Title
Molecular dynamics-based model of VEGF-A and its heparin interactions
Author
Urszula Uciechowska-Kaczmarzyk, Sándor Babik, Ferenc Zsila, Krzysztof Kamil Bojarski, Tamás Beke-Somfai, Sergey A. Samsonov
Year
2018
Journal
Journal of Molecular Graphics and Modelling
Abstract
We present a computational model of the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), an important regulator of blood vessels formation, which function is affected by its heparin interactions. Although structures of a receptor binding (RBD) and a heparin binding domain (HBD) of VEGF are known, there are structural data neither on the 12 amino acids interdomain linker nor on its complexes with heparin. We apply molecular docking and molecular dynamics techniques combined with circular dichroism spectroscopy to model the full structure of the dimeric VEGF and to propose putative molecular mechanisms underlying the function of VEGF/VEGF receptors/heparin system. We show that both the conformational flexibility of the linker and the formation of HBD-heparin-HBD sandwich-like structures regulate the mutual disposition of HBDs and so affect the VEGF-mediated signalling.
Instrument
J-715
Keywords
Circular dichroism, Secondary structure, Chemical stability, Protein folding, Biochemistry