The thermodynamics of nucleotide binding to proteins

Models describing the interaction of a small molecule with a protein are typically couched in terms of the stoichiometry, cooperativity, and binding free-energy change. These parameters are readily available from equilibrium dialysis experiments (or appropriate variations). With the recent advent of extremely sensitive calorimeters, it is possible to obtain thermal data for the binding reaction and, thus, the entire set of thermodynamic parameters, delta G', delta H', delta S', delta C', become readily available. This review is limited to the binding of nucleotides and nucleotide analogs to proteins for which complete thermal data are available. While the majority of such systems have been characterized by calorimetry, we have not excluded, per se, van't Hoff enthalpy determinations. The systems we have considered include, but are not limited to, thymidylate synthetase, phosphorylase, several dehydrogenases, aldolase, glutamine synthetase, hemoglobin, asparate transcarbamylase, and ribonuclease. A variety of forces contribute to the total free-energy change upon ligand binding. These forces include ionic, van der Waals, hydrogen bond, and hydrophobic. In several cases, properly designed experiments have allowed a partial resolution of the individual contributions of these various forces. Variation of easily accessible conditions such as temperature, pH, ionic strength, or solvent third component produce changes in the set of thermodynamic parameters which lead to the resolution of the forces. The generality of heat effects makes this method very useful for studying the involvement of protons in binding reactions. The variation in the magnitude and direction (release or uptake) of the proton flux is readily studied by determining the apparent heat of reaction at constant pH, ionic strength, and temperature in two or more buffers of differing heat of ionization. This application has been exploited in several cases and is examined in great detail. An overview of the results in these systems to date suggests that several trends observed in the thermodynamic parameters need to be confirmed by further experimentation and, if they hold, an appropriate theoretical basis must be developed to aid in their interpretation.