Sequential-dissociation kinetics of non-covalent complexes of DNA with multiple proteins in separation-based approach: General theory and its application

Binding of multiple proteins to DNA is crucial in many regulatory cellular processes. The kinetics of assembly and disassembly of DNA–multiple protein complexes is very difficult to study in detail due to the lack of suitable experimental approaches. A separation-based approach has been recently proposed to resolve disassembly kinetics of such complexes. While conceptually simple, the separation-based approach generates experimental data with very complex patterns. The analysis of these patterns is a challenging problem on its own. Here we report on a mathematical approach that can extract a solution for the experimental data obtained in separation-based analysis of sequential dissociation of a DNA complex with multiple proteins. This case describes the dissociation of proteins one-by-one from the complex. Generally speaking, a mathematical solution of such problems requires calculations of multiple integrals. Our approach reduces this procedure to taking double integrals and constructing their superposition. We tested this approach with the experimental data obtained for three-step sequential dissociation of complexes of DNA with two protein copies.