De Novo simulations of pH-dependent proten folding

REX-CPHMD simulations have also been applied to understand the mechanism of the formation of protein intermediate states. Recent solution NMR data revealed a sparsely populated intermediate in the villin headpiece domain, in which the N-terminal subdomain is largely random but the C-terminal subdomain adopts a nativelike fold [34], Interestingly, H41 in this intermediate state titrates at a pH value of 

Another interesting application area of PHMD simulations is to investigate electrostatic interactions in the unfolded states of proteins. A traditional view that unfolded proteins adopt random conformational states that are devoid of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions, are recently challenged by experimental data [20, 69], REX-CPHMD folding simulations of the 35 residue C-terminal subdomain of the villin headpiece domain revealed a significant deviation from the standard pKa values for several titratable residues. Additional simulations, in which a charged group is neutralized confirmed the existence of specific electrostatic interactions in the unfolded states (JK and CLB, manuscript in preparation). 

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