The Automated force field Topology Builder (ATB, http://compbio.biosci.uq.edu.au/atb ) is a Web-accessible server that can provide topologies and parameters for a wide range of molecules appropriate for use in molecular simulations, computational drug design, and X-ray refinement. The ATB has three primary functions: (1) to act as a repository for molecules that have been parametrized as part of the GROMOS family of force fields, (2) to act as a repository for pre-equilibrated systems for use as starting configurations in molecular dynamics simulations (solvent mixtures, lipid systems pre-equilibrated to adopt a specific phase, etc.), and (3) to generate force field descriptions of novel molecules compatible with the GROMOS family of force fields in a variety of formats (GROMOS, GROMACS, and CNS). Force field descriptions of novel molecules are derived using a multistep process in which results from quantum mechanical (QM) calculations are combined with a knowledge-based approach to ensure compatibility (as far as possible) with a specific parameter set of the GROMOS force field. The ATB has several unique features: (1) It requires that the user stipulate the protonation and tautomeric states of the molecule. (2) The symmetry of the molecule is analyzed to ensure that equivalent atoms are assigned identical parameters. (3) Charge groups are assigned automatically. (4) Where the assignment of a given parameter is ambiguous, a range of possible alternatives is provided. The ATB also provides several validation tools to assist the user to assess the degree to which the topology generated may be appropriate for a given task. In addition to detailing the steps involved in generating a force field topology compatible with a specific GROMOS parameter set (GROMOS 53A6), the challenges involved in the automatic generation of force field parameters for atomic simulations in general are discussed.

UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) catalyze the covalent addition of sugars to a broad range of lipophilic molecules. This biotransformation plays a critical role in elimination of a broad range of exogenous chemicals and by-products of endogenous metabolism, and also controls the levels and distribution of many endogenous signaling molecules. In mammals, the superfamily comprises four families: UGT1, UGT2, UGT3, and UGT8. UGT1 and UGT2 enzymes have important roles in pharmacology and toxicology including contributing to interindividual differences in drug disposition as well as to cancer risk. These UGTs are highly expressed in organs of detoxification (e.g., liver, kidney, intestine) and can be induced by pathways that sense demand for detoxification and for modulation of endobiotic signaling molecules. The functions of the UGT3 and UGT8 family enzymes have only been characterized relatively recently; these enzymes show different UDP-sugar preferences to that of UGT1 and UGT2 enzymes, and to date, their contributions to drug metabolism appear to be relatively minor. This review summarizes and provides critical analysis of the current state of research into all four families of UGT enzymes. Key areas discussed include the roles of UGTs in drug metabolism, cancer risk, and regulation of signaling, as well as the transcriptional and posttranscriptional control of UGT expression and function. The latter part of this review provides an in-depth analysis of the known and predicted functions of UGT3 and UGT8 enzymes, focused on their likely roles in modulation of levels of endogenous signaling pathways.

Articles you may be interested inCombine umbrella sampling with integrated tempering method for efficient and accurate calculation of free energy changes of complex energy surface J. Chem. Phys. 141, 044108 (2014) The relative binding free energy between two ligands to a specific protein can be obtained using various computational methods. The more accurate and also computationally more demanding techniques are the so-called free energy methods which use conformational sampling from molecular dynamics or Monte Carlo simulations to generate thermodynamic averages. Two such widely applied methods are the thermodynamic integration (TI) and the recently introduced enveloping distribution sampling (EDS) methods. In both cases relative binding free energies are obtained through the alchemical perturbations of one ligand into another in water and inside the binding pocket of the protein. TI requires many separate simulations and the specification of a pathway along which the system is perturbed from one ligand to another. Using the EDS approach, only a single automatically derived reference state enveloping both end states needs to be sampled. In addition, the choice of an optimal pathway in TI calculations is not trivial and a poor choice may lead to poor convergence along the pathway. Given this, EDS is expected to be a valuable and computationally efficient alternative to TI. In this study, the performances of these two methods are compared using the binding of ten tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives to phenylethanolamine N-transferase as an example. The ligands involve a diverse set of functional groups leading to a wide range of free energy differences. In addition, two different schemes to determine automatically the EDS reference state parameters and two different topology approaches are compared.

Cytochrome P450 (CYP) family 1, 2, and 3 enzymes play an essential role in the metabolic clearance and detoxification of a myriad of structurally and chemically diverse drugs and non-drug xenobiotics. The individual CYP enzymes exhibit distinct substrate and inhibitor selectivities, and hence differing patterns of inhibitory drug-drug interactions. In addition, CYP enzymes differ in terms of regulation of expression, genetic polymorphism, and environmental factors that alter activity. The availability of three-dimensional structures from X-ray crystallography have been invaluable for understanding the structural basis of the ligand selectivity of CYP enzymes. Moreover, the X-ray crystal structures demonstrate that CYP proteins exhibit marked flexibility, particularly around the active site, and the principle of ligand-induced conformational changes is now well accepted. Recent studies have demonstrated that molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) provide an additional approach for modeling the structural flexibility of CYP enzymes, both in the presence and absence of bound ligand, and understanding the functional consequences of plasticity. However, most of the MDS studies reported to date have utilized short simulation time scales, and few have validated the computationally-generated data experimentally (e.g. by site-directed mutagenesis and enzyme kinetic approaches). Although modeling approaches require further development and validation, MDS has the potential to provide a deeper understanding of CYP structure-function than is available from experimental techniques such as X-ray crystallography alone.