This bilateral project investigated the specificity of glycosaminoglycan interactions with regulatory proteins using both computational and NMR experimental methods. The collaboration between the Polish and German groups leveraged complementary expertise to study the molecular determinants of GAG binding specificity.
The central question addressed was: how specific are protein-GAG interactions? For several systems, it was shown that alterations in the GAG type and sulfation pattern changes their protein binding capabilities specifically, whereas for others, only the net charge matters.
The collaboration combined the computational expertise of the Gdańsk group with the NMR experimental capabilities of the Leipzig group, enabling a unique cross-validation of computational predictions with experimental data for multiple protein-GAG systems.