Biomedical subjects

Tom Darden

Publications and source records attributed to Tom Darden.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

The Amber biomolecular simulation programs.

We describe the development, current features, and some directions for future development of the Amber package of computer programs. This package evolved from a program that was constructed in the late 1970s to do Assisted Model Building with Energy Refinement, and now contains a group of programs embodying a number of powerful tools of modern computational chemistry, focused on molecular dynamics and free energy calculations of proteins, nucleic acids, and carbohydrates.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2004

Making optimal use of empirical energy functions: force-field parameterization in crystal space.

Today's energy functions are not able yet to distinguish reliably between correct and almost correct protein models. Improving these near-native models is currently a major bottle-neck in homology modeling or experimental structure determination at low resolution. Increasingly accurate energy functions are required to complete the "last mile of the protein folding problem," for example during a molecular dynamics simulation. We present a new approach to reach this goal. For 50 high resolution X-ray structures, the complete unit cell was reconstructed, including disordered water molecules, counter ions, and hydrogen atoms. Simulations were then run at the pH at which the crystal was solved, while force-field parameters were iteratively adjusted so that the damage done to the structures was minimal. Starting with initial parameters from the AMBER force field, the optimization procedure converged at a new force field called YAMBER (Yet Another Model Building and Energy Refinement force field), which is shown to do significantly less damage to X-ray structures, often move homology models in the right direction, and occasionally make them look like experimental structures. Application of YAMBER during the CASP5 structure prediction experiment yielded a model for target 176 that was ranked first among 150 submissions. Due to its compatibility with the well-established AMBER format, YAMBER can be used by almost any molecular dynamics program. The parameters are freely available from www.yasara.org/yamber.

Computer Simulation↗

PubMed2003

Substitutions at Phe61 in the beta3-beta4 hairpin of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase reveal a role for the Fingers subdomain in strand displacement DNA synthesis.

Unlike most DNA polymerases, retroviral reverse transcriptases (RTs) are capable of strand displacement DNA synthesis in vitro, unassisted by other proteins. While human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RT has been shown to possess this rare ability, the structural determinants responsible are unknown. X-Ray crystallographic and biochemical studies have indicated that the beta3-beta4 hairpin of the fingers subdomain of HIV-1 RT contains key contacts for the incoming template strand. In order to assess the possible role of the fingers subdomain in strand displacement synthesis, a set of substitutions was created at the highly conserved Phe61 residue, which is thought to contact the template strand immediately ahead of the dNTP-binding site. Purified heterodimeric RTs containing Phe61 substitutions displayed altered degrees of strand displacement synthesis on nicked and gapped duplex DNA templates with the relative order being: F61Y > or = F61L > wild-type = F61A > F61W. In order to verify that the effects on strand displacement synthesis were not an indirect effect of alterations in processivity, all Phe61 mutants were tested for processive polymerization. While the strand displacement activity of F61W RT variant was affected severely, it displayed a wild-type-like processivity. In contrast, both F61L and F61Y substitutions, despite showing enhanced strand displacement synthesis, displayed reduced processivity. In contrast, the processivity of F61A mutant, which had displayed nearly wild-type-like strand displacement synthesis, was affected most. These results showed that the effects of Phe61 substitutions on strand displacement are not due to global changes in polymerase processivity. Analysis of pause sites during DNA polymerization on double-stranded templates revealed that the wild-type and the Phe61 mutant RTs interact with the template quite differently. Modeling a 5 nt duplex DNA ahead of the dNTP-binding site of HIV-1 RT suggested a correlation between the ability of the side-chain of the amino acid residue at position 61 to stabilize the first base-pair of the DNA duplex to be melted and the degree of strand displacement synthesis. Our results confirm a role for F61 residue in processive synthesis and indicate that the fingers subdomain harbors a structural determinant of strand displacement synthesis by HIV-1 RT.

Amino Acid Substitution↗

PubMed2003

Mutations proximal to the minor groove-binding track of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase differentially affect utilization of RNA versus DNA as template.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT), like all retroviral RTs, is a versatile DNA polymerase that can copy both RNA and DNA templates. In spite of extensive investigations into the structure-function of this enzyme, the structural basis for this dual template specificity is poorly understood. Biochemical studies with two mutations in HIV-1 RT that affect residues contacting the template-primer now provide some insight into this specialized property. The mutations are N255D and N265D, both adjoining the minor groove-binding track, in the thumb region. The N265D substitution led to a loss of processive polymerization on DNA but not on RNA, whereas N255D drastically reduced processive synthesis on both templates. This differential template usage was accompanied by a rapid dissociation of the N265D variant on DNA but not RNA templates, whereas the N255D variant rapidly dissociated from both templates. Molecular dynamics modeling suggested that N265D leads to a loss of template strand-specific hydrogen bonding, indicating that this is a key determinant of the differential template affinity. The N255D substitution caused local changes in conformation and a consequent loss of interaction with the primer, leading to a loss of processive synthesis with both templates. We conclude that N265 is part of a subset of template-enzyme contacts that enable RT to utilize DNA templates in addition to RNA templates and that such residues play an important role in facilitating processive DNA synthesis on both RNA and DNA templates.

Binding Sites↗

PubMed2002

Structure and dynamics of zymogen human blood coagulation factor X.

The solution structure and dynamics of the human coagulation factor X (FX) have been investigated to understand the key structural elements in the zymogenic form that participates in the activation process. The model was constructed based on the 2.3-A-resolution x-ray crystallographic structure of active-site inhibited human FXa (PDB:1XKA). The missing gamma-carboxyglutamic acid (GLA) and part of epidermal growth factor 1 (EGF1) domains of the light chain were modeled based on the template of GLA-EGF1 domains of the tissue factor (TF)-bound FVIIa structure (PDB:1DAN). The activation peptide and other missing segments of FX were introduced using homology modeling. The full calcium-bound model of FX was subjected to 6.2 ns of molecular dynamics simulation in aqueous medium using the AMBER6.0 package. We observed significant reorientation of the serine-protease (SP) domain upon activation leading to a compact multi-domain structure. The solution structure of zymogen appears to be in a well-extended conformation with the distance between the calcium ions in the GLA domain and the catalytic residues estimated to be approximately 95 A in contrast to approximately 83 A in the activated form. The latter is in close agreement with fluorescence studies on FXa. The S1-specificity residues near the catalytic triad show significant differences between the zymogen and activated structures.

1-Carboxyglutamic Acid↗