Interaction between IGFBP7 and insulin: a theoretical and experimental study

Sci Rep. 2016 Apr 22:6:19586. doi: 10.1038/srep19586.

Abstract

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) can bind to insulin with high affinity which inhibits the early steps of insulin action. Lack of recognition mechanism impairs our understanding of insulin regulation before it binds to insulin receptor. Here we combine computational simulations with experimental methods to investigate the interaction between IGFBP7 and insulin. Molecular dynamics simulations indicated that His200 and Arg198 in IGFBP7 were key residues. Verified by experimental data, the interaction remained strong in single mutation systems R198E and H200F but became weak in double mutation system R198E-H200F relative to that in wild-type IGFBP7. The results and methods in present study could be adopted in future research of discovery of drugs by disrupting protein-protein interactions in insulin signaling. Nevertheless, the accuracy, reproducibility, and costs of free-energy calculation are still problems that need to be addressed before computational methods can become standard binding prediction tools in discovery pipelines.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Binding Sites
  • Blotting, Western
  • Humans
  • Insulin / chemistry
  • Insulin / metabolism*
  • Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins / chemistry
  • Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins / genetics
  • Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins / metabolism*
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation
  • Mutagenesis, Site-Directed
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Static Electricity
  • Thermodynamics

Substances

  • Insulin
  • Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins
  • insulin-like growth factor binding protein-related protein 1