English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Viral BCL2 proteins (vBCL2s) help to sustain chronic infection of host proteins to inhibit apoptosis and autophagy. However, details of conformational changes in vBCL2s that enable binding to BH3Ds remain unknown. Using all-atom, multiple microsecond-long molecular dynamic simulations (totaling 17 μs) of the murine γ-herpesvirus 68 vBCL2 (M11), and statistical inference techniques, we show that regions of M11 transiently unfold and refold upon binding of the BH3D. Further, we show that this partial unfolding/refolding within M11 is mediated by a network of hydrophobic interactions, which includes residues that are 10 Å away from the BH3D binding cleft. We experimentally validate the role of these hydrophobic interactions by quantifying the impact of mutating these residues on binding to the Beclin1/BECN1 BH3D, demonstrating that these mutations adversely affect both protein stability and binding. To our knowledge, this is the first study detailing the binding-associated conformational changes and presence of long-range interactions within vBCL2s.

Transient Unfolding and Long-Range Interactions in Viral BCL2 M11 Enable Binding to the BECN1 BH3 Domain