Protein pKa calculations

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In computational biology, protein pKa calculations are used to estimate the pKa values of amino acids as they exist within proteins. These calculations complement the pKa values reported for amino acids in their free state, and are used frequently within the fields of molecular modeling, structural bioinformatics, and computational biology.

Contents

Amino acid pKa values

pKa values of amino acid side chains play an important role in defining the pH-dependent characteristics of a protein. The pH-dependence of the activity displayed by enzymes and the pH-dependence of protein stability, for example, are properties that are determined by the pKa values of amino acid side chains.

The pKa values of an amino acid side chain in solution is typically inferred from the pKa values of model compounds (compounds that are similar to the side chains of amino acids). See Amino acid for the pKa values of all amino acid side chains inferred in such a way. There are also numerous experimental studies that have yielded such values, for example by use of NMR spectroscopy.

The table below lists the model pKa values that are often used in a protein pKa calculation, and contains a third column based on protein studies. [1]

Amino AcidpKapKa
Asp (D)3.94.0
Glu (E)4.34.4
Arg (R)12.013.5
Lys (K)10.510.4
His (H)6.086.8
Cys (C) (–SH)8.288.3
Tyr (Y)10.19.6
N-term8.0
C-term3.6

The effect of the protein environment

Coupled system consisting of three acids. The black curve shows a back-titration event Back titration.jpg
Coupled system consisting of three acids. The black curve shows a back-titration event

When a protein folds, the titratable amino acids in the protein are transferred from a solution-like environment to an environment determined by the 3-dimensional structure of the protein. For example, in an unfolded protein, an aspartic acid typically is in an environment which exposes the titratable side chain to water. When the protein folds, the aspartic acid could find itself buried deep in the protein interior with no exposure to solvent.

Furthermore, in the folded protein, the aspartic acid will be closer to other titratable groups in the protein and will also interact with permanent charges (e.g. ions) and dipoles in the protein. All of these effects alter the pKa value of the amino acid side chain, and pKa calculation methods generally calculate the effect of the protein environment on the model pKa value of an amino acid side chain. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Typically, the effects of the protein environment on the amino acid pKa value are divided into pH-independent effects and pH-dependent effects. The pH-independent effects (desolvation, interactions with permanent charges and dipoles) are added to the model pKa value to give the intrinsic pKa value. The pH-dependent effects cannot be added in the same straightforward way and have to be accounted for using Boltzmann summation, Tanford–Roxby iterations or other methods.

The interplay of the intrinsic pKa values of a system with the electrostatic interaction energies between titratable groups can produce quite spectacular effects such as non-Henderson–Hasselbalch titration curves and even back-titration effects. [6]

The image on the right shows a theoretical system consisting of three acidic residues. One group is displaying a back-titration event (blue group).

pKa calculation methods

Several software packages and webserver are available for the calculation of protein pKa values.

Using the Poisson–Boltzmann equation

Some methods are based on solutions to the Poisson–Boltzmann equation (PBE), often referred to as FDPB-based methods (FDPB stands for "finite difference Poisson–Boltzmann"). The PBE is a modification of Poisson's equation that incorporates a description of the effect of solvent ions on the electrostatic field around a molecule.

The H++ web server, [7] the pKD webserver, [8] MCCE2, Karlsberg+,[ dead link ] PETIT and GMCT use the FDPB method to compute pKa values of amino acid side chains.

FDPB-based methods calculate the change in the pKa value of an amino acid side chain when that side chain is moved from a hypothetical fully solvated state to its position in the protein. To perform such a calculation, one needs theoretical methods that can calculate the effect of the protein interior on a pKa value, and knowledge of the pKa values of amino acid side chains in their fully solvated states. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Empirical methods

A set of empirical rules relating the protein structure to the pKa values of ionizable residues have been developed by Li, Robertson, and Jensen. [9] These rules form the basis for the web-accessible program called PROPKA for rapid predictions of pKa values. A recent empirical pKa prediction program was released by Tan KP et.al. with the online server DEPTH web server. [10]

Molecular dynamics (MD)-based methods

Molecular dynamics methods of calculating pKa values make it possible to include full flexibility of the titrated molecule. [11] [12] [13]

Molecular dynamics based methods are typically much more computationally expensive, and not necessarily more accurate, ways to predict pKa values than approaches based on the Poisson–Boltzmann equation. Limited conformational flexibility can also be realized within a continuum electrostatics approach, e.g., for considering multiple amino acid sidechain rotamers. In addition, current commonly used molecular force fields do not take electronic polarizability into account, which could be an important property in determining protonation energies.

Determining pKa values from titration curves or free energy calculations

From the titration of protonatable group, one can read the so-called pKa1⁄2 which is equal to the pH value where the group is half-protonated (i.e. when 50% such groups would be protonated). The pKa1⁄2 is equal to the Henderson–Hasselbalch pKa (pKHH
a) if the titration curve follows the Henderson–Hasselbalch equation. [14] Most pKa calculation methods silently assume that all titration curves are Henderson–Hasselbalch shaped, and pKa values in pKa calculation programs are therefore often determined in this way. In the general case of multiple interacting protonatable sites, the pKa1⁄2 value is not thermodynamically meaningful. In contrast, the Henderson–Hasselbalch pKa value can be computed from the protonation free energy via

and is thus in turn related to the protonation free energy of the site via

The protonation free energy can in principle be computed from the protonation probability of the group ⟨x⟩(pH) which can be read from its titration curve

Titration curves can be computed within a continuum electrostatics approach with formally exact but more elaborate analytical or Monte Carlo (MC) methods, or inexact but fast approximate methods. MC methods that have been used to compute titration curves [15] are Metropolis MC [16] [17] or Wang–Landau MC. [18] Approximate methods that use a mean-field approach for computing titration curves are the Tanford–Roxby method and hybrids of this method that combine an exact statistical mechanics treatment within clusters of strongly interacting sites with a mean-field treatment of intercluster interactions. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]

In practice, it can be difficult to obtain statistically converged and accurate protonation free energies from titration curves if ⟨x⟩ is close to a value of 1 or 0. In this case, one can use various free energy calculation methods to obtain the protonation free energy [15] such as biased Metropolis MC, [24] free-energy perturbation, [25] [26] thermodynamic integration, [27] [28] [29] the non-equilibrium work method [30] or the Bennett acceptance ratio method. [31]

Note that the pKHH
a value does in general depend on the pH value. [32]

This dependence is small for weakly interacting groups like well solvated amino acid side chains on the protein surface, but can be large for strongly interacting groups like those buried in enzyme active sites or integral membrane proteins. [33] [34] [35]

While many protein pKa prediction methods are available, their accuracies often differ significantly due to subtle and often drastic differences in strategy. [36]

Related Research Articles

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An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. hydrogen ion, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis acid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amino acid</span> Organic compounds containing amine and carboxylic groups

Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 appear in the genetic code of life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chymotrypsin</span> Digestive enzyme

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The isoelectric point (pI, pH(I), IEP), is the pH at which a molecule carries no net electrical charge or is electrically neutral in the statistical mean. The standard nomenclature to represent the isoelectric point is pH(I). However, pI is also used. For brevity, this article uses pI. The net charge on the molecule is affected by pH of its surrounding environment and can become more positively or negatively charged due to the gain or loss, respectively, of protons (H+).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titration</span> Laboratory method for determining the concentration of an analyte

Titration is a common laboratory method of quantitative chemical analysis to determine the concentration of an identified analyte. A reagent, termed the titrant or titrator, is prepared as a standard solution of known concentration and volume. The titrant reacts with a solution of analyte to determine the analyte's concentration. The volume of titrant that reacted with the analyte is termed the titration volume.

In chemistry, a zwitterion, also called an inner salt or dipolar ion, is a molecule that contains an equal number of positively and negatively charged functional groups. With amino acids, for example, in solution a chemical equilibrium will be established between the "parent" molecule and the zwitterion.

A buffer solution is a solution where the pH does not change significantly on dilution or if an acid or base is added at constant temperature. Its pH changes very little when a small amount of strong acid or base is added to it. Buffer solutions are used as a means of keeping pH at a nearly constant value in a wide variety of chemical applications. In nature, there are many living systems that use buffering for pH regulation. For example, the bicarbonate buffering system is used to regulate the pH of blood, and bicarbonate also acts as a buffer in the ocean.

In chemistry, hydronium (hydroxonium in traditional British English) is the common name for the cation [H3O]+, also written as H3O+, the type of oxonium ion produced by protonation of water. It is often viewed as the positive ion present when an Arrhenius acid is dissolved in water, as Arrhenius acid molecules in solution give up a proton (a positive hydrogen ion, H+) to the surrounding water molecules (H2O). In fact, acids must be surrounded by more than a single water molecule in order to ionize, yielding aqueous H+ and conjugate base. Three main structures for the aqueous proton have garnered experimental support: the Eigen cation, which is a tetrahydrate, H3O+(H2O)3, the Zundel cation, which is a symmetric dihydrate, H+(H2O)2, and the Stoyanov cation, an expanded Zundel cation, which is a hexahydrate: H+(H2O)2(H2O)4. Spectroscopic evidence from well-defined IR spectra overwhelmingly supports the Stoyanov cation as the predominant form. For this reason, it has been suggested that wherever possible, the symbol H+(aq) should be used instead of the hydronium ion.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Histidine</span> Chemical compound

Histidine (symbol His or H) is an essential amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated –NH3+ form under biological conditions), a carboxylic acid group (which is in the deprotonated –COO− form under biological conditions), and an imidazole side chain (which is partially protonated), classifying it as a positively charged amino acid at physiological pH. Initially thought essential only for infants, it has now been shown in longer-term studies to be essential for adults also. It is encoded by the codons CAU and CAC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proteinogenic amino acid</span> Amino acid that is incorporated biosynthetically into proteins during translation

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catalytic triad</span> Set of three coordinated amino acids

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References

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