Ligand binding pockets in proteins contain water molecules, which play important roles in modulating protein-ligand interactions. Available crystallographic data for the 5' mRNA cap-binding pocket of the translation initiation factor protein eIF4E shows several structurally conserved waters, which also persist in molecular dynamics simulations ...
Ligand binding pockets in proteins contain water molecules, which play important roles in modulating protein-ligand interactions. Available crystallographic data for the 5' mRNA cap-binding pocket of the translation initiation factor protein eIF4E shows several structurally conserved waters, which also persist in molecular dynamics simulations. These waters engage an intricate hydrogen-bond network between the cap and protein. Two crystallographic waters in the cleft of the pocket show a high degree of conservation and bridge two residues, which are part of an evolutionarily conserved scaffold. This appears to be a preformed recognition module for the cap with the two structural waters facilitating an efficient interaction. This is also recapitulated in a new crystal structure of the apo protein. These findings open new windows for the design and screening of compounds targeting eIF4E.
Organizational Affiliation:
Bioinformatics Institute, A(∗)STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01 Matrix, Singapore 138671, Singapore; Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore; School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637551, Singapore. Electronic address: chandra@bii.a-star.edu.sg.
Download Mendeley
