Multidimensional theory of protein folding.

Theory of multidimensional representation of free energy surface of protein folding is developed by adopting structural order parameters of multiple regions in protein as multiple coordinates. Various scenarios of folding are classified in terms of cooperativity within individual regions and interactions among multiple regions and thus obtained classification is used to analyze the folding process of several example proteins. Ribosomal protein S6, src-SH3 domain, CheY, barnase, and BBL domain are analyzed with the two-dimensional representation by using a structure-based Hamiltonian model. The extension to the higher dimensional representation leads to the finer description of the folding process. Barnase, NtrC, and an ankyrin repeat protein are examined with the three-dimensional representation. The multidimensional representation allows us to directly address questions on folding pathways, intermediates, and transition states.