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Tolstova AP, Adzhubei AA, Strelkova MA, Makarov AA, Mitkevich VA. Survey of the Aβ-peptide structural diversity: molecular dynamics approaches. Biophys Rev 2024; 16:701-722. [PMID: 39830132 PMCID: PMC11735825 DOI: 10.1007/s12551-024-01253-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2024] [Accepted: 11/04/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2025] Open
Abstract
The review deals with the application of Molecular Dynamics (MD) to the structure modeling of beta-amyloids (Aβ), currently classified as intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). In this review, we strive to relate the main advances in this area but specifically focus on the approaches and methodology. All relevant papers on the Aβ modeling are cited in the Tables in Supplementary Data, including a concise description of the applied approaches, sorted according to the types of the studied systems: modeling of the monomeric Aβ and Aβ aggregates. Similar sections focused according to the type of modeled object are present in the review. In the final part of the review, novel methods of general IDP modeling not confined to Aβ are described. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12551-024-01253-y.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna P. Tolstova
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov str. 32, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Alexei A. Adzhubei
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov str. 32, 119991 Moscow, Russia
- Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC USA
| | - Maria A. Strelkova
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov str. 32, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Alexander A. Makarov
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov str. 32, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Vladimir A. Mitkevich
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov str. 32, 119991 Moscow, Russia
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2
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Aggarwal L, Karmakar S, Biswas P. Differentially heterogeneous hydration environment of the familial mutants of α-synuclein. J Chem Phys 2024; 161:155102. [PMID: 39412059 DOI: 10.1063/5.0230853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2024] [Accepted: 10/03/2024] [Indexed: 10/26/2024] Open
Abstract
The behavior of hydration water around familial Parkinson's disease linked mutants of α-synuclein may be linked to the early-onset of Parkinson's disease. For the first time, this study compares the local structure and dynamics of hydration water around different segments of some of the natural mutants of α-synuclein, i.e., E46K, G51D, A30P, and A53E, with that of the wild-type protein through explicit water MD simulations. The results show that the C-terminal segments of the fast aggregating mutants such as E46K and A30P are less exposed to water, while those of the slow aggregating ones such as A53E and G51D are more exposed to water relative to that of the wild-type protein. In addition, the water molecules are found to be more ordered around the C-terminal segment of the A53E and G51D mutants as compared to the wild-type protein. This is due to an increase in the overall charge of α-syn upon A53E and G51D mutations. The translational and rotational motions of water molecules in the hydration shell of the C-terminal segment of A53E and G51D mutants are found to be faster relative to that of the wild-type protein. This study validates the differential hydration environment around the C-terminal segment for the causative and protective mutants of α-synuclein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leena Aggarwal
- Department of Chemistry, NSUT, Dwarka, Delhi 110078, India
| | - Sayan Karmakar
- Department of Chemistry, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
| | - Parbati Biswas
- Department of Chemistry, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
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3
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Mondal S, Ghanta KP, Bandyopadhyay S. Microscopic Understanding of the Conformational Stability of the Aggregated Nonamyloid β Components of α-Synuclein. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:1542-1555. [PMID: 36866721 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c01540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/04/2023]
Abstract
Self-association of α-synuclein peptides into oligomeric species and ordered amyloid fibrils is associated with Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. In particular, the peptide domain formed between the residues Glu-61 (or E61) and Val-95 (or V95) of α-synuclein, typically termed the "nonamyloid β component" (NAC), is known to play critical roles in forming aggregated structures. In this work, we have employed molecular dynamics simulations to explore the conformational properties and relative stabilities of aggregated protofilaments of different orders, namely, tetramer (P(4)), hexamer (P(6)), octamer (P(8)), decamer (P(10)), dodecamer (P(12)), and tetradecamer (P(14)), formed by the NAC domains of α-synuclein. Besides, center-of-mass pulling and umbrella sampling simulation methods have also been employed to characterize the mechanistic pathway of peptide association/dissociation and the corresponding free energy profiles. Structural analysis showed that the disordered C-terminal loop and the central core regions of the peptide units lead to more flexible and distorted structures of the lower order protofilaments (P(4) and P(6)) as compared to the higher order ones. Interestingly, our calculation shows the presence of multiple distinctly populated conformational states for the lower order protofilament P(4), which may drive the oligomerization process along multiple pathways to form different polymorphic α-synuclein fibrillar structures. It is further observed that the nonpolar interaction between the peptides and the corresponding nonpolar solvation free energy play a dominant role in stabilizing the aggregated protofilaments. Importantly, our result showed that reduced cooperativity during the binding of a peptide unit beyond a critical size of the protofilament (P(12)) leads to less favorable binding free energy of a peptide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Souvik Mondal
- Molecular Modeling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India
| | - Krishna Prasad Ghanta
- Molecular Modeling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India
| | - Sanjoy Bandyopadhyay
- Molecular Modeling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India
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Stephens AD, Kölbel J, Moons R, Chung CW, Ruggiero MT, Mahmoudi N, Shmool TA, McCoy TM, Nietlispach D, Routh AF, Sobott F, Zeitler JA, Kaminski Schierle GS. Decreased Water Mobility Contributes To Increased α-Synuclein Aggregation. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202212063. [PMID: 36316279 PMCID: PMC10107867 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202212063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The solvation shell is essential for the folding and function of proteins, but how it contributes to protein misfolding and aggregation has still to be elucidated. We show that the mobility of solvation shell H2 O molecules influences the aggregation rate of the amyloid protein α-synuclein (αSyn), a protein associated with Parkinson's disease. When the mobility of H2 O within the solvation shell is reduced by the presence of NaCl, αSyn aggregation rate increases. Conversely, in the presence CsI the mobility of the solvation shell is increased and αSyn aggregation is reduced. Changing the solvent from H2 O to D2 O leads to increased aggregation rates, indicating a solvent driven effect. We show the increased aggregation rate is not directly due to a change in the structural conformations of αSyn, it is also influenced by a reduction in both the H2 O mobility and αSyn mobility. We propose that reduced mobility of αSyn contributes to increased aggregation by promoting intermolecular interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Johanna Kölbel
- Department of Chemical Engineering and BiotechnologyUniversity of CambridgeUK
| | - Rani Moons
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of AntwerpBelgium
| | - Chyi Wei Chung
- Department of Chemical Engineering and BiotechnologyUniversity of CambridgeUK
| | - Michael T. Ruggiero
- Department of Chemical Engineering and BiotechnologyUniversity of CambridgeUK
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of VermontUSA
| | | | - Talia A. Shmool
- Department of Chemical Engineering and BiotechnologyUniversity of CambridgeUK
| | - Thomas M. McCoy
- Department of Chemical Engineering and BiotechnologyUniversity of CambridgeUK
| | | | - Alexander F. Routh
- Department of Chemical Engineering and BiotechnologyUniversity of CambridgeUK
| | - Frank Sobott
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of AntwerpBelgium
- The Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular BiologyUniversity of LeedsUK
| | - J. Axel Zeitler
- Department of Chemical Engineering and BiotechnologyUniversity of CambridgeUK
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Stephens AD, Kölbel J, Moons R, Chung CW, Ruggiero MT, Mahmoudi N, Shmool TA, McCoy TM, Nietlispach D, Routh AF, Sobott F, Zeitler JA, Kaminski Schierle GS. Decreased Water Mobility Contributes To Increased α-Synuclein Aggregation. ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2023; 135:e202212063. [PMID: 38516046 PMCID: PMC10952249 DOI: 10.1002/ange.202212063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
The solvation shell is essential for the folding and function of proteins, but how it contributes to protein misfolding and aggregation has still to be elucidated. We show that the mobility of solvation shell H2O molecules influences the aggregation rate of the amyloid protein α-synuclein (αSyn), a protein associated with Parkinson's disease. When the mobility of H2O within the solvation shell is reduced by the presence of NaCl, αSyn aggregation rate increases. Conversely, in the presence CsI the mobility of the solvation shell is increased and αSyn aggregation is reduced. Changing the solvent from H2O to D2O leads to increased aggregation rates, indicating a solvent driven effect. We show the increased aggregation rate is not directly due to a change in the structural conformations of αSyn, it is also influenced by a reduction in both the H2O mobility and αSyn mobility. We propose that reduced mobility of αSyn contributes to increased aggregation by promoting intermolecular interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Johanna Kölbel
- Department of Chemical Engineering and BiotechnologyUniversity of CambridgeUK
| | - Rani Moons
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of AntwerpBelgium
| | - Chyi Wei Chung
- Department of Chemical Engineering and BiotechnologyUniversity of CambridgeUK
| | - Michael T. Ruggiero
- Department of Chemical Engineering and BiotechnologyUniversity of CambridgeUK
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of VermontUSA
| | | | - Talia A. Shmool
- Department of Chemical Engineering and BiotechnologyUniversity of CambridgeUK
| | - Thomas M. McCoy
- Department of Chemical Engineering and BiotechnologyUniversity of CambridgeUK
| | | | - Alexander F. Routh
- Department of Chemical Engineering and BiotechnologyUniversity of CambridgeUK
| | - Frank Sobott
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of AntwerpBelgium
- The Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular BiologyUniversity of LeedsUK
| | - J. Axel Zeitler
- Department of Chemical Engineering and BiotechnologyUniversity of CambridgeUK
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Khatua P, Mondal S, Gupta M, Bandyopadhyay S. In Silico Studies to Predict the Role of Solvent in Guiding the Conformations of Intrinsically Disordered Peptides and Their Aggregated Protofilaments. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:43337-43345. [PMID: 36506131 PMCID: PMC9730305 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c06235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The formation of amyloids due to the self-assembly of intrinsically disordered proteins or peptides is a hallmark for different neurodegenerative diseases. For example, amyloids formed by the amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides are responsible for the most devastating neuropathological disease, namely, Alzheimer's disease, while aggregation of α-synuclein peptides causes the etiology of another neuropathological disease, Parkinson's disease. Characterization of the intermediates and the final amyloid formed during the aggregation process is, therefore, crucial for microscopic understanding of the origin behind such diseases, as well as for the development of proper therapeutics to combat those. However, most of the research activities reported in this area have been directed toward examining the early stages of the aggregation process, including probing the conformational characteristics of the responsible protein/peptide in the monomeric state or in small oligomeric forms. This is because the small soluble oligomers have been found to be more deleterious than the final insoluble amyloids. This review discusses some of the recent findings obtained from our simulation studies on Aβ and α-synuclein monomers and small preformed Aβ aggregates. A molecular-level insight of the aggregation process with a special emphasis on the role of water in inducing the aggregation process has been provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prabir Khatua
- Molecular
Modeling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, India
| | - Souvik Mondal
- Molecular
Modeling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, India
| | - Madhulika Gupta
- Department
of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Indian
Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad, Jharkhand 826004, India
| | - Sanjoy Bandyopadhyay
- Molecular
Modeling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, India
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Mondal S, Ghanta KP, Bandyopadhyay S. Dynamic Heterogeneity at the Interface of an Intrinsically Disordered Peptide. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:1942-1955. [PMID: 35384652 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
It is believed that water around an intrinsically disordered protein or peptide (IDP) in an aqueous environment plays an important role in guiding its conformational properties and aggregation behavior. However, despite its importance, only a handful of studies exploring the correlation between the conformational motions of an IDP and the microscopic properties of water at its surface are reported. Attempts have been made in this work to study the dynamic properties of water present in the vicinity of α-synuclein, an IDP associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). Room temperature molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of eight α-synuclein1-95 peptides with a wide range of initial conformations have been carried out in aqueous media. The calculations revealed that due to solid-like caging motions, the translational and rotational mobility of water molecules near the surfaces of the peptide repeat unit segments R1 to R7 are significantly restricted. A small degree of dynamic heterogeneity in the hydration environment around the repeat units has been observed with water near the hydrophobic R6 unit exhibiting relatively more restricted diffusivity. The time scales involving the overall structural relaxations of peptide-water and water-water hydrogen bonds near the peptide have been found to be correlated with the time scale of diffusion of the interfacial water molecules. We believe that the relatively more hindered dynamic environment near R6 can help create water-mediated contacts centered around R6 between peptide monomers at a higher concentration, thereby enhancing the early stages of peptide aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Souvik Mondal
- Molecular Modeling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India
| | - Krishna Prasad Ghanta
- Molecular Modeling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India
| | - Sanjoy Bandyopadhyay
- Molecular Modeling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India
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