Energy landscape in protein folding and unfolding
- CNR-Istituto per i Processi Chimico Fisici Messina, Messina (Italy); Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Boston Univ., Boston, MA (United States)
- CNR-Istituto per i Processi Chimico Fisici Messina, Messina (Italy); Univ. di Messina, Messina (Italy)
- Consorzio per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a Grande Interfase, Catania (Italy)
- Univ. di Messina, Messina (Italy)
- CNR-Istituto per i Processi Chimico Fisici Messina, Messina (Italy)
- Univ. di Firenze and Consorzio per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a Grande Interfase, Florence (Italy)
- Yeshiva Univ., New York, NY (United States)
- Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
- Boston Univ., Boston, MA (United States)
Protein folding represents an open question in science, and the free-energy landscape framework is one way to describe it. In particular, the role played by water in the processes is of special interest. To clarify these issues we study, during folding–unfolding, the temperature evolution of the magnetization for hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups of hydrated lysozyme using NMR spectroscopy. Our findings confirm the validity of the theoretical scenario of a process dominated by different energetic routes, also explaining the water role in the protein configuration stability. Here, we also highlight that the protein native state limit is represented by the water singular temperature that characterizes its compressibility and expansivity and is the origin of the thermodynamical anomalies of its liquid state.
- Research Organization:
- Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FG02-90ER45429
- OSTI ID:
- 1437126
- Journal Information:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 113, Issue 12; ISSN 0027-8424
- Publisher:
- National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC (United States)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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