STINGAllo: a web server for high-throughput prediction of allosteric site-forming residues using internal protein nanoenvironment descriptors

Abstract

Allosteric regulation is essential for modulating protein function and represents a promising target for therapeutic intervention, yet the complex dynamics of the protein nanoenvironment hinder the reliable identification of allosteric sites. Traditional pocket-based predictors miss $\sim $18% of experimentally confirmed sites that lie outside surface invaginations. To overcome this limitation, we developed STINGAllo, an interactive web server that introduces a residue-centric machine-learning model. Using 54 optimized internal protein nanoenvironment descriptors, STINGAllo predicts allosteric site-forming residues at single-residue resolution. By integrating hydrophobic interaction networks, local density, graph connectivity, and a unique "sponge effect" metric, STINGAllo detects allosteric sites independently of surface geometry, including concave pockets, flat surfaces, or even cryptic regions. It achieves a success rate of $\sim $78% on benchmark datasets, substantially outperforming existing methods with a 60.2% overall success rate compared with 21.1%-24.2% for contemporary pocket-based predictors. Our analysis further reveals that nearly 52.7% of unique proteins in the Protein Data Bank [(PDB); 119 851 entries, 14 November 2024] contain at least one chain with a predicted allosteric site. STINGAllo accepts protein structures via PDB identifiers or custom uploads, provides interactive 3D visualization of predicted pockets, and supports integration into computational pipelines through a RESTful application programming interface. Overall, STINGAllo bridges advanced computational prediction with user-friendly design, offering a robust tool expected to deepen understanding of protein regulation and accelerate allosteric drug discovery. The server is freely accessible at https://www.stingallo.cbi.cnptia.embrapa.br/.