How Ligand Protonation State Controls Water in Protein–Ligand Binding

Chromophore Protonation State Controls Photoswitching of the Fluoroprotein asFP595

Fluorescent proteins have been widely used as genetically encodable fusion tags for biological imaging. Recently, a new class of fluorescent proteins was discovered that can be reversibly light-switched between a fluorescent and a non-fluorescent state. Such proteins can not only provide nanoscale resolution in far-field fluorescence optical microscopy much below the diffraction limit, but also...

One ligand, two regulators and three binding sites: How KDPG controls primary carbon metabolism in Pseudomonas

Effective regulation of primary carbon metabolism is critically important for bacteria to successfully adapt to different environments. We have identified an uncharacterised transcriptional regulator; RccR, that controls this process in response to carbon source availability. Disruption of rccR in the plant-associated microbe Pseudomonas fluorescens inhibits growth in defined media, and comprom...

Using Bulk Water to Detect Ligand Binding

A conserved protonation-dependent switch controls drug binding in the Abl kinase.

In many protein kinases, a characteristic conformational change (the "DFG flip") connects catalytically active and inactive conformations. Many kinase inhibitors--including the cancer drug imatinib--selectively target a specific DFG conformation, but the function and mechanism of the flip remain unclear. Using long molecular dynamics simulations of the Abl kinase, we visualized the DFG flip in ...

The role of protonation states in ligand-receptor recognition and binding.

In this review we discuss the role of protonation states in receptor-ligand interactions, providing experimental evidences and computational predictions that complex formation may involve titratable groups with unusual pKa's and that protonation states frequently change from unbound to bound states. These protonation changes result in proton uptake/release, which in turn causes the pH-dependenc...