Modulating Target Protein Function through the Binding of Small Molecules
A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Structure and Dynamics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2022) | Viewed by 3652
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue aims to highlight the concept that small molecule binding can modulate target protein function in a variety of ways. Such ‘binders’ can affect protein activity through competitive, noncompetitive or uncompetitive binding. Particularly, ligand binding can influence not only protein structure but also protein dynamics. The latter expands the scope of a binder-based approach to translate small molecules to medicines, through the stabilization of pharmacologically desired conformational states of target proteins or by shifting the populations of different conformational states. We encourage contributions on the computational study of ligand binding altering the structure and dynamics of proteins, leading to: (1) inhibiting a function, (2) enhancing a function and (3) conferring a novel function of the proteins. Experimental studies addressing the mechanism for modulating protein function by small molecule binding are also of particular interest.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following: small molecule binding changes target protein structure, stability, and conformational dynamics, shifts protein conformational distributions, or alters interaction with its effector(s) or tendency to be chemically modified by cellular enzymes.
I look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Xiaolin Cheng
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- ligand binding
- allosteric modulation
- binding affinity
- protein dynamics
- conformational population shift
- protein stability
- protein–protein interactions
