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Biomedical subjects

Joo Chuan Tong

Publications and source records attributed to Joo Chuan Tong.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

AllerTool: a web server for predicting allergenicity and allergic cross-reactivity in proteins.

UNLABELLED: Assessment of potential allergenicity and patterns of cross-reactivity is necessary whenever novel proteins are introduced into human food chain. Current bioinformatic methods in allergology focus mainly on the prediction of allergenic proteins, with no information on cross-reactivity patterns among known allergens. In this study, we present AllerTool, a web server with essential tools for the assessment of predicted as well as published cross-reactivity patterns of allergens. The analysis tools include graphical representation of allergen cross-reactivity information; a local sequence comparison tool that displays information of known cross-reactive allergens; a sequence similarity search tool for assessment of cross-reactivity in accordance to FAO/WHO Codex alimentarius guidelines; and a method based on support vector machine (SVM). A 10-fold cross-validation results showed that the area under the receiver operating curve (A(ROC)) of SVM models is 0.90 with 86.00% sensitivity (SE) at specificity (SP) of 86.00%. AVAILABILITY: AllerTool is freely available at http://research.i2r.a-star.edu.sg/AllerTool/.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2006

In silico grouping of peptide/HLA class I complexes using structural interaction characteristics.

MOTIVATION: Classification of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) proteins into supertypes underpins the development of epitope-based vaccines with wide population coverage. Current methods for HLA supertype definition, based on common structural features of HLA proteins and/or their functional binding specificities, leave structural interaction characteristics among different HLA supertypes with antigenic peptides unexplored. METHODS: We describe the use of structural interaction descriptors for the analysis of 68 peptide/HLA class I crystallographic structures. Interaction parameters computed include the number of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between each HLA protein and its corresponding bound peptide, solvent accessibility, gap volume and gap index. RESULTS: The structural interactions patterns of peptide/HLA class I complexes investigated herein vary among individual alleles and may be grouped in a supertype dependent manner. Using the proposed methodology, eight HLA class I supertypes were defined based on existing experimental crystallographic structures which largely overlaps (77% consensus) with the definitions by binding motifs. This mode of classification, which considers conformational information of both peptide and HLA proteins, provides an alternative to the characterization of supertypes using either peptide or HLA protein information alone.

Alleles↗
PubMed2006

Methods and protocols for prediction of immunogenic epitopes.

T-cell recognition of peptide/major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a prerequisite for cellular immunity. Recently, there has been an influx of bioinformatics tools to facilitate the identification of T-cell epitopes to specific MHC alleles. This article examines existing computational strategies for the study of peptide/MHC interactions. The most important bioinformatics tools and methods with relevance to the study of peptide/MHC interactions have been reviewed. We have also provided guidelines for predicting antigenic peptides based on the availability of existing experimental data.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2006

Prediction of HLA-DQ3.2beta ligands: evidence of multiple registers in class II binding peptides.

MOTIVATION: While processing of MHC class II antigens for presentation to helper T-cells is essential for normal immune response, it is also implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders and hypersensitivity reactions. Sequence-based computational techniques for predicting HLA-DQ binding peptides have encountered limited success, with few prediction techniques developed using three-dimensional models. METHODS: We describe a structure-based prediction model for modeling peptide-DQ3.2beta complexes. We have developed a rapid and accurate protocol for docking candidate peptides into the DQ3.2beta receptor and a scoring function to discriminate binders from the background. The scoring function was rigorously trained, tested and validated using experimentally verified DQ3.2beta binding and non-binding peptides obtained from biochemical and functional studies. RESULTS: Our model predicts DQ3.2beta binding peptides with high accuracy [area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve A(ROC) > 0.90], compared with experimental data. We investigated the binding patterns of DQ3.2beta peptides and illustrate that several registers exist within a candidate binding peptide. Further analysis reveals that peptides with multiple registers occur predominantly for high-affinity binders.

Antibodies↗
PubMed2006

Modeling the bound conformation of Pemphigus vulgaris-associated peptides to MHC Class II DR and DQ alleles.

BACKGROUND: Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a severe autoimmune blistering disorder characterized by the presence of pathogenic autoantibodies directed against desmoglein-3 (Dsg3), involving specific DR4 and DR6 alleles in Caucasians and DQ5 allele in Asians. The development of sequence-based predictive algorithms to identify potential Dsg3 epitopes has encountered limited success due to the paucity of PV-associated allele-specific peptides as training data. RESULTS: In this work we constructed atomic models of ten PV associated, non-associated and protective alleles. Nine previously identified stimulatory Dsg3 peptides, Dsg3 96-112, Dsg3 191-205, Dsg3 206-220, Dsg3 252-266, Dsg3 342-356, Dsg3 380-394, Dsg3 763-777, Dsg3 810-824 and Dsg3 963-977, were docked into the binding groove of each model to analyze the structural aspects of allele-specific binding. CONCLUSION: Our docking simulations are entirely consistent with functional data obtained from in vitro competitive binding assays and T cell proliferation studies in DR4 and DR6 PV patients. Our findings ascertain that DRB1*0402 plays a crucial role in the selection of specific self-peptides in DR4 PV. DRB1*0402 and DQB1*0503 do not necessarily share the same core residues, indicating that both alleles may have different binding specificities. In addition, our results lend credence to the hypothesis that the alleles DQB1*0201 and *0202 play a protective role by binding Dsg3 peptides with greater affinity than the susceptible alleles, allowing for efficient deletion of autoreactive T cells.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

MPID-T: database for sequence-structure-function information on T-cell receptor/peptide/MHC interactions.

UNLABELLED: Normal adaptive immune responses operate under major histocompatibility complex (MHC) restriction by binding to specific, short antigenic peptides and presenting them to appropriate T-cell receptors (TcRs). Sequence-structure-function information is critical in understanding the principles governing peptide/MHC (pMHC) and TcR/pMHC recognition and binding. A new database for sequence-structure-function information on TcR/pMHC interactions, MHC-Peptide Interaction Database version T (MPID-T), is now available with the latest available Protein Data Bank (PDB) data and interaction parameters on TcR/pMHC complexes. MPID-T is a manually curated MySQL database containing experimentally determined structures of 187 pMHC complexes and 16 TcR/pMHC complexes available in the PDB. Each structure is manually verified, classified, and analysed for intermolecular interactions (i) between the MHC and its corresponding bound peptide and (ii) between TcR and its bound pMHC complex where TcR structural information is available. The MPID-T database retrieval system has precomputed interaction parameters that include solvent accessibility, hydrogen bonds, gap volume and gap index. Structural visualisation of the TcR/pMHC complex, pMHC complex, MHC or the bound peptide can be performed using freely available graphics applications such as MDL Chime or RasMol, while structural alignment (based on MHC class and peptide length) can be viewed using the Jmol molecular viewer or an MDL Chime-compatible web browser client. MPID-T contains structural descriptors for in-depth characterisation of TcR/pMHC and pMHC interactions. The ultimate purpose of MPID-T is to enhance the understanding of the binding mechanism underlying TcR/pMHC and pMHC interactions by mapping the TcR footprint on the MHC and its bound peptide, as this eventually determines T-cell recognition and binding. AVAILABILITY: The MPID-T database retrieval system is available at http://surya.bic.nus.edu.sg/mpidt CONTACT: Joo Chuan Tong (jctong@i2r.a-star.edu.sg).

Animals↗
PubMed2004

SDPMOD: an automated comparative modeling server for small disulfide-bonded proteins.

Small disulfide-bonded proteins (SDPs) are rich sources for therapeutic drugs. Designing drugs from these proteins requires three-dimensional structural information, which is only available for a subset of these proteins. SDPMOD addresses this deficit in structural information by providing a freely available automated comparative modeling service to the research community. For expert users, SDPMOD offers a manual mode that permits the selection of a desired template as well as a semi-automated mode that allows users to select the template from a suggested list. Besides the selection of templates, expert users can edit the target-template alignment, thus allowing further customization of the modeling process. Furthermore, the web service provides model stereochemical quality evaluation using PROCHECK. SDPMOD is freely accessible to academic users via the web interface at http://proline.bic.nus.edu.sg/sdpmod.

Conotoxins↗
PubMed2004

Modeling the structure of bound peptide ligands to major histocompatibility complex.

In this article, we present a new technique for the rapid and precise docking of peptides to MHC class I and class II receptors. Our docking procedure consists of three steps: (1) peptide residues near the ends of the binding groove are docked by using an efficient pseudo-Brownian rigid body docking procedure followed by (2) loop closure of the intervening backbone structure by satisfaction of spatial constraints, and subsequently, (3) the refinement of the entire backbone and ligand interacting side chains and receptor side chains experiencing atomic clash at the MHC receptor-peptide interface. The method was tested by remodeling of 40 nonredundant complexes of at least 3.00 A resolution for which three-dimensional structural information is available and independently for docking peptides derived from 15 nonredundant complexes into a single template structure. In the first test, 33 out of 40 MHC class I and class II peptides and in the second test, 11 out of 15 MHC-peptide complexes were modeled with a Calpha RMSD < 1.00 A.

Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques↗