Both Charge-Regulation and Charge-Patch Distribution Can Drive Adsorption on the Wrong Side of the Isoelectric Point.

The mechanism of protein-polyelectrolyte complexation on the wrong side of the isoelectric point has long puzzled researchers. Two alternative explanations have been proposed in the literature: (a) the charge-patch (CP) mechanism, based on the inhomogeneous distribution of charges on the protein, and (b) the charge-regulation (CR) mechanism, based on the variable charge of weak acid and base groups, which may invert the protein charge in the presence of another highly charged object. To discern these two mechanisms, we simulated artificially constructed short peptides, containing acidic and basic residues, arranged in a blocklike or alternating sequence. Our simulations of these peptides, interacting with polyelectrolytes, showed that charge patch and charge regulation alone can both lead to adsorption on the wrong side of the pI value. Their simultaneous presence enhances adsorption, whereas their absence prevents adsorption. Our simulation results were rationalized by following the variation of the charge regulation capacity and dipole moments of these peptides with the pH. Specifically for lysozyme, we found that charge patch prevails at physiological pH, whereas charge regulation prevails near the pI, thereby explaining seemingly contradicting conclusions in the literature. By applying the same approach to other proteins, we developed a general framework for assessing the role of the CP and CR mechanisms in existing case studies and for predicting how various proteins interact with polyelectrolytes at different pH values.

Role of pKA in Charge Regulation and Conformation of Various Peptide Sequences.

Peptides containing amino acids with ionisable side chains represent a typical example of weak ampholytes, that is, molecules with multiple titratable acid and base groups, which generally exhibit charge regulating properties upon changes in pH. Charged groups on an ampholyte interact electrostatically with each other, and their interaction is coupled to conformation of the (macro)molecule, resulting in a complex feedback loop. Their charge-regulating properties are primarily determined by the pKA of individual ionisable side-chains, modulated by electrostatic interactions between the charged groups. The latter is determined by the amino acid sequence in the peptide chain. In our previous work we introduced a simple coarse-grained model of a flexible peptide. We validated it against experiments, demonstrating its ability to quantitatively predict charge on various peptides in a broad range of pH. In the current work, we investigated two types of peptide sequences: diblock and alternating, each of them consisting of an equal number of amino acids with acid and base side-chains. We showed that changing the sequence while keeping the same overall composition has a profound effect on the conformation, whereas it practically does not affect total charge on the peptide. Nevertheless, the sequence significantly affects the charge state of individual groups, showing that the zero net effect on the total charge is a consequence of unexpected cancellation of effects. Furthermore, we investigated how the difference between the pKA of acid and base side chains affects the charge and conformation of the peptide, showing that it is possible to tune the charge-regulating properties by following simple guiding principles based on the pKA and on the amino acid sequence. Our current results provide a theoretical basis for understanding of the complex coupling between the ionisation and conformation in flexible polyampholytes, including synthetic polymers, biomimetic materials and biological molecules, such as intrinsically disordered proteins, whose function can be regulated by changes in the pH.