Short cell-penetrating peptides: a model of interactions with gene promoter sites.

Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine2013PMID: 23484211

Plain Language Summary

Molecular modeling analysis validated how the peptide Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly (Epitalon) interacts with specific DNA sequences in gene promoter regions, including genes encoding immune and signaling molecules such as CD5, IL-2, MMP2, and Tram1. The study characterized hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic interactions, and electrostatic forces involved in these peptide-DNA interactions.

Abstract

Analysis of the main parameters of molecular mechanics (number of hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions, DNA-peptide complex minimization energy) provided the data to validate the previously proposed qualitative models of peptide-DNA interactions and to evaluate their quantitative characteristics. Based on these estimations, a three-dimensional model of Lys-Glu and Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly peptide interactions with DNA sites (GCAG and ATTTC) located in the promoter zones of genes encoding CD5, IL-2, MMP2, and Tram1 signal molecules.

Authors

Khavinson, V Kh; Tarnovskaya, S I; Linkova, N S; Pronyaeva, V E; Shataeva, L K; Yakutseni, P P