Generalized-ensemble simulations of the human parathyroid hormone fragment PTH(1-34)

A generalized-ensemble technique, multicanonical sampling, is used to study the folding of a 34-residue human parathyroid hormone fragment. An all-atom model of the peptide is employed and the protein-solvent interactions are approximated by an implicit solvent. Our results demonstrate that generalized-ensemble simulations are well suited to sample low-energy structures of such large polypeptides. Configurations with a root-mean-square deviation to the crystal structure of less than 1 A are found. Finally, we discuss limitations of our implicit solvent model.