Intermolecular interactions in G protein-coupled receptor allosteric sites at the membrane interface from molecular dynamics simulations and quantum chemical calculations

Allosteric modulators are called to be promising candidates in G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) drug development by displaying target selectivity and fewer side effects. Among the allosteric sites known to date, extrahelical cavities represent an uncharacteristic binding location that raises many questions about the ligand interactions and stability; the binding site structure, and how all of these are affected by lipid molecules. In this work, we analyze the dynamics and interactions in the PAR2, C5aR1, and GCGR receptors unbound and bound to allosteric modulators at the receptor-lipid interface using molecular dynamics simulations in three lipid compositions. In addition, we performed quantum chemical calculations to further explore electrostatic interactions and the strength of atom pairwise contacts in the stabilization of the ligand-receptor complexes. We show that besides classical hydrogen bonds weak polar interactions such as O-HC, O-Br, and S-HC contacts and aromatic interactions contribute to the binding of allosteric modulators at the extrahelical sites in the middle of the membrane. The allosteric cavities are open and detectable in various membrane compositions but not always predicted as druggable.  The availability of polar atoms for interactions in such cavities can be assessed by water molecules from the simulations. Although ligand-lipid interactions are weak, the lipid tails play a role in sizing and shaping the large part of the allosteric cavity. 

You will find the following files:

• Input files of the equilibration and production protocols of MD simulations (MD_simulations_inputs.zip)
• Input files and coordinate files of F-SAPT and NCIPLOT calculations (quantum_chemical_coordiates_inputs.zip)