Changes in flexibility upon binding: Application of the self-consistent pair contact probability method to protein-protein interactions

Abstract

We extend the self-consistent pair contact probability method to the evaluation of the partition function for a protein complex at thermodynamic equilibrium. Specifically, we adapt the method for multichain models and introduce a parametrization for amino acid-specific pairwise interactions. This method is similar to the Gaussian network model but allows for the adjusting of the strengths of native state contacts. The method is first validated on a high resolution x-ray crystal structure of bovine Pancreatic Phospholipase A2 by comparing calculated B-factors with reported values. We then examine binding-induced changes in flexibility in protein–protein complexes, comparing computed results with those obtained from x-ray crystal structures and molecular dynamics simulations. In particular, we focus on the mouse acetylcholinesterase:fasciculin II and the human α-thrombin:thrombomodulin complexes.