Graphical visualization of mean hydration from molecular dynamics simulations

Crystal structures of human cytochrome P450 3A4 bound to metyrapone and progesterone

Cytochromes P450 (P450s) metabolize a wide range of endogenous compounds and xenobiotics, such as pollutants, environmental compounds, and drug molecules. The microsomal, membrane-associated, P450 isoforms CYP3A4, CYP2D6, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2E1, and CYP1A2 are responsible for the oxidative metabolism of more than 90% of marketed drugs. Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) metabolizes more drug molecules than all other isoforms combined. Here we report three crystal structures of CYP3A4: unliganded, bound to the inhibitor metyrapone, and bound to the substrate progesterone. The structures revealed a surprisingly small active site, with little conformational change associated with the binding of either compound. An unexpected peripheral binding site is identified, located above a phenylalanine cluster, which may be involved in the initial recognition of substrates or allosteric effectors.

The diluted aqueous solvation of carbohydrates as inferred from molecular dynamics simulations and NMR spectroscopy

The purpose of this paper is to review our understanding of the dilute hydration (aqueous solvation) behaviour of disaccharide compounds. To this end we discuss and scrutinize the results that have been obtained for the three model disaccharides: maltose, sucrose and trehalose from experimental NMR studies and from theoretical molecular dynamics studies in explicit aqueous solutions. The focus is on the description of molecular hydration features that will influence macroscopic entities such as diffusion and relaxation: residence times of hydration waters, hydration numbers and hydration densities. The principles of molecular dynamics simulation are briefly outlined while a detailed presentation is given of the key features that characterise hydration: the solvation of the glycosidic linkage, the radial hydration of the solute, the water density anisotropy around the solute, the residential behaviour of water molecules in the periphery of the solute, and rotational and translational diffusion coefficients. With respect to the use of NMR in characterising the structure and dynamics of the hydration, the hydrodynamic theory of rotational and translational diffusion of biomolecules as well as the use of pulse field gradient spin echo experiments are briefly presented. The NMR-defined rotational diffusion coefficients (D(r)) and the experimentally determined translational diffusion (D(t)) coefficients are reported for 4% (w/w) solutions of sucrose, trehalose and maltose. These results are compared with theoretical data obtained from molecular dynamics simulations of sucrose, trehalose and maltose under identical conditions (concentration, temperature, etc.). With our present level of knowledge we can propose that although carbohydrates share a number of hydration characteristics, evidence is accumulating in support of the notion that it is not the amount or overall hydration but rather the detailed individual carbohydrate-water interaction that is likely to determine carbohydrate structure and functionality.

The mean hydration of carbohydrates as studied by normalized two-dimensional radial pair distributions

The hydration of carbohydrates plays a key role in many biological processes. Molecular dynamics simulations provide an effective tool for investigating the hydration of complex solutes such as carbohydrates. In this article we devise an algorithm for the calculation of two-dimensional radial pair distributions describing the probability of finding a water molecule in a site defined by two reference atoms. The normalized 2D radial pair distribution is proposed as an effective tool for investigating and comparing localized or ordered water sites around flexible molecules such as carbohydrates when analyzing molecular dynamics simulations and the utility of 2D radial pair distributions is demonstrated using sucrose as an example. In this relatively simple structure, 2D radial pair distributions were able to characterize and quantify the importance of two unique interresidue hydration sites in which a water molecule is forming a bridge between the glycopyranosyl and fructofuranosyl residues. The approach is proposed to be a valuable tool for comparing and understanding the hydration of flexible biomolecules such as carbohydrates.