Международный журнал интеллектуального анализа биомедицинских данных
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Electrostatic interactions play key roles on the motions of molecular motors

Lin Li

Dynein is an important molecular motor which transports cargos along microtubules in the cell. Dysfunction of dynein leads to many serious diseases. Therefore, many efforts have been contributed to investigating the mechanisms of dynein’s motilities on microtubules. However, the large size of the dynein and microtubule system makes it extremely challenging to study the atomic details of the dynein’s motilities. Several computational approaches are developed and applied to study the dynein at different levels. Our simulations demonstrate that the long-range electrostatic interaction plays several essential roles during dynein’s motion. The electrostatic forces control dynein’s binding position and orientation in each step. The electrostatic binding energy funnel is found at the binding pocket, with the diameter of about 30 angstroms. Meanwhile, strong evidence indicates that the electrostatic binding affinity is also a key factor to determine dynein’s velocity and run length.