The structure of neuronal calcium sensor-1 in solution revealed by molecular dynamics simulations

PLoS One. 2013 Sep 30;8(9):e74383. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074383. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

Neuronal calcium sensor-1 (NCS-1) is a protein able to trigger signal transduction processes by binding a large number of substrates and re-shaping its structure depending on the environmental conditions. The X-ray crystal structure of the unmyristoilated NCS-1 shows a large solvent-exposed hydrophobic crevice (HC); this HC is partially occupied by the C-terminal tail and thus elusive to the surrounding solvent. We studied the native state of NCS-1 by performing room temperature molecular dynamics (MD) simulations starting from the crystal and the solution structures. We observe relaxation to a state independent of the initial structure, in which the C-terminal tail occupies the HC. We suggest that the C-terminal tail shields the HC binding pocket and modulates the affinity of NCS-1 for its natural targets. By analyzing the topology and nature of the inter-residue potential energy, we provide a compelling description of the interaction network that determines the three-dimensional organization of NCS-1.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cluster Analysis
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Models, Molecular*
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation
  • Neuronal Calcium-Sensor Proteins / chemistry*
  • Neuropeptides / chemistry*
  • Protein Conformation*

Substances

  • Neuronal Calcium-Sensor Proteins
  • Neuropeptides
  • frequenin calcium sensor proteins

Grants and funding

This work was funded by the Italian Institute of Technology (project MOPROSURF and Computational Platform), by the EC through project DNA-NANODEVICES and the Research Infrastructure Action HPC-EUROPA2, and by Fondazione CRMO. The authors are grateful to CINECA (Bologna, Italy) for supercomputing time and staff support. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.