Binding of disordered proteins to a protein hub

A small number of proteins, called hubs, have high connectivity and are essential for interactome functionality and integrity. Keap1 is a crucial hub in the oxidative stress response and apoptosis. The Kelch domain of Keap1 preferentially binds to disordered regions of its partners, which share similar binding motifs, but have a wide range of binding affinities. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and multi-microsecond molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to determine the factors that govern the affinity of all currently known disordered binding partners to Kelch. Our results show that the affinities to this hub are largely determined by the extent of preformed bound state-like conformation in the free state structures of these disordered targets. Based on our findings, we have designed a high-affinity peptide that can specifically disrupt the Keap1-NRF2 interaction and has the potential for therapeutic applications.