DNA-protamine condensates under low salt conditions: molecular dynamics simulation with a simple coarse-grained model focusing on electrostatic interactions.

ABSTRACT: Protamine, a small, strongly positively-charged protein, plays a key role in achieving chromatin condensation inside sperm cells and is also involved in the formulation of nanoparticles for gene therapy and packaging of mRNA-based vaccines against viral infection and cancer. The detailed mechanisms of such condensations are still poorly understood especially under low salt conditions where electrostatic interaction predominates. Our previous study, with a refined coarse-grained model in full consideration of the long-range electrostatic interactions, has demonstrated the crucial role of electrostatic interaction in protamine-controlled reversible DNA condensation. Therefore, we herein pay our attention only to the electrostatic interaction and devise a coarser-grained bead-spring model rep

SUBMITTER: Jang YH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10496769 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature