Investigating single amino acid substitutions in PIM1 kinase: A structural genomics approach

PLoS One. 2021 Oct 22;16(10):e0258929. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258929. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

PIM1, is a serine/threonine proto-oncogene kinase, involved in many biological functions, including cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation, thus play a key role in oncogenesis. It plays a crucial role in the onset and progression of various hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic malignancies, including acute myeloid leukemia and prostate cancer. Mutations in PIM1, especially in its kinase domain, can induce abnormal structural changes and thus alter functionalities that can lead to disease progression and other complexities. Herein, we have performed an extensive analysis of the PIM1 mutations at sequence and structure level while utilizing state-of-the-art computational approaches. Based on the impact on PIM1, numerous pathogenic and destabilizing mutations were identified and subsequently analyzed in detail. Finally, two amino acid substitutions (W109C and F147C) in the kinase domain of PIM1 were selected to explore their impact on the PIM1 structure in a time evolution manner using all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for 200 ns. MD results indicate significant conformational altercations in the structure of PIM1, especially upon F147C mutation. This study provides a significant insight into the PIM1 dysfunction upon single amino acid substitutions, which can be utilized to get insights into the molecular basis of PIM1-associated disease progression.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Substitution*
  • Genomics
  • Humans
  • Mutation*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-pim-1 / genetics*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-pim-1 / metabolism

Substances

  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-pim-1

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Taif University Researchers Supporting Project Number (TURSP-2020/131), Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia. MIH thanks to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research for financial support [Project No. 27(0368)/20/EMR-II]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.