Binding and discerning interactions of PTP1B allosteric inhibitors: Novel insights from molecular dynamics simulations

• α7 helix was modeled to PTP1B in presence of allosteric inhibitor.
• Modeled residues provide differential affinity to the inhibitors.
• Hydrophobic interactions play significant role in the stabilization of inhibitors.
• High flexibility reveled the disordered nature of α7 helix.
• New inhibitors can be designed with better pharmacokinetic profile.

The α7 helix is either disordered or missing in the three co-crystal structures of allosteric inhibitors with protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B). It was modeled in each complex using the open form of PTP1B structure and studied using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for 25 ns. B-factor analysis of the residues sheds light on its disordered nature in the co-crystal structures. Further, the ability of inhibitors to act as allosteric inhibitor was studied and established using novel hydrogen bond criteria. The MD simulations were utilized to determine the relative importance of electrostatic and hydrophobic component in to the binding of inhibitors. It was revealed that the hydrophobic interactions predominantly drive the molecular recognition of these inhibitors. Per residue energy decomposition analysis attributed dissimilar affinities of three inhibitors to the several hydrogen bonds and non-bonded interactions. Among the secondary structure elements that surround the allosteric site, helices α6, α7 and loop α6–α7 were notorious in providing variable affinities to the inhibitors. A novel hydrophobic pocket lined by the α7 helix residues Val287, Asn289 and Trp291 was identified in the allosteric site. This study provides useful insights for the rational design of high affinity PTP1B allosteric inhibitors.

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