Airy Sanjeev

Bio: Airy Sanjeev is an academic researcher from Tezpur University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Protein aggregation & Mutant. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 10 publications receiving 41 citations.

Computational investigation on the effect of Oleuropein aglycone on the α-synuclein aggregation.

Abstract: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is considered to be the second most common progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder after Alzheimer’s disease, which is caused by misfolding and aggregation of Alpha-sy...

Potential of mean force and molecular dynamics study on the transient interactions between α and β synuclein that drive inhibition of α-synuclein aggregation.

Abstract: Self-association of α-synuclein (αS) into pathogenic oligomeric species and subsequent formation of highly ordered amyloid fibrils is linked to the Parkinson’s disease. So most of the recent studies are now focused on the development of potential therapeutic strategies against this debilitating disease. β-synuclein (βS), a presynaptic protein that co-localizes with αS has been recently reported to act as an inhibitor of αS self-assembly. But the specificity of molecular interaction, nature and location between αS/βS is not known despite the potential importance of βS as an inhibitor of αS. We used molecular dynamics and potential of mean force (PMF) to study association of αS/βS and αS/αS. The calculated PMF indicates that contact wells are significantly deeper and presence of a minimum at αS/βS separation of 13.5 A with a free energy barrier of 40 kcal/mol. We observed the dissociation energy barrier to be two times higher for the hetero-dimer (αS/βS) than the homo-dimer (αS/αS). We also carried out umbr...

Computational investigation on the effects of H50Q and G51D mutations on the α-Synuclein aggregation propensity

Abstract: The aggregation of α-synuclein is linked directly to the histopathology of Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, several missense mutations present in the α-synuclein gene (SNCA) have been known to be associated with PD. Several studies have highlighted the effect of SNCA mutations on the α-synuclein aggregation, but their pathological roles are not completely established. In this study, we have focused on the effects of the recently discovered α-synuclein missense mutants (H50Q and G51D) on the aggregation using computational approaches. We performed all atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulation on these mutants and compared their conformational dynamics with Wild-Type (WT) α-synuclein. We noticed the solvent accessible surface area (SASA), radius of gyration, atomic fluctuations, and beta strand content to be higher in H50Q than G51D and WT. Using PDBSum online server; we analyzed the inter-molecular interactions that drive the association of monomeric units of H50Q, WT, and G51D in forming the respective ho...

Investigation on the Molecular Interactions Stabilizing the Structure of α-synuclein Fibril: An In silico Study.

Abstract: Background Amyloid fibrils represent stable form of many misfolded proteins associated with numerous diseases like Parkinson's Disease (PD), Type II diabetes and Alzheimer's disease (AD). α-synuclein protein is the principal constituent of Lewy bodies that are considered to be pathological hallmark of PD. Recently, a high resolution structure of α-synuclein protein that stacks together forming fibrils in brains of PD patients were identified. What structural features drive pathology of PD can now be possibly answered from the fibril structure of protein. Objectives To understand the molecular interactions those are responsible for the stability of the α- synuclein fibril structure. Methods To study the molecular interactions stabilizing the α-synuclein fibril, we have used a high resolution amyloid fibril structure (PDB ID 2N0A). The molecular interactions in fibril structure were studied using PDBSum server. We then looked into the destabilization of α-synuclein fibril by disrupting the salt-bridge holding the strands and probable methods to decompose fibril into structurally distinct units using Top-domain web-server. The effect of salt-bridges on the stability of the fibril structure was studied by mutating one of the residues involved in the formation of salt-bridge using molecular dynamics simulation. Results Our results indicate a finite salt-bridge (E46-K80) is crucial for stability of protofibril. Besides, we observed hydrogen bonds and non-bonded contacts involved in fibril stabilization. We noticed α-synuclein dimer predominantly exists in conformations distinct from fibril. Conclusion We characterized the salient molecular interactions in α-synuclein fibril and these findings may be useful to design potential inhibitors for the treatment of PD.

Modulation of Allostery by protein intrinsic Disorder

Abstract: Allostery is an intrinsic property of many globular proteins and enzymes that is indispensable for cellular regulatory and feedback mechanisms. Recent theoretical and empirical observations indicate that allostery is also manifest in intrinsically disordered proteins, which account for a substantial proportion of the proteome. Many intrinsically disordered proteins are promiscuous binders that interact with multiple partners and frequently function as molecular hubs in protein interaction networks. The adenovirus early region 1A (E1A) oncoprotein is a prime example of a molecular hub intrinsically disordered protein. E1A can induce marked epigenetic reprogramming of the cell within hours after infection, through interactions with a diverse set of partners that include key host regulators such as the general transcriptional coactivator CREB binding protein (CBP), its paralogue p300, and the retinoblastoma protein (pRb; also called RB1). Little is known about the allosteric effects at play in E1A–CBP–pRb interactions, or more generally in hub intrinsically disordered protein interaction networks. Here we used single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) to study coupled binding and folding processes in the ternary E1A system. The low concentrations used in these high-sensitivity experiments proved to be essential for these studies, which are challenging owing to a combination of E1A aggregation propensity and high-affinity binding interactions. Our data revealed that E1A–CBP–pRb interactions have either positive or negative cooperativity, depending on the available E1A interaction sites. This striking cooperativity switch enables fine-tuning of the thermodynamic accessibility of the ternary versus binary E1A complexes, and may permit a context-specific tuning of associated downstream signalling outputs. Such a modulation of allosteric interactions is probably a common mechanism in molecular hub intrinsically disordered protein function.

Kirkwood–Buff Approach Rescues Overcollapse of a Disordered Protein in Canonical Protein Force Fields B

Abstract: Understanding the function of intrinsically disordered proteins is intimately related to our capacity to correctly sample their conformational dynamics. So far, a gap between experimentally and computationally derived ensembles exists, as simulations show overcompacted conformers. Increasing evidence suggests that the solvent plays a crucial role in shaping the ensembles of intrinsically disordered proteins and has led to several attempts to modify water parameters and thereby favor protein–water over protein–protein interactions. This study tackles the problem from a different perspective, which is the use of the Kirkwood–Buff theory of solutions to reproduce the correct conformational ensemble of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). A protein force field recently developed on such a basis was found to be highly effective in reproducing ensembles for a fragment from the FG-rich nucleoporin 153, with dimensions matching experimental values obtained from small-angle X-ray scattering and single molecule FRET experiments. Kirkwood–Buff theory presents a complementary and fundamentally different approach to the recently developed four-site TIP4P-D water model, both of which can rescue the overcollapse observed in IDPs with canonical protein force fields. As such, our study provides a new route for tackling the deficiencies of current protein force fields in describing protein solvation.