Helix Interaction Tool (HIT): a web-based tool for analysis of helix-helix interactions in proteins

Motivation: In many proteins, helix-helix interactions can be critical to establishing protein conformation (folding) and dynamics, as well as determining associations between protein units. However, the determination of a set of rules that guide helix-helix interaction has been elusive. In order to gain further insight into the helix-helix interface, we have developed a comprehensive package of tools for analyzing helix-helix packing in proteins. These tools are available at http://helix.gersteinlab.org. They include quantitative measures of the helix interaction surface area and helix crossing angle, as well as several methods for visualizing the helix-helix interaction. These methods can be used for analysis of individual protein conformations or to gain insight into dynamic changes in helix-helix interactions. For the latter purpose, a direct interface from entries in the Molecular Motions Database to the HIT site has been provided.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2006
• Where: BIOINFORMATICS
• Authors: Anne E. Counterman Burba, Ursula Lehnert, Eric Z. Yu, Mark Gerstein
• Keywords: BIOINFORMATICS 2006, Helix-helix Interactions, Protein, Protein Conformations