Steered molecular dynamics simulations for studying protein-ligand interaction in cyclin-dependent kinase 5.
In this study, we applied steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations to investigate the unbinding mechanism of nine inhibitors of the enzyme cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5). The study had two major objectives: (i) to create a correlation between the unbinding force profiles and the inhibition activities of these compounds expressed as IC50 values; (ii) to investigate the unbinding mechanism and to reveal atomistic insights, which could help identify accessory binding sites and transient interactions. Overall, we carried out 1.35 μs of cumulative SMD simulations. We showed that SMD could qualitatively discriminate binders from nonbinders, while it failed to properly rank series of inhibitors, particularly when IC50 values were too similar. From a mechanistic standpoint, SMD provided useful insights related to transient and dynamical interactions, which could complement static description obtained by X-ray crystallography experiments. In conclusion, the present study represents a further step toward a systematic exploitation of SMD and other dynamical approaches in structure-based drug design and computational medicinal chemistry.
Department of Drug Discovery and Development, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia , Via Morego 30, I-16163 Genova, Italy.
Jagdish Suresh
JS
Patel
Anna
A
Berteotti
Simone
S
Ronsisvalle
Walter
W
Rocchia
Andrea
A
Cavalli
D051360:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D020128:Inhibitory Concentration 50; D008024:Ligands; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology*
D008024:Ligands; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D051360:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5