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Computational Drug Discovery and Design pp 455–472Cite as

Understanding G Protein-Coupled Receptor Allostery via Molecular Dynamics Simulations: Implications for Drug Discovery

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1762))

Abstract

Unraveling the mystery of protein allostery has been one of the greatest challenges in both structural and computational biology. However, recent advances in computational methods, particularly molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, have led to its utility as a powerful and popular tool for the study of protein allostery. By capturing the motions of a protein’s constituent atoms, simulations can enable the discovery of allosteric hot spots and the determination of the mechanistic basis for allostery. These structural and dynamic studies can provide a foundation for a wide range of applications, including rational drug design and protein engineering. In our laboratory, the use of MD simulations and network analysis assisted in the elucidation of the allosteric hotspots and intracellular signal transduction of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), primarily on one of the adenosine receptor subtypes, A2A adenosine receptor (A2AAR). In this chapter, we describe a method for calculating the map of allosteric signal flow in different GPCR conformational states and illustrate how these concepts have been utilized in understanding the mechanism of GPCR allostery. These structural studies will provide valuable insights into the allosteric and orthosteric modulations that would be of great help to design novel drugs targeting GPCRs in pathological states.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Mid-career Researcher Program (NRF-2017R1A2B4010084) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF).

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Author notes

  1. Author contributed equally with all other contributors. Shaherin Basith and Yoonji Lee

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Leading Research Laboratory (NLRL) of Molecular Modeling & Drug Design, College of Pharmacy and Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Shaherin Basith, Yoonji Lee & Sun Choi

Authors
  1. Shaherin Basith
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  2. Yoonji Lee
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  3. Sun Choi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sun Choi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Basic and Applied Sciences, Dayananda Sagar University, Bangalore, KA, India

    Mohini Gore

  2. Department of Biotechnology, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, MH, India

    Umesh B. Jagtap

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Basith, S., Lee, Y., Choi, S. (2018). Understanding G Protein-Coupled Receptor Allostery via Molecular Dynamics Simulations: Implications for Drug Discovery. In: Gore, M., Jagtap, U. (eds) Computational Drug Discovery and Design. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1762. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7756-7_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7756-7_23

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