NMR Characterization of Information Flow and Allosteric Communities in the MAP Kinase p38γ

The intramolecular network structure of a protein provides valuable insights into allosteric sites and communication pathways. However, a straightforward method to comprehensively map and characterize these pathways is not currently available. Here we present an approach to characterize intramolecular network structure using NMR chemical shift perturbations. We apply the method to the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) p38γ. p38γ contains allosteric sites that are conserved among eukaryotic kinases as well as unique to the MAPK family. How these regulatory sites communicate with catalytic residues is not well understood. Using our method, we observe and characterize for the first time information flux between regulatory sites through a conserved kinase infrastructure. This network is accessed, reinforced, and broken in various states of p38γ, reflecting the functional state of the protein. We demonstrate that the approach detects critical junctions in the network corresponding to biologically significant allosteric sites and pathways.