Giorgio Favrin, Anders Irbäck and Stefan Wallin
Sequence-Based Study of Two Related Proteins with Different Folding Behaviors
Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics 54, 8-12 (2004)

Abstract
ZSPA-1 is an engineered protein that binds to its parent, the three-helix-bundle Z domain of staphylococcal protein A. Uncomplexed ZSPA-1 shows a reduced helix content and a melting behavior that is less cooperative, compared with the wild-type Z domain. Here we show that the difference in folding behavior between these two sequences can be partly understood in terms of an off-lattice model with 5-6 atoms per amino acid and a minimalistic potential, in which folding is driven by backbone hydrogen bonding and effective hydrophobic attraction.

LU TP 03-14