Biophysical chemistry最新文献

{"title":"Elucidating thyroid hormone transport proteins disruption by nitrophenols through computational and spectroscopic analysis","authors":"Yanhong Zheng,&nbsp;Zeyu Song,&nbsp;Muwei Huang,&nbsp;Cancan Li,&nbsp;Chunke Nong,&nbsp;Tinghao Jiang,&nbsp;Zhanji Li,&nbsp;Zhongsheng Yi","doi":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107415","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107415","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Thyroxine (T4), as a type of thyroid hormone (TH), is a key hormone in regulating human metabolism, growth and development, central nervous system functions, and energy balance. It relies on TH transport proteins to reach cells and exert its biological actions. However, the binding of nitrophenol pollutants to TH transport proteins prevents the delivery of thyroid hormones to cells, thereby inhibiting the effects of the hormones. This study combines spectroscopic experiments and computational simulations to explore the mechanism of nitrophenols' interference with TH transport proteins. Detailed information on the quenching mechanism, binding parameters, interaction forces, binding models, and conformational changes of nitrophenols (PNP), chlorinated nitrophenols (CNP), and brominated nitrophenols (BNP) with TH transport proteins is obtained through spectroscopic experiments. Nitrophenols are found to form hydrogen bonds with residues Lys15, Arg378, and Arg381, respectively, thereby displacing T4 at the binding site in the TH transport proteins. With an increasing number of halogen atoms, the affinity of halogenated nitrophenols for TH transport proteins intensifies. Computational simulations are used to further understand the binding modes and binding sites, providing molecular-level insights into the binding of NPs in the cavity of TH transport proteins. Theoretical evidence from molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations supports the experimental findings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8979,"journal":{"name":"Biophysical chemistry","volume":"320 ","pages":"Article 107415"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143465096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Substitutions at rheostat position 52 of LacI have long-range effects on the LacI conformational landscape","authors":"Nilusha L. Kariyawasam ,&nbsp;Anastasiia Sivchenko ,&nbsp;Liskin Swint-Kruse ,&nbsp;Paul E. Smith","doi":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107414","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107414","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In proteins, amino acid changes at “rheostat” positions exhibit functional changes that vary with the substitution chosen: some substitutions enhance function, some are like wild-type, some are partially detrimental, while others abolish function. One way that substitutions might exert their complex effects is by altering protein conformational landscapes. To test this, we studied five substitutions of V52 in <em>E. coli</em> LacI, an experimentally-known rheostat position. For each variant, we mapped the accessible conformational landscapes by performing molecular dynamics simulations at ambient conditions and under three perturbations: increased pressure, binding to allosteric ligand “ONPF”, and ONPF plus pressure. The simulated DNA binding domain landscapes were compared to published experimentally-measured parameters, and the results suggest that complex combinations of dynamic parameters and/or additional simulations in the presence of DNA are needed to predict DNA binding specificity. For the variants regulatory domains all landscapes displayed boundaries similar to wild-type, but changes within the boundaries were unique. Of these, V52A/ONPF was striking: The regulatory domains for ONPF-bound, wild-type LacI are in an “Open” conformation and, experimentally, ONPF enhances DNA binding. Four variants responded to ONPF like wild-type, but ONPF binding to V52A shifted these domains to a “Closed” conformation that is associated with diminished DNA binding for wild-type LacI. This finding predicted that ONPF's allosteric regulation of V52A would change from “anti-inducer” to “inducer”, which we experimentally validated <em>in vivo</em> and <em>in vitro</em>. This supports the hypothesis that substituting rheostat positions can alter function by altering the relative populations on protein conformational landscapes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8979,"journal":{"name":"Biophysical chemistry","volume":"320 ","pages":"Article 107414"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143465098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unbiased clustering of residues undergoing synchronous motions in proteins using NMR spin relaxation data","authors":"V.S. Manu ,&nbsp;Giuseppe Melacini ,&nbsp;Evgenii L. Kovrigin ,&nbsp;J. Patrick Loria ,&nbsp;Gianluigi Veglia","doi":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107411","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107411","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biological macromolecules are dynamic entities that transition between various conformational states, often playing a vital role in biological functions. Their inherent flexibility spans a broad range of timescales. Motions occurring within the microsecond to millisecond range are especially important, as they are integral to processes such as enzyme catalysis, folding, ligand binding, and allostery. NMR Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) relaxation dispersion measurements are the preferred method for characterizing macromolecular motions at atomic resolution. However, it is still uncertain whether the functional motions of multiple residues in macromolecules need to be coordinated and/or synchronized within the protein matrix in order to perform the desired function. Here, we illustrate an unbiased method to analyze NMR relaxation dispersion and identify dynamic clusters of residues that fluctuate on similar timescales within proteins. The method requires relaxation dispersion data for backbone amides or side-chain methyl groups, which are globally fitted using the Bloch-McConnell equations for each pair of residues. The goodness of the pairwise fitting serves as a metric to construct two-dimensional synchronous dynamics (SyncDyn) maps, allowing us to identify residue clusters whose dynamics are influenced by ligand binding. We applied our method to the catalytic subunit of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA<img>C) and the T17A mutant of ribonuclease A (RNAse A). The SyncDyn maps for PKA-C showed distinct clusters of residues located in critical allosteric sites. Nucleotide binding activates the movement of residues at the interface between the two lobes and also those distal to the active site. In the case of RNAse A, the SyncDyn maps show that residues fluctuating with the same time scale are interspersed in both lobes of the enzyme. Overall, our approach eliminates arbitrary manual selection of residues for dynamic clustering and objectively identifies all possible residue pairs that fluctuate synchronously, <em>i.e.</em> on the same timescale.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8979,"journal":{"name":"Biophysical chemistry","volume":"320 ","pages":"Article 107411"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143444898","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A semiempirical and machine learning approach for fragment-based structural analysis of non-hydroxamate HDAC3 inhibitors","authors":"Sk. Abdul Amin ,&nbsp;Lucia Sessa ,&nbsp;Rajdip Tarafdar ,&nbsp;Shovanlal Gayen ,&nbsp;Stefano Piotto","doi":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107409","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107409","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Interest in HDAC3 inhibitors (HDAC3i) for pharmacological applications outside of cancer is growing. However, concerns regarding the possible mutagenicity of the commonly used hydroxamates (zinc-binding groups, ZBGs) are also increasing. Considering these concerns, non-hydroxamate ZBGs offer a promising alternative for the development of non-mutagenic HDAC3 inhibitors. Unfortunately, the quantum chemical space of non-hydroxamates has not been studied in detail. This study has three primary goals: (i) to perform semiempirical quantum chemical calculations, examining AM-1 model parameters relevant to zinc binding, (ii) to develop supervised mathematical learning models to train a diverse set of non-hydroxamate-based HDAC3i, and (iii) to apply fragment-based approaches to identify sub-structural fragments (fingerprints) that promote or hinder HDAC3 inhibitory activity through classification-based QSARs. In addition, flexible molecular docking analysis, 200 ns MD simulation, and free energy landscape (FEL) analysis further established the importance of identified fingerprints in the modulation of HDAC3 inhibitory activity. This comprehensive analysis of structural variations among non-hydroxamate HDAC3i provides valuable insights, contributing to the design of potential non-mutagenic HDAC3i.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8979,"journal":{"name":"Biophysical chemistry","volume":"320 ","pages":"Article 107409"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143436748","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Targeting human prostaglandin reductase 1 with Licochalcone A: Insights from molecular dynamics and covalent docking studies","authors":"Sara Abigail Ramírez-Cortés ,&nbsp;Adrián Durán-Vargas ,&nbsp;Jesús Antonio Rauda-Ceja ,&nbsp;Paola Mendoza-Espinosa ,&nbsp;Luis Fernando Cofas-Vargas ,&nbsp;Armando Cruz-Rangel ,&nbsp;Julio Isael Pérez-Carreón ,&nbsp;Enrique García-Hernández","doi":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107410","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107410","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Prostaglandin reductase 1 (PTGR1) is an NADPH-dependent enzyme critical to eicosanoid metabolism. Its elevated expression in malignant tumors often correlates with poor prognosis due to its role in protecting cells against reactive oxygen species. This study explores the inhibitory potential of licochalcone A, a flavonoid derived from Xinjiang licorice root, on human PTGR1. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we mapped the enzyme's conformational landscape, revealing a low-energy, rigid-body-like movement of the catalytic domain relative to the nucleotide-binding domain that governs PTGR1's transition between open and closed states. Simulations of NADPH-depleted dimer and NADPH-bound monomer highlighted the critical role of intersubunit interactions and coenzyme binding in defining PTGR1's conformational landscape, offering a deeper understanding of its functional adaptability as a holo-homodimer. Covalent docking, informed by prior chemoproteomic cross-linking data, revealed a highly favorable binding pose for licochalcone A at the NADPH-binding site. This pose aligned with a transient noncovalent binding pose inferred from solvent site-guided molecular docking, emphasizing the stereochemical complementarity of the coenzyme-binding site to licochalcone A. Sequence analysis across PTGR1 orthologs in vertebrates and exploration of 3D structures of human NADPH-binding proteins further underscore the potential of the coenzyme-binding site as a scaffold for developing PTGR1-specific inhibitors, positioning licochalcone A as a promising lead compound.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8979,"journal":{"name":"Biophysical chemistry","volume":"320 ","pages":"Article 107410"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143429134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of ergosterol or cholesterol on the morphology and dynamics of the POPC/sphingomyelin bilayer","authors":"Fernando Favela-Rosales ,&nbsp;Jorge Hernández-Cobos ,&nbsp;Arturo Galván-Hernández ,&nbsp;Omar Hernández-Villanueva ,&nbsp;Iván Ortega-Blake","doi":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107408","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107408","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Phase segregation and domain formation in cell membranes and model lipid bilayers have become a relevant topic in the last decades due to their role in important cell functions such as signaling and molecule-membrane interactions. To date, the most accepted explanation for the formation of these domains in mammalian cells is that cholesterol-enriched sphingomyelin patches of membrane form because of the preferential interaction between them. However, detailed information on molecular interactions within cholesterol-containing bilayers and their comparison with other sterol-containing bilayers, such as those containing ergosterol, is needed to understand the role these molecules have. Recent experimental findings have shown sterol-dependent differences in the morphology of supported lipid bilayers, but the molecular basis for these differences remains unclear. This work provides a molecular explanation for these differences using atomistic Molecular Dynamics simulations of lipid bilayers composed of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) and N-palmitoyl-D-erythro-sphingosylphosphorylcholine (PSM) with 20 mol% of cholesterol or ergosterol. Atomic force microscopy was used to validate the simulation. The simulation ran for 11 μs and revealed that both sterols affect the morphology of the membrane. Key findings include: ergosterol induces greater order in PSM domains compared to cholesterol, lipid diffusion constants are lower in ergosterol-containing membranes, sterol flip-flop rates are significantly reduced in ergosterol-containing membranes and ergosterol leads to greater PSM-sterol enrichment. These molecular-level differences provide insight into the experimentally observed variations in domain formation and membrane properties between cholesterol and ergosterol-containing bilayers. Our findings contribute to the understanding of sterol-specific effects on membrane organization and dynamics, with potential implications for cellular processes and drug interactions in different organisms.</div></div><div><h3>Statement of significance</h3><div>This study advances our understanding of how different sterols influence membrane properties through molecular dynamics simulations of three-component lipid membranes. Specifically, we investigate the effects of two major sterols: ergosterol, predominantly found in plants and fungi, and cholesterol, characteristic of mammalian cells. While extensive research has elucidated cholesterol's impact on lipid bilayers, studies on ergosterol's effects are comparatively limited. Our work provides a comprehensive comparison of these sterols, highlighting their similarities and differences. These insights not only enhance our knowledge of cell membrane structure and function, but also contribute to our understanding of selective drug permeability across membranes. This research has potential implications for both fundamental cell biology and pharmaceutical applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8979,"journal":{"name":"Biophysical chemistry","volume":"320 ","pages":"Article 107408"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143444897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bilirubin nanotechnology: An innovative approach in biomedicine","authors":"Alexander S. Tatikolov ,&nbsp;Pavel G. Pronkin ,&nbsp;Ina G. Panova","doi":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107412","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107412","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bilirubin, a product of heme catabolism, is toxic at elevated concentrations (&gt;250–300 μM in blood serum), whereas at therapeutic concentrations (∼20–200 μM) exerts potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, cytoprotective and neuroprotective effects. Despite the therapeutic potential, its use in clinical practice is hampered by poor aqueous solubility, instability, and rapid metabolism. Nanotechnology overcomes these limitations and additionally imparts to bilirubin the advantages characteristic of nanopreparations: targeted action on the desired organ/tissue, increased therapeutic efficacy by delaying drug elimination from the body, improved transportation over biological barriers, the ability to combine therapeutic and diagnostic properties in a single agent. The review analyses the chemical synthesis, therapeutic mechanisms, and preclinical applications of nanosystems comprising bilirubin. In particular, nanostructures obtained by the covalent binding of bilirubin to macromolecules, bilirubin encapsulation in nanocarriers, bilirubin conjugation with metal nanoparticles and nanofunctionalization of inorganic compounds are considered; the data on the therapeutic trials of nanobilirubin are summarized. While studies on animal models and in vitro systems demonstrate improved biodistribution, reduced toxicity, and enhanced efficacy, no clinical trials to date have validated nanobilirubin formulations. Key barriers may include unresolved challenges in scalable synthesis, long-term biocompatibility, reproducible dosing of nanoformulations. Hence, further development of nanotherapeutic bilirubin agents for clinical practice is urgent.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8979,"journal":{"name":"Biophysical chemistry","volume":"320 ","pages":"Article 107412"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143429135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"On the thermal and chemical stability of DNAJB6b and its globular domains","authors":"Celia Fricke ,&nbsp;Jelica Milošević ,&nbsp;Andreas Carlsson ,&nbsp;Lars Boyens-Thiele ,&nbsp;Marija Dubackic ,&nbsp;Ulf Olsson ,&nbsp;Alexander K. Buell ,&nbsp;Sara Linse","doi":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107401","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107401","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The chaperone DNAJB6b (JB6) plays important roles in increasing amyloid protein solubility and inhibiting amyloid fibril formation, a causative factor for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Insights into the biophysical properties of JB6, including its structure, self-assembly and stability towards denaturation, may enhance the understanding of the physicochemical basis of chaperone action. However, many of the biophysical properties of the chaperone remain elusive. Here, we investigated the structure and stability of JB6 and its domains towards thermal and chemical denaturation using Fourier transform infrared and circular dichroism spectroscopy to examine the thermodynamic properties. Both domains act as independent folding units. We find that the N-terminal domain (NTD) of JB6 is more stable than its C-terminal domain (CTD). Both domains are stabilized in the context of the full-length protein. The intact protein unfolds in a step-wise manner when subjected to a denaturing agent with the CTD unfolding at a lower denaturant concentration than the NTD. The combination of thermal and chemical denaturation followed by differential scanning fluorimetry revealed the enthalpy changes (22.6 and 26.4 kJ mol⁻¹) and heat capacity changes (2.8 and 3.0 kJ/(mol*K)) upon denaturation of NTD alone and of NTD within the full-length protein, respectively. The understanding of JB6's biophysical properties complements the increasing amount of data on JB6's interactions with client proteins, paving the way for further investigation of the mechanism of its cellular function.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8979,"journal":{"name":"Biophysical chemistry","volume":"320 ","pages":"Article 107401"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143379129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Discovery of the potential of cholesterol-lowering human CYP7 enzymes as biocatalysts for the production of C7 hydroxylated steroids","authors":"Yaraslau Dzichenka ,&nbsp;Michail Shapira ,&nbsp;Antos Sachanka ,&nbsp;Tatsiana Cherkesova ,&nbsp;Veronika Shchur ,&nbsp;Ljubica Grbović ,&nbsp;Ksenija Pavlović ,&nbsp;Bojana Vasiljević ,&nbsp;Marina Savić ,&nbsp;Andrea Nikolić ,&nbsp;Aleksandar Oklješa ,&nbsp;Jovana Ajduković ,&nbsp;Ivana Kuzminac ,&nbsp;Aliaksei Yantsevich ,&nbsp;Sergey Usanov ,&nbsp;Suzana Jovanović-Šanta","doi":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107393","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107393","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Steroidal C7 alcohols and their esters are perspective agents in drug discovery. In addition, hydroxylation at C7 position could allow further modification of steroidal moiety. Such transformation is performed easily by the enzymes. Human steroid 7α-hydroxylases CYP7A1 and CYP7B1 are key enzymes taking part in the biotransformation of cholestanes, androstanes, pregnanes. In the article, we are focusing on the results of <em>in vitro</em> screening of a library of modified steroids toward CYP7 enzymes. A couple of compounds were found to express the affinity for binding to the enzymes, comparable with corresponding values for CYP7 natural ligands. Among them are 17-substituted androstane derivatives with N-containing pyridine ring and enone derivative of lithocholic acid, which bound by human CYP7A1, and D-seco and C16 oxime androstanes, which were identified as novel CYP7B1 ligands. Screening results revealed that both enzymes bind with high affinity a well-known drug abiraterone: in the case of CYP7A1 substrate-like binding mode was detected, with the formation of monohydroxylated product, while in case of CYP7B1 inhibitor-like binding was observed. Since CYP7 enzymes convert some of the studied compounds into their 7-hydroxy derivatives, potential of these enzymes as perspective regio- and stereoselective biocatalysts for obtaining C7 hydroxylated steroids could be assumed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8979,"journal":{"name":"Biophysical chemistry","volume":"319 ","pages":"Article 107393"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143144407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Molecular dynamics study on clustered DNA damage: AP sites on the same strand","authors":"Kazushi Terakawa ,&nbsp;Susumu Fujiwara ,&nbsp;Tomoko Mizuguchi ,&nbsp;Hiroaki Nakamura ,&nbsp;Ken Akamatsu ,&nbsp;Naoya Shikazono ,&nbsp;Yoshiteru Yonetani","doi":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107394","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpc.2025.107394","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although radiation-induced clustered DNA damage can have critical biological consequences, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. To explore the effect of clustered DNA damage on DNA structure and dynamics, we performed molecular dynamics simulations on damaged DNA with two AP sites on the same strand, that is, a tandem AP cluster. The results showed that the cluster insertion of the two AP sites had a significant impact on the DNA's local and global structures. Local structural deformations as well as the extrahelical form, AP-base pairs, and irregular base pairs were frequently observed. Unlike a single AP site, the tandem AP cluster revealed that these local structural features occurred simultaneously within a small separation. Moreover, we found that the presence of tandem AP sites induced global bending of DNA. This suggests that the present case with tandem AP sites may have a non-negligible impact on the biological function of damage repair.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8979,"journal":{"name":"Biophysical chemistry","volume":"319 ","pages":"Article 107394"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143073666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}