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Levodopa is a cornerstone in Parkinson’s disease treatment. Beneficial effects are mainly by binding on D2 receptors. Docking simulations of a set of compounds including well-known D2-ligands and a pool of Boron-Containing Compounds (BCC), particularly boroxazolidones with a tri/tetra-coordinated boron atom, were performed on the D2 Dopamine receptor (D2DR). Theoretical results yielded higher affinity of the compound DPBX, a Dopaboroxazolidone, than levodopa on D2DR. Essential interactions with residues in the third and sixth transmembrane domains of the D2DR appear to be crucial to induce and stabilize interactions in the active receptor state. Results from a motor performance evaluation of a murine model of Parkinson’s disease agree with theoretical results, as DPBX showed similar efficacy to that of levodopa for diminishing MPTP-induced parkinsonism. This beneficial effect was disrupted with prior Risperidone (D2DR antagonist) administration, supporting the role of D2DR in the biological effect of DPBX. In addition, DPBX limited neuronal loss in substantia nigra in a similar manner to that of levodopa administration.

Background A variety of accessible data, including those of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on the human p53 gene, are made widely available on a global scale. Owing to this, our investigation aimed to deal with the detrimental SNPs in the p53 gene by executing various valid computational tools, including—Filter, SIFT, PredictSNP, Fathmm, UTRScan, ConSurf, SWISS-MODEL, Amber 16 package, Tm-Adjust, I-Mutant, Task Seek, GEPIA2 after practical and basic appraisal, dissolvable openness, atomic progression, analyzing the energy minimization and assessing the gene expression pattern. Results Out of the total 581 p53 SNPs, 420 SNPs were found to be missense or non-synonymous, 435 SNPs were in the three prime UTR, and 112 SNPs were in the five prime UTR from which 16 non-synonymous SNPs (nsSNPs) were predicted to be non-tolerable while PredictSNP package predicted 14. Concentrating on six bioinformatics tools of various dimensions, a combined output was generated, where 14 nsSNPs could exert a deleterious effect. We found 5 missense SNPs in the DNA binding domain's three crucial amino acid positions, using diverse SNP analyzing tools. The underlying discoveries were fortified by microsecond molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, TM-align, I-Mutant, and Project HOPE. The ExPASy-PROSITE tools characterized whether the mutations were located in the functional part of the protein or not. This study provides a decisive outcome, concluding the accessible SNPs' information by recognizing the five unfavorable nsSNPs—rs28934573 (S241F), rs11540652 (R248Q), rs121913342 (R248W), rs121913343 (R273C), and rs28934576 (R273H). By utilizing Heatmapper and GEPIA2, several visualization plots, including heat maps, box plots, and survival plots, were produced. Conclusions These plots disclosed differential expression patterns of the p53 gene in humans. The investigation focused on recognizing the detrimental nsSNPs, which augmented the danger posed by various oncogenesis in patients of different populations, including within the genome-wide studies (GWS).

Valproic acid (VPA) is a compound currently used in clinical practice for the treatment of epilepsy as well as bipolar and mood disorders. VPA targets histone deacetylases (HDACs), which participate in the removal of acetyl groups from lysine in several proteins, regulating a wide variety of functions within the organism. An imbalance or malfunction of these enzymes is associated with the development and progression of several diseases, such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. HDACs are divided into four classes, but VPA only targets Class I (HDAC1-3 and 8) and Class IIa (HDAC4-5, 7 and 9) HDACs; however, structural and energetic information regarding the manner by which VPA inhibits these HDACs is lacking. Here, the structural and energetic features that determine this recognition were studied using molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. It was found that VPA reaches the catalytic site in HDAC1-3 and 7, whereas in HDAC6, VPA only reaches the catalytic tunnel. In HDAC4, VPA was bound adjacent to L1 and L2, a zone that participates in corepressor binding, and in HDAC8, VPA was bound to the hydrophobic active site channel (HASC), in line with previous reports.

The design of beta2 adrenoceptor (β2AR) agonists is attractive because of their wide-ranging applications in medicine, and the details of agonist interactions with β2AR are interesting because it is considered a prototype for G-protein coupled receptors. Preclinical studies for agonist development have involved biological assays with guinea pigs due to a similar physiology to humans. Boron-containing Albuterol derivatives (BCADs) designed as bronchodilators have improved potency and efficacy compared with their boron-free precursor on guinea pig β2ARs (gpβ2ARs), and two of the BCADs (BR-AEA and boronterol) conserve these features on cells expressing human β2ARs (hβ2ARs). The aim of this study was to test the BCAD Politerol on gpβ2ARs and hβ2ARs in vitro and in silico. Politerol displayed higher potency and efficacy on gpβ2AR than on hβ2AR in experimental assays, possible explanations are provided based on molecular modeling, and molecular dynamics simulations of about 0.25 µs were performed for the free and bound states adding up to 2 µs in total. There were slight differences, particularly in the role of the boron atom, in the interactions of Politerol with gpβ2ARs and hβ2ARs, affecting movements of transmembrane domains 5–7, known to be pivotal in receptor activation. These findings could be instrumental in the design of compounds selective for hβ2ARs.

The aim of this study was to identify compounds that possess anticonvulsant activity by using a pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizure model. Theoretical studies of a set of ligands, explored the binding affinities of the ligands for the GABA(A) receptor (GABA(A)R), including some benzodiazepines. The ligands satisfy the Lipinski rules and contain a pharmacophore core that has been previously reported to be a GABA(A)R activator. To select the ligands with the best physicochemical properties, all of the compounds were analyzed by quantum mechanics and the energies of the highest occupied molecular orbital and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital were determined. Docking calculations between the ligands and the GABA(A)R were used to identify the complexes with the highest Gibbs binding energies. The identified compound D1 (dibenzo(b,f)(1,4)diazocine-6,11(5H,12H)-dione) was synthesized, experimentally tested, and the GABA(A)R-D1 complex was submitted to 12-ns-long molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to corroborate the binding conformation obtained by docking techniques. MD simulations were also used to analyze the decomposition of the Gibbs binding energy of the residues involved in the stabilization of the complex. To validate our theoretical results, molecular docking and MD simulations were also performed for three reference compounds that are currently in commercial use: clonazepam (CLZ), zolpidem and eszopiclone. The theoretical results show that the GABA(A)R-D1, and GABA(A)R-CLZ complexes bind to the benzodiazepine binding site, share a similar map of binding residues, and have similar Gibbs binding energies and entropic components. Experimental studies using a PTZ-induced seizure model showed that D1 possesses similar activity to CLZ, which corroborates the predicted binding free energy identified by theoretical calculations.

The neuraminidase (NA) epitope from the Mexican AH1N1 influenza virus was identified by using sequences registered at the GenBank during the peak of a pandemic (from April 2009 to October 2010). First, NA protein sequences were submitted for multiple alignment analysis, and their three-dimensional models (3-D) were then built by using homology modeling. The most common sequence (denominated wild-type) and its mutants were submitted to linear and nonlinear epitope predictors, which included the major histocompatibility complex type II (MHC II) and B-cell peptides. The epitope prediction was in accordance with evolutionary behavior and some protein structural properties. The latter included a low NA mutation rate, NA 3-D surface exposure, and the presence of high hindrance side chain residues. After selecting the epitope, docking studies and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to explore interactions between the epitope and MHC II. Afterward, several experimental assays were performed to validate the theoretical study by using antibodies from humans (infected by pandemic H1N1) and rabbits (epitope vaccination). The results show 119 complete sequences that were grouped into 28 protein sequences according to their identity (one wild-type and 27 representative mutants (1–5 mutations)). The predictors yielded several epitopes, with the best fit being the one located in the C-terminal region. Theoretical Methods: demonstrated that the selected epitope reached the P4, P6, P7, and P9 pockets of MHC II, whereas the experimental evidence indicates that the epitope is recognized by human antibodies and also by rabbit antibodies immunized with the peptide.

Most of the B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) protein structure has been elucidated; however, the conformation of its flexible loop domain (FLD) has not yet been experimentally predicted. Its high flexibility under physiological conditions is the reason. FLD behaves as an intrinsically disordered region (IDR) and can adopt regular structures in particular conditions associated with the control of Bcl-2's anti-apoptotic functions. In a previous contribution, we analyzed an engineered Bcl-2 construct (Bcl-2-Δ22Σ3) submitted to 25-ns MD and reported a disordered-to-helix transitions in a region of FLD (rFLD, residues 60-77). However, the conformational preferences in solution of rFLD in the nanosecond to microsecond scale were not analyzed. Herein, an average model was obtained for the native Bcl-2 protein by homology modeling and MD simulation techniques. From this, only the atomic coordinates corresponding to the rFLD were simulated for 1 μs by MD at 310 K. In concordance with previous studies, a disordered-to-helix transitions were exhibited, implying that this "interconversion of folding" in the rFLD suggest a possible set of conformations encoded in its sequence. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that most of the conformational fluctuation of Bcl-2 is provided by rFLD. Dihedral PCA (dPCA) offered information about all the conformations of rFLD in the μs of the simulation, characterizing a dPCA-based free energy landscape of rFLD, and a conformational ensemble of fast interconverting conformations as other IDRs. Furthermore, despite the conformational heterogeneity of rFLD, the analysis of the dihedral angles (Φ, Ψ) showed that this region does not randomly explore the conformational space in solution.