BiophysicaPub Date : 2023-05-06DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3020022
J. Buceta, Léna Guitou
{"title":"Developmental Pattern Formation: Spanish Contributions from a Biophysical Perspective","authors":"J. Buceta, Léna Guitou","doi":"10.3390/biophysica3020022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3020022","url":null,"abstract":"During the last few decades, developmental pattern formation has evolved from being a descriptive discipline to a quantitative one. That process has been possible due to the implementation of multidisciplinary approaches where biophysicists and mathematicians have played a key role. In this review, we highlight relevant Spanish contributions and stress their biophysical approaches, as well as provide some historical context. Finally, this work also aimed at bridging the concepts from biology to physics/math (and back) and at shedding light on some directions for future research.","PeriodicalId":72401,"journal":{"name":"Biophysica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46557849","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiophysicaPub Date : 2023-05-04DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3020021
Chandrasekhar B. Kothapalli, R. Mancera, P. Whitford, Saffron J. Bryant, Z. L. Shaw, Louisa Z. Y. Huang, A. Elbourne, A. Abraham, J. Vongsvivut, S. Holt, T. Greaves, G. Bryant
{"title":"Insights into Chemical Interactions and Related Toxicities of Deep Eutectic Solvents with Mammalian Cells Observed Using Synchrotron Macro–ATR–FTIR Microspectroscopy","authors":"Chandrasekhar B. Kothapalli, R. Mancera, P. Whitford, Saffron J. Bryant, Z. L. Shaw, Louisa Z. Y. Huang, A. Elbourne, A. Abraham, J. Vongsvivut, S. Holt, T. Greaves, G. Bryant","doi":"10.3390/biophysica3020021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3020021","url":null,"abstract":"Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) and ionic liquids (ILs) are highly tailorable solvents that have shown a lot of promise for a variety of applications including cryopreservation, drug delivery, and protein stabilisation. However, to date, there is very limited information on the detailed interactions of these solvents with mammalian cells. In this work, we studied six DESs and one IL that show promise as cryoprotective agents, applying synchrotron macro–ATR–FTIR to examine their effects on key biochemical components of HaCat mammalian cells. These data were paired with resazurin metabolic assays and neutron reflectivity experiments to correlate cellular interactions with cellular toxicity. Stark differences were observed even between solvents that shared similar components. In particular, it was found that solvents that are effective cryoprotective agents consistently showed interactions with cellular membranes, while high toxicity correlated with strong interactions of the DES/IL with nucleic acids and proteins. This work sheds new light on the interactions between novel solvents and cells that may underpin future biomedical applications.","PeriodicalId":72401,"journal":{"name":"Biophysica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43368922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiophysicaPub Date : 2023-04-13DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3020020
V. Afanas’ev, G. S. Bocharov, A. Eletskii, Lidiya G. Lobanova, K. Maslakov, S. Savilov
{"title":"Comparative Investigation of XPS Spectra of Oxidated Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene","authors":"V. Afanas’ev, G. S. Bocharov, A. Eletskii, Lidiya G. Lobanova, K. Maslakov, S. Savilov","doi":"10.3390/biophysica3020020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3020020","url":null,"abstract":"X-ray photoelectron emission spectra of thermally reduced graphene oxide samples and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with various oxidation degrees are presented in this paper. A method for the reconstruction of differential electron inelastic scattering cross sections from the energy loss spectra of photoelectrons is described and discussed. The analysis of the part of the characteristic photoelectron energy loss spectrum adjacent to the C1 peak indicated a considerable influence of the thermal reduction of graphene oxide on the electron properties of the samples obtained. On the contrary, the oxidation of CNTs by refluxing in a concentrated HNO3 solution does not change the free electron excitation spectrum.","PeriodicalId":72401,"journal":{"name":"Biophysica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48564735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiophysicaPub Date : 2023-04-12DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3020019
B. Stec
{"title":"Discovery of the Universal tRNA Binding Mode for the TsaD-like Components of the t6A tRNA Modification Pathway","authors":"B. Stec","doi":"10.3390/biophysica3020019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3020019","url":null,"abstract":"Covalent addition of the threonylcarbamoyl group to N(6) of adenosine 37 (t6A modification) within the anticodon loop of several tRNAs is central to the translational fidelity in all known organisms. Structures for each of the enzyme components in the Tsa (t6A) pathway from all three kingdoms of life have been determined previously. In order to shed light on the poorly defined final step of t6A tRNA modification by TsaD-like components, we performed modeling studies. By docking a tRNA substrate molecule onto reanalyzed complete models of three TsaD-like proteins—TsaD from T. maritima, Qri7 from bacteria, and Kae1 from yeast—we identified a binding site that is common to all of them. An apparently universal binding mode has perfectly oriented tRNA for catalysis by TsaD. Furthermore, it suggests how the conformational changes in TsaD, in response to the binding of the additional regulatory subunits, control enzymatic activity. Re-refinement of the X-ray structure of the TsaBDE complex from T. maritima tentatively suggests that the moiety bound at the active site of the TsaD component is threonylcarbamoyl-AMP (TC-AMP). These findings suggest a detailed model for the mechanism of the catalytic reaction carried out by the TsaD-like components that explains the transfer of unstable TC-AMP from TsaC to TsaD proteins in the t6A modification pathway.","PeriodicalId":72401,"journal":{"name":"Biophysica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48445588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiophysicaPub Date : 2023-04-11DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3020018
Giovanni Novi Inverardi, Francesco Carnovale, Lorenzo Petrolli, S. Taioli, G. Lattanzi
{"title":"Silica In Silico: A Molecular Dynamics Characterization of the Early Stages of Protein Embedding for Atom Probe Tomography","authors":"Giovanni Novi Inverardi, Francesco Carnovale, Lorenzo Petrolli, S. Taioli, G. Lattanzi","doi":"10.3390/biophysica3020018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3020018","url":null,"abstract":"A novel procedure for the application of atom probe tomography (APT) to the structural analysis of biological systems, has been recently proposed, whereby the specimen is embedded by a silica matrix and ablated by a pulsed laser source. Such a technique, requires that the silica primer be properly inert and bio-compatible, keeping the native structural features of the system at hand, while condensing into an amorphous, glass-like coating. In this work, we propose a molecular dynamics protocol, aimed at depicting and characterizing the earliest stages of the embedding process of small biomolecules in a solution of water and orthosilicic acid, here, taken as a precursor of the silica matrix. Overall, we observe a negligible influence of orthosilicic acid on the behavior of stable folded systems (such as ubiquitin). Conversely, intrinsically disordered and unstable peptides are affected by the coating, the latter seemingly inhibiting the fluctuations of flexible moieties. While further scrutiny is in order, our assessment offers a first mechanistic insight of the effects of orthosilicic acid, thereby validating its use in the proposed innovative application of APT to the structural resolution of protein molecules.","PeriodicalId":72401,"journal":{"name":"Biophysica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46818610","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiophysicaPub Date : 2023-04-06DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3020017
Sourav Ray, K. Fackeldey, C. Stein, M. Weber
{"title":"Coarse-Grained MD Simulations of Opioid Interactions with the μ-Opioid Receptor and the Surrounding Lipid Membrane","authors":"Sourav Ray, K. Fackeldey, C. Stein, M. Weber","doi":"10.3390/biophysica3020017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3020017","url":null,"abstract":"In our previous studies, a new opioid (NFEPP) was developed to only selectively bind to the μ-opoid receptor (MOR) in inflamed tissue and thus avoid the severe side effects of fentanyl. We know that NFEPP has a reduced binding affinity to MOR in healthy tissue. Inspired by the modelling and simulations performed by Sutcliffe et al., we present our own results of coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of fentanyl and NFEPP with regards to their interaction with the μ-opioid receptor embedded within the lipid cell membrane. For technical reasons, we have slightly modified Sutcliffe’s parametrisation of opioids. The pH-dependent opioid simulations are of interest because while fentanyl is protonated at the physiological pH, NFEPP is deprotonated due to its lower pKa value than that of fentanyl. Here, we analyse for the first time whether pH changes have an effect on the dynamical behaviour of NFEPP when it is inside the cell membrane. Besides these changes, our analysis shows a possible alternative interaction of NFEPP at pH 7.4 outside the binding region of the MOR. The interaction potential of NFEPP with MOR is also depicted by analysing the provided statistical molecular dynamics simulations with the aid of an eigenvector analysis of a transition rate matrix. In our modelling, we see differences in the XY-diffusion profiles of NFEPP compared with fentanyl in the cell membrane.","PeriodicalId":72401,"journal":{"name":"Biophysica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48367001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiophysicaPub Date : 2023-04-02DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3020016
Igor V. Polyakov, A. Kulakova, A. Nemukhin
{"title":"Computational Modeling of the Interaction of Molecular Oxygen with the miniSOG Protein—A Light Induced Source of Singlet Oxygen","authors":"Igor V. Polyakov, A. Kulakova, A. Nemukhin","doi":"10.3390/biophysica3020016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3020016","url":null,"abstract":"Interaction of molecular oxygen 3O2 with the flavin-dependent protein miniSOG after light illumination results in creation of singlet oxygen 1O2 and superoxide O2●−. Despite the recently resolved crystal structures of miniSOG variants, oxygen-binding sites near the flavin chromophore are poorly characterized. We report the results of computational studies of the protein−oxygen systems using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with force-field interaction potentials and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) potentials for the original miniSOG and the mutated protein. We found several oxygen-binding pockets and pointed out possible tunnels bridging the bulk solvent and the isoalloxazine ring of the chromophore. These findings provide an essential step toward understanding photophysical properties of miniSOG—an important singlet oxygen photosensitizer.","PeriodicalId":72401,"journal":{"name":"Biophysica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43520156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiophysicaPub Date : 2023-03-20DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3010014
S. Volkenandt, P. Imhof
{"title":"Comparison of Empirical Zn2+ Models in Protein–DNA Complexes","authors":"S. Volkenandt, P. Imhof","doi":"10.3390/biophysica3010014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3010014","url":null,"abstract":"Zinc ions are the second most abundant ions found in humans. Their role in proteins can be merely structural but also catalytic, owing to their transition metal character. Modelling their geometric–coordination versatility by empirical force fields is, thus, a challenging task. In this work, we evaluated three popular models, specifically designed to represent zinc ions with regard to their capability of preserving structural integrity. To this end, we performed molecular dynamics simulations of two zinc-containing protein–DNA complexes, which differed in their zinc coordination, i.e., four cysteines or two cysteines and two histidines. The most flexible non-bonded 12-6-4 Lennard–Jones-type model shows a preference for six-fold coordination of the Zn2+-ions in contradiction to the crystal structure. The cationic dummy atom model favours tetrahedral geometry, whereas the bonded extended zinc AMBER force field model, by construction, best preserves the initial geometry of a regular or slightly distorted tetrahedron. Our data renders the extended zinc AMBER force field the best model for structural zinc ions in a given geometry. In more complicated cases, though, more flexible models may be advantageous.","PeriodicalId":72401,"journal":{"name":"Biophysica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42714852","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiophysicaPub Date : 2023-03-14DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3010013
Yingzhe Guo, Zeqian Du, Ting Shi
{"title":"Structural Analysis of Interactions between Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) Mutants and Their Inhibitors","authors":"Yingzhe Guo, Zeqian Du, Ting Shi","doi":"10.3390/biophysica3010013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3010013","url":null,"abstract":"People’s lives and health are gravely threatened by non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Mutations in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinase, are considered one of the causes of NSCLC. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are typically used to treat patients with EGFR mutations. In this study, Gefitinib, a member of the first generation of TKIs, was used to treat an EGFR single-point mutation (single mutant, SM). Patients harboring additional T790M mutations in the kinase domain of the EGFR were resistant to Gefitinib. Then, the L858R/T790M double mutation (double mutant, DM) was treated with the second generation of TKIs, such as Afatinib. Here, we constructed four computational models to uncover the structural basis between EGFR mutants (SM and DM) and corresponding inhibitors (Gefitinib and Afatinib). The binding energy in the G-SM (representing Gefitinib in complex with SM) system was larger than that in the G-DM (Representing Gefitinib in complex with DM) system. Gefitinib’s affinity with L792 and M793 was drastically reduced by the longer side chain of M790 in the G-DM system, which pushed Gefitinib outside of the pocket. Additionally, the A-DM system’s binding energy was higher than the G-DM system’s. Afatinib, unlike Gefitinib, induced the P-loop region to move downwards to decrease the pocket entrance size to accommodate Afatinib properly and stably in the A-DM (Afatinib in complex with DM) system. These results uncover the details of interactions between EGFR and its inhibitors and shed light on the design of new tyrosine kinase inhibitors.","PeriodicalId":72401,"journal":{"name":"Biophysica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46652936","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiophysicaPub Date : 2023-03-10DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3010012
J. Soriano
{"title":"Neuronal Cultures: Exploring Biophysics, Complex Systems, and Medicine in a Dish","authors":"J. Soriano","doi":"10.3390/biophysica3010012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3010012","url":null,"abstract":"Neuronal cultures are one of the most important experimental models in modern interdisciplinary neuroscience, allowing to investigate in a control environment the emergence of complex behavior from an ensemble of interconnected neurons. Here, I review the research that we have conducted at the neurophysics laboratory at the University of Barcelona over the last 15 years, describing first the neuronal cultures that we prepare and the associated tools to acquire and analyze data, to next delve into the different research projects in which we actively participated to progress in the understanding of open questions, extend neuroscience research on new paradigms, and advance the treatment of neurological disorders. I finish the review by discussing the drawbacks and limitations of neuronal cultures, particularly in the context of brain-like models and biomedicine.","PeriodicalId":72401,"journal":{"name":"Biophysica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43262075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}