Cooperativity, connectivity, and folding pathways of multidomain proteins

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Sep 16;105(37):13865-70. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0804512105. Epub 2008 Sep 4.

Abstract

Multidomain proteins are ubiquitous in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic proteomes. Study on protein folding, however, has concentrated more on the isolated single domains of proteins, and there have been relatively few systematic studies on the effects of domain-domain interactions on folding. We here discuss this issue by examining human gammaD-crystallin, spore coat protein S, and a tandem array of the R16 and R17 domains of spectrin as example proteins by using a structure-based model of folding. The calculated results consistently explain the experimental data on folding pathways and effects of mutational perturbations, supporting the view that the connectivity of two domains and the distribution of domain-domain interactions in the native conformation are factors to determine kinetic and equilibrium properties of cooperative folding.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry*
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Crystallins / chemistry*
  • Crystallins / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Models, Molecular
  • Protein Folding*
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Spectrin / chemistry*
  • Spectrin / metabolism*
  • gamma-Crystallins

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • CRYGD protein, human
  • Crystallins
  • gamma-Crystallins
  • protein S, Myxococcus xanthus
  • Spectrin