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Search results for: Jacek Czub
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Jacek Czub prof. dr hab. inż.
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Molekularne aspekty aktywności biologicznej amfoterycyny B i jej pochodnych o podwyższonej selektywności - badania z zastosowaniem metod chemii obliczeniowej
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Rotation Triggers Nucleotide-Independent Conformational Transition of the Empty β Subunit of F1-ATPase
PublicationF1-ATPase (F1) is the catalytic portion of ATP synthase, a rotary motor protein that couples proton gradients to ATP synthesis. Driven by a proton flux, the F1 asymmetric γ subunit undergoes a stepwise rotation inside the α3β3 headpiece and causes the β subunits’ binding sites to cycle between states of different affinity for nucleotides. These concerted transitions drive the synthesis of ATP from ADP and phosphate. Here, we study...
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Torsional elasticity and energetics of F1-ATPase
PublicationFoF1-ATPase is a rotary motor protein synthesizing ATP from ADP driven by a cross-membrane proton gradient. The proton flow through the membrane-embedded Fo generates the rotary torque that drives the rotation of the asymmetric shaft of F1. Mechanical energy of the rotating shaft is used by the F1 catalytic subunit to synthesize ATP. It was suggested that elastic power transmission with transient storage of energy in some compliant...
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Amphotericin B and Its New Derivatives - Mode of Action
PublicationAmphotericin B (AmB) is a well known antifungal and antiprotozoal antibiotic used in the clinic for several decades. Clinicalapplications of AmB, however, are limited by its nephrotoxicity and many other acute side effects which are not acceptable by patientswhen their life is not threaten. In order to improve the therapeutic index of this drug, lipid formulations have been introduced and manyefforts have been made to obtain less...
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Interaction of amphotericin B with phospholipids in the model membrane - molecular dynamics study.
PublicationAmfoterycyna B jest antybiotykiem używanym w leczeniu układowych infekcji grzybowych. Jej mechanizm działania polega na tworzeniu kanałów wewnątrz błon lipidowych. W przedstawianej pracy publikowane są wyniki symulacji przeprowadzonej dynamiką molekularną monomerycznej i dimerycznej formy antybiotyku wewnątrz błony lipidowej zbudowanej z cząsteczek DMPC. Wyniki te wskazują, że powinowactwo cząsteczek amfoterycyny wewnątrz dimeru...
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Specific Binding of Cholesterol to the Amyloid Precursor Protein: Structure of the Complex and Driving Forces Characterized in Molecular Detail
PublicationC99 is the C-terminal membrane-bound fragment of the amyloid precursor protein that is cleaved by γ-secretase to release Aβ peptides, the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Specific interactions of C99 with cholesterol have been proposed to underlie the recognized role of cholesterol in promoting amyloidogenesis. By using molecular dynamics simulations, we studied cholesterol binding to C99 in a lipid bilayer. We determined...
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Telomere uncapping by common oxidative guanine lesions: Insights from atomistic models
PublicationOxidative damage to DNA is widely known to contribute to aging and disease. This relationship has been extensively studied for telomeres – structures that cap chromosome ends – due to their role in cell proliferation and senescence, and exceptional susceptibility to oxidation. Indeed, the repetitive telomeric DNA sequence contains the 5′-GGG-3′ motif that has the lowest ionization potential of all trinucleotides. Accordingly, experiments...
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How proteins bind to DNA: target discrimination and dynamic sequence search by the telomeric protein TRF1
PublicationTarget search as performed by DNA-binding proteins is a complex process, in which multiple factors contribute to both thermodynamic discrimination of the target sequence from overwhelmingly abundant off-target sites and kinetic acceleration of dynamic sequence interrogation. TRF1, the protein that binds to telomeric tandem repeats, faces an intriguing variant of the search problem where target sites are clustered within short fragments...
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Keep It Flexible: Driving Macromolecular Rotary Motions in Atomistic Simulations with GROMACS
PublicationWe describe a versatile method to enforce the rotation of subsets of atoms, e.g., a protein subunit, in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In particular, we introduce a “flexible axis” technique that allows realistic flexible adaptions of both the rotary subunit as well as the local rotation axis during the simulation. A variety of useful rotation potentials were implemented for the GROMACS 4.5 MD package. Application to the...
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On the Possibility of the Amphotericin B-Sterol Complex Formation in Cholesterol- and Ergosterol-Containing Lipid Bilayers: A Molecular Dynamics Study
PublicationAmphotericin B (AmB) is a well-known membrane-active antibiotic that has been used to treat systemicfungal infections for more than 45 years. Therapeutic application of AmB is based on the fact that it is moreactive against ergosterol-containing membranes of fungal cells than against mammalian membranes withcholesterol. In this paper, we examine the hypothesis according to which the selectivity of the AmB's membraneaction originates...
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How do sterols determine the antufungal activitiy of amphotericin B? Free energy of binding between the drug and its membrane targets.
PublicationAmphotericin B (AmB) is a well-known polyene antibiotic used to treat systemic fungal infections. It is commonly accepted that the presence of sterols in the membrane is essential for the AmB biological activity, that is, for the formation of transmembrane ion channels. The selective toxicity of AmB for fungal cells is attributed to the fact that it is more potent against fungal cell membranes containing ergosterol than against...
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Interaction of amphotericin B and its selected derivatives with membranes: molecular modeling studies
PublicationJest to praca przeglądowa obejmująca krytyczną analizę danych dotyczących oddziaływania amfoterycyny B (AmB) i jej wybranych, mniej toksycznych pochodnych, z błonami lipidowymi. Amfoterycyna B jest antybiotykiem przeciwgrzybowym ale ze względu na jej toksyczność trwają prace nad modyfikacjami chemicznymi tego związku. Celem molekularnym dla tego antybiotyku jest błona lipidowa i dlatego różnicowe powinowactwo AmB i jej pochodnych...
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Interactions of amphotericin B derivatives with lipid membranes - a molecular dynamics study
PublicationW pracy analizowano oddziaływanie dwóch nisko-toksycznych pochodnych amfoterycyny B (związki SAmE i PAmE) z modelami błon lipidowych. Badania wykonane zostały za pomocą dynamiki molekularnej. Modele błon oprócz fosfolipidów DMPC zawierały odpowiednio cholesterol (model błony zwierzęcej) lub ertosterol (model błony grzybowej). Analiza wyników wykazała, że obie pochodne amfoterycyny B zachowują się inaczej w błonie cholesterolowej...
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Molecular aspects of the interaction between amphotericin B and a phospholipid bilayer: molecular dynamics studies.
PublicationAmfoterycyna B jest antybiotykiem z grupy polienów makrolidowych. Stosowany jest on w leczeniu układowych infekcji grzybowych. Wiadomo że związek ten oddziałuje ze składnikami błon lipidowych i tworzy kanały. W przedstawianej pracy prezentowane są wyniki symulacji przeprowadzonej dynamiką molekularną układu składającego się z 200 cząsteczek lipidów DMPC i jednej cząsteczki amfoterycyny ułożonej na powierzchni błony. Z przeprowadzonej...
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Chemical investigation on the mechanism and kinetics of the atmospheric degradation reaction of Trichlorofluoroethene by OH⋅ and Its subsequent fate in the presence of O2/NOx
PublicationThe M06-2X/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory was used to examine the degradation of Trichlorofluoroethene (TCFE) initiated by OH⋅ radicals. Additionally, the coupled-cluster single-double with triple perturbative [CCSD(T)] method was employed to refine the single-point energies using the complete basis set extrapolation approach. The results indicated that OH-addition is the dominant pathway. OH⋅ adds to both the C1 and C2 carbons,...
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Molecular dynamics simulations reveal the balance of forces governing the formation of a guanine tetrad—a common structural unit of G-quadruplex DNA
PublicationG-quadruplexes (G4) are nucleic acid conformations of guanine-rich sequences, in which guanines are arranged in the square-planar G-tetrads, stacked on one another. G4 motifs form in vivo and are implicated in regulation of such processes as gene expression and chromosome maintenance. The structure and stability of various G4 topologies were determined experimentally; however, the driving forces for their formation are not fully...
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Why do G-quadruplexes dimerize through the 5’-ends? Driving forces for G4 DNA dimerization examined in atomic detail
PublicationG-quadruplexes (G4) are secondary structures formed by guanine-rich nucleic acid sequences and shown to exist in living cells where they participate in regulation of gene expression and chromosome maintenance. G-quadruplexes with solvent-exposed guanine tetrads show the tendency to associate together through cofacial stacking, which may be important for packaging of G4-forming sequences and allows for the design of higher-order...
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Effect of osmolytes on the thermal stability of proteins: replica exchange simulations of Trp-cage in urea and betaine solutions
PublicationAlthough osmolytes are known to modulate the folding equilibrium, the molecular mechanism of their effect on thermal denaturation of proteins is still poorly understood. Here, we simulated the thermal denaturation of a small model protein (Trp-cage) in the presence of denaturing (urea) and stabilizing (betaine) osmolytes, using the all-atom replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations. We found that urea destabilizes Trp-cage...
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Influence of a lipid bilayer on the conformational behavior of amphotericin B derivatives - A molecular dynamics study.
PublicationAmphotericin B (AmB) is an effective but very toxic antifungal antibiotic. In our laboratory a series of AmB derivatives of improved selectivity of action was synthesized and tested. To understand molecular basis of this improvement, comparative conformational studies of amphotericin B and its two more selectivederivatives were carried out in an aqueous solution and in a lipid membrane. These molecular simulation studies revealed...
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The Effect of Sterols on Amphotericin B Self-Aggregation in a Lipid Bilayer as Revealed by Free Energy Simulations
PublicationAmphotericin B (AmB) is an effective but toxic antifungal drug, known to increase the permeability of the cell membrane, presumably by assembling into transmembrane pores in a sterol-dependent manner. The aggregation of AmB molecules in a phospholipid bilayer is, thus, crucial for the drug’s activity. To provide an insight into the molecular nature of this process, here, we report an atomistic molecular dynamics simulation study...
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Mechanochemical Energy Transduction during the Main Rotary Step in the Synthesis Cycle of F1-ATPase
PublicationF1-ATPase is a highly efficient molecular motor that can synthesize ATP driven by a mechanical torque. Its ability to function reversibly in either direction requires tight mechanochemical coupling between the catalytic domain and the rotating central shaft, as well as temporal control of substrate binding and product release. Despite great efforts and significant progress, the molecular details of this synchronized and fine-tuned...
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Molecular modelling of membrane activity of amphotericin B, a polyene macrolide antifungal antibiotic
PublicationPraca dotyczy różnego typu modelowań molekularnych cząsteczki przeciwgrzybowego antybiotyku (amfoterycyny B). Praca przeglądowa obejmuje opis badań nad właściwościami molekularnymi samej cząsteczki antybiotyku, jej oddziaływań z powierzchnią błony oraz struktur kanałowych jakie tworzą cząsteczki amfoterycyny wewnątrz błony lipidowej.
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Why Are Left-Handed G-Quadruplexes Scarce?
PublicationG-quadruplexes (G4s) are nucleic acid structures crucial for the regulation of gene expression and genome maintenance. While they hold promise as nanodevice components, achieving desired G4 folds requires understanding the interplay between stability and structural properties, like helicity. Although right-handed G4 structures dominate the experimental data, the molecular basis for this preference over left-handed helicity is unclear....
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Low-Barrier Hydrogen Bond Determines Target-Binding Affinity and Specificity of the Antitubercular Drug Bedaquiline
PublicationThe role of short strong hydrogen bonds (SSHB) in ligand-target binding remains largely unexplored, thereby hin- dering a potentially important avenue in the rational drug de- sign. Here, we investigate the interaction between bedaquiline (Bq), a potent anti-tuberculosis drug, and the mycobacterial ATP synthase, to unravel the role of a specific hydrogen bond to a conserved acidic residue in the target affinity and specificity....
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Intercalation complex of imidazoacridinone C-1311, a potential anticancer drug, with DNA helix d(CGATCG)2: stereostructural studies by 2D NMR spectroscopy.
PublicationImidazoacridinone C-1311 (Symadex®) is a powerful antitumor agent, which successfully made its way through the Phase I clinical trials and has been recommended for Phase II few a years ago. It has been shown experimentally that during the initial stage of its action C-1311 forms a relatively stable intercalation complex with DNA, yet it has shown no base-sequence specificity while binding to DNA. In this paper, the d(CGATCG)2:C-1311...
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Role of cholesterol in substrate recognition by -secretase
Publication-Secretase is an enzyme known to cleave multiple substrates within their transmembrane domains, with the amyloid precursor protein of Alzheimer’s Disease among the most prominent examples. The activity of -secretase strictly depends on the membrane cholesterol content, yet the mechanistic role of cholesterol in the substrate binding and cleavage remains unclear. In this work, we used all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to examine...
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Molecular mechanism of proton-coupled ligand translocation by the bacterial efflux pump EmrE
PublicationThe current surge in bacterial multi-drug resistance (MDR) is one of the largest challenges to public health, threatening to render ineffective many therapies we rely on for treatment of serious infections. Understanding different factors that contribute to MDR is hence crucial from the global “one health” perspective. In this contribution, we focus on the prototypical broad-selectivity proton-coupled antiporter EmrE, one of the...
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Effect of osmolytes of different type on DNA behavior in aqueous solution. Experimental and theoretical studies
PublicationOsmolytes, the small organic molecules accumulated in cells under environmental stress, can modulate the stability of biopolymers such as proteins and DNA. In spite of many years of research, there is no established molecular mechanism of the influence of osmolytes on DNA structure. Here, we used two model osmolytes that denature (urea) or stabilize (trimethylglycine, TMG) proteins to study their effect on DNA in aqueous solutions...
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Mechanism of recognition of parallel G-quadruplexes by DEAH/RHAU helicase DHX36 explored by molecular dynamics simulations
PublicationBecause of high stability and slow unfolding rates of G-quadruplexes (G4), cells have evolved specialized helicases that disrupt these non-canonical DNA and RNA structures in an ATP-dependent manner. One example is DHX36, a DEAH-box helicase, which participates in gene expression and replication by recognizing and unwinding parallel G4s. Here, we studied the molecular basis for the high affinity and specificity of DHX36 for parallel-type...
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Antibiotic-sterol interactions provide insight into the selectivity of natural aromatic analogues of amphotericin B and their photoisomers
PublicationAromatic heptaene macrolides (AHMs) belong to the group of polyene macrolide antifungal antibiotics. Members of this group were the first to be used in the treatment of systemic fungal infections. Amphotericin B (AmB), a non-aromatic representative of heptaene macrolides, is of significant clinical importance in the treatment of internal mycoses. It includes the all-trans heptaene chromophore, whereas the native AHMs contain two...
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Computational analysis of substituent effects on proton affinity and gas-phase basicity of TEMPO derivatives and their hydrogen bonding interactions with water molecules
PublicationThe study investigates the molecular structure of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) and its derivatives in the gas phase using B3LYP and M06-2X functional methods. Intermolecular interactions are analyzed using natural bond orbital (NBO) and atoms in molecules (AIM) techniques. NO2-substituted TEMPO displays high reactivity, less stability, and softer properties. The study reveals that the stability of TEMPO derivatives...
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Screening stability, thermochemistry, and chemical kinetics of 3-hydroxybutanoic acid as a bifunctional biodiesel additive
PublicationThe thermo-kinetic aspects of 3-hydroxybutyric acid (3-HBA) pyrolysis in the gas phase were investigated using density functional theory (DFT), specifically the M06-2X theoretical level in conjunction with the cc-pVTZ basis set. The obtained data were compared with benchmark CBS-QB3 results. The degradation mechanism was divided into 16 pathways, comprising 6 complex fissions and 10 barrierless reactions. Energy profiles were calculated...
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Thermodynamics and kinetics of amphotericin B self-association in aqueous solution characterized in molecular detail
PublicationAmphotericin B (AmB) is a potent but toxic drug commonly used to treat systemic mycoses. Its efficiency as a therapeutic agent depends on its ability to discriminate between mammalian and fungal cell membranes. The association of AmB monomers in an aqueous environment plays an important role in drug selectivity, as oligomers formed prior to membrane insertion – presumably dimers – are believed to act differently on fungal (ergosterol-rich)...
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Solvation of ionic liquids based on N-methyl-N-alkyl morpholinium cations in dimethylsulfoxide – volumetric and compressibility studies
PublicationThe density and sound velocity of the solutions of ionic liquids based on N-alkyl-N-methyl-morpholinium cations, N-ethyl-N-methylmorpholinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, N-butyl-N-methylmorpholinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, N-methyl-N-octyl-morpholinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide and N-decyl-N-methylmorpholinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide in dimethylsulfoxide were measured at T = (298.15 to 318.15)...
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A first-principles study of electron attachment to the fully hydrated bromonucleobases
PublicationDegradation mechanism of four brominated nucleobases (BrX), potential DNA radiosensitizers, is studied in explicit water solution, using ab initio molecular dynamics. Several fs long dynamics is needed to localize an electron on the nucleobase. Produced by electron attachment BrX anion radical degrades through the bromide anion abstraction, barrier-free (purines) or with low barrier (pyrimidines), to a reactive nucleobase radical....
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Membrane Sterols Modulate the Binding Mode of Amphotericin B without Affecting Its Affinity for a Lipid Bilayer
PublicationMembrane-active antibiotics are known to selectively target certain pathogens based on cell membrane properties, such as fluidity, lipid ordering, and phase behavior. These are in turn modulated by the composition of a lipid bilayer and in particular by the presence and type of membrane sterols. Amphotericin B (AmB), the golden standard of antifungal treatment, exhibits higher activity toward ergosterol-rich fungal membranes, which...
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Monosaccharides as internal probes for the determination of the absolute configuration of 2-butanol
PublicationD-dlukoza, D-mannoza i L-ramnoza zostały poddane reakcji z mieszaniną racemiczną 2-butanolu. Otrzymane w ten sposób glikozydy były analizowane za pomocą spektroskopii NMR, z wykorzystaniem eksperymentów COSY i NOESY. Analiza konformacyjna wiązania glikozydowego (dokonana w oparciu o modelowanie molekularne i heteronuklearne stałe sprzężenia) wraz z analizą sprzężeń dipolowych obserwowanych w widmie NOESY umożliwiła określenie konfiguracji...
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Molecular Recognition in Complexes of TRF Proteins with Telomeric DNA
PublicationTelomeres are specialized nucleoprotein assemblies that protect the ends of linear chromosomes. In humans and many other species, telomeres consist of tandem TTAGGG repeats bound by a protein complex known as shelterin that remodels telomeric DNA into a protective loop structure and regulates telomere homeostasis. Shelterin recognizes telomeric repeats through its two major components known as Telomere Repeat-Binding Factors, TRF1...
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Are stabilizing osmolytes preferentially excluded from the protein surface? FTIR and MD studies
PublicationInteractions between osmolytes and hen egg white lysozyme in aqueous solutions were studied by means of FTIR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics. A combination of difference spectra method and chemometric analysis of spectroscopic data was used to determine the number of osmolyte molecules interacting with the protein, and the preferential interaction coefficient in presented systems. Both osmolytes – L-proline and trimethylamine-N-oxide...
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Hydration of amino acids: FTIR spectra and molecular dynamics studies
PublicationThe hydration of selected amino acids, alanine, glycine, proline, valine, isoleucine and phenylalanine, has been studied in aqueous solutions by means of FTIR spectra of HDO isotopically diluted in H2O. The difference spectra procedure and the chemometric method have been applied to remove the contribution of bulk water and thus to separate the spectra of solute-affected HDO. To support interpretation of obtained spectral results,...
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Molywood: streamlining the design and rendering of molecular movies
PublicationMotivation High-quality dynamic visuals are needed at all levels of science communication, from the conference hall to the classroom. As scientific journals embrace new article formats, many key concepts – particularly in structural biology – are also more easily conveyed as videos than still frames. Notwithstanding, the design and rendering of a complex molecular movie remain an arduous task. Here, we introduce Molywood, a robust...
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Molecular basis of the osmolyte effect on protein stability: a lesson from the mechanical unfolding of lysozyme
PublicationOsmolytes are a class of small organic molecules that shift the protein folding equilibrium. For this reason, they are accumulated by organisms under environmental stress, and find applications in biotechnology where proteins need to be stabilized or dissolved. However, despite years of research, debate continues over the exact mechanisms underpinning the stabilizing and denaturing effect of osmolytes. Here, we simulated the mechanical...
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Molecular Determinants of Proton Transfer in ATP Synthase FO Complex
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Determinants of Directionality and Efficiency of the ATP Synthase Fo Motor at Atomic Resolution
PublicationFo subcomplex of ATP synthase is a membrane-embedded rotary motor that converts proton motive force into mechanical energy. Despite a rapid increase in the number of high-resolution structures, the mechanism of tight coupling between proton transport and motion of the rotary c-ring remains elusive. Here, using extensive all-atom free energy simulations, we show how the motor’s directionality naturally arises from the interplay...
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Mechanism of recognition of parallel G-quadruplexes by DEAH/RHAU helicase DHX36 explored by molecular dynamics simulations
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The mechanism of overcoming multidrug resistance (MDR) of fungi by amphotericin B and its derivatives
PublicationPrzeprowadzono badania porównawcze w celu określenia aktywności i cytotoksyczności amfoterycyny B (AmB) i jej pochodnych wobec standardowego szczepu S. cerevisiae i jego transformantów zawierających geny C. albicans kodujące białka oporności wielolekowej (MDR) typu ABC i MFS. Pochodne AmB: amid 3-dimetyloaminopropylowy amfoterycyny B oraz ester metylowy N-metylo-N-D-fruktopiranozylo-amfoterycyny B wykazały efekt fungistatyczny...
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Molecular mechanism and energetics of coupling between substrate binding and product release in the F 1 -ATPase catalytic cycle
PublicationF1-ATPase is a motor protein that couples the rotation of its rotary γ subunit with ATP synthesis or hydrolysis. Single-molecule experiments indicate that nucleotide binding and release events occur almost simultaneously during the synthesis cycle, allowing the energy gain due to spontaneous binding of ADP to one catalytic β subunit to be directly harnessed for driving the release of ATP from another rather than being dissipated...
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Dominant Pathways of Adenosyl Radical-Induced DNA Damage Revealed by QM/MM Metadynamics
PublicationBrominated nucleobases sensitize double stranded DNA to hydrated electrons, one of the dominant genotoxic species produced in hypoxic cancer cells during radiotherapy. Such radiosensitizers can therefore be administered locally to enhance treatment efficiency within the solid tumor while protecting the neighboring tissue. When a solvated electron attaches to 8-bromoadenosine, a potential sensitizer, the dissociation of bromide...
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How acidic amino acid residues facilitate DNA target site selection
PublicationDespite the negative charge of the DNA backbone, acidic residues (Asp/Glu) commonly participate in the base readout, with a strong preference for cytosine. In fact, in the solved DNA/protein structures, cytosine is recognized almost exclusively by Asp/Glu through a direct hydrogen bond, while at the same time, adenine, regardless of its amino group, shows no propensity for Asp/Glu. Here, we analyzed the contribution of Asp/Glu...