Myoglobin has important biological functions in storing and transporting small diatomic molecules in human body. Two possible orientations of carbon monoxide （CO） in the heme distal pocket （named as BI and B2 states） of myoglobin have been experimentally indicated. In this study, ab initio quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics （QM/MM） molecular dynamics simulation of CO in myoglobin was carried out to investigate the two possible B states. Our results demonstrate that the B1 and B2 states correspond to Fe... CO （with carbon atom closer to iron center of heme） and Fe... OC （with oxygen atom closer to Fe）, by comparing with the experimental infrared spectrum. QM electrostatic polarization effect on CO brought from the protein and solvent environment is the main driving force, which anchors CO in two distinctive orientations and hinders its rotation. The calculated vibrational frequency shift between the state B1 and B2 is 13.1 cm-1, which is in good agreement with experimental value of 11.5 cm-1. This study also shows that the electric field produced by the solvent plays an important role in assisting protein functions by exerting directional electric field at the active site of the protein, From residue-based electric field decomposition, several residues were found to have most contributions to the total electric field at the CO center, including a few charged residues and three adjacent uncharged polar residues （namely, HIS64, ILE107, and PHE43）. This study provides new physical insights on rational design of enzyme with higher electric field at the active site.
基于最近发展的分子碎片共轭帽(molecular fractionation with conjugate caps,MFCC)方法,表皮生长因子受体(epidermal growth factor receptor,EGFR)与其抑制剂的相互作用能得以用完整的量子力学来计算,主要包括上市的Iressa[第一代美国食品及药物管理局(Food and Drug Administration,FDA)通过的药物]和4-苯胺基喹唑啉类抑制剂Tarceva(已上市)、CI-1033与EKI-785。对EGFR的完整体系(超过5 000个原子)与4-苯胺基喹唑啉类抑制剂之间的结合作用采用了量子力学计算方法。结合体系的量子能量计算,用Hartree-Fock与密度泛函理论(density functional theory,DFT)2种方法,EGFR与Tarceva之间的相互作用能基于它们两者复合物的晶体结构得到,而其他抑制剂与EGFR的相互作用能则通过分子对接软件预测的构型进行计算。利用MFCC方法,获得了量子相互作用能谱,清楚地给出了EGFR每个氨基酸片段与4-苯胺基喹唑啉类抑制剂之间的单个相互作用能。量子研究发现,4-苯胺基喹唑啉类抑制剂与EGFR的结合通过1个氢键和静电相互作用。Iressa、Tarceva、CI-1033、EKI-785与EGFR的结合能计算值分别为-40.23、-53.09、-33.92、-31.47kcal/mol(1cal=4.184J)。研究表明,Tarceva比第一代FDA通过的药物Iressa有更强的结合能力,而CI-1033、EKI-785则表现出一般的结合作用,另外,与MFCC计算的相互作用能谱相比,有一些相互作用在力场作用能谱中被明显高估。
化学位移是核磁共振波谱(nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum,NMR)的一项重要参数,由于其对原子周围化学环境十分敏感,因此化学位移的理论计算在生物大分子的结构预测中扮演着重要的角色[1-2]。目前预测生物大分子NMR化学位移的理论方法主要分为两类:一类是从实验数据拟合得到的经验或者半经验方法[3-4];另一类是基于量子力学理论的从头计算方法[5-7]。与前者相比,量子力学方法不依赖数据集,针对不同体系具有很好的移植性。由于量子力学方法需要的计算时间随计算体系的大小呈多项式增长,因此人们基于“化学局域性”原理发展了分块量子化学方法来提高计算效率。本课题组长期致力于分块量子化学方法的发展,针对生物大分子的NMR化学位移精确预测发展了自动分块的大分子NMR化学位移计算方法(automated fragmentation,AF-NMR)。本文简要介绍本课题组在这方面的研究进展。
