M.V. Bayas1,1, K.Schulten2,2, D. Leckb,3,3
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.1, No.2, pp. 101-112, 2004, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2004.001.101
Abstract The force-induced dissociation of the strand dimer interface in C-cadherin has been studied using steered molecular dynamics simulations. The dissociation occurred, without domain unraveling, after the extraction of the conserved trypthophans (Trp2) from their respective hydrophobic pockets. The simulations revealed two stable positions for the Trp2 side chain inside the pocket. The most internal stable position involved a hydrogen bond between the ring Ne of Trp2 and the backbone carbonyl of Glu90. In the second stable position, the aromatic ring is located at the pocket entrance. After extracting the two tryptophans from their pockets, the More >