title: Molecular dynamics simulations of CYP2E1.
abstract: CYP2E1, as a member of the cytochrome P450s (CYPs) super-family, is in charge of six percent drug metabolism involving a diversity of drugs distinct in structures and chemical properties, such as alcohols, monocyclic compounds (e.g., acetaminophen, benzene, p-nitrophenol), bicyclic heterocycles (e.g., coumarin, caffeine) and even fatty acids. The aromatic molecules form a vital species catalyzed by CYP2E1. To investigate the mechanism of metabolizing a diversity of aromatic molecules, five representative aromatic substrates were selected: (1) benzene, the non-polar simple ring; (2) aniline, the monocyclic substrate with smallest substitution on the phenyl ring; (3) acetaminophen, a large monocyclic substrate with highly active reactivity; (4) chlorzoxazone, and (5) theophylline, the bicyclic substrates with low or high catalytic activities. They were docked into X-ray structure of CYP2E1, after which all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of 5 ns were performed on each model. It was found that the active site interact with the aromatic substrates mainly through π-π stacking, supplied by five hydrophobic phenylalanines in the active site. Our simulations also illustrated the specific movement of different kinds of aromatic substrates in the pocket. Small monocyclic substrates show highly frequent self-rotation and limited translation movement. Substrates with single catalytic position are less movable in the pocket than substrates with multiple products. All these findings are quite useful for understanding the catalytic mechanism of CYP2E1, stimulating novel strategies for conducting further mutagenesis studies for specific drug design.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center for Systems Biomedicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minhang District, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jue
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Dong-Qing
authors.initials: DQ
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Jing-Fang
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zheng-Tian
authors.initials: ZT
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Kuo-Chen
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Chou
mesh_terms: D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D000814:Aniline Compounds / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D001554:Benzene / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D055162:Biocatalysis; D020134:Catalytic Domain; D002753:Chlorzoxazone / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D019392:Cytochrome P-450 CYP2E1 / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008958:Models, Molecular; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013806:Theophylline / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000814:Aniline Compounds; D000082:Acetaminophen; D013806:Theophylline; D019392:Cytochrome P-450 CYP2E1; D002753:Chlorzoxazone; D001554:Benzene; C023650:aniline