Stabilization of intermediate density states in globular proteins by homogeneous intramolecular attractive interactions

On-lattice simulations of two-dimensional self-avoiding chains subject to homogeneous intramolecular attractive interactions were performed as a model for studying various density regimes in globular proteins. For short chains of less than 15 units, all conformations were generated and classified by density. The range of intramolecular interactions was found to increase uniformly with density, and the average number of topological contacts is directly proportional to density. The uniform interaction energy increases the probability of high density states but does not necessarily lead to dominance of the highest density state. Typically, several large peaks appear in the probability distribution of packing densities, their location and amplitude being determined by the balance between entropic effects enhancing more expanded conformations and attractive interactions favoring compact forms. Also, the homogeneous interaction energy affects the distribution of most probable interacting points in favor of the longer range interactions over the short range ones, but in addition it introduces some more detailed preferences even among short range interactions. There are some implications about the characteristics of the intermediate density states and also for the likelihood that the native state does not correspond completely to the lowest energy conformation.