Computational studies on membrane proteins and membrane-drug interactions

The cell membrane is a gateway to the cell and immersion point for membrane proteins and thus is of interest for pharmacology and structural biology. This thesis aims to study its interaction with water, small molecules, polymers and proteins through molecular dynamics simulation and statistical analysis. In the first part of the thesis, I have performed a statistical analysis of membrane proteins present in the PDB databank and enumerated in a structure database of known membrane proteins. Based on a statistical analysis of 127 proteins it was shown that extracellular cysteines are not solvent accessible. This rule has not previously been stated and was poorly followed by the participants of the GPCR DOCK competitions in 2008 and 2010. Thus it can provide qualitative guidelines to improve structural modeling. In a second study, based on a statistical analysis of 39 membrane proteins of three or more transmembrane helices, all of different fold, we have shown and clustered different spatial arrangements that sets of three interacting or consecutive helices can take, in addition to visualizing their abundance. In the second part of the thesis, I performed 200 ns simulations of both membranes in the gel (DSPC) and liquid-crystalline (DLPC) states with solvent and ions; These simulations were repeated with functionalized PEG polymers included (PEGylation). We also performed 200ns lipid membrane simulations in the liquid-crystalline (POPC) state with hematoporphyrin. Our studies provide a new, more accurate description of interactions between lipid membrane ions and featuring PEG polymers rather as dynamic molecules looping around Na+ ions and penetrating to liquid crystalline membrane rather than just a steric barrier outside of membrane. This sheds new light on the mechanism of liposome protection by PEG as well as triggering the release of liposome content through a heat induced lipid phase transition. Hematoporphyrin was shown to reside in the lipid headgroup carbonyl region. Ionized hematoporphyrin has lower affinity to the membrane as iv well as forming stable dimers in the aqueous phase. The research was in agreement with experimental data and has provided a molecular level view of the interactions between photosensitizers and the membrane. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the ISB for funding and accepting me as a member and giving me the opportunity to mingle with great people and researchers during our great meetings in Lapland and, additionally, the Magnus Ehrnrooth foundation for funding. I would like to thank the head of the department …