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 - 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 - 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 - TY - JOUR A1 - Yousefian, Maryam A1 - Frank, Anne-Simone A1 - Weber, Marcus A1 - Röblitz, Susanna T1 - Efficient construction of Markov state models for stochastic gene regulatory networks by domain decomposition JF - BMC Bioinformatics N2 - The dynamics of many gene regulatory networks (GRNs) is characterized by the occurrence of metastable phenotypes and stochastic phenotype switches. The chemical master equation (CME) is the most accurate description to model such stochastic dynamics, whereby the long-time dynamics of the system is encoded in the spectral properties of the CME operator. Markov State Models (MSMs) provide a general framework for analyzing and visualizing stochastic multistability and state transitions based on these spectral properties. Until now, however, this approach is either limited to low-dimensional systems or requires the use of high-performance computing facilities, thus limiting its usability. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12859-025-06174-5 VL - 26 IS - 147 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Coomber, Celvic A1 - Chewle, Surahit A1 - Secker, Christopher A1 - Fackeldey, Konstantin A1 - Weber, Marcus A1 - Winkelmann, Stefanie A1 - Schütte, Christof A1 - Sunkara, Vikram T1 - Investigating Endogenous Opioids Unravels the Mechanisms Behind Opioid-Induced Constipation, a Mathematical Modeling Approach JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences N2 - Endogenous opioids, such as Endomorphin-2, are not typically associated with severe constipation, unlike pharmaceutical opioids, which induce opioid-induced constipation (OIC) by activating μ-opioid receptors in the gastrointestinal tract. In this study, we present a mathematical model, which integrates the serotonergic and opioid pathways, simulating the interaction between serotonin and opioid signaling within the enteric nervous system (ENS). The model explores the mechanisms underlying OIC, with a focus on the change in adenylyl cyclase (AC) activity, cAMP accumulation, and the distinct functionalities of Endomorphin-2 compared to commonly used pharmaceutical opioids. We study the effects of Morphine, Fentanyl, and Methadone and contrast them with Endomorphin-2. Our findings reveal that opioids do not perturb the signaling of serotonin, but only the activity of AC, suggesting that serotonin levels have no influence on improving opioid-induced constipation. Furthermore, this study reveals that the primary difference between endogenous and pharmaceutical opioids is their degradation rates. This finding shows that modulating opioid degradation rates significantly improves cAMP recovery. In conclusion, our insights steer towards exploring opioid degrading enzymes, localized to the gut, as a strategy for mitigating OIC. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26136207 VL - 26 IS - 13 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Secker, Christopher A1 - Fackeldey, Konstantin A1 - Weber, Marcus A1 - Ray, Sourav A1 - Gorgulla, Christoph A1 - Schütte, Christof T1 - Novel multi-objective affinity approach allows to identify pH-specific μ-opioid receptor agonists JF - Journal of Cheminformatics N2 - Opioids are essential pharmaceuticals due to their analgesic properties, however, lethal side effects, addiction, and opioid tolerance are extremely challenging. The development of novel molecules targeting the μ-opioid receptor (MOR) in inflamed, but not in healthy tissue, could significantly reduce these unwanted effects. Finding such novel molecules can be achieved by maximizing the binding affinity to the MOR at acidic pH while minimizing it at neutral pH, thus combining two conflicting objectives. Here, this multi-objective optimal affinity approach is presented, together with a virtual drug discovery pipeline for its practical implementation. When applied to finding pH-specific drug candidates, it combines protonation state-dependent structure and ligand preparation with high-throughput virtual screening. We employ this pipeline to characterize a set of MOR agonists identifying a morphine-like opioid derivative with higher predicted binding affinities to the MOR at low pH compared to neutral pH. Our results also confirm existing experimental evidence that NFEPP, a previously described fentanyl derivative with reduced side effects, and recently reported β-fluorofentanyls and -morphines show an increased specificity for the MOR at acidic pH when compared to fentanyl and morphine. We further applied our approach to screen a >50K ligand library identifying novel molecules with pH-specific predicted binding affinities to the MOR. The presented differential docking pipeline can be applied to perform multi-objective affinity optimization to identify safer and more specific drug candidates at large scale. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13321-023-00746-4 VL - 15 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gorgulla, Christoph A1 - Jayaraj, Abhilash A1 - Fackeldey, Konstantin A1 - Arthanari, Haribabu T1 - Emerging frontiers in virtual drug discovery: From quantum mechanical methods to deep learning approaches JF - Current Opinion in Chemical Biology N2 - Virtual screening-based approaches to discover initial hit and lead compounds have the potential to reduce both the cost and time of early drug discovery stages, as well as to find inhibitors for even challenging target sites such as protein–protein interfaces. Here in this review, we provide an overview of the progress that has been made in virtual screening methodology and technology on multiple fronts in recent years. The advent of ultra-large virtual screens, in which hundreds of millions to billions of compounds are screened, has proven to be a powerful approach to discover highly potent hit compounds. However, these developments are just the tip of the iceberg, with new technologies and methods emerging to propel the field forward. Examples include novel machine-learning approaches, which can reduce the computational costs of virtual screening dramatically, while progress in quantum-mechanical approaches can increase the accuracy of predictions of various small molecule properties. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2022.102156 VL - 69 SP - 102156 EP - 102156-12 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Donati, Luca A1 - Weber, Marcus T1 - Assessing transition rates as functions of environmental variables JF - The Journal of Chemical Physics N2 - We present a method to estimate the transition rates of molecular systems under different environmental conditions which cause the formation or the breaking of bonds and require the sampling of the Grand Canonical Ensemble. For this purpose, we model the molecular system in terms of probable "scenarios", governed by different potential energy functions, which are separately sampled by classical MD simulations. Reweighting the canonical distribution of each scenario according to specific environmental variables, we estimate the grand canonical distribution, then we use the Square Root Approximation (SqRA) method to discretize the Fokker-Planck operator into a rate matrix and the robust Perron Cluster Cluster Analysis (PCCA+) method to coarse-grain the kinetic model. This permits to efficiently estimate the transition rates of conformational states as functions of environmental variables, for example, the local pH at a cell membrane. In this work we formalize the theoretical framework of the procedure and we present a numerical experiment comparing the results with those provided by a constant-pH method based on non-equilibrium Molecular Dynamics Monte Carlo simulations. The method is relevant for the development of new drug design strategies which take into account how the cellular environment influences biochemical processes. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0109555 VL - 157 IS - 22 SP - 224103-1 EP - 224103-14 PB - AIP Publishing ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sechi, Renata A1 - Fackeldey, Konstantin A1 - Chewle, Surahit A1 - Weber, Marcus T1 - SepFree NMF: A Toolbox for Analyzing the Kinetics of Sequential Spectroscopic Data JF - Algorithms N2 - This work addresses the problem of determining the number of components from sequential spectroscopic data analyzed by non-negative matrix factorization without separability assumption (SepFree NMF). These data are stored in a matrix M of dimension “measured times” versus “measured wavenumbers” and can be decomposed to obtain the spectral fingerprints of the states and their evolution over time. SepFree NMF assumes a memoryless (Markovian) process to underline the dynamics and decomposes M so that M=WH, with W representing the components’ fingerprints and H their kinetics. However, the rank of this decomposition (i.e., the number of physical states in the process) has to be guessed from pre-existing knowledge on the observed process. We propose a measure for determining the number of components with the computation of the minimal memory effect resulting from the decomposition; by quantifying how much the obtained factorization is deviating from the Markovian property, we are able to score factorizations of a different number of components. In this way, we estimate the number of different entities which contribute to the observed system, and we can extract kinetic information without knowing the characteristic spectra of the single components. This manuscript provides the mathematical background as well as an analysis of computer generated and experimental sequentially measured Raman spectra. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/a15090297 VL - 15 IS - 9 SP - 297 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Donati, Luca A1 - Weber, Marcus A1 - Keller, Bettina G. T1 - A review of Girsanov Reweighting and of Square Root Approximation for building molecular Markov State Models JF - Journal of Mathematical Physics N2 - Dynamical reweighting methods permit to estimate kinetic observables of a stochastic process governed by a target potential U(x) from trajectories that have been generated at a different potential V(x). In this article, we present Girsanov reweighting and Square Root Approximation (SqRA): the first method reweights path probabilities exploiting the Girsanov theorem and can be applied to Markov State Models (MSMs) to reweight transition probabilities; the second method was originally developed to discretize the Fokker-Planck operator into a transition rate matrix, but here we implement it into a reweighting scheme for transition rates. We begin by reviewing the theoretical background of the methods, then present two applications relevant to Molecular Dynamics (MD), highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0127227 VL - 63 IS - 12 SP - 123306-1 EP - 123306-21 PB - AIP Publishing ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ray, Sourav A1 - Fackeldey, Konstantin A1 - Stein, Christoph A1 - Weber, Marcus T1 - Coarse Grained MD Simulations of Opioid interactions with the µ-opioid receptor and the surrounding lipid membrane JF - Biophysica N2 - In our previous studies, a new opioid (NFEPP) was developed to only selectively bind to the 𝜇-opoid receptor (MOR) in inflamed tissue and thus avoid the severe side effects of fentanyl. We know that NFEPP has a reduced binding affinity to MOR in healthy tissue. Inspired by the modelling and simulations performed by Sutcliffe et al., we present our own results of coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of fentanyl and NFEPP with regards to their interaction with the 𝜇-opioid receptor embedded within the lipid cell membrane. For technical reasons, we have slightly modified Sutcliffe’s parametrisation of opioids. The pH-dependent opioid simulations are of interest because while fentanyl is protonated at the physiological pH, NFEPP is deprotonated due to its lower pKa value than that of fentanyl. Here, we analyse for the first time whether pH changes have an effect on the dynamical behaviour of NFEPP when it is inside the cell membrane. Besides these changes, our analysis shows a possible alternative interaction of NFEPP at pH 7.4 outside the binding region of the MOR. The interaction potential of NFEPP with MOR is also depicted by analysing the provided statistical molecular dynamics simulations with the aid of an eigenvector analysis of a transition rate matrix. In our modelling, we see differences in the XY-diffusion profiles of NFEPP compared with fentanyl in the cell membrane. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3020017 VL - 3 IS - 2 SP - 263 EP - 275 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sikorski, Alexander A1 - Niknejad, Amir A1 - Weber, Marcus A1 - Donati, Luca T1 - Tensor-SqRA: Modeling the transition rates of interacting molecular systems in terms of potential energies JF - Journal of Chemical Physics N2 - Estimating the rate of rare conformational changes in molecular systems is one of the goals of molecular dynamics simulations. In the past few decades, a lot of progress has been done in data-based approaches toward this problem. In contrast, model-based methods, such as the Square Root Approximation (SqRA), directly derive these quantities from the potential energy functions. In this article, we demonstrate how the SqRA formalism naturally blends with the tensor structure obtained by coupling multiple systems, resulting in the tensor-based Square Root Approximation (tSqRA). It enables efficient treatment of high-dimensional systems using the SqRA and provides an algebraic expression of the impact of coupling energies between molecular subsystems. Based on the tSqRA, we also develop the projected rate estimation, a hybrid data-model-based algorithm that efficiently estimates the slowest rates for coupled systems. In addition, we investigate the possibility of integrating low-rank approximations within this framework to maximize the potential of the tSqRA. Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0187792 VL - 160 SP - 104112 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Boltz, Horst-Holger A1 - Sirbu, Alexei A1 - Stelzer, Nina A1 - de Lanerolle, Primal A1 - Winkelmann, Stefanie A1 - Annibale, Paolo T1 - The Impact of Membrane Protein Diffusion on GPCR Signaling JF - Cells N2 - Spatiotemporal signal shaping in G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling is now a well-established and accepted notion to explain how signaling specificity can be achieved by a superfamily sharing only a handful of downstream second messengers. Dozens of Gs-coupled GPCR signals ultimately converge on the production of cAMP, a ubiquitous second messenger. This idea is almost always framed in terms of local concentrations, the differences in which are maintained by means of spatial separation. However, given the dynamic nature of the reaction-diffusion processes at hand, the dynamics, in particular the local diffusional properties of the receptors and their cognate G proteins, are also important. By combining some first principle considerations, simulated data, and experimental data of the receptors diffusing on the membranes of living cells, we offer a short perspective on the modulatory role of local membrane diffusion in regulating GPCR-mediated cell signaling. Our analysis points to a diffusion-limited regime where the effective production rate of activated G protein scales linearly with the receptor–G protein complex’s relative diffusion rate and to an interesting role played by the membrane geometry in modulating the efficiency of coupling Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11101660 VL - 11 IS - 10 SP - 1660 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Donati, Luca A1 - Schütte, Christof A1 - Weber, Marcus T1 - The Kramers turnover in terms of a macro-state projection on phase space JF - Molecular Physics N2 - We have investigated how Langevin dynamics is affected by the friction coefficient using the novel algorithm ISOKANN, which combines the transfer operator approach with modern machine learning techniques. ISOKANN describes the dynamics in terms of an invariant subspace projection of the Koopman operator defined in the entire state space, avoiding approximations due to dimensionality reduction and discretization. Our results are consistent with the Kramers turnover and show that in the low and moderate friction regimes, metastable macro-states and transition rates are defined in phase space, not only in position space. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/00268976.2024.2356748 VL - 123 IS - 7-8: Giovanni Ciccotti: A Renaissance Physicist SP - e2356748 PB - Taylor & Francis ER -