title: Fuzzy oil drop model to interpret the structure of antifreeze proteins and their mutants.
abstract: Mutations in proteins introduce structural changes and influence biological activity: the specific effects depend on the location of the mutation. The simple method proposed in the present paper is based on a two-step model of in silico protein folding. The structure of the first intermediate is assumed to be determined solely by backbone conformation. The structure of the second one is assumed to be determined by the presence of a hydrophobic center. The comparable structural analysis of the set of mutants is performed to identify the mutant-induced structural changes. The changes of the hydrophobic core organization measured by the divergence entropy allows quantitative comparison estimating the relative structural changes upon mutation. The set of antifreeze proteins, which appeared to represent the hydrophobic core structure accordant with "fuzzy oil drop" model was selected for analysis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioinformatics and Telemedicine, Medical College, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Mateusz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Banach
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Prymula
authors.forename: Wiktor
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jurkowski
authors.forename: Leszek
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Konieczny
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Roterman
mesh_terms: D021301:Antifreeze Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009154:Mutation; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017510:Protein Folding; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D021301:Antifreeze Proteins; D011506:Proteins