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Origin of Internal Friction in Disordered Proteins Depends on Solvent Quality


Zheng, Wenwei; Hofmann, Hagen; Schuler, Benjamin; Best, Robert B (2018). Origin of Internal Friction in Disordered Proteins Depends on Solvent Quality. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 122:11478-11487.

Abstract

Protein dynamics often exhibit internal friction; i.e., contributions to friction that cannot solely be attributed to the viscosity of the solvent. Remarkably, even unfolded and intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) exhibit this behavior, despite typically being solvent-exposed. Several competing molecular mechanisms have been suggested to underlie this phenomenon, in particular dihedral relaxation and intrachain interactions. It has also recently been shown that single-molecule data reflecting internal friction in the disordered protein ACTR cannot be explained using polymer models unless this friction is dependent on protein collapse. However, the connection between the collapse of the chain and the underlying mechanism of internal friction has been unclear. To address this issue, we combine molecular simulation and single-molecule experimental data to investigate how chain compaction affects protein dynamics in the context of ACTR. Chain reconfiguration times and internal friction estimated from all-atom simulations are in semiquantitative agreement with experimental data. We dissect the underlying molecular mechanism with all-atom and coarse-grained simulations and clearly identify both intrachain interactions and dihedral angle transitions as contributions to internal friction. However, their relative contribution is strongly dependent on the compactness of the IDP; while dihedral relaxation dominates internal friction in expanded configurations, intrachain interactions dominate for more compact chains. Our results thus imply a continuous transition between mechanisms and provide a link between internal friction in IDPs and that in more compact and folded states of proteins.

Abstract

Protein dynamics often exhibit internal friction; i.e., contributions to friction that cannot solely be attributed to the viscosity of the solvent. Remarkably, even unfolded and intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) exhibit this behavior, despite typically being solvent-exposed. Several competing molecular mechanisms have been suggested to underlie this phenomenon, in particular dihedral relaxation and intrachain interactions. It has also recently been shown that single-molecule data reflecting internal friction in the disordered protein ACTR cannot be explained using polymer models unless this friction is dependent on protein collapse. However, the connection between the collapse of the chain and the underlying mechanism of internal friction has been unclear. To address this issue, we combine molecular simulation and single-molecule experimental data to investigate how chain compaction affects protein dynamics in the context of ACTR. Chain reconfiguration times and internal friction estimated from all-atom simulations are in semiquantitative agreement with experimental data. We dissect the underlying molecular mechanism with all-atom and coarse-grained simulations and clearly identify both intrachain interactions and dihedral angle transitions as contributions to internal friction. However, their relative contribution is strongly dependent on the compactness of the IDP; while dihedral relaxation dominates internal friction in expanded configurations, intrachain interactions dominate for more compact chains. Our results thus imply a continuous transition between mechanisms and provide a link between internal friction in IDPs and that in more compact and folded states of proteins.

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Additional indexing

Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Biochemistry
07 Faculty of Science > Department of Biochemistry
Dewey Decimal Classification:570 Life sciences; biology
610 Medicine & health
Scopus Subject Areas:Physical Sciences > Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
Physical Sciences > Surfaces, Coatings and Films
Physical Sciences > Materials Chemistry
Language:English
Date:2 October 2018
Deposited On:08 Mar 2019 12:49
Last Modified:04 Dec 2023 08:04
Publisher:American Chemical Society (ACS)
ISSN:1520-5207
OA Status:Closed
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b07425
PubMed ID:30277791