Ice-binding mechanism of winter flounder antifreeze proteins

We have studied the winter flounder antifreeze protein (AFP) and two of its mutants using molecular dynamics simulation techniques. The simulations were performed under four conditions: in the gas phase, solvated by water, adsorbed on the ice (2021) crystal plane in the gas phase and in aqueous solution. This study provided details of the ice-binding pattern of the winter flounder AFP. Simulation results indicated that the Asp, Asn, and Thr residues in the AFP are important in ice binding and that Asn and Thr as a group bind cooperatively to the ice surface. These ice-binding residues can be collected into four distinct ice-binding regions: Asp-1/Thr-2/Asp-5, Thr-13/Asn-16, Thr-24/Asn-27, and Thr-35/Arg-37. These four regions are 11 residues apart and the repeat distance between them matches the ice lattice constant along the (1102) direction. This match is crucial to ensure that all four groups can interact with the ice surface simultaneously, thereby, enhancing ice binding. These Asx (x = p or n)/Thr regions each form 5-6 hydrogen bonds with the ice surface: Asn forms about three hydrogen bonds with ice molecules located in the step region while Thr forms one to two hydrogen bonds with the ice molecules in the ridge of the (2021) crystal plane. Both the distance between Thr and Asn and the ordering of the two residues are crucial for effective ice binding. The proper sequence is necessary to generate a binding surface that is compatible with the ice surface topology, thus providing a perfect "host/guest" interaction that simultaneously satisfies both hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions. The results also show the relation among binding energy, the number of hydrogen bonds, and the activity. The activity is correlated to the binding energy, and in the case of the mutants we have studied the number of hydrogen bonds. The greater the number of the hydrogen bonds the greater the antifreeze activity. The roles van der Waals interactions and the hydrophobic effect play in ice binding are also highlighted. For the latter it is demonstrated that the surface of ice has a clathratelike structure which favors the partitioning of hydrophobic groups to the surface of ice. It is suggested that mutations that involve the deletion of hydrophobic residues (e.g., the Leu residues) will provide insight into the role the hydrophobic effect plays in partitioning these peptides to the surface of ice.