TY - JOUR A1 - Thies, Arne A1 - Sunkara, Vikram A1 - Ray, Sourav A1 - Wulkow, Hanna A1 - Celik, M. Özgür A1 - Yergöz, Fatih A1 - Schütte, Christof A1 - Stein, Christoph A1 - Weber, Marcus A1 - Winkelmann, Stefanie T1 - Modelling altered signalling of G-protein coupled receptors in inflamed environment to advance drug design JF - Scientific Reports N2 - We previously reported the successful design, synthesis and testing of the prototype opioid painkiller NFEPP that does not elicit adverse side effects. The design process of NFEPP was based on mathematical modelling of extracellular interactions between G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and ligands, recognizing that GPCRs function differently under pathological versus healthy conditions. We now present an additional and novel stochastic model of GPCR function that includes intracellular dissociation of G-protein subunits and modulation of plasma membrane calcium channels and their dependence on parameters of inflamed and healthy tissue (pH, radicals). The model is validated against in vitro experimental data for the ligands NFEPP and fentanyl at different pH values and radical concentrations. We observe markedly reduced binding affinity and calcium channel inhibition for NFEPP at normal pH compared to lower pH, in contrast to the effect of fentanyl. For increasing radical concentrations, we find enhanced constitutive G-protein activation but reduced ligand binding affinity. Assessing the different effects, the results suggest that, compared to radicals, low pH is a more important determinant of overall GPCR function in an inflamed environment. Future drug design efforts should take this into account. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-27699-w VL - 13 IS - 607 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Montefusco, Alberto A1 - Schütte, Christof A1 - Winkelmann, Stefanie T1 - A route to the hydrodynamic limit of a reaction-diffusion master equation using gradient structures JF - SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics N2 - The reaction-diffusion master equation (RDME) is a lattice-based stochastic model for spatially resolved cellular processes. It is often interpreted as an approximation to spatially continuous reaction-diffusion models, which, in the limit of an infinitely large population, may be described by means of reaction-diffusion partial differential equations. Analyzing and understanding the relation between different mathematical models for reaction-diffusion dynamics is a research topic of steady interest. In this work, we explore a route to the hydrodynamic limit of the RDME which uses gradient structures. Specifically, we elaborate on a method introduced in [J. Maas and A. Mielke, J. Stat. Phys., 181 (2020), pp. 2257–2303] in the context of well-mixed reaction networks by showing that, once it is complemented with an appropriate limit procedure, it can be applied to spatially extended systems with diffusion. Under the assumption of detailed balance, we write down a gradient structure for the RDME and use the method in order to produce a gradient structure for its hydrodynamic limit, namely, for the corresponding RDPDE. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1137/22M1488831 VL - 83 IS - 2 SP - 837 EP - 861 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ghysbrecht, Simon A1 - Donati, Luca A1 - Keller, Bettina G. T1 - Accuracy of reaction coordinate based rate theories for modelling chemical reactions: insights from the thermal isomerization in retinal JF - Journal of Computational Chemistry N2 - Modern potential energy surfaces have shifted attention to molecular simulations of chemical reactions. While various methods can estimate rate constants for conformational transitions in molecular dynamics simulations, their applicability to studying chemical reactions remains uncertain due to the high and sharp energy barriers and complex reaction coordinates involved. This study focuses on the thermal cis-trans isomerization in retinal, employing molecular simulations and comparing rate constant estimates based on one-dimensional rate theories with those based on sampling transitions and grid-based models for low-dimensional collective variable spaces. Even though each individual method to estimate the rate passes its quality tests, the rate constant estimates exhibit disparities of up to four orders of magnitude. Rate constant estimates based on one-dimensional reaction coordinates prove challenging to converge, even if the reaction coordinate is optimized. However, consistent estimates of the rate constant are achieved by sampling transitions and by multi-dimensional grid-based models. Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/jcc.27529 VL - 46 IS - 1 SP - e27529 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schimunek, Johannes A1 - Seidl, Philipp A1 - Elez, Katarina A1 - Hempel, Tim A1 - Le, Tuan A1 - Noé, Frank A1 - Olsson, Simon A1 - Raich, Lluís A1 - Winter, Robin A1 - Gokcan, Hatice A1 - Gusev, Filipp A1 - Gutkin, Evgeny M. A1 - Isayev, Olexandr A1 - Kurnikova, Maria G. A1 - Narangoda, Chamali H. A1 - Zubatyuk, Roman A1 - Bosko, Ivan P. A1 - Furs, Konstantin V. A1 - Karpenko, Anna D. A1 - Kornoushenko, Yury V. A1 - Shuldau, Mikita A1 - Yushkevich, Artsemi A1 - Benabderrahmane, Mohammed B. A1 - Bousquet-Melou, Patrick A1 - Bureau, Ronan A1 - Charton, Beatrice A1 - Cirou, Bertrand C. A1 - Gil, Gérard A1 - Allen, William J. A1 - Sirimulla, Suman A1 - Watowich, Stanley A1 - Antonopoulos, Nick A1 - Epitropakis, Nikolaos A1 - Krasoulis, Agamemnon A1 - Itsikalis, Vassilis A1 - Theodorakis, Stavros A1 - Kozlovskii, Igor A1 - Maliutin, Anton A1 - Medvedev, Alexander A1 - Popov, Petr A1 - Zaretckii, Mark A1 - Eghbal-Zadeh, Hamid A1 - Halmich, Christina A1 - Hochreiter, Sepp A1 - Mayr, Andreas A1 - Ruch, Peter A1 - Widrich, Michael A1 - Berenger, Francois A1 - Kumar, Ashutosh A1 - Yamanishi, Yoshihiro A1 - Zhang, Kam Y. J. A1 - Bengio, Emmanuel A1 - Bengio, Yoshua A1 - Jain, Moksh J. A1 - Korablyov, Maksym A1 - Liu, Cheng-Hao A1 - Marcou, Gilles A1 - Glaab, Enrico A1 - Barnsley, Kelly A1 - Iyengar, Suhasini M. A1 - Ondrechen, Mary Jo A1 - Haupt, V. Joachim A1 - Kaiser, Florian A1 - Schroeder, Michael A1 - Pugliese, Luisa A1 - Albani, Simone A1 - Athanasiou, Christina A1 - Beccari, Andrea A1 - Carloni, Paolo A1 - D’Arrigo, Giulia A1 - Gianquinto, Eleonora A1 - Goßen, Jonas A1 - Hanke, Anton A1 - Joseph, Benjamin P. A1 - Kokh, Daria B. A1 - Kovachka, Sandra A1 - Manelfi, Candida A1 - Mukherjee, Goutam A1 - Muñiz-Chicharro, Abraham A1 - Musiani, Francesco A1 - Nunes-Alves, Ariane A1 - Paiardi, Giulia A1 - Rossetti, Giulia A1 - Sadiq, S. Kashif A1 - Spyrakis, Francesca A1 - Talarico, Carmine A1 - Tsengenes, Alexandros A1 - Wade, Rebecca C. A1 - Copeland, Conner A1 - Gaiser, Jeremiah A1 - Olson, Daniel R. A1 - Roy, Amitava A1 - Venkatraman, Vishwesh A1 - Wheeler, Travis J. A1 - Arthanari, Haribabu A1 - Blaschitz, Klara A1 - Cespugli, Marco A1 - Durmaz, Vedat A1 - Fackeldey, Konstantin A1 - Fischer, Patrick D. A1 - Gorgulla, Christoph A1 - Gruber, Christian A1 - Gruber, Karl A1 - Hetmann, Michael A1 - Kinney, Jamie E. A1 - Padmanabha Das, Krishna M. A1 - Pandita, Shreya A1 - Singh, Amit A1 - Steinkellner, Georg A1 - Tesseyre, Guilhem A1 - Wagner, Gerhard A1 - Wang, Zi-Fu A1 - Yust, Ryan J. A1 - Druzhilovskiy, Dmitry S. A1 - Filimonov, Dmitry A. A1 - Pogodin, Pavel V. A1 - Poroikov, Vladimir A1 - Rudik, Anastassia V. A1 - Stolbov, Leonid A. A1 - Veselovsky, Alexander V. A1 - De Rosa, Maria A1 - De Simone, Giada A1 - Gulotta, Maria R. A1 - Lombino, Jessica A1 - Mekni, Nedra A1 - Perricone, Ugo A1 - Casini, Arturo A1 - Embree, Amanda A1 - Gordon, D. Benjamin A1 - Lei, David A1 - Pratt, Katelin A1 - Voigt, Christopher A. A1 - Chen, Kuang-Yu A1 - Jacob, Yves A1 - Krischuns, Tim A1 - Lafaye, Pierre A1 - Zettor, Agnès A1 - Rodríguez, M. Luis A1 - White, Kris M. A1 - Fearon, Daren A1 - Von Delft, Frank A1 - Walsh, Martin A. A1 - Horvath, Dragos A1 - Brooks III, Charles L. A1 - Falsafi, Babak A1 - Ford, Bryan A1 - García-Sastre, Adolfo A1 - Yup Lee, Sang A1 - Naffakh, Nadia A1 - Varnek, Alexandre A1 - Klambauer, Günter A1 - Hermans, Thomas M. T1 - A community effort in SARS-CoV-2 drug discovery JF - Molecular Informatics KW - COVID-19 KW - drug discovery KW - machine learning KW - SARS-CoV-2 Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/minf.202300262 VL - 43 IS - 1 SP - e202300262 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gorgulla, Christoph A1 - Nigam, AkshatKumar A1 - Koop, Matt A1 - Selim Çınaroğlu, Süleyman A1 - Secker, Christopher A1 - Haddadnia, Mohammad A1 - Kumar, Abhishek A1 - Malets, Yehor A1 - Hasson, Alexander A1 - Li, Minkai A1 - Tang, Ming A1 - Levin-Konigsberg, Roni A1 - Radchenko, Dmitry A1 - Kumar, Aditya A1 - Gehev, Minko A1 - Aquilanti, Pierre-Yves A1 - Gabb, Henry A1 - Alhossary, Amr A1 - Wagner, Gerhard A1 - Aspuru-Guzik, Alán A1 - Moroz, Yurii S. A1 - Fackeldey, Konstantin A1 - Arthanari, Haribabu T1 - VirtualFlow 2.0 - The Next Generation Drug Discovery Platform Enabling Adaptive Screens of 69 Billion Molecules JF - bioRxiv KW - preprint Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.04.25.537981 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Secker, Christopher T1 - Novel multi-objective affinity approach allows to identify pH-specific μ-opioid receptor agonists (Dataset) N2 - Virtual Screening Dataset for the paper "Novel multi-objective affinity approach allows to identify pH-specific μ-opioid receptor agonists" by Secker et al. (https://doi.org/10.1186/s13321-023-00746-4) Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-96220 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Erban, Radek A1 - Winkelmann, Stefanie T1 - Multi-grid reaction-diffusion master equation: applications to morphogen gradient modelling JF - Bulletin of Mathematical Biology N2 - The multi-grid reaction-diffusion master equation (mgRDME) provides a generalization of stochastic compartment-based reaction-diffusion modelling described by the standard reaction-diffusion master equation (RDME). By enabling different resolutions on lattices for biochemical species with different diffusion constants, the mgRDME approach improves both accuracy and efficiency of compartment-based reaction-diffusion simulations. The mgRDME framework is examined through its application to morphogen gradient formation in stochastic reaction-diffusion scenarios, using both an analytically tractable first-order reaction network and a model with a second-order reaction. The results obtained by the mgRDME modelling are compared with the standard RDME model and with the (more detailed) particle-based Brownian dynamics simulations. The dependence of error and numerical cost on the compartment sizes is defined and investigated through a multi-objective optimization problem. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11538-024-01377-y VL - 87 SP - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wehlitz, Nathalie A1 - Sadeghi, Mohsen A1 - Montefusco, Alberto A1 - Schütte, Christof A1 - Pavliotis, Grigorios A. A1 - Winkelmann, Stefanie T1 - Approximating particle-based clustering dynamics by stochastic PDEs JF - SIAM Journal on Applied Dynamical Systems N2 - This work proposes stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs) as a practical tool to replicate clustering effects of more detailed particle-based dynamics. Inspired by membrane mediated receptor dynamics on cell surfaces, we formulate a stochastic particle-based model for diffusion and pairwise interaction of particles, leading to intriguing clustering phenomena. Employing numerical simulation and cluster detection methods, we explore the approximation of the particle-based clustering dynamics through mean-field approaches. We find that SPDEs successfully reproduce spatiotemporal clustering dynamics, not only in the initial cluster formation period, but also on longer time scales where the successive merging of clusters cannot be tracked by deterministic mean-field models. The computational efficiency of the SPDE approach allows us to generate extensive statistical data for parameter estimation in a simpler model that uses a Markov jump process to capture the temporal evolution of the cluster number. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1137/24M1676661 VL - 24 IS - 2 SP - 1231 EP - 1250 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Berns, Manon A1 - Yildiz, Mirza A1 - Winkelmann, Stefanie A1 - Walter, Alexander T1 - Independently engaging protein tethers of different length enhance synaptic vesicle trafficking to the plasma membrane JF - The Journal of Physiology N2 - Synaptic vesicle (SV) trafficking toward the plasma membrane (PM) and subsequent SV maturation are essential for neurotransmitter release. These processes, including SV docking and priming, are coordinated by various proteins, such as SNAREs, Munc13, and Synaptotagmin (Syt), which connect—tether—the SV to the PM. Here, we investigated how tethers of varying lengths mediate SV docking using a simplified mathematical model. The heights of the three tether types—estimated from the structures of the SNARE complex, Munc13, and Syt—defined the SV-to-PM distance ranges for tether formation. Geometric considerations linked SV-to-PM distances to the probability and rate of tether formation. We assumed that SV tethering constrains SV motility and that multiple tethers associate by independent interactions. The model predicted that forming multiple tethers favors shorter SV-to-PM distances. Although tethers acted independently in the model, their geometrical properties often caused sequential assembly, from longer ones (Munc13/Syt), that accelerated SV movement towards the PM, to shorter ones (SNAREs) which stabilized PM-proximal SVs. Modifying tether lengths or numbers affected SV trafficking. The independent implementation of tethering proteins enabled their selective removal to mimic gene knockout situations. This showed that simulated SV-to-PM distance distributions qualitatively aligned with published EM studies upon removal of SNARE and Syt tethers, while Munc13 knockout data were best approximated when assuming additional disruption of SNARE tethers. Thus, while salient features of SV docking can be accounted for by independent tethering alone, our results suggest that functional tether interactions not yet featured in our model are crucial for biological function. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1113/JP286651 VL - 603 IS - 20 SP - 6107 EP - 6134 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Donati, Luca A1 - Chewle, Surahit A1 - St. Pierre, Dominik A1 - Natarajan, Vijay A1 - Weber, Marcus T1 - Topological analysis reveals multiple pathways in molecular dynamics JF - Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation N2 - Molecular Dynamics simulations are indispensable tools for comprehending the dynamic behavior of biomolecules, yet extracting meaningful molecular pathways from these simulations remains challenging due to the vast amount of high dimensional data. In this work, we present Molecular Kinetics via Topology (MoKiTo), a novel approach that combines the ISOKANN algorithm to determine the membership function of a molecular system with a topological analysis tool inspired by the Mapper algorithm. Our strategy efficiently identifies and characterizes distinct molecular pathways, enabling the detection and visualization of critical conformational transitions and rare events. This method offers deeper insights into molecular mechanisms, facilitating the design of targeted interventions in drug discovery and protein engineering. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jctc.5c00819 VL - 21 IS - 20 SP - 10385 EP - 10397 CY - J. Chem. Theory Comput. ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schütte, Christof A1 - Klus, Stefan A1 - Hartmann, Carsten T1 - Overcoming the Timescale Barrier in Molecular Dynamics: Transfer Operators, Variational Principles, and Machine Learning JF - Acta Numerica N2 - One of the main challenges in molecular dynamics is overcoming the ‘timescale barrier’: in many realistic molecular systems, biologically important rare transitions occur on timescales that are not accessible to direct numerical simulation, even on the largest or specifically dedicated supercomputers. This article discusses how to circumvent the timescale barrier by a collection of transfer operator-based techniques that have emerged from dynamical systems theory, numerical mathematics and machine learning over the last two decades. We will focus on how transfer operators can be used to approximate the dynamical behaviour on long timescales, review the introduction of this approach into molecular dynamics, and outline the respective theory, as well as the algorithmic development, from the early numerics-based methods, via variational reformulations, to modern data-based techniques utilizing and improving concepts from machine learning. Furthermore, its relation to rare event simulation techniques will be explained, revealing a broad equivalence of variational principles for long-time quantities in molecular dynamics. The article will mainly take a mathematical perspective and will leave the application to real-world molecular systems to the more than 1000 research articles already written on this subject. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1017/S0962492923000016 VL - 32 SP - 517 EP - 673 ER - TY - BOOK A1 - Ternes, Thomas A1 - Bauer, Karl-Heinz A1 - Brauer, Frank A1 - Drewes, Jörg A1 - Joss, Adriano A1 - Hiller, Georg A1 - Jewell, Kevin A1 - Oehlmann, Jörg A1 - Radke, Michael A1 - Schulte-Oehlmann, Ulrike A1 - Schwartz, Thomas A1 - Seel, Peter A1 - Völker, Jeanette A1 - Weber, Lilo A1 - Weber, Marcus ED - Wilhelm, Christian T1 - Handlungsempfehlung zur integrativen Bewertung der weitergehenden Abwasserbehandlung von kommunalen Kläranlagen N2 - Das vorliegende Statuspapier beschreibt ein Konzept zur weitergehenden Abwasserbehandlung für die Bewertung von Aufbereitungsverfahren, sowohl in einer Pilotphase zur Auswahl von Verfah- rensoptionen als auch für die Bewertung großtechnischer Anlagen. Y1 - 2023 SN - 978-3-96862-563-8 VL - T1/2023 PB - DWA / GDCh ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Montefusco, Alberto A1 - Helfmann, Luzie A1 - Okunola, Toluwani A1 - Winkelmann, Stefanie A1 - Schütte, Christof T1 - Partial mean-field model for neurotransmission dynamics JF - Mathematical Biosciences N2 - This article addresses reaction networks in which spatial and stochastic effects are of crucial importance. For such systems, particle-based models allow us to describe all microscopic details with high accuracy. However, they suffer from computational inefficiency if particle numbers and density get too large. Alternative coarse-grained-resolution models reduce computational effort tremendously, e.g., by replacing the particle distribution by a continuous concentration field governed by reaction-diffusion PDEs. We demonstrate how models on the different resolution levels can be combined into hybrid models that seamlessly combine the best of both worlds, describing molecular species with large copy numbers by macroscopic equations with spatial resolution while keeping the stochastic-spatial particle-based resolution level for the species with low copy numbers. To this end, we introduce a simple particle-based model for the binding dynamics of ions and vesicles at the heart of the neurotransmission process. Within this framework, we derive a novel hybrid model and present results from numerical experiments which demonstrate that the hybrid model allows for an accurate approximation of the full particle-based model in realistic scenarios. Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mbs.2024.109143 VL - 369 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Donati, Luca A1 - Weber, Marcus T1 - Efficient Estimation of Transition Rates as Functions of pH JF - Proceedings in Applied Mathematics & Mechanics N2 - Extracting the kinetic properties of a system whose dynamics depend on the pH of the environment with which it exchanges energy and atoms requires sampling the Grand Canonical Ensemble. As an alternative, we present a novel strategy that requires simulating only the most recurrent Canonical Ensembles that compose the Grand Canonical Ensemble. The simulations are used to estimate the Gran Canonical distribution for a specific pH value by reweighting and to construct the transition rate matrix by discretizing the Fokker-Planck equation by Square Root Approximation and robust Perron Cluster Cluster Analysis. As an application, we have studied the tripeptide Ala-Asp-Ala. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/pamm.202300264 VL - 23 ER -