Folding Mechanism of Beta-Hairpin Trpzip2: Heterogeneity, Transition State and Folding Pathways

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Yi Xiao¹  Changjun Chen² 

[1] Biomolecular Physics and Modeling Group, Department of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China

关键词: beta-hairpin;    trpzip2;    folding heterogeneity;    transition state;    folding pathway;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms10062838

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

We review the studies on the folding mechanism of the β-hairpin tryptophan zipper 2 (trpzip2) and present some additional computational results to refine the picture of folding heterogeneity and pathways. We show that trpzip2 can have a two-state or a multi-state folding pattern, depending on whether it folds within the native basin or through local state basins on the high-dimensional free energy surface; Trpzip2 can fold along different pathways according to the packing order of tryptophan pairs. We also point out some important problems related to the folding mechanism of trpzip2 that still need clarification, e.g., a wide distribution of the computed conformations for the transition state ensemble.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2009 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland.