Interaction of human SRY protein with DNA: a molecular dynamics study

Molecular dynamics simulations have been conducted to study the interaction of human sex-determining region Y (hSRY) protein with DNA. For this purpose, simulations of the hSRY high mobility group (HMG) domain (hSRY-HMG) with and without its DNA target site, a DNA octamer, and the DNA octamer alone have been carried out, employing the NMR solution structure of hSRY-HMG-DNA complex as a starting model. Analyses of the simulation results demonstrated that the interaction between hSRY and DNA was hydrophobic, just a few hydrogen bonds and only one water molecule as hydrogen-bonding bridge were observed at the protein-DNA interface. These two hydrophobic cores in the hSRY-HMG domain were the physical basis of hSRY-HMG-DNA specific interaction. They not only maintained the stability of the complex, but also primarily caused the DNA deformation. The salt bridges formed between the positive-charged residues of hSRY and phosphate groups of DNA made the phosphate electroneutral, which was advantageous for the deformation of DNA and the formation of a stable complex. We predicted the structure of hSRY-HMG domain in the free state and found that both hSRY and DNA changed their conformations to achieve greater complementarity of geometries and properties during the binding process; that is, the protein increased the angle between its long and short arms to accommodate the DNA, and the DNA became bent severely to adapt to the protein, although the conformational change of DNA was more severe than that of the hSRY-HMG domain. The sequence specificity and the role of residue Met9 are also discussed.