The role of flexibility and conformational selection in the binding promiscuity of PDZ domains.

In molecular recognition, it is often the case that ligand binding is coupled to conformational change in one or both of the binding partners. Two hypotheses describe the limiting cases involved; the first is the induced fit and the second is the conformational selection model. The conformational se...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Márton Münz, Jotun Hein, Philip C Biggin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2012-01-01
Series:PLoS Computational Biology
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/23133356/pdf/?tool=EBI
_version_ 1818722766431453184
author Márton Münz
Jotun Hein
Philip C Biggin
author_facet Márton Münz
Jotun Hein
Philip C Biggin
author_sort Márton Münz
collection DOAJ
description In molecular recognition, it is often the case that ligand binding is coupled to conformational change in one or both of the binding partners. Two hypotheses describe the limiting cases involved; the first is the induced fit and the second is the conformational selection model. The conformational selection model requires that the protein adopts conformations that are similar to the ligand-bound conformation in the absence of ligand, whilst the induced-fit model predicts that the ligand-bound conformation of the protein is only accessible when the ligand is actually bound. The flexibility of the apo protein clearly plays a major role in these interpretations. For many proteins involved in signaling pathways there is the added complication that they are often promiscuous in that they are capable of binding to different ligand partners. The relationship between protein flexibility and promiscuity is an area of active research and is perhaps best exemplified by the PDZ domain family of proteins. In this study we use molecular dynamics simulations to examine the relationship between flexibility and promiscuity in five PDZ domains: the human Dvl2 (Dishevelled-2) PDZ domain, the human Erbin PDZ domain, the PDZ1 domain of InaD (inactivation no after-potential D protein) from fruit fly, the PDZ7 domain of GRIP1 (glutamate receptor interacting protein 1) from rat and the PDZ2 domain of PTP-BL (protein tyrosine phosphatase) from mouse. We show that despite their high structural similarity, the PDZ binding sites have significantly different dynamics. Importantly, the degree of binding pocket flexibility was found to be closely related to the various characteristics of peptide binding specificity and promiscuity of the five PDZ domains. Our findings suggest that the intrinsic motions of the apo structures play a key role in distinguishing functional properties of different PDZ domains and allow us to make predictions that can be experimentally tested.
first_indexed 2024-12-17T20:59:50Z
format Article
id doaj.art-e1a23253ad774166b7c92fe7029da4ad
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1553-734X
1553-7358
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-17T20:59:50Z
publishDate 2012-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS Computational Biology
spelling doaj.art-e1a23253ad774166b7c92fe7029da4ad2022-12-21T21:32:46ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Computational Biology1553-734X1553-73582012-01-01811e100274910.1371/journal.pcbi.1002749The role of flexibility and conformational selection in the binding promiscuity of PDZ domains.Márton MünzJotun HeinPhilip C BigginIn molecular recognition, it is often the case that ligand binding is coupled to conformational change in one or both of the binding partners. Two hypotheses describe the limiting cases involved; the first is the induced fit and the second is the conformational selection model. The conformational selection model requires that the protein adopts conformations that are similar to the ligand-bound conformation in the absence of ligand, whilst the induced-fit model predicts that the ligand-bound conformation of the protein is only accessible when the ligand is actually bound. The flexibility of the apo protein clearly plays a major role in these interpretations. For many proteins involved in signaling pathways there is the added complication that they are often promiscuous in that they are capable of binding to different ligand partners. The relationship between protein flexibility and promiscuity is an area of active research and is perhaps best exemplified by the PDZ domain family of proteins. In this study we use molecular dynamics simulations to examine the relationship between flexibility and promiscuity in five PDZ domains: the human Dvl2 (Dishevelled-2) PDZ domain, the human Erbin PDZ domain, the PDZ1 domain of InaD (inactivation no after-potential D protein) from fruit fly, the PDZ7 domain of GRIP1 (glutamate receptor interacting protein 1) from rat and the PDZ2 domain of PTP-BL (protein tyrosine phosphatase) from mouse. We show that despite their high structural similarity, the PDZ binding sites have significantly different dynamics. Importantly, the degree of binding pocket flexibility was found to be closely related to the various characteristics of peptide binding specificity and promiscuity of the five PDZ domains. Our findings suggest that the intrinsic motions of the apo structures play a key role in distinguishing functional properties of different PDZ domains and allow us to make predictions that can be experimentally tested.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/23133356/pdf/?tool=EBI
spellingShingle Márton Münz
Jotun Hein
Philip C Biggin
The role of flexibility and conformational selection in the binding promiscuity of PDZ domains.
PLoS Computational Biology
title The role of flexibility and conformational selection in the binding promiscuity of PDZ domains.
title_full The role of flexibility and conformational selection in the binding promiscuity of PDZ domains.
title_fullStr The role of flexibility and conformational selection in the binding promiscuity of PDZ domains.
title_full_unstemmed The role of flexibility and conformational selection in the binding promiscuity of PDZ domains.
title_short The role of flexibility and conformational selection in the binding promiscuity of PDZ domains.
title_sort role of flexibility and conformational selection in the binding promiscuity of pdz domains
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/23133356/pdf/?tool=EBI
work_keys_str_mv AT martonmunz theroleofflexibilityandconformationalselectioninthebindingpromiscuityofpdzdomains
AT jotunhein theroleofflexibilityandconformationalselectioninthebindingpromiscuityofpdzdomains
AT philipcbiggin theroleofflexibilityandconformationalselectioninthebindingpromiscuityofpdzdomains
AT martonmunz roleofflexibilityandconformationalselectioninthebindingpromiscuityofpdzdomains
AT jotunhein roleofflexibilityandconformationalselectioninthebindingpromiscuityofpdzdomains
AT philipcbiggin roleofflexibilityandconformationalselectioninthebindingpromiscuityofpdzdomains