Coupled Dynamics and Entropic Contribution to the Allosteric Mechanism of Pin1.

Allosteric communication in proteins regulates a plethora of downstream processes in subcellular signaling pathways. Describing the effects of cooperative ligand binding on the atomic level is a key to understanding many regulatory processes involving biomolecules. Here, we use microsecond-long molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the allosteric mechanism of Pin1, a potential therapeutic target and a phosphorylated-Ser/Thr dependent peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase that regulates several subcellular processes and has been implicated in many diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer's. Experimental studies suggest that the catalytic domain and the noncatalytic WW domain are allosterically coupled; however, an atomic level description of the dynamics associated with the interdomain communication is lacking. We show that binding of the substrate to the WW domain is directly coupled to the dynamics of the catalytic domain, causing rearrangement of the residue-residue contact dynamics from the WW domain to the catalytic domain. The binding affinity of the substrate in the catalytic domain is also enhanced upon binding of the substrate to the WW domain. Modulation of the dynamics of the catalytic domain upon binding of the substrate to the WW domain leads to prepayment of the entropic cost of binding the substrate to the catalytic domain. This study shows that Ile 28 at the interfacial region between the catalytic and WW domains is certainly one of the residues responsible for bridging the communication between the two domains. The results complement previous experiments and provide valuable atomistic insights into the role of dynamics and possible entropic contribution to the allosteric mechanism of proteins.