Innate Conformational Dynamics Drive Binding Specificity in Anti-Apoptotic Proteins Mcl-1 and Bcl-2
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Abstract The structurally conserved B-cell Lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family of proteins function to promote or inhibit apoptosis through an exceedingly complex web of specific, intrafamilial protein-protein interactions. The critical role of these proteins in lymphomas and other cancers has motivated a widespread interest in understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive specificity in Bcl-2 family interactions. However, the substantial structural similarity amongst Bcl-2 homologues has made it difficult to rationalize the highly specific (and often divergent) binding behavior exhibited by these proteins using conventional structural arguments. In this work, we use millisecond hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry to explore shifts in conformational dynamics associated with binding partner engagement in Bcl-2 family proteins Bcl-2 and Mcl-1. Using this approach, we reveal that, specifically for Mcl-1, binding specificity arises largely from protein-specific dynamic modes that are accessed in the unbound state. This work has implications for exploring the evolution of internally regulated biological systems composed of structurally similar proteins, and for the development of drugs targeting Bcl-2 family proteins for promotion of apoptosis in cancer. General Interest Statement This work reveals how a group of proteins, which are highly similar in structure, can form a complex web of highly specific protein-protein interactions that drive programmed cell death (apoptosis) in cancer.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".