Prediction of Deleterious Non-synonymous SNPs of Human STK11 Gene by Combining Algorithms, Molecular Docking, and Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Sci Rep. 2019 Nov 11;9(1):16426. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-52308-0.

Abstract

Serine-threonine kinase11 (STK11) is a tumor suppressor gene which plays a key role in regulating cell growth and apoptosis. It is widely known as a multitasking kinase and engaged in cell polarity, cell cycle arrest, chromatin remodeling, energy metabolism, and Wnt signaling. The substitutions of single amino acids in highly conserved regions of the STK11 protein are associated with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS), which is an autosomal dominant inherited disorder. The abnormal function of the STK11 protein is still not well understood. In this study, we classified disease susceptible single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in STK11 by using different computational algorithms. We identified the deleterious nsSNPs, constructed mutant protein structures, and evaluated the impact of mutation by employing molecular docking and molecular dynamics analysis. Our results show that W239R and W308C variants are likely to be highly deleterious mutations found in the catalytic kinase domain, which may destabilize structure and disrupt the activation of the STK11 protein as well as reduce its catalytic efficiency. The W239R mutant is likely to have a greater impact on destabilizing the protein structure compared to the W308C mutant. In conclusion, these mutants can help to further realize the large pool of disease susceptibilities linked with catalytic kinase domain activation of STK11 and assist to develop an effective drug for associated diseases.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases
  • Algorithms*
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Binding Sites
  • Computational Biology / methods
  • Humans
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Molecular Docking Simulation*
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation*
  • Molecular Sequence Annotation
  • Mutation
  • Open Reading Frames
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide*
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / chemistry*
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / genetics*
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Untranslated Regions

Substances

  • Untranslated Regions
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • STK11 protein, human
  • AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases