lead compound 1. Therefore, we employed microsecond molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations to understand qualitative SAR trends and to quantitatively recapitulate them. Simulations revealed the most stable protein-ligand interactions and provided insights concerning enzyme selectivity. Calculated relative binding free energies of compound 1 analogs exhibited deviations of 1.1 and 2.2 kcal/mol from the experimental values for cruzain and rhodesain, respectively. These data encourage prospective thermodynamic integration (TI) studies to optimize this series and facilitate the prioritization of compounds for synthesis.
Assuntos
Benzimidazóis/química , Inibidores de Cisteína Proteinase/química , Simulação de Acoplamento Molecular , Trypanosoma brucei brucei/enzimologia , Animais , Cisteína Endopeptidases/metabolismo , Interações Hidrofóbicas e Hidrofílicas , Proteínas de Protozoários/química , Proteínas de Protozoários/metabolismo , Relação Estrutura-AtividadeRESUMO
An exciting debate arises when microscopic mechanisms involved in the denaturation of proteins at high pressures are explained. In particular, the issue emerges when the hydrophobic effect is invoked, given that hydrophobicity cannot elucidate by itself the volume changes measured during protein unfolding. In this work, we study by the use of molecular dynamics simulations and essential dynamics analysis the relation between the solvation dynamics, volume, and water structure when apomyoglobin is subjected to a hydrostatic pressure regime. Accordingly, the mechanism of cold denaturation of proteins under high-pressure can be related to the disruption of the hydrogen-bond network of water favoring the coexistence of two states, low-density and high-density water, which directly implies in the formation of a molten globule once the threshold of 200 MPa has been overcome.
Assuntos
Apoproteínas/química , Interações Hidrofóbicas e Hidrofílicas , Simulação de Dinâmica Molecular , Mioglobina/química , Pressão , Desnaturação Proteica , Ligação de Hidrogênio , Conformação Proteica , Solventes/química , Propriedades de Superfície , Termodinâmica , Água/químicaRESUMO
Micellar aggregates can be arranged in new types of conformational assemblies when they are isotropically compressed. Thus, the pressure effects in the underlying fundamental interactions leading to self-assembly of micellar aggregates can be represented by changes in the phase boundaries with increasing pressure. In this paper, we have employed molecular dynamics simulations to study the self-assembly of micelles composed of the non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100 at the atomic scale, monitoring the changes in the solvation dynamics when the micelles are subjected to a wide range of hydrostatic pressures. The computational molecular model was capable of self-assembling and forming a non-ionic micelle, which subsequently was coupled to a high-pressure barostat producing a geometric transition of the micelle due to changes in the solvation dynamics. Accordingly, under a high pressure regime, the hydrogen bonds are redistributed, the water density is modified, and water acts as an unstructured liquid, capable of penetrating into the micelle.
RESUMO
The cold denaturation of globular proteins is a process that can be caused by increasing pressure or decreasing the temperature. Currently, the action mechanism of this process has not been clearly understood, raising an interesting debate on the matter. We have studied the process of cold denaturation using molecular dynamics simulations of the frataxin system Yfh1, which has a dynamic experimental characterization of unfolding at low and high temperatures. The frataxin model here studied allows a comparative analysis using experimental data. Furthermore, we monitored the cold denaturation process of frataxin and also investigated the effect under the high-pressure regime. For a better understanding of the dynamics and structural properties of the cold denaturation, we also analyzed the MD trajectories using essentials dynamic. The results indicate that changes in the structure of water by the effect of pressure and low temperatures destabilize the hydrophobic interaction modifying the solvation and the system volume leading to protein denaturation. Proteins 2016; 85:125-136. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Ligação ao Ferro/química , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/química , Água/química , Temperatura Baixa , Interações Hidrofóbicas e Hidrofílicas , Simulação de Dinâmica Molecular , Pressão , Desnaturação Proteica , Domínios Proteicos , Estrutura Secundária de Proteína , Desdobramento de Proteína , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/metabolismo , Termodinâmica , FrataxinaRESUMO
Peptides from the COOH-terminal extension of cysteine proteinase B from Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis (cyspep) can modulate immune responses in vertebrate hosts. With this hypothesis as base, we used the online analysis tool SYFPEITHI to predict seven epitopes from this region with potential to bind H2 proteins. We performed proliferation tests and quantified reactive T lymphocytes applying a cytometry analysis, using samples from draining lymph node of lesions from L. (L.) amazonensis-infected mice. To define reactivity of T cells, we used complexes of DimerX (H2 D(b):Ig and H2 L(d):Ig) and the putative epitopes. Additionally, we applied surface plasmon resonance to verify real time interactions between the putative epitopes and DimerX proteins. Five peptides induced blastogenesis in BALB/c cells, while only two presented the same property in C57BL/6 mouse cells. In addition, our data indicate the existence of CD8+ T lymphocyte populations able to recognize each tested peptide in both murine strains. We observed an overlapping of results between the peptides that induced lymphocyte proliferation and those capable of binding to the DimerX in the surface plasmon resonance assays thus indicating that using these recombinant proteins in biosensing analyses is a promising tool to study real time molecular interactions in the context of major histocompatibility complex epitopes. The data gathered in this study reinforce the hypothesis that cyspep-derived peptides are important factors in the murine host infection by L. (L.) amazonensis.
Assuntos
Cisteína Proteases/imunologia , Epitopos/metabolismo , Imunidade Celular , Peptídeos/imunologia , Animais , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/imunologia , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/metabolismo , Epitopos/imunologia , Antígenos H-2/imunologia , Humanos , Leishmania/imunologia , Leishmania/patogenicidade , Linfonodos/imunologia , Ativação Linfocitária/imunologia , CamundongosRESUMO
Malaria, caused by Plasmodium protozoa with Plasmodium falciparum as the most virulent species, continues to pose significant health challenges. Despite the availability of effective antimalarial drugs, the emergence of resistance has heightened the urgency for developing novel therapeutic compounds. In this study, we investigated the enoyl-ACP reductase enzyme of P. falciparum (PfENR) as a promising target for antimalarial drug discovery. Through a comprehensive analysis, we conducted a comparative evaluation of two lead compounds, LD1 (CID: 44405336, lead compounds 1) and LD2 (CID: 72703246, lead compounds 2), obtained from the PubChem/NCBI ligand database, to serve as reference molecules in the identification of potential derivatives using virtual screening assays. Among the newly identified candidates, Ligand 1 (LG1) and Ligand 2 (LG2) exhibited intriguing characteristics and underwent further investigation through docking and molecular dynamics simulations. Ligand 1 (LG1) demonstrated interactions similar to LD1, including hydrogen bonding with Asp218, while Ligand 2 (LG2) displayed superior binding energy comparable to LD1 and LD2, despite lacking hydrogen bonding interactions observed in the control compounds triclosan and its derivative 7-(4-chloro-2-hydroxyphenoxy)-4-methyl-2H-chromen-2-one (CHJ). Following computational validation using the MM/GBSA method to estimate binding free energy, commercially acquired LG1 and LG2 ligands were subjected to in vitro testing. Inhibition assays were performed to evaluate their potential as PfENR inhibitors alongside triclosan as a control compound. LG1 exhibited no inhibitory effects, while LG2 demonstrated inhibitory effects like triclosan. In conclusion, this study contributes valuable insights into developing novel antimalarial drugs by identifying LG2 as a potential ligand and employing a comprehensive approach integrating computational and experimental methodologies.
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Caspase-1 (Interleukin-1 Converting Enzyme, ICE) is a proinflammatory enzyme that plays pivotal roles in innate immunity and many inflammatory conditions such as periodic fever syndromes and gout. Inflammation is often mediated by enzymatic activation of interleukin (IL)-1ß and IL-18. We detected seven naturally occurring human CASP1 variants with different effects on protein structure, expression, and enzymatic activity. Most mutations destabilized the caspase-1 dimer interface as revealed by crystal structure analysis and homology modeling followed by molecular dynamics simulations. All variants demonstrated decreased or absent enzymatic and IL-1ß releasing activity in vitro, in a cell transfection model, and as low as 25% of normal ex vivo in a whole blood assay of samples taken from subjects with variant CASP1, a subset of whom suffered from unclassified autoinflammation. We conclude that decreased enzymatic activity of caspase-1 is compatible with normal life and does not prevent moderate and severe autoinflammation.
Assuntos
Caspase 1/genética , Caspase 1/metabolismo , Variação Genética , Interleucina-1beta/metabolismo , Biocatálise , Caspase 1/química , Linhagem Celular , Cristalografia por Raios X , Citocinas/sangue , Citocinas/metabolismo , Análise Mutacional de DNA , Predisposição Genética para Doença/genética , Células HEK293 , Humanos , Inflamação/enzimologia , Inflamação/genética , Modelos Moleculares , Mutação , Multimerização Proteica , Estrutura Terciária de ProteínaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Human TWIST1 is a highly conserved member of the regulatory basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors. TWIST1 forms homo- or heterodimers with E-box proteins, such as E2A (isoforms E12 and E47), MYOD and HAND2. Haploinsufficiency germ-line mutations of the twist1 gene in humans are the main cause of Saethre-Chotzen syndrome (SCS), which is characterized by limb abnormalities and premature fusion of cranial sutures. Because of the importance of TWIST1 in the regulation of embryonic development and its relationship with SCS, along with the lack of an experimentally solved 3D structure, we performed comparative modeling for the TWIST1 bHLH region arranged into wild-type homodimers and heterodimers with E47. In addition, three mutations that promote DNA binding failure (R118C, S144R and K145E) were studied on the TWIST1 monomer. We also explored the behavior of the mutant forms in aqueous solution using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, focusing on the structural changes of the wild-type versus mutant dimers. RESULTS: The solvent-accessible surface area of the homodimers was smaller on wild-type dimers, which indicates that the cleft between the monomers remained more open on the mutant homodimers. RMSD and RMSF analyses indicated that mutated dimers presented values that were higher than those for the wild-type dimers. For a more careful investigation, the monomer was subdivided into four regions: basic, helix I, loop and helix II. The basic domain presented a higher flexibility in all of the parameters that were analyzed, and the mutant dimer basic domains presented values that were higher than the wild-type dimers. The essential dynamic analysis also indicated a higher collective motion for the basic domain. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest the mutations studied turned the dimers into more unstable structures with a wider cleft, which may be a reason for the loss of DNA binding capacity observed for in vitro circumstances.
Assuntos
Simulação por Computador , Sequências Hélice-Alça-Hélice , Modelos Químicos , Proteínas Nucleares/química , Proteína 1 Relacionada a Twist/química , Acrocefalossindactilia/genética , Acrocefalossindactilia/metabolismo , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Substituição de Aminoácidos , Fatores de Transcrição Hélice-Alça-Hélice Básicos/química , Fatores de Transcrição Hélice-Alça-Hélice Básicos/genética , Fatores de Transcrição Hélice-Alça-Hélice Básicos/metabolismo , Feminino , Humanos , Simulação de Dinâmica Molecular , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Mutação , Proteínas Nucleares/genética , Multimerização Proteica , Estrutura Secundária de Proteína , Proteína 1 Relacionada a Twist/genéticaRESUMO
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a global health concern and has been linked to severe neurological pathologies. Although no medication is available yet, many efforts to develop antivirals and host cell binding inhibitors led to attractive drug-like scaffolds, mainly targeting the nonstructural NS2B/NS3 protease (NS2B/NS3pro). NS2B/NS3pro active site has several titratable residues susceptible to pH changes and ligand binding; hence, understanding these residues' protonation is essential to drug design efforts targeting the active site. Here we use in silico methods to probe non-covalent binding and its effect on pKa shifts of the active site residues on a ligand-free protease and with a non-peptidic competitive inhibitor (Ki=13.5 µM). By applying constant pH molecular dynamics, we found that the catalytic residues of the unbound NS2B/NS3pro achieved the protonation needed for the serine protease mechanism over the pH value of 8.5. Nevertheless, the protease in the holo state achieved this same scenario at lower pH values. Also, non-covalent binding affected the catalytic triad (H51, D75, and S135) by stabilizing their distances and interaction network. Thus, NS2B/NS3pro residues configuration for activity might be both pH-dependent and influenced by ligand binding. However, compound presence within the binding site destabilized the NS2B, interfering with the closed and active conformation necessary for substrate binding and catalysis. Our outcomes provide valuable insights into non-covalent inhibitor behavior and its effect on protease active site residues, impacting optimization and design of novel compounds. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
Assuntos
Antivirais , Inibidores de Proteases , Zika virus , Sítios de Ligação , Concentração de Íons de Hidrogênio , Peptídeo Hidrolases/química , Inibidores de Proteases/farmacologia , Inibidores de Proteases/química , Conformação Proteica , Serina Endopeptidases/química , Proteínas não Estruturais Virais/química , Zika virus/efeitos dos fármacos , Antivirais/química , Antivirais/farmacologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Leishmania parasites have been reported to interfere and even subvert their host immune responses to enhance their chances of survival and proliferation. Experimental Leishmania infection in mice has been widely used in the identification of specific parasite virulence factors involved in the interaction with the host immune system. Cysteine-proteinase B (CPB) is an important virulence factor in parasites from the Leishmania (Leishmania) mexicana complex: it inhibits lymphocytes Th1 and/or promotes Th2 responses either through proteolytic activity or through epitopes derived from its COOH-terminal extension. In the present study we analyzed the effects of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis CPB COOH-terminal extension-derived peptides on cell cultures from murine strains with distinct levels of susceptibility to infection: BALB/c, highly susceptible, and CBA, mildly resistant. RESULTS: Predicted epitopes, obtained by in silico mapping, displayed the ability to induce cell proliferation and expression of cytokines related to Th1 and Th2 responses. Furthermore, we applied in silico simulations to investigate how the MHC/epitopes interactions could be related to the immunomodulatory effects on cytokines, finding evidence that specific interaction patterns can be related to in vitro activities. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our results, we consider that some peptides from the CPB COOH-terminal extension may influence host immune responses in the murine infection, thus helping Leishmania survival.
Assuntos
Cisteína Proteases/imunologia , Epitopos/imunologia , Leishmania mexicana/imunologia , Leishmania mexicana/patogenicidade , Leishmaniose/imunologia , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Animais , Sequência de Bases , Cisteína Proteases/genética , Citocinas/biossíntese , Epitopos/genética , Epitopos/metabolismo , Epitopos de Linfócito T/genética , Epitopos de Linfócito T/imunologia , Epitopos de Linfócito T/metabolismo , Feminino , Antígenos H-2/imunologia , Antígenos H-2/metabolismo , Leishmaniose/parasitologia , Linfonodos/imunologia , Linfonodos/metabolismo , Ativação Linfocitária/imunologia , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos BALB C , Camundongos Endogâmicos CBA , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Óxido Nítrico/biossíntese , Ligação Proteica/imunologia , Linfócitos T/imunologia , Linfócitos T/metabolismoRESUMO
The standard parameterization of the Linear Interaction Energy (LIE) method has been applied with quite good results to reproduce the experimental absolute binding free energies for several protein-ligand systems. However, we found that this parameterization failed to reproduce the experimental binding free energy of Plasmepsin II (PlmII) in complexes with inhibitors belonging to four dissimilar scaffolds. To overcome this fact, we developed three approaches of LIE, which combine systematic approaches to predict the inhibitor-specific values of α, ß, and γ parameters, to gauge their ability to calculate the absolute binding free energies for these PlmII-Inhibitor complexes. Specifically: (i) we modified the linear relationship between the weighted nonpolar desolvation ratio (WNDR) and the α parameter, by introducing two models of the ß parameter determined by the free energy perturbation (FEP) method in the absence of the constant term γ, and (ii) we developed a new parameterization model to investigate the linear correlation between WNDR and the correction term γ. Using these parameterizations, we were able to reproduce the experimental binding free energy from these systems with mean absolute errors lower than 1.5 kcal/mol.
Assuntos
Algoritmos , Ácido Aspártico Proteases/antagonistas & inibidores , Ácido Aspártico Proteases/química , Inibidores Enzimáticos/química , Simulação de Dinâmica Molecular , Antimaláricos/química , Antimaláricos/farmacologia , Ácido Aspártico Endopeptidases/antagonistas & inibidores , Ácido Aspártico Endopeptidases/química , Ácido Aspártico Endopeptidases/metabolismo , Ácido Aspártico Proteases/metabolismo , Sítios de Ligação , Inibidores Enzimáticos/metabolismo , Ligantes , Maleabilidade , Proteínas de Protozoários/antagonistas & inibidores , Proteínas de Protozoários/química , Proteínas de Protozoários/metabolismo , TermodinâmicaRESUMO
Cartilage-hair hypoplasia syndrome (CHH) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by pathogenic variants of the RMRP gene and characterized by metaphyseal bone dysplasia associated with hypotrichosis, immunodeficiency, and predisposition to malignancy. However, the genotype-phenotype correlation in CHH is not well understood. Here, we report a single country cohort of 23 Brazilian patients with clinical and radiological features consistent with CHH. We found 23 different pathogenic variants in the RMRP gene - 12 novel and 11 previously described in the literature. Interestingly, the most frequent Finnish pathogenic variant related to CHH (g.71A>G) was not found in our cohort. In contrast, more than 50% of the patients carried the rare g.196C>T variant suggesting a possible founder effect in the Brazilian population. In silico analysis showed that pathogenic variants occurred either in the regions conserved in mammalian species or within essential domains for the ribonucleoprotein complex. Pathogenicity prediction studies can improve the understanding of how these variants affect RNA.
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Integrins are cell adhesion receptors that transmit bidirectional signals across the plasma membrane. They are noncovalently linked heterodimeric molecules consisting of two subunits and act as biomarkers in several pathologies. Thus, according to the increase of therapeutic antibody production, some efforts have been applied to produce anti-integrin antibodies. Here, we purposed to evaluate methods of generation and identification of the binding pose of integrin-antibody complexes, through protein-protein docking and molecular dynamics simulations, and propose a strategy to assure the confidence of the final model and avoid false-positive poses. The results show that ClusPro and GRAMM-X were the best programs to generate the native pose of integrin-antibody complexes. Furthermore, we were able to recover and to ensure that the selected pose is the native one by using a simple rule. All complexes from ClusPro in which the first model had the lowest energy, at least 5% more negative than the second one, were correctly predicted. Therefore, our methodology seems to be efficient to avoid misranking of wrong poses for integrin-antibody complexes. In cases where the rule is inconclusive, we proposed the use of heated molecular dynamics to identify the native pose characterized by RMSDi <0.5 nm. We believe that the set of methods presented here helps in the rational design of anti-integrin antibodies, giving some insights on the development of new biopharmaceuticals.
RESUMO
The Trypanosoma cruzi ribose-5-phosphate isomerase B (TcRpiB) is a crucial piece in the pentose phosphate pathway and thus is a potential drug target for treatment of Chagas' disease. TcRpiB residues, such as Cys69, Asp45, Glu149 and Pro47, have confirmed their roles in substrate recognition, catalytic reaction and binding site conformation. However, the joint performance of His11 and His102, in the D-ribose-5-phosphate (R5P) in the catalysis is not well understood. In this work, we probed the influence of different protonation states of His11 and His102 on the behavior of the ligand R5P using molecular dynamics simulations, network analysis and thermodynamic integration. Simulations revealed that a protonated His11 combined with a neutral His102 (His11+âHis102) was able to stabilize the ligand R5P in the binding site. Moreover, calculated relative free energy differences showed that when protonated His11 was coupled to a neutral His102 an exergonic process takes place. On the other hand, neutral His11 combined with a protonated His102 (His11âHis102+), sampled conformations that resembled the catalyzed product D-ribulose-5-phosphate (Ru5P). Network analysis also demonstrated some peculiarities for these systems with some negatively correlated nodes in the binding site for His11âHis102+, and exclusive suboptimal paths for His11+âHis102. Therefore, the combined approach presented in this paper proposes two suitable protonation states for the TcRpiB catalytic mechanism, where an extra proton in either histidines might favor R5P binding or influence isomerization reaction to Ru5P. Our results may guide further in silico drug discovery studies. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
Assuntos
Aldose-Cetose Isomerases/química , Trypanosoma cruzi , Sítios de Ligação , Trypanosoma cruzi/enzimologiaRESUMO
Computational methods, applied at the early stages of the drug design process, use current technology to provide valuable insights into the understanding of chemical systems in a virtual manner, complementing experimental analysis. Molecular docking is an in silico method employed to foresee binding modes of small compounds or macromolecules in contact with a receptor and to predict their molecular interactions. Moreover, the methodology opens up the possibility of ranking these compounds according to a hierarchy determined using particular scoring functions. Docking protocols assign many approximations, and most of them lack receptor flexibility. Therefore, the reliability of the resulting protein-ligand complexes is uncertain. The association with the costly but more accurate MD techniques provides significant complementary with docking. MD simulations can be used before docking since a series of "new" and broader protein conformations can be extracted from the processing of the resulting trajectory and employed as targets for docking. They also can be utilized a posteriori to optimize the structures of the final complexes from docking, calculate more detailed interaction energies, and provide information about the ligand binding mechanism. Here, we focus on protocols that offer the docking-MD combination as a logical approach to improving the drug discovery process.
Assuntos
Simulação de Acoplamento Molecular , Simulação de Dinâmica Molecular , Ligantes , Proteínas/química , Relação Estrutura-AtividadeRESUMO
Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) plays critical roles in the regulation of many pathophysiological processes, including inflammation and immune responses, cell growth and apoptosis. This DNA-binding protein receptor is considered an important molecular target to treat many diseases through host-directed therapy. In this line, several drugs containing thiophene cores have been extensively evaluated due to their ability to interfere on NF-κB translocation to the nucleus. In this work, assays using drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS) revealed that the parent compound N-(Aryl)-2-thiophen-2-ylacetamide referred to as thiophenacetamide (TAA) specifically binds to the p65 subunit of the NF-κB. Since no experimental binding mode of TAA with p65 is available, we explored TAA within putative sites in silico to gain insights into its possible binding mode and behavior. The binding mode of TAA found in Site 1 formed hydrogen bonds with Lys37 and Asp125 on p65, important residues near DNA-binding region. Molecular dynamics simulations showed the stability of this mode of binding in contrast to the other also tested modes. Our results suggest that TAA binding could occur in regions close to residues responsible for DNA binding, increasing NF-κB protein rigidity and affecting the association between DNA and NF-κB. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
Assuntos
Acetamidas/química , Sistemas de Liberação de Medicamentos , NF-kappa B/genética , Fator de Transcrição RelA/genética , Acetamidas/uso terapêutico , Apoptose/genética , Sítios de Ligação/genética , Núcleo Celular/genética , Proliferação de Células/genética , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/química , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/genética , Humanos , Simulação de Dinâmica Molecular , NF-kappa B/química , Ligação Proteica/genética , Transdução de Sinais/genética , Fator de Transcrição RelA/químicaRESUMO
Aim: Limitations in available therapies for trypanosomiases indicate the need for improved medicines. Cysteine proteases cruzain and rhodesain are validated targets for treatment of Chagas disease and human African trypanosomiasis. Previous studies reported a benzimidazole series as potent cruzain inhibitors. Results & methodology: Considering the high similarity between these proteases, we evaluated 40 benzimidazoles against rhodesain. We describe their structure-activity relationships (SAR), revealing trends similar to those observed for cruzain and features that lead to enzyme selectivity. This series comprises noncovalent competitive inhibitors (best Ki = 0.21 µM against rhodesain) and micromolar activity against Trypanosoma brucei brucei. A cheminformatics analysis confirms scaffold novelty, and the inhibitors described have favorable predicted physicochemical properties. Conclusion: Our results support this series as a starting point for new human African trypanosomiasis medicines.
Assuntos
Benzimidazóis/farmacologia , Cisteína Proteases/metabolismo , Inibidores de Cisteína Proteinase/farmacologia , Tripanossomicidas/farmacologia , Trypanosoma brucei brucei/efeitos dos fármacos , Benzimidazóis/síntese química , Benzimidazóis/química , Inibidores de Cisteína Proteinase/síntese química , Inibidores de Cisteína Proteinase/química , Relação Dose-Resposta a Droga , Relação Estrutura-Atividade , Tripanossomicidas/síntese química , Tripanossomicidas/química , Trypanosoma brucei brucei/enzimologia , Tripanossomíase Africana/tratamento farmacológicoRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) represents the largest number of annual deaths from hematologic malignancy. In the United States, it was estimated that 21.380 individuals would be diagnosed with AML and 49.5% of patients would die in 2017. Therefore, the search for novel compounds capable of increasing the overall survival rate to the treatment of AML cells is urgent. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the cytotoxicity effect of the natural compound pomolic acid (PA) and to explore the mechanism of action of PA in AML cell lines with different phenotypes. METHODS: Three different AML cell lines, HL60, U937 and Kasumi-1 cells with different mechanisms of resistance were used to analyze the effect of PA on the cell cycle progression, on DNA intercalation and on human DNA topoisomerases (hTopo I and IIα) in vitro studies. Theoretical experiments of the inhibition of hTopo I and IIα were done to explore the binding modes of PA. RESULTS: PA reduced cell viability, induced cell death, increased sub-G0/G1 accumulation and activated caspases pathway in all cell lines, altered the cell cycle distribution and inhibited the catalytic activity of both human DNA topoisomerases. CONCLUSION: Finally, this study showed that PA has powerful antitumor activity against AML cells, suggesting that this natural compound might be a potent antineoplastic agent to improve the treatment scheme of this neoplasm.
Assuntos
Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , DNA Topoisomerases/metabolismo , Leucemia Mieloide Aguda/tratamento farmacológico , Ácido Oleanólico/análogos & derivados , Inibidores da Topoisomerase/farmacologia , Antineoplásicos/síntese química , Antineoplásicos/química , Morte Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Proliferação de Células/efeitos dos fármacos , Sobrevivência Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Clivagem do DNA , DNA de Neoplasias/efeitos dos fármacos , Relação Dose-Resposta a Droga , Ensaios de Seleção de Medicamentos Antitumorais , Células HL-60 , Humanos , Leucemia Mieloide Aguda/patologia , Modelos Moleculares , Conformação Molecular , Ácido Oleanólico/síntese química , Ácido Oleanólico/química , Ácido Oleanólico/farmacologia , Relação Estrutura-Atividade , Inibidores da Topoisomerase/síntese química , Inibidores da Topoisomerase/química , Células U937RESUMO
RNA molecules are essential players in many fundamental biological processes. Prokaryotes and eukaryotes have distinct RNA classes with specific structural features and functional roles. Computational prediction of protein structures is a research field in which high confidence three-dimensional protein models can be proposed based on the sequence alignment between target and templates. However, to date, only a few approaches have been developed for the computational prediction of RNA structures. Similar to proteins, RNA structures may be altered due to the interaction with various ligands, including proteins, other RNAs, and metabolites. A riboswitch is a molecular mechanism, found in the three kingdoms of life, in which the RNA structure is modified by the binding of a metabolite. It can regulate multiple gene expression mechanisms, such as transcription, translation initiation, and mRNA splicing and processing. Due to their nature, these entities also act on the regulation of gene expression and detection of small metabolites and have the potential to helping in the discovery of new classes of antimicrobial agents. In this review, we describe software and web servers currently available for riboswitch aptamer identification and secondary and tertiary structure prediction, including applications.