Tuning stability of coiled-coil heterotrimers by selection of steric matching partners.
Coiled-coil trimers of differing stability have been designed by judicious choice of hydrophobic core side chain identity. Steric matching of two alanines with one large side chain at three core positions affords stable heterotrimers. Use of either cyclohexylalanine (Cha) or phenylalanine (Phe) as the large side chain is effective, and unfolding free energies can be varied by over 3 kcal/mol by mixing Cha- and Phe-containing subunits.
Travisano
Philip
P
Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA.
Kennan
Alan J
AJ