-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: The effect of random reshuffling of amino acids on the properties of dimers formed by Aβ peptides is studied using replica exchange molecular dynamics and united atom implicit solvent model. We show that thermodynamics of dimer assembly and the dimer globule-like state are not affected by sequence permutation. Furthermore, sequence reshuffling does not change the distributions of non-local interactions and, to a large extent, amino acids in the dimer volume. To rationalize these results, we demonstrate that Gaussian statistics applies surprisingly well to the end-to-end distances of the peptides in the dimer implying that non-bonded interactions between distant along the chain amino acids are effectively screened. This observation suggests that peptides in the dimer behave as ideal chains in polymer melt, in which amino acids lose their "identity" and therefore the memory of sequence position. As a result large-scale properties of the dimer become universal or sequence independent. Comparison of our simulations with the prior theoretical studies and their implications for experiments are discussed.
The Journal of chemical physics 07/2011; 135(3):035103. · 3.09 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Experimental and epidemiological studies have shown that the nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug naproxen may be useful in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. To investigate the interactions of naproxen with Aβ dimers, which are the smallest cytotoxic aggregated Aβ peptide species, we use united atom implicit solvent model and exhaustive replica exchange molecular dynamics. We show that naproxen ligands bind to Aβ dimer and penetrate its volume interfering with the interpeptide interactions. As a result naproxen induces a destabilizing effect on Aβ dimer. By comparing the free-energy landscapes of naproxen interactions with Aβ dimers and fibrils, we conclude that this ligand has stronger antiaggregation potential against Aβ fibrils rather than against dimers. The analysis of naproxen binding energetics shows that the location of ligand binding sites in Aβ dimer is dictated by the Aβ amino acid sequence. Comparison of the in silico findings with experimental observations reveals potential limitations of naproxen as an effective therapeutic agent in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Biophysical Journal 04/2011; 100(8):2024-32. · 3.65 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Using implicit solvent model and replica exchange molecular dynamics, we examine the propensity of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, naproxen, to interfere with Aβ fibril growth. We also compare the antiaggregation propensity of naproxen with that of ibuprofen. Naproxen's antiaggregation effect is influenced by two factors. Similar to ibuprofen, naproxen destabilizes binding of incoming Aβ peptides to the fibril due to direct competition between the ligands and the peptides for the same binding location on the fibril surface (the edge). However, in contrast to ibuprofen, naproxen binding also alters the conformational ensemble of Aβ monomers by promoting β-structure. The second factor weakens naproxen's antiaggregation effect. These findings appear to explain the experimental observations, in which naproxen binds to the Aβ fibril with higher affinity than ibuprofen, yet produces weaker antiaggregation action.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 10/2010; 114(46):15394-402. · 3.70 Impact Factor
