1
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Moldovean-Cioroianu NS. Reviewing the Structure-Function Paradigm in Polyglutamine Disorders: A Synergistic Perspective on Theoretical and Experimental Approaches. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:6789. [PMID: 38928495 PMCID: PMC11204371 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25126789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2024] [Revised: 06/13/2024] [Accepted: 06/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Polyglutamine (polyQ) disorders are a group of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the excessive expansion of CAG (cytosine, adenine, guanine) repeats within host proteins. The quest to unravel the complex diseases mechanism has led researchers to adopt both theoretical and experimental methods, each offering unique insights into the underlying pathogenesis. This review emphasizes the significance of combining multiple approaches in the study of polyQ disorders, focusing on the structure-function correlations and the relevance of polyQ-related protein dynamics in neurodegeneration. By integrating computational/theoretical predictions with experimental observations, one can establish robust structure-function correlations, aiding in the identification of key molecular targets for therapeutic interventions. PolyQ proteins' dynamics, influenced by their length and interactions with other molecular partners, play a pivotal role in the polyQ-related pathogenic cascade. Moreover, conformational dynamics of polyQ proteins can trigger aggregation, leading to toxic assembles that hinder proper cellular homeostasis. Understanding these intricacies offers new avenues for therapeutic strategies by fine-tuning polyQ kinetics, in order to prevent and control disease progression. Last but not least, this review highlights the importance of integrating multidisciplinary efforts to advancing research in this field, bringing us closer to the ultimate goal of finding effective treatments against polyQ disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nastasia Sanda Moldovean-Cioroianu
- Institute of Materials Science, Bioinspired Materials and Biosensor Technologies, Kiel University, Kaiserstraße 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany;
- Faculty of Physics, Babeș-Bolyai University, Kogălniceanu 1, RO-400084 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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2
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Gheeraert A, Lesieur C, Batista VS, Vuillon L, Rivalta I. Connected Component Analysis of Dynamical Perturbation Contact Networks. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:7571-7580. [PMID: 37641933 PMCID: PMC10493978 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c04592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Describing protein dynamical networks through amino acid contacts is a powerful way to analyze complex biomolecular systems. However, due to the size of the systems, identifying the relevant features of protein-weighted graphs can be a difficult task. To address this issue, we present the connected component analysis (CCA) approach that allows for fast, robust, and unbiased analysis of dynamical perturbation contact networks (DPCNs). We first illustrate the CCA method as applied to a prototypical allosteric enzyme, the imidazoleglycerol phosphate synthase (IGPS) enzyme from Thermotoga maritima bacteria. This approach was shown to outperform the clustering methods applied to DPCNs, which could not capture the propagation of the allosteric signal within the protein graph. On the other hand, CCA reduced the DPCN size, providing connected components that nicely describe the allosteric propagation of the signal from the effector to the active sites of the protein. By applying the CCA to the IGPS enzyme in different conditions, i.e., at high temperature and from another organism (yeast IGPS), and to a different enzyme, i.e., a protein kinase, we demonstrated how CCA of DPCNs is an effective and transferable tool that facilitates the analysis of protein-weighted networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aria Gheeraert
- Laboratoire
de Mathématiques (LAMA), Université
Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac, France
- Dipartimento
di Chimica Industriale “Toso Montanari”, Alma Mater
Studiorum, Università di Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy
| | - Claire Lesieur
- Univ.
Lyon, CNRS, INSA Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Ecole
Centrale de Lyon, Ampère UMR5005, Villeurbanne 69622, France
- Institut
Rhônalpin des Systèmes Complexes, IXXI-ENS-Lyon, Lyon 69007, France
| | - Victor S. Batista
- Department
of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, United States
| | - Laurent Vuillon
- Laboratoire
de Mathématiques (LAMA), Université
Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac, France
- Institut
Rhônalpin des Systèmes Complexes, IXXI-ENS-Lyon, Lyon 69007, France
| | - Ivan Rivalta
- Dipartimento
di Chimica Industriale “Toso Montanari”, Alma Mater
Studiorum, Università di Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy
- ENS
de Lyon,
CNRS, Laboratoire de Chimie UMR 5182, 69364 Lyon, France
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3
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Pacini L, Lesieur C. GCAT: A network model of mutational influences between amino acid positions in PSD95pdz3. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:1035248. [PMID: 36387271 PMCID: PMC9659846 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.1035248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Proteins exist for more than 3 billion years: proof of a sustainable design. They have mechanisms coping with internal perturbations (e.g., amino acid mutations), which tie genetic backgrounds to diseases or drug therapy failure. One difficulty to grasp these mechanisms is the asymmetry of amino acid mutational impact: a mutation at position i in the sequence, which impact a position j does not imply that the mutation at position j impacts the position i. Thus, to distinguish the influence of the mutation of i on j from the influence of the mutation of j on i, position mutational influences must be represented with directions. Using the X ray structure of the third PDZ domain of PDS-95 (Protein Data Bank 1BE9) and in silico mutations, we build a directed network called GCAT that models position mutational influences. In the GCAT, a position is a node with edges that leave the node (out-edges) for the influences of the mutation of the position on other positions and edges that enter the position (in-edges) for the influences of the mutation of other positions on the position. 1BE9 positions split into four influence categories called G, C, A and T going from positions influencing on average less other positions and influenced on average by less other positions (category C) to positions influencing on average more others positions and influenced on average by more other positions (category T). The four categories depict position neighborhoods in the protein structure with different tolerance to mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenza Pacini
- University Lyon, CNRS, INSA Lyon, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, UMR5005, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Institut Rhônalpin des Systèmes Complexes, IXXI-ENS-Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Claire Lesieur
- University Lyon, CNRS, INSA Lyon, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, UMR5005, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Institut Rhônalpin des Systèmes Complexes, IXXI-ENS-Lyon, Lyon, France
- *Correspondence: Claire Lesieur,
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4
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Shillcock JC, Lagisquet C, Alexandre J, Vuillon L, Ipsen JH. Model biomolecular condensates have heterogeneous structure quantitatively dependent on the interaction profile of their constituent macromolecules. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:6674-6693. [PMID: 36004748 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm00387b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Biomolecular condensates play numerous roles in cells by selectively concentrating client proteins while excluding others. These functions are likely to be sensitive to the spatial organization of the scaffold proteins forming the condensate. We use coarse-grained molecular simulations to show that model intrinsically-disordered proteins phase separate into a heterogeneous, structured fluid characterized by a well-defined length scale. The proteins are modelled as semi-flexible polymers with punctate, multifunctional binding sites in good solvent conditions. Their dense phase is highly solvated with a spatial structure that is more sensitive to the separation of the binding sites than their affinity. We introduce graph theoretic measures to quantify their heterogeneity, and find that it increases with increasing binding site number, and exhibits multi-timescale dynamics. The model proteins also swell on passing from the dilute solution to the dense phase. The simulations predict that the structure of the dense phase is modulated by the location and affinity of binding sites distant from the termini of the proteins, while sites near the termini more strongly affect its phase behaviour. The relations uncovered between the arrangement of weak interaction sites on disordered proteins and the material properties of their dense phase can be experimentally tested to give insight into the biophysical properties, pathological effects, and rational design of biomolecular condensates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian C Shillcock
- Blue Brain Project and Laboratory of Molecular and Chemical Biology of Neurodegeneration, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Clément Lagisquet
- LAMA, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LAMA, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac, France.
| | - Jérémy Alexandre
- Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Laurent Vuillon
- LAMA, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LAMA, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac, France.
| | - John H Ipsen
- Dept. of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, DK-5230 Odense M, Denmark
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5
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Bourgeat L, Pacini L, Serghei A, Lesieur C. A protocol to measure slow protein dynamics of the cholera toxin B pentamers using broadband dielectric spectroscopy. STAR Protoc 2022; 3:101561. [PMID: 35874473 PMCID: PMC9304676 DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The present protocol describes how to measure experimentally the slow protein dynamics that take place upon the thermal unfolding of the B subunit cholera toxin pentamers using broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) in weakly hydrated and nanoconfined conditions. Transient unfolding intermediates, rarely identified otherwise, are revealed thanks to the B subunit's remarkable heat resistance up to 180°C and distinct molecular dynamics. The frequencies detected experimentally are consistent with the spatiotemporal scales of motions of molecular dynamics simulation. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Bourgeat et al. (2021, 2019). Measure protein dynamics experimentally using BDS in nanoconfined conditions Identify rare cholera toxin B subunit assembly and unfolding intermediates Detect cholera toxin B subunits in temperatures up to 180°C Match between protein molecular dynamics from experiments and simulations
Publisher’s note: Undertaking any experimental protocol requires adherence to local institutional guidelines for laboratory safety and ethics.
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6
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Gheeraert A, Vuillon L, Chaloin L, Moncorgé O, Very T, Perez S, Leroux V, Chauvot de Beauchêne I, Mias-Lucquin D, Devignes MD, Rivalta I, Maigret B. Singular Interface Dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant Explained with Contact Perturbation Analysis. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:3107-3122. [PMID: 35754360 PMCID: PMC9199437 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants raise concerns about our ability to withstand the Covid-19 pandemic, and therefore, understanding mechanistic differences of those variants is crucial. In this study, we investigate disparities between the SARS-CoV-2 wild type and five variants that emerged in late 2020, focusing on the structure and dynamics of the spike protein interface with the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, by using crystallographic structures and extended analysis of microsecond molecular dynamics simulations. Dihedral angle principal component analysis (PCA) showed the strong similarities in the spike receptor binding domain (RBD) dynamics of the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants, in contrast with those of WT and Epsilon. Dynamical perturbation networks and contact PCA identified the peculiar interface dynamics of the Delta variant, which cannot be directly imputable to its specific L452R and T478K mutations since those residues are not in direct contact with the human ACE2 receptor. Our outcome shows that in the Delta variant the L452R and T478K mutations act synergistically on neighboring residues to provoke drastic changes in the spike/ACE2 interface; thus a singular mechanism of action eventually explains why it dominated over preceding variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aria Gheeraert
- Laboratoire
de Mathématiques (LAMA), Université
Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac, France
- Dipartimento
di Chimica Industriale “Toso Montanari”, Universitá degli Studi di Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 4, I-40136 Bologna, Italy
| | - Laurent Vuillon
- Laboratoire
de Mathématiques (LAMA), Université
Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac, France
| | - Laurent Chaloin
- Institut
de Recherche en Infectiologie de Montpellier (IRIM), Université
Montpellier, CNRS, 34293 Montpellier, France
| | - Olivier Moncorgé
- Institut
de Recherche en Infectiologie de Montpellier (IRIM), Université
Montpellier, CNRS, 34293 Montpellier, France
| | - Thibaut Very
- Institut
du Développement et des Ressources en Informatique Scientifique
(IDRIS), CNRS, rue John von Neumann, BP 167, 91403 Orsay cedex, France
| | - Serge Perez
- CERMAV, University Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Vincent Leroux
- Inria, LORIA, University of
Lorraine, CNRS, F-54000 Nancy, France
| | | | | | | | - Ivan Rivalta
- Dipartimento
di Chimica Industriale “Toso Montanari”, Universitá degli Studi di Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 4, I-40136 Bologna, Italy
- ENSL,
CNRS, Laboratoire de Chimie UMR 5182, 46 allée d’Italie, 69364 Lyon, France
| | - Bernard Maigret
- Inria, LORIA, University of
Lorraine, CNRS, F-54000 Nancy, France
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7
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Linking protein structural and functional change to mutation using amino acid networks. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0261829. [PMID: 35061689 PMCID: PMC8782487 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 12/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The function of a protein is strongly dependent on its structure. During evolution, proteins acquire new functions through mutations in the amino-acid sequence. Given the advance in deep mutational scanning, recent findings have found functional change to be position dependent, notwithstanding the chemical properties of mutant and mutated amino acids. This could indicate that structural properties of a given position are potentially responsible for the functional relevance of a mutation. Here, we looked at the relation between structure and function of positions using five proteins with experimental data of functional change available. In order to measure structural change, we modeled mutated proteins via amino-acid networks and quantified the perturbation of each mutation. We found that structural change is position dependent, and strongly related to functional change. Strong changes in protein structure correlate with functional loss, and positions with functional gain due to mutations tend to be structurally robust. Finally, we constructed a computational method to predict functionally sensitive positions to mutations using structural change that performs well on all five proteins with a mean precision of 74.7% and recall of 69.3% of all functional positions.
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8
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Aledavood E, Gheeraert A, Forte A, Vuillon L, Rivalta I, Luque FJ, Estarellas C. Elucidating the Activation Mechanism of AMPK by Direct Pan-Activator PF-739. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 8:760026. [PMID: 34805275 PMCID: PMC8602109 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.760026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a key energy sensor regulating the cell metabolism in response to energy supply and demand. The evolutionary adaptation of AMPK to different tissues is accomplished through the expression of distinct isoforms that can form up to 12 heterotrimeric complexes, which exhibit notable differences in the sensitivity to direct activators. To comprehend the molecular factors of the activation mechanism of AMPK, we have assessed the changes in the structural and dynamical properties of β1- and β2-containing AMPK complexes formed upon binding to the pan-activator PF-739. The analysis revealed the molecular basis of the PF-739-mediated activation of AMPK and enabled us to identify distinctive features that may justify the slightly higher affinity towards the β1−isoform, such as the β1−Asn111 to β2−Asp111 substitution, which seems to be critical for modulating the dynamical sensitivity of β1- and β2 isoforms. The results are valuable in the design of selective activators to improve the tissue specificity of therapeutic treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elnaz Aledavood
- Department of Nutrition, Food Science and Gastronomy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, and Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry (IQTCUB), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Aria Gheeraert
- Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale "Toso Montanari" Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,LAMA, University of Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LAMA, Le Bourget du Lac, France
| | - Alessia Forte
- Department of Nutrition, Food Science and Gastronomy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, and Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry (IQTCUB), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Laurent Vuillon
- LAMA, University of Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LAMA, Le Bourget du Lac, France
| | - Ivan Rivalta
- Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale "Toso Montanari" Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Université de Lyon, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5182, Laboratoire de Chimie, Lyon, France
| | - F Javier Luque
- Department of Nutrition, Food Science and Gastronomy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, and Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry (IQTCUB), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institute of Biomedicine (IBUB), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carolina Estarellas
- Department of Nutrition, Food Science and Gastronomy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, and Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry (IQTCUB), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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9
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Pacini L, Lesieur C. A computational methodology to diagnose sequence-variant dynamic perturbations by comparing atomic protein structures. Bioinformatics 2021; 38:703-709. [PMID: 34694373 PMCID: PMC8574318 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btab736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION The objective is to diagnose dynamics perturbations caused by amino-acid mutations as prerequisite to assess protein functional health or drug failure, simply using network models of protein X-ray structures. RESULTS We find that the differences in the allocation of the atomic interactions of each amino acid to 1D, 2D, 3D, 4D structural levels between variants structurally robust, recover experimental dynamic perturbations. The allocation measure validated on two B-pentamers variants of AB5 toxins having 17 mutations, also distinguishes dynamic perturbations of pathogenic and non-pathogenic Transthyretin single-mutants. Finally, the main proteases of the coronaviruses SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 exhibit changes in the allocation measure, raising the possibility of drug failure despite the main proteases structural similarity. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION The Python code used for the production of the results is available at github.com/lorpac/protein_partitioning_atomic_contacts. The authors will run the analysis on any PDB structures of protein variants upon request. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenza Pacini
- AMPERE, CNRS, Université de Lyon, Lyon, 69622, France,Institut Rhônalpin des systèmes complexes (IXXI), École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, 69007, France
| | - Claire Lesieur
- AMPERE, CNRS, Université de Lyon, Lyon, 69622, France,Institut Rhônalpin des systèmes complexes (IXXI), École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, 69007, France,To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
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10
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Pacini L, Dorantes-Gilardi R, Vuillon L, Lesieur C. Mapping Function from Dynamics: Future Challenges for Network-Based Models of Protein Structures. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 8:744646. [PMID: 34708077 PMCID: PMC8543124 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.744646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Proteins fulfill complex and diverse biological functions through the controlled atomic motions of their structures (functional dynamics). The protein composition is given by its amino-acid sequence, which was assumed to encode the function. However, the discovery of functional sequence variants proved that the functional encoding does not come down to the sequence, otherwise a change in the sequence would mean a change of function. Likewise, the discovery that function is fulfilled by a set of structures and not by a unique structure showed that the functional encoding does not come down to the structure either. That leaves us with the possibility that a set of atomic motions, achievable by different sequences and different structures, encodes a specific function. Thanks to the exponential growth in annual depositions in the Protein Data Bank of protein tridimensional structures at atomic resolutions, network models using the Cartesian coordinates of atoms of a protein structure as input have been used over 20 years to investigate protein features. Combining networks with experimental measures or with Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations and using typical or ad-hoc network measures is well suited to decipher the link between protein dynamics and function. One perspective is to consider static structures alone as alternatives to address the question and find network measures relevant to dynamics that can be subsequently used for mining and classification of dynamic sequence changes functionally robust, adaptable or faulty. This way the set of dynamics that fulfill a function over a diversity of sequences and structures will be determined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenza Pacini
- Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Ampère, UMR5005, Univ. Lyon, CNRS, INSA Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Institut Rhônalpin des Systèmes Complexes, IXXI-ENS-Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Rodrigo Dorantes-Gilardi
- Institut Rhônalpin des Systèmes Complexes, IXXI-ENS-Lyon, Lyon, France
- USMB, CNRS, LAMA UMR5127, Le Bourget du Lac, France
| | | | - Claire Lesieur
- Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Ampère, UMR5005, Univ. Lyon, CNRS, INSA Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Institut Rhônalpin des Systèmes Complexes, IXXI-ENS-Lyon, Lyon, France
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11
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Bourgeat L, Pacini L, Serghei A, Lesieur C. Experimental diagnostic of sequence-variant dynamic perturbations revealed by broadband dielectric spectroscopy. Structure 2021; 29:1419-1429.e3. [PMID: 34051139 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2021.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Genetic diversity leads to protein robustness, adaptability, and failure. Some sequence variants are structurally robust but functionally disturbed because mutations bring the protein onto unfolding/refolding routes resulting in misfolding diseases (e.g., Parkinson). We assume dynamic perturbations introduced by mutations foster the alternative unfolding routes and test this possibility by comparing the unfolding dynamics of the heat-labile enterotoxin B pentamers and the cholera toxin B pentamers, two pentamers structurally and functionally related and robust to 17 sequence variations. The B-subunit thermal unfolding dynamics are monitored by broadband dielectric spectroscopy in nanoconfined and weakly hydrated conditions. Distinct dielectric signals reveal the different B-subunits unfolding dynamics. Combined with network analyses, the experiments pinpoint the role of three mutations A1T, E7D, and E102A, in diverting LTB5 to alternative unfolding routes that protect LTB5 from dissociation. Altogether, the methodology diagnoses dynamics faults that may underlie functional disorder, drug resistance, or higher virulence of sequence variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laëtitia Bourgeat
- Univ Lyon, CNRS, INSA Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Ampère, UMR5005, 69622 Villeurbanne, France; Univ Lyon, CNRS, IMP, 69622, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Lorenza Pacini
- Univ Lyon, CNRS, INSA Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Ampère, UMR5005, 69622 Villeurbanne, France; Institut Rhônalpin des systèmes complexes, IXXI-ENS-Lyon, 69007, Lyon, France
| | | | - Claire Lesieur
- Univ Lyon, CNRS, INSA Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Ampère, UMR5005, 69622 Villeurbanne, France; Institut Rhônalpin des systèmes complexes, IXXI-ENS-Lyon, 69007, Lyon, France.
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12
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Ponzoni L, Peñaherrera DA, Oltvai ZN, Bahar I. Rhapsody: predicting the pathogenicity of human missense variants. Bioinformatics 2020; 36:3084-3092. [PMID: 32101277 PMCID: PMC7214033 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btaa127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2019] [Revised: 12/27/2019] [Accepted: 02/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION The biological effects of human missense variants have been studied experimentally for decades but predicting their effects in clinical molecular diagnostics remains challenging. Available computational tools are usually based on the analysis of sequence conservation and structural properties of the mutant protein. We recently introduced a new machine learning method that demonstrated for the first time the significance of protein dynamics in determining the pathogenicity of missense variants. RESULTS Here, we present a new interface (Rhapsody) that enables fully automated assessment of pathogenicity, incorporating both sequence coevolution data and structure- and dynamics-based features. Benchmarked against a dataset of about 20 000 annotated variants, the methodology is shown to outperform well-established and/or advanced prediction tools. We illustrate the utility of Rhapsody by in silico saturation mutagenesis studies of human H-Ras, phosphatase and tensin homolog and thiopurine S-methyltransferase. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION The new tool is available both as an online webserver at http://rhapsody.csb.pitt.edu and as an open-source Python package (GitHub repository: https://github.com/prody/rhapsody; PyPI package installation: pip install prody-rhapsody). Links to additional resources, tutorials and package documentation are provided in the 'Python package' section of the website. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Ponzoni
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Daniel A Peñaherrera
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Zoltán N Oltvai
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.,Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Ivet Bahar
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
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13
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Ponzoni L, Nguyen NH, Bahar I, Brodsky JL. Complementary computational and experimental evaluation of missense variants in the ROMK potassium channel. PLoS Comput Biol 2020; 16:e1007749. [PMID: 32251469 PMCID: PMC7162551 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2019] [Revised: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 02/25/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The renal outer medullary potassium (ROMK) channel is essential for potassium transport in the kidney, and its dysfunction is associated with a salt-wasting disorder known as Bartter syndrome. Despite its physiological significance, we lack a mechanistic understanding of the molecular defects in ROMK underlying most Bartter syndrome-associated mutations. To this end, we employed a ROMK-dependent yeast growth assay and tested single amino acid variants selected by a series of computational tools representative of different approaches to predict each variants’ pathogenicity. In one approach, we used in silico saturation mutagenesis, i.e. the scanning of all possible single amino acid substitutions at all sequence positions to estimate their impact on function, and then employed a new machine learning classifier known as Rhapsody. We also used two additional tools, EVmutation and Polyphen-2, which permitted us to make consensus predictions on the pathogenicity of single amino acid variants in ROMK. Experimental tests performed for selected mutants in different classes validated the vast majority of our predictions and provided insights into variants implicated in ROMK dysfunction. On a broader scope, our analysis suggests that consolidation of data from complementary computational approaches provides an improved and facile method to predict the severity of an amino acid substitution and may help accelerate the identification of disease-causing mutations in any protein. As the number of sequenced human genomes rises, a major challenge is to identify which single amino acid variations in a protein affect function and predispose individuals to disease. While predictive algorithms are available for this purpose, a comparative analysis of recently developed algorithms has not been adequately performed, nor is it clear whether combining algorithms would improve predictive power. To this end, we compared the efficacy of three publicly available algorithms and applied the results to Bartter syndrome, a human disease for which numerous poorly-characterized single amino acid variants have been identified and for which there is no cure. In silico saturation mutagenesis, i.e., the computational prediction of pathogenesis for every possible amino acid substitution, allowed us to experimentally test predictions by measuring the activity of an ion channel linked to Bartter syndrome. Based on data from blinded experiments, we discovered that Rhapsody and EVmutation successfully predicted deleterious mutations. Moreover, Rhapsody—which takes into account evolutionary as well as structural and dynamic considerations—predicted that >90% of known Bartter syndrome mutations are deleterious. Overall, our data will aid investigators who wish to test single amino acid variants in any protein and aid biomedical researchers who wish to develop hypotheses on the potential severity of genetic variants uncovered from genome databases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Ponzoni
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Nga H. Nguyen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Ivet Bahar
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * E-mail: (IB); (JLB)
| | - Jeffrey L. Brodsky
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * E-mail: (IB); (JLB)
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14
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Coban MA, Fraga S, Caulfield TR. Structural And Computational Perspectives of Selectively Targeting Mutant Proteins. Curr Drug Discov Technol 2020; 18:365-378. [PMID: 32160847 DOI: 10.2174/1570163817666200311114819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2019] [Revised: 01/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Diseases are often caused by mutant proteins. Many drugs have limited effectiveness and/or toxic side effects because of a failure to selectively target the disease-causing mutant variant, rather than the functional wild type protein. Otherwise, the drugs may even target different proteins with similar structural features. Designing drugs that successfully target mutant proteins selectively represents a major challenge. Decades of cancer research have led to an abundance of potential therapeutic targets, often touted to be "master regulators". For many of these proteins, there are no FDA-approved drugs available; for others, off-target effects result in dose-limiting toxicity. Cancer-related proteins are an excellent medium to carry the story of mutant-specific targeting, as the disease is both initiated and sustained by mutant proteins; furthermore, current chemotherapies generally fail at adequate selective distinction. This review discusses some of the challenges associated with selective targeting from a structural biology perspective, as well as some of the developments in algorithm approach and computational workflow that can be applied to address those issues. One of the most widely researched proteins in cancer biology is p53, a tumor suppressor. Here, p53 is discussed as a specific example of a challenging target, with contemporary drugs and methodologies used as examples of burgeoning successes. The oncogene KRAS, which has been described as "undruggable", is another extensively investigated protein in cancer biology. This review also examines KRAS to exemplify progress made towards selective targeting of diseasecausing mutant proteins. Finally, possible future directions relevant to the topic are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathew A Coban
- Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, 32224, United States
| | - Sarah Fraga
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, 32224, United States
| | - Thomas R Caulfield
- Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, 32224, United States
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15
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Pacini L, Bourgeat L, Serghei A, Lesieur C. Analysis of Nanoconfined Protein Dielectric Signals Using Charged Amino Acid Network Models. Aust J Chem 2020. [DOI: 10.1071/ch19502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Protein slow motions involving collective molecular fluctuations on the timescale of microseconds to seconds are difficult to measure and not well understood despite being essential to sustain protein folding and protein function. Broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) is one of the most powerful experimental techniques to monitor, over a broad frequency and temperature range, the molecular dynamics of soft matter through the orientational polarisation of permanent dipole moments that are generated by the chemical structure and morphological organisation of matter. Its typical frequency range goes from 107 Hz down to 10−3 Hz, being thus suitable for investigations on slow motions in proteins. Moreover, BDS has the advantage of providing direct experimental access to molecular fluctuations taking place on different length-scales, from local to cooperative dipolar motions. The unfolding of the cholera toxin B pentamer (CtxB5) after thermal treatment for 3h at 80°C is investigated by BDS under nanoconfined and dehydrated conditions. From the X-ray structure of the toxin pentamer, network-based models are used to infer the toxin dipoles present in the native state and to compute their stability and dielectric properties. Network analyses highlight three domains with distinct dielectric and stability properties that support a model where the toxin unfolds into three conformations after the treatment at 80°C. This novel integrative approach offers some perspective into the investigation of the relation between local perturbations (e.g. mutation, thermal treatment) and larger scale protein conformational changes. It might help ranking protein sequence variants according to their respective scale of dynamics perturbations.
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16
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Gheeraert A, Pacini L, Batista VS, Vuillon L, Lesieur C, Rivalta I. Exploring Allosteric Pathways of a V-Type Enzyme with Dynamical Perturbation Networks. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:3452-3461. [PMID: 30943726 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b01294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Elucidation of the allosteric pathways in proteins is a computational challenge that strongly benefits from combination of atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and coarse-grained analysis of the complex dynamical network of chemical interactions based on graph theory. Here, we introduce and assess the performances of the dynamical perturbation network analysis of allosteric pathways in a prototypical V-type allosteric enzyme. Dynamical atomic contacts obtained from MD simulations are used to weight the allosteric protein graph, which involves an extended network of contacts perturbed by the effector binding in the allosteric site. The outcome showed good agreement with previously reported theoretical and experimental extended studies and it provided recognition of new potential allosteric spots that can be exploited in future mutagenesis experiments. Overall, the dynamical perturbation network analysis proved to be a powerful computational tool, complementary to other network-based approaches that can assist the full exploitation of allosteric phenomena for advances in protein engineering and rational drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aria Gheeraert
- Univ Lyon, Ens de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5182, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 , Laboratoire de Chimie , F69342 Lyon , France
| | - Lorenza Pacini
- Institut Rhônalpin des systèmes complexes, IXXI-ENS-Lyon , 69007 Lyon , France.,LAMA , Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LAMA , 73376 Le Bourget du Lac , France.,AMPERE, CNRS, Univ. Lyon , 69622 Lyon , France
| | - Victor S Batista
- Department of Chemistry and Energy Sciences Institute , Yale University , P.O. Box 208107, New Haven , Connecticut 06520-8107 , United States
| | - Laurent Vuillon
- LAMA , Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LAMA , 73376 Le Bourget du Lac , France
| | - Claire Lesieur
- Institut Rhônalpin des systèmes complexes, IXXI-ENS-Lyon , 69007 Lyon , France.,AMPERE, CNRS, Univ. Lyon , 69622 Lyon , France
| | - Ivan Rivalta
- Univ Lyon, Ens de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5182, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 , Laboratoire de Chimie , F69342 Lyon , France.,Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale "Toso Montanari" , Università degli Studi di Bologna , Viale del Risorgimento 4 , I-40136 Bologna , Italy
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