Abstract:Twelve proline (Pro)/glutamic acid (Glu) dipeptides were synthesized to explore the molecular interaction mechanism between Pro/Glu dipeptides and umami receptors. Based on sensory evaluation, the homology modeling and molecular docking technique were used to assess the structure-activity relationship between Pro/Glu dipeptides and umami receptors, including taste receptor type 1 member 1 (T1R1), taste receptor type 3 member 3 (T1R3) and calcium-sensitive receptor (CaSR). Our results indicated that except for proline-serine (Pro-Ser), valine-proline (Val-Pro), and leucine-glutamic acid (Leu-Glu), the umami threshold of other dipeptides was lower than that of sodium glutamate (0.3 mg/mL). The umami threshold of γ-glutamic acid-methionine (γ-Glu-Met) and glycine-glutamic acid (Gly-Glu) was the lowest (0.07 mg/mL). Notably, Asp147, Thr149, Ser172, and Arg277 were the key binding sites of Pro-Glu dipeptides to T1R1, the key umami receptor of Glu dipeptides. Similarly, Glu45, Ser147, Val277, and His278 were the key binding sites to T1R3, whereas Ser147 was the key binding site between N-γ-Glu dipeptides and the T1R3 receptor. Leu173, Asn176, Gln179, Arg220, Ser244, and Asp275 were the key binding sites to CaSR, with Glu dipeptides had a higher affinity for binding to the CaSR receptor compared to Pro dipeptides. Binding of Pro/Glu dipeptides to receptors was mainly achieved through hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interaction. During molecular docking, dipeptides with strong umami interactions were predominantly embedded in the depth of the receptor binding pocket, whereas dipeptides with weak umami interactions were located in the shallow position of the binding pocket, with some of their hydrophobic or hydrophilic regions being exposed to the surface of the receptors. This study aided in clarifying the interaction mechanism between Pro-Glu dipeptides and umami receptors, establishing a foundation for further study on the mechanism of action of umami peptides.