Computational prediction of monosaccharide binding free energies to lectins with linear interaction energy models.

The linear interaction energy (LIE) method to compute binding free energies is applied to lectin-monosaccharide complexes. Here, we calculate the binding free energies of monosaccharides to the Ralstonia solanacearum lectin (RSL) and the Pseudomonas aeruginosa lectin-II (PA-IIL). The standard LIE model performs very well for RSL, whereas the PA-IIL system, where ligand binding involves two calcium ions, presents a major challenge. To overcome this, we explore a new variant of the LIE model, where ligand-metal ion interactions are scaled separately. This model also predicts the saccharide binding preference of PA-IIL on mutation of the receptor, which may be useful for protein engineering of lectins.