Machine Learning-based Modeling of Olfactory Receptors: Human OR51E2 as a Case Study

Atomistic-level investigation of olfactory receptors (ORs) is a challenging task due to the experimental/computational difficulties in the structural determination/prediction for members of this family of G-protein coupled receptors. Here we have developed a protocol that performs a series of molecular dynamics simulations from a set of structures predicted de novo by recent machine learning algorithms and apply it to a well-studied receptor, the human OR51E2. Our study demonstrates the need for extensive simulations to refine and validate such models. Furthermore, we demonstrate the need for the sodium ion at a binding site near D ^2.50 and E ^3.39 to stabilize the inactive state of the receptor. Considering the conservation of these two acidic residues across human ORs, we surmise this requirement also applies to the other ~400 members of this family.