Protein topology

Topology of beta-strands in "Greek-key" protein motif.

Protein topology is a property of protein molecule that does not change under deformation (without cutting or breaking a bond).

Frameworks

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Two main topology frameworks have been developed and applied to protein molecules.

Knot Theory

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Knot theory which categorises chain entanglements. The usage of knot theory is limited to a small percentage of proteins as most of them are unknot.

Circuit topology

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Circuit topology categorises intra-chain contacts based on their arrangements. Circuit topology is a determinant of protein folding kinetics[1] and stability.[2]

Other Uses

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In biology literature, the term topology is also used to refer to mutual orientation of regular secondary structures, such as alpha-helices and beta strands in protein structure[3] [1]. For example, two adjacent interacting alpha-helices or beta-strands can go in the same or in opposite directions. Topology diagrams of different proteins with known three-dimensional structure are provided by PDBsum (an example).

See also

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References

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  1. ^ B. Scalvini et al., Topological principles of protein folding. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 23, 21316-21328 (2021)
  2. ^ J. Woodard et al., Chain topology predicts pathogenicity of missense mutations. Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics 90(9) 1634-1644 (2022)
  3. ^ Rawlings, C J; Taylor, W R; Nyakairu, J; Fox, J; Sternberg, M J.E. (1985). "Reasoning about protein topology using the logic programming language PROLOG". Journal of Molecular Graphics. 3 (4): 151–157. doi:10.1016/0263-7855(85)80027-8.
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