Location of potential binding sites on deoxy hemoglobin for the design of antigelling agents

The binding sites of indole-based gelation inhibitors with sickle cell hemoglobin were investigated by two parallel theoretical approaches. A geometric approach originated by Kuntz and co-workers uses a spatial buildup scheme to locate potential binding regions, while a hybrid grid/geometric search method searches for specific indole ring binding pockets over the hemoglobin surface. The binding sites derived from these calculations were tested for their ability to accommodate indole rings by means of accessibility calculations with probes of various radii. These sites were further scanned for van der Waals' overlap and electrostatic interactions. A full 5BrTrp residue was built in each indole ring binding site, and its conformational energy of association with sickle hemoglobin was calculated at that site. Our theoretical results predict a total of 14 potential binding regions, including all of the sites observed from X-ray crystallography, and sites that are consistent with solution nuclear magnetic resonance studies.