Computational studies of gramicidin permeation: An entryway sulfonate enhances cation occupancy at entry sites

The impact on the cation-transport free-energy profile of replacing the C-terminal ethanolamine in the gramicidin A channel with a taurine residue is studied using molecular dynamics simulations of gramicidin A (1JNO) embedded in a lipid bilayer (DMPC) with 1 mol/kg NaCl saline solution. The potential of mean force for ion transport is obtained by umbrella sampling. The presence of a negatively charged sulfonate group at the entrance of the gramicidin channel affects the depth and the location of the binding sites, producing a strong attraction for the cations in the bulk. The potential of mean force by the sulfonate acting directly through electrostatics and van der Waals interactions on the test ion is highly modulated by indirect effects (i.e., sulfonate effects on other components of the system that, in turn, affect the ion free-energy profile in the channel). Because the “entry” sites are located symmetrically at both entry and exit of the channel, the deeper free-energy wells should inhibit exit. Given that the channel has increased conductance experimentally, the simulation results suggest that the channel conductance is normally entry limited.