Figure 2.
Thermodynamic model for cooperative RNA-protein interactions. (A) Illustration of an RNA with an RNA-binding protein binding to it. All binding sites on the RNA are only bound by one domain of the RBD. Each of these interactions has its individual Ka,i. (B–D) Reaction networks for one, two, and three binding sites on the RNA. Each system has 2n possible states. Every possible reaction step has an association constant equal to the individual Ka,i for the domain-to-RNA-site interaction multiplied by the concentration of the domain at its cognate site.