Sequencing unfolding

Given that a sequence folds to a known native stmcture, what are the mechanisms in the transition from the unfolded confonnation to the folded state This is a kinetics problem, the solution of which requires elucidation of the pathways and transition states in the folding process. 

For these sequences the value of Gj, is less than a certain small value g. For such sequences the folding occurs directly from the ensemble of unfolded states to the NBA. The free energy surface is dominated by the NBA (or a funnel) and the volume associated with NBA is very large. The partition factor <6 is near unify so that these sequences reach the native state by two-state kinetics. The amplitudes in (C2.5.7) are nearly zero. There are no intennediates in the pathways from the denatured state to the native state. Fast folders reach the native state by a nucleation-collapse mechanism which means that once a certain number of contacts (folding nuclei) are fonned then the native state is reached very rapidly [25, 26]. The time scale for reaching the native state for fast folders (which are nonnally associated with those sequences for which topological fmstration is minimal) is found to be... 

For any given protein, the number of possible conformations that it could adopt is astronomical. Yet each protein folds into a unique stmcture totally deterrnined by its sequence. The basic assumption is that the protein is at a free energy minimum however, calometric studies have shown that a native protein is more stable than its unfolded state by only 20—80 kj/mol (5—20 kcal/mol) (5). This small difference can be accounted for by the favorable... 

It should be noted that in almost all cases only one fold exists for any given sequence. The uniqueness of the native state arises from the fact that the interactions that stabilize the native strucmre significantly destabilize alternate folds of the same amino acid sequence. That is, evolution has selected sequences with a deep energy minimum for the native state, thus eliminating misfolded or partly unfolded structures at physiological temperatures. 

H Taketomi, Y Ueda, N Go. Studies on protein folding, unfolding and fluctuations by computer simulation. 1. The effect of specific ammo acid sequence represented by specific mter-umt interactions. Int J Peptide Protein Res 7 445-459, 1975. 

The classic zinc fingers, the DNA-binding properties of which are discussed in Chapter 10, are small compact domains of about 30 residues that fold into an antiparallel p hairpin followed by an a helix. All known classic zinc fingers have a zinc atom bound to two cysteines in the hairpin and two histidines in the helix, creating a sequence motif common to all zinc finger genes. In the absence of zinc the structure is unfolded. 

The application of ROA to studies of unfolded and partially folded proteins has been especially fruitful. As well as providing new information on the structure of disordered polypeptide and protein sequences, ROA has provided new insight into the complexity of order in denatured proteins and the structure and behavior of proteins involved in misfold-ing diseases. All the ROA data shown in this chapter have been measured in our Glasgow laboratory because, at the time of writing, ROA data on typical large biomolecules had not been published by any other group. We hope that this review will encourage more widespread use of ROA in protein science. 

Before discussing the ROA band signatures and general spectral characteristics of the disordered types of structure found in unfolded proteins, it is helpful to review the ROA band signatures of cc-helix and /1-sheet together with those of loops, turns, and side chains, as shown by folded proteins containing significant amounts of extended secondary structure in order to demonstrate that ROA is able to discriminate adequately between ordered and disordered polypeptide sequences. Typical... 

Raman optical activity has proved valuable in recent studies of the structure and behavior of a number of natively unfolded proteins found in quite different biological situations. Although completely unfolded, the structures appear to be more stable than those generated by complete unfolding of proteins having a tertiary fold in their native states. Such natively unfolded proteins clearly have special characteristics built into their amino acid sequences that prevent aggregation under normal physiological conditions. 

These studies suggest that the caseins, synucleins, and tau have natively unfolded structures in which the sequences are based largely on the PPII conformation and are held together in a loose noncooperative fashion. However, rather than describing them as random coil ,... 

This chapter has reviewed the application of ROA to studies of unfolded proteins, an area of much current interest central to fundamental protein science and also to practical problems in areas as diverse as medicine and food science. Because the many discrete structure-sensitive bands present in protein ROA spectra, the technique provides a fresh perspective on the structure and behavior of unfolded proteins, and of unfolded sequences in proteins such as A-gliadin and prions which contain distinct structured and unstructured domains. It also provides new insight into the complexity of order in molten globule and reduced protein states, and of the more mobile sequences in fully folded proteins such as /1-lactoglobulin. With the promise of commercial ROA instruments becoming available in the near future, ROA should find many applications in protein science. Since many gene sequences code for natively unfolded proteins in addition to those coding for proteins with well-defined tertiary folds, both of which are equally accessible to ROA studies, ROA should find wide application in structural proteomics. 

Time-resolved IR spectra of similar peptides following a laser-excited temperature jump showed two relaxation times, unfolding 160 ns and faster components <10 ns (Williams et al., 1996). These times are very sensitive to the length, sequence, and environment of these peptides, but do show that the fundamental helix unfolding process is quite fast. These fast IR data have been contrasted with Raman and fluorescence-based T-jump experiments (Thompson et al., 1997). Raman experiments at various temperatures have suggested a folding in 1 /xs, based on an equilibrium analysis (Lednev et al., 2001). But all agree that the mechanism of helix formation is very fast. 

Fig. 8. Theoretical simulation of VCD (top) and IR absorption (bottom) spectra of alanine dodecapeptides for the amide V bands for a fully a-helical conformation (left) and a fully left-handed 3i-helical conformation (right). The simulations are for the same three isotopically labeled (13C on the amide C=0 for four Ala residues selected in sequence) peptides as in Figure 7 N-terminal tetrad (4AL1), middle (4AL2), and C-terminal (4AL4). The 13C feature is the same for all sequences, confirming the experimentally found unfolding of the C-terminus. The agreement with the shapes in Figure 7 is near quantitative. Reprinted from Silva, R. A. G. D., Kubelka, J., Decatur, S. M., Bour, R, and Keiderling, T. A. (2000a). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97, 8318-8323. 2000 National Academy of Science, U.S.A.

Several lines of evidence indicate that oligomers of Ala in solution assume a predominantly Pn local conformation and that proteins unfolded by Gdm-HCl or urea also have a dominant conformation, Pn-Preliminary results on ubiqitin fragments and short sequences contain-ing QQQ, SSS, FFF, and VW in a series of 11-mers suggest that this is... 

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