Integrating Coarse-Grained Simulations and Deep Learning to Unveil Entropy-Driven dsRNA Unwinding by DDX3X

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Wang, Kang, Ren, Chun-Lai, Ma, Yu-Qiang
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Wang, Kang
Ren, Chun-Lai
Ma, Yu-Qiang
author_facet Wang, Kang
Ren, Chun-Lai
Ma, Yu-Qiang
contents DEAD-box RNA helicases (DDXs) are essential RNA metabolism regulators that typically unwind dsRNA in an ATP-dependent manner. However, recent studies show some DDXs can also unwind dsRNA without ATP, a phenomenon that remains poorly understood. Here, we developed HelixTriad coarse-grained RNA model, incorporating Watson-Crick base pairing, base stacking, and electrostatics within a three-bead-per-nucleotide scheme to accurately reproduce experimental RNA melting curves. Molecular dynamics simulations showed that weak, specific DDX3X-dsRNA interactions drive stochastic strand separation without ATP. Free energy analysis revealed that successful unwinding via high-entropy, stand-displacing intermediates. Furthermore, we introduced Entropy-Unet, a deep learning framework for entropy prediction, which corroborated theoretical estimates and uncovered a hierarchical pattern of entropy contributions. Together, our findings suggest that ATP-independent dsRNA unwinding by DDXs is predominantly entropy-driven, offering new mechanistic insights into RNA helicases versatility.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_08367
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Integrating Coarse-Grained Simulations and Deep Learning to Unveil Entropy-Driven dsRNA Unwinding by DDX3X
Wang, Kang
Ren, Chun-Lai
Ma, Yu-Qiang
Biomolecules
Soft Condensed Matter
DEAD-box RNA helicases (DDXs) are essential RNA metabolism regulators that typically unwind dsRNA in an ATP-dependent manner. However, recent studies show some DDXs can also unwind dsRNA without ATP, a phenomenon that remains poorly understood. Here, we developed HelixTriad coarse-grained RNA model, incorporating Watson-Crick base pairing, base stacking, and electrostatics within a three-bead-per-nucleotide scheme to accurately reproduce experimental RNA melting curves. Molecular dynamics simulations showed that weak, specific DDX3X-dsRNA interactions drive stochastic strand separation without ATP. Free energy analysis revealed that successful unwinding via high-entropy, stand-displacing intermediates. Furthermore, we introduced Entropy-Unet, a deep learning framework for entropy prediction, which corroborated theoretical estimates and uncovered a hierarchical pattern of entropy contributions. Together, our findings suggest that ATP-independent dsRNA unwinding by DDXs is predominantly entropy-driven, offering new mechanistic insights into RNA helicases versatility.
title Integrating Coarse-Grained Simulations and Deep Learning to Unveil Entropy-Driven dsRNA Unwinding by DDX3X
topic Biomolecules
Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.08367