College of Physical Science and Technology , Yangzhou University , Yangzhou , Jiangsu 225009 , China.
Division of Interfacial Water and Key Laboratory of Interfacial Physics and Technology , Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Shanghai 201800 , China.
J Phys Chem B. 2018 Oct 18;122(41):9605-9615. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b07877. Epub 2018 Oct 5.
We present atomistic molecular dynamics simulation study of the self-assembly behavior of toll-like agonist lipopeptides (Pam CSK4) in aqueous solutions. The variable number of hexadecyl lipid chains ( n = 1, 2, 3) per molecule has been experimentally suggested to have remarkable influence on their self-assembled nanostructures. Starting from preassembled spherical or bilayer configurations, the aggregates of lipopeptides, PamCSK4 and PamCSK4, which contain peptide sequences CSK4 linked to either mono- or dilipid chains (Pam), evolve into spherical-like micelles within 30 ns, whereas the self-assembled structure of trilipidated lipopeptides, PamCSK4, relaxes much slower and reaches an equilibrium state of flattened wormlike micelle with a bilayer packing structure. The geometric shapes and sizes, namely the gyration radii of spherical micelles and thickness of the flattened wormlike micelle, are found to be in good agreement with experimental measurements, which effectively validates the simulation models and employed force fields. Detailed analyses of molecular packing reveal that these self-assembled nanostructures all consist of a hydrophobic core constructed of lipid chains, a transitional layer, and a hydrophilic interfacial layer composed of peptide sequences. The average area per peptide head at the interfaces is found to be nearly constant for all micellar structures studied. The packing parameter of the lipopeptide molecules thus increases with the increase of the number of linked lipid chains, giving rise to the distinct micellar shape transition from spherical-like to flattened wormlike geometry with bilayer stacking, which is qualitatively different from the shape transitions of surfactant micelles induced by variation of concentration or salt type. To facilitate the close-packing of the lipid chains in the hydrophobic core, the lipopeptide molecules typically take the bent conformation with average tilt angles between the peptide sequences and the lipid chains ranging from 110° to 140°. This consequently affects the orientation angles of the lipid chains with respect to the radial or normal direction of the spherical-like or flattened wormlike micelles. In addition, the secondary structures of the peptides may also be altered by the number of lipid chains to which they are linked and the resultant micellar structures. Our simulation results on the microscopic structural features of the lipopeptide nanostructures may provide potential insights into their bioactivities and contribute to the design of bioactive medicines or drug carriers. The force fields built for these lipopeptides and the geometric packing discussions could also be adopted for simulating and understanding the self-assembly behavior of other bioactive amiphiphiles with similar chemical compositions.
我们展示了 Toll 样激动剂脂肽(Pam CSK4)在水溶液中自组装行为的原子分子动力学模拟研究。实验表明,每个分子中脂酰链的数量(n=1、2、3)对其自组装纳米结构有显著影响。从预先组装的球形或双层结构开始,脂肽 PamCSK4 和 PamCSK4 的聚集体,其中 CSK4 肽序列连接到单或双脂质链(Pam)上,在 30ns 内演变成类似球形的胶束,而三脂酰化脂肽 PamCSK4 的自组装结构松弛得慢得多,达到具有双层堆积结构的扁平蠕虫状胶束的平衡状态。球形胶束的几何形状和大小,即回转半径和扁平蠕虫状胶束的厚度,与实验测量结果非常吻合,有效地验证了模拟模型和所采用的力场。对分子堆积的详细分析表明,这些自组装纳米结构都由由脂质链构成的疏水性核心、过渡层和由肽序列组成的亲水性界面层组成。研究发现,所有研究的胶束结构中,界面处每个肽头的平均面积几乎保持不变。因此,脂肽分子的堆积参数随着连接的脂质链数量的增加而增加,导致从类似球形到具有双层堆积的扁平蠕虫状几何形状的明显的胶束形状转变,这与由浓度或盐类型变化引起的表面活性剂胶束的形状转变在质上不同。为了便于在疏水性核心中紧密堆积脂质链,脂肽分子通常采取弯曲构象,肽序列和脂质链之间的平均倾斜角度在 110°至 140°之间。这反过来又影响了脂质链相对于类似球形或扁平蠕虫状胶束的径向或法向方向的取向角度。此外,肽的二级结构也可能会因与它们相连的脂质链的数量以及由此产生的胶束结构而发生改变。我们对脂肽纳米结构微观结构特征的模拟结果可能为它们的生物活性提供潜在的见解,并有助于设计生物活性药物或药物载体。为这些脂肽构建的力场和几何包装讨论也可以用于模拟和理解具有类似化学成分的其他生物活性两亲分子的自组装行为。