New parameter sets of the GROMOS biomolecular force field, 54A7 and 54B7, are introduced. These parameter sets summarise some previously published force field modifications: The 53A6 helical propensities are corrected through new u/w torsional angle terms and a modification of the N-H, C=O repulsion, a new atom type for a charged -CH 3 in the choline moiety is added, the Na ? and Cl -ions are modified to reproduce the free energy of hydration, and additional improper torsional angle types for free energy calculations involving a chirality change are introduced. The new helical propensity modification is tested using the benchmark proteins hen egg-white lysozyme, fox1 RNA binding domain, chorismate mutase and the GCN4-p1 peptide. The stability of the proteins is improved in comparison with the 53A6 force field, and good agreement with a range of primary experimental data is obtained.

The GROMOS 54A8 force field [Reif et al. J. Chem. Theory Comput.2012, 8, 3705–3723] is the first of its kind to contain nonbonded parameters for charged amino acid side chains that are derived in a rigorously thermodynamic fashion, namely a calibration against single-ion hydration free energies. Considering charged moieties in solution, the most decisive signature of the GROMOS 54A8 force field in comparison to its predecessor 54A7 can probably be found in the thermodynamic equilibrium between salt-bridged ion pair formation and hydration. Possible shifts in this equilibrium might crucially affect the properties of electrolyte solutions or/and the stability of (bio)molecules. It is therefore important to investigate the consequences of the altered description of charged oligoatomic species in the GROMOS 54A8 force field. The present study focuses on examining the ability of the GROMOS 54A8 force field to accurately model the structural properties of electrolyte solutions, lipid bilayers, and proteins. It is found that (i) aqueous electrolytes involving oligoatomic species (sodium acetate, methylammonium chloride, guanidinium chloride) reproduce experimental salt activity derivatives for concentrations up to 1.0 m (1.0-molal) very well, and good agreement between simulated and experimental data is also reached for sodium acetate and methylammonium chloride at 2.0 m concentration, while not even qualitative agreement is found for sodium chloride throughout the whole range of examined concentrations, indicating a failure of the GROMOS 54A7 and 54A8 force-field parameter sets to correctly account for the balance between ion–ion and ion–water binding propensities of sodium and chloride ions; (ii) the GROMOS 54A8 force field reproduces the liquid crystalline-like phase of a hydrated DPPC bilayer at a pressure of 1 bar and a temperature of 323 K, the area per lipid being in agreement with experimental data, whereas other structural properties (volume per lipid, bilayer thickness) appear underestimated; (iii) the secondary structure of a range of different proteins simulated with the GROMOS 54A8 force field at pH 7 is maintained and compatible with experimental NMR data, while, as also observed for the GROMOS 54A7 force field, α-helices are slightly overstabilized with respect to 310-helices; (iv) with the GROMOS 54A8 force field, the side chains of arginine, lysine, aspartate, and glutamate residues appear slightly more hydrated and present a slight excess of oppositely-charged solution components in their vicinity, whereas salt-bridge formation properties between charged residues at the protein surface, as assessed by probability distributions of interionic distances, are largely equivalent in the GROMOS 54A7 and 54A8 force-field parameter sets.

Human parainfluenza viruses (hPIVs) cause upper and lower respiratory tract disease in children that results in a significant number of hospitalizations and impacts health systems worldwide. To date, neither antiviral drugs nor vaccines are approved for clinical use against parainfluenza virus, which reinforces the urgent need for new therapeutic discovery strategies. Here we use a multidisciplinary approach to develop potent inhibitors that target a structural feature within the hPIV type 3 haemagglutinin-neuraminidase (hPIV-3 HN). These dual-acting designer inhibitors represent the most potent designer compounds and efficiently block both hPIV cell entry and virion progeny release. We also define the binding mode of these inhibitors in the presence of whole-inactivated hPIV and recombinantly expressed hPIV-3 HN by Saturation Transfer Difference NMR spectroscopy. Collectively, our study provides an antiviral preclinical candidate and a new direction towards the discovery of potential anti-parainfluenza drugs.

The use of a coarse-grained (CG) model that is widely used in molecular dynamics simulations of biomolecular systems is investigated with respect to the dependence of a variety of quantities upon the size of the used integration time step and cutoff radius. The results suggest that when using a non-bonded interaction-cutoff radius of 1.4 nm a time step of maximally 10 fs should be used, in order not to produce energy sinks or wells. Using a too-large time step, e.g. 50 fs with a cutoff of 1.2 nm, as is done in the coarse-grained model of Marrink et al. (J. Phys. Chem. B, 2004, 108, 250 and 2007, 111, 7812), induces errors due to the linear approximation of the integrators that are commonly used to integrate the equations of motion. As a spin-off of the investigation of the mentioned CG models, we found that the parameters of the CG water model place it at physiological temperatures well into the solid phase of the phase diagram.