Publication Date

10-1-2007

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Kinetic simulations of the folding and unfolding of triosephosphate isomerase (TIM) from yeast were conducted using a single monomer gamma TIM polypeptide chain that folds as a monomer and two gTIM chains that fold to the native dimer structure. The basic protein model used was a minimalist G (o) over bar model using the native structure to determine attractive energies in the protein chain. For each simulation type-monomer unfolding, monomer refolding, dimer unfolding, and dimer refolding-thirty simulations were conducted, successfully capturing each reaction in full. Analysis of the simulations demonstrates four main conclusions. First, all four simulation types have a similar ``folding order'', i.e., they have similar structures in intermediate stages of folding between the unfolded and folded state. Second, despite this similarity, different intermediate stages are more or less populated in the four different simulations, with 1), no intermediates populated in monomer unfolding; 2), two intermediates populated with beta(2)-beta(4) and beta(1)-beta(5) regions folded in monomer refolding; 3), two intermediates populated with beta(2)-beta(3) and beta(2)-beta(4) regions folded in dimer unfolding; and 4), two intermediates populated with beta(1)-beta(5) and beta(1)-beta(5) + beta(6) + beta(7) + beta(8) regions folded in dimer refolding. Third, simulations demonstrate that dimer binding and unbinding can occur early in the folding process before complete monomer-chain folding. Fourth, excellent agreement is found between the simulations and MPAX (misincorporation proton alkyl exchange) experiments. In total, this agreement demonstrates that the computational G (o) over bar model is accurate for gTIM and that the energy landscape of gTIM appears funneled to the native state.

Publication Title

Biophysical Journal

Volume

93

Issue

7

First Page

2457

Last Page

2471

DOI

10.1529/biophysj.107.108068

Publisher Policy

pre-print, post-print/pub PDF

Comments

This article was originally published in Biophysical Journal. © Biophysical Society.

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