New protein parameters are reported for the all-atom empirical energy function in the CHARMM program. The parameter evaluation was based on a self-consistent approach designed to achieve a balance between the internal (bonding) and interaction (nonbonding) terms of the force field and among the solvent−solvent, solvent−solute, and solute−solute interactions. Optimization of the internal parameters used experimental gas-phase geometries, vibrational spectra, and torsional energy surfaces supplemented with ab initio results. The peptide backbone bonding parameters were optimized with respect to data for N-methylacetamide and the alanine dipeptide. The interaction parameters, particularly the atomic charges, were determined by fitting ab initio interaction energies and geometries of complexes between water and model compounds that represented the backbone and the various side chains. In addition, dipole moments, experimental heats and free energies of vaporization, solvation and sublimation, molecular volume...

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All-atom empirical potential for molecular modeling and dynamics studies of proteins.

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2019/NP/C8NP00092A

Marine natural products.

A complete set of intermolecular potential functions has been developed for use in computer simulations of proteins in their native environment. Parameters are reported for 25 peptide residues as well as the common neutral and charged terminal groups. The potential functions have the simple Coulomb plus Lennard-Jones form and are compatible with the widely used models for water, TIP4P, TIP3P, and SPC. The parameters were obtained and tested primarily in conjunction with Monte Carlo statistical mechanics simulations of 36 pure organic liquids and numerous aqueous solutions of organic ions representative of subunits in the side chains and backbones of proteins. Bond stretch, angle bend, and torsional terms have been adopted from the AMBER united-atom force field. As reported here, further testing has involved studies of conformational energy surfaces and optimizations of the crystal structures for four cyclic hexapeptides and a cyclic pentapeptide. The average root-mean-square deviation from the X-ray structures of the crystals is only 0.17 A for the atomic positions and 3% for the unit cell volumes. A more critical test was then provided by performing energy minimizations for the complete crystal of the protein crambin, including 182 water molecules that were initially placed via a Monte Carlo simulation. The resultant root-mean-square deviation for the non-hydrogen atoms is still ca. 0.2 A and the variation in the errors for charged, polar, and nonpolar residues is small. Improvement is apparent over the AMBER united-atom force field which has previously been demonstrated to be superior to many alternatives. Computer simulations are undoubtedly destined to became an increasingly important means for investigating the structures and dynamics of biomolecular systems.' At the heart of such theoretical calculations are the force fields that describe the interatomic interactions and the mechanics of deformations of the molecules.* There is also little doubt that there will be a continual evolution in force fields with added complexity and improved performance paralleling the availability of computer resources. Our own efforts in this area over the last few years have resulted in the OPLS potential functions for proteins whose development and performance are summarized here. These potential functions have a simple form and they have been parametrized directly to reproduce experimental thermodynamic and structural data on fluids. Consequently, they are computationally efficient and their description of proteins in solution or crystalline environments should be superior to many alterantives that have been developed with limited condensed-phase data. The latter point is pursued here primarily through calculations on the crystal structures for four cyclic hexapeptides, a cyclic pentapeptide, and the protein crambin. Improvements are apparent in comparison to the AMBER united-atom force field3 which has previously been shown to be superior to many alternative^.^ (1) Beveridge, D. L., Jorgensen, W. L., Eds. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1986, 482. ( 2 ) For reviews, see: (a) Levitt, M. Annu. Reu. Biophys. Eioeng. 1982, 11, 251. (b) McCammon, J. A. Rep. Prog. Phys. 1984, 47, 1. (3) Weiner, S. J.; Kollman, P. A.; Case, D. A,; Singh, U. C.; Ghio, C.; Alagona, G.; Profeta, S.; Weiner, P. J. Am. Chem. SOC. 1984, 106, 765. Parametrization The peptide residues of proteins contain readily identifiable organic subunits such as amides, hydrocarbons, alcohols, thioethers, etc. In view of this and since data are available on the corresponding pure organic liquids, our approach to developing a force field for proteins was to build it up from parameters demonstrated to yield good descriptions of organic liquids. U1timately, the force field would need to treat both intramolecular terms for bond stretches, angle bends, and torsions, as well as the intermolecular and intramolecular nonbonded interactions. The latter are generally accepted to be the most difficult part of the problem and have been our focus.3 A simple, computationally efficient form was chosen to represent the nonbonded interactions through Coulomb and Lennard-Jones terms interacting between sites centered on nuclei (eq 1). Thus, the intermolecular inter-

The OPLS [optimized potentials for liquid simulations] potential functions for proteins, energy minimizations for crystals of cyclic peptides and crambin.

Gram-negative bacteria characteristically are surrounded by an additional membrane layer, the outer membrane. Although outer membrane components often play important roles in the interaction of symbiotic or pathogenic bacteria with their host organisms, the major role of this membrane must usually be to serve as a permeability barrier to prevent the entry of noxious compounds and at the same time to allow the influx of nutrient molecules. This review summarizes the development in the field since our previous review (H. Nikaido and M. Vaara, Microbiol. Rev. 49:1-32, 1985) was published. With the discovery of protein channels, structural knowledge enables us to understand in molecular detail how porins, specific channels, TonB-linked receptors, and other proteins function. We are now beginning to see how the export of large proteins occurs across the outer membrane. With our knowledge of the lipopolysaccharide-phospholipid asymmetric bilayer of the outer membrane, we are finally beginning to understand how this bilayer can retard the entry of lipophilic compounds, owing to our increasing knowledge about the chemistry of lipopolysaccharide from diverse organisms and the way in which lipopolysaccharide structure is modified by environmental conditions.

Molecular Basis of Bacterial Outer Membrane Permeability Revisited

A molecular mechanics force field implemented in the Sybyl program is described along with a statistical evaluation of its efficiency on a variety of compounds by analysis of internal coordinates and thermodynamic barriers. The goal of the force field is to provide good quality geometries and relative energies for a large variety of organic molecules by energy minimization. Performance in protein modeling was tested by minimizations starting from crystallographic coordinates for three cyclic hexapeptides in the crystal lattice with rms movements of 0.019 angstroms, 2.06 degrees, and 6.82 degrees for bond lengths, angles, and torsions, respectively, and an rms movement of 0.16 angstroms for heavy atoms. Isolated crambin was also analyzed with rms movements of 0.025 angstroms, 2.97 degrees, and 13.0 degrees for bond lengths, angles, and torsions respectively, and an rms movement of 0.42 angstroms for heavy atoms. Accuracy in calculating thermodynamic barriers was tested for 17 energy differences between conformers, 12 stereoisomers, and 15 torsional barriers. The rms errors were 0.8, 1.7, and 1.13 kcal/mol, respectively, for the three tests. Performance in general purpose applications was assessed by minimizing 76 diverse complex organic crystal structures, with and without randomization by coordinate truncation, with rms movements of 0.025 angstroms, 2.50 degrees, and 9.54 degrees for bond lengths, angles and torsions respectively, and an average rms movement of 0.192 angstroms for heavy atoms.

Validation of the general purpose Tripos 5.2 force field

Integral outer membrane receptors for iron chelates and vitamin B12 carry out specific ligand transport against a concentration gradient. Energy for active transport is obtained from the proton-motive force of the inner membrane through physical interaction with TonB-ExbB-ExbD, an inner membrane complex. Here we report the crystal structure of an active transport, outer membrane receptor at 2.4 A resolution. Two distinct functional domains are revealed: (i) a 22-stranded beta-barrel that spans the outer membrane and contains large extracellular loops which appear to function in ligand binding; and (ii) a globular N-terminal domain that folds into the barrel pore, inhibiting access to the periplasm and contributing two additional loops for potential ligand binding. These loops could provide a signaling pathway between the processes of ligand recognition and TonB-mediated transport. The blockage of the pore suggests that the N-terminal domain must undergo a conformational rearrangement to allow ligand transport into the periplasm.

Crystal structure of the outer membrane active transporter FepA from Escherichia coli.

Siderophore-mediated acquisition systems facilitate iron uptake. We present the crystallographic structure of the integral outer membrane receptor FecA from Escherichia coli with and without ferric citrate at 2.5 and 2.0 angstrom resolution. FecA is composed of three distinct domains: the barrel, plug, and NH2-terminal extension. Binding of ferric citrate triggers a conformational change of the extracellular loops that close the external pocket of FecA. Ligand-induced allosteric transitions are propagated through the outer membrane by the plug domain, signaling the occupancy of the receptor in the periplasm. These data establish the structural basis of gating for receptors dependent on the cytoplasmic membrane protein TonB. By compiling available data for this family of receptors, we propose a mechanism for the energy-dependent transport of siderophores.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/295/5560/1715.full.pdf

Dick Van der Helm

Papers

Crystal structure of the outer membrane active transporter FepA from Escherichia coli.

Structural Basis of Gating by the Outer Membrane Transporter FecA

Structure of anguibactin, a unique plasmid-related bacterial siderophore from the fish pathogen Vibrio anguillarum

Cyclic peptides from the ascidian Lissoclinum patella: conformational analysis of patellamide D by X-ray analysis and molecular modeling

Tedanolide: a potent cytotoxic macrolide from the Caribbean sponge Tedania ignis