Tomoshi Kameda

On easy implementation of a variant of the replica exchange with solute tempering in GROMACS

To reduce the number of replicas required in the conventional replica exchange method for huge systems, recently the replica exchange with solute tempering (REST) method was proposed. Here we showed that a variant of REST realized by rescaling the force‐field parameters can be performed with GROMACS 4 without changing the code. We tested the variant REST for alanine dipeptide and an N‐terminal peptide from p53 confirming its performance nearly equal to the original REST.

Arginine-assisted solubilization system for drug substances: solubility experiment and simulation.

The poor aqueous solubility of drug substances hampers their broader applications. This paper describes a de novo strategy to increase the aqueous solubility of drug substances using an arginine-assisted solubilization system (AASS) with alkyl gallates as model drug substances. Solubility experiments of alkyl gallates showed that arginine greatly increases the aqueous solubility of different alkyl gallates, whose aqueous solubilities differ widely. In contrast, lysine showed marginal effects on alkyl gallates solubility. Molecular dynamic simulation indicated a greater interaction of arginine with alkyl gallates than that of lysine, which reflects favorable interaction between the guanidinium group of arginine and the aromatic ring of alkyl gallates. Such interaction apparently disrupts association of alkyl gallate molecules, leading to solubilization. These results indicate AASS as a promising approach to solubilize poorly soluble drug substances containing aromatic ring structures.

NMR characterization of the interactions between lyso‐GM1 aqueous micelles and amyloid β

Gangliosides are targets for a variety of pathologically relevant proteins, including amyloid β (Aβ), an important component implicated in Alzheimers disease (AD). To provide a structural basis for this pathogenic interaction associated with AD, we conducted NMR analyses of the Aβ interactions with gangliosides using lyso‐GM1 micelles as a model system. Our NMR data revealed that the sugar–lipid interface is primarily perturbed upon binding of Aβ to the micelles, underscoring the importance of the inner part of the ganglioside cluster for accommodating Aβ in comparison with the outer carbohydrate branches that provide microbial toxin‐ and virus‐binding sites.

Lanthanide-assisted NMR evaluation of a dynamic ensemble of oligosaccharide conformations.

A novel methodology is presented for evaluating a dynamic ensemble of oligosaccharide conformations by lanthanide-assisted NMR spectroscopy combined with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The results obtained using the GM3 trisaccharide demonstrated that pseudocontact shift measurements offer a valuable experimental tool for the validation of MD simulations of highly flexible biomolecules.

Secondary structure provides a template for the folding of nearby polypeptides

Although protein structures are primarily encoded by their sequences, they are also critically dependent on environmental factors such as solvents and interactions with other molecules. Here we investigate how the folding-energy landscape of a short peptide is altered by interactions with another peptide, by performing atomistic replica-exchange molecular dynamics simulations of polyalanines in various environments. We analyzed the free-energy landscapes of Ala7 and Ala8 in isolation, near an α-helix template, and near a β-strand template. The isolated Ala7 and Ala8 at 270 K were mainly in polyproline II helix conformations and in equilibrium between the α-helix and polyproline II helix, respectively, in harmony with the experiment. Interestingly, we found remarkably strong secondary-structure “templating”; namely, the α-helix template enhanced α-helix conformation and the β-strand template induced β-strand conformation in the simulated Ala8. The α-helix template lowered the nearby dielectric constant, which strengthened hydrogen bonds in the simulated Ala8, leading to α-helix stabilization. The β-strand template provided hydrogen bond positions to the simulated Ala8, sharply inducing β-strand structure. With or without templates, the energy landscape of Ala8 is always funnel-like and centered at the α-helix conformation, whereas entropic contribution disfavors the α-helix, leading to subtle competition. Secondary-structure templating may play a critical role in protein conformation dynamics in the cellular environment.

Interaction of arginine with Capto MMC in multimodal chromatography

This study highlights the ability of arginine to elute bovine serum albumin (BSA) and a monoclonal antibody against interleukin-8 (mAb-IL8) from Capto MMC, which is a multimodal cation exchanger. Arginine provides high recovery of monomeric BSA from Capto MMC chromatography columns at yields similar to NaCl elution, and oligomeric BSA was more readily eluted by arginine than by NaCl. The effectiveness of arginine as an eluent also enabled the separation of monomeric BSA from the oligomeric forms. The purification of mAb-IL8 was successfully achieved using Capto MMC chromatography and arginine as the eluent. The mechanism of the effects of arginine on protein elution was determined by calculating the binding free energy between arginine and Capto MMC using molecular dynamics simulations. The overall affinity of arginine for Capto MMC was associated with electrostatic interactions. However, additional affinities contributed by hydrophobic interaction or hydrogen bonding were also observed to play a role in the interaction between arginine and Capto MMC, which likely results in the characteristic elution by arginine.

Paddling mechanism for the substrate translocation by AAA+ motor revealed by multiscale molecular simulations

Hexameric ring-shaped AAA+ molecular motors have a key function of active translocation of a macromolecular chain through the central pore. By performing multiscale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we revealed that HslU, a AAA+ motor in a bacterial homologue of eukaryotic proteasome, translocates its substrate polypeptide via paddling mechanism during ATP-driven cyclic conformational changes. First, fully atomistic MD simulations showed that the HslU pore grips the threaded signal peptide by the highly conserved Tyr-91 and Val-92 firmly in the closed form and loosely in the open form of the HslU. The grip depended on the substrate sequence. These features were fed into a coarse-grained MD, and conformational transitions of HslU upon ATP cycles were simulated. The simulations exhibited stochastic unidirectional translocation of a polypeptide. This unidirectional translocation is attributed to paddling motions of Tyr-91s between the open and the closed forms: downward motions of Tyr-91s with gripping the substrate and upward motions with slipping on it. The paddling motions were caused by the difference between the characteristic time scales of the pore-radius change and the up-down displacements of Tyr-91s. Computational experiments on mutations at the pore and the substrate were in accord with several experiments.

Multiscale methods for protein folding simulations.

Inherently hierarchic nature of proteins makes multiscale computational methods especially useful in the studies of folding and other functional dynamics. With the multiscale strategies, one can achieve improved accuracy and efficiency by coupling the atomistic and the coarse grained simulations. Depending on the problems studied, very different implementation protocols can be used to realize the multiscale idea. Here, we give detailed introductions to the currently used multiscale protocols, together with some recent applications to the protein folding simulations in our group. The advantages and weakness, as well as the application scopes of these multiscale protocols are discussed. The directions for the future developments are also proposed.

Solution Structure of the Q41N Variant of Ubiquitin as a Model for the Alternatively Folded N2 State of Ubiquitin

It is becoming increasingly clear that proteins transiently populate high-energy excited states as a necessary requirement for function. Here, we demonstrate that rational mutation based on the characteristics of the structure and dynamics of proteins obtained from pressure experiments is a new strategy for amplifying particular fluctuations in proteins. We have previously shown that ubiquitin populates a high-energy conformer, N2, at high pressures. Here, we show that the Q41N mutation favors N2: high-pressure nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) shows that N2 is ∼70% populated in Q41N but only ∼20% populated in the wild type at ambient pressure. This allows us to characterize the structure of N2, in which α1-helix, the following loop, β3-strand, and β5-strand change their orientations relative to the remaining regions. Conformational fluctuation on the microsecond time scale, characterized by (15)N spin relaxation NMR analysis, is markedly increased for these regions of the mutant. The N2 conformers produced by high pressure and by the Q41N mutation are quite similar in both structure and dynamics. The conformational change to produce N2 is proposed to be a novel dynamic feature beyond the known recognition dynamics of the protein. Indeed, it is orthogonal to that seen when proteins containing a ubiquitin-interacting motif bind at the hydrophobic patch of ubiquitin but matches changes seen on binding to the E2 conjugating enzyme. More generally, structural and dynamic effects of hydrodynamic pressure are shown to be useful for characterizing functionally important intermediates.

Arginine Side Chains as a Dispersant for Individual Single‐Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Charged peptides and proteins disperse single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in aqueous solutions. However, little is known about the role of their side chains in their interactions with SWCNTs. Homopolypeptide-SWCNT systems are ideal for investigating the mechanisms of such interactions. In this study, we demonstrate that SWCNTs are individually dispersed by poly-L-arginine (PLA). The debundled SWCNTs exhibited a distinct fluorescence. The dispersibility of SWCNTs with PLA was greater than that of SWCNTs with poly-L-lysine (PLL). Molecular dynamics simulations suggest that the side chains of PLA have stronger interactions with the sidewalls of SWCNTs compared with those of PLL. The guanidinium group at the end of the side chain of an arginine residue plays an important role in the interaction with SWCNTs, likely through hydrophobic, van der Waals, and π-π interactions. PLA can be useful as a tool for the dispersion of SWCNTs and can be used to non-covalently anchor materials to SWCNTs with strong binding.