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Real-time tracking of protein unfolding with time-resolved x-ray solution scattering

Journal Article · · Structural Dynamics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/4.0000013· OSTI ID:2565523

The correct folding of proteins is of paramount importance for their function, and protein misfolding is believed to be the primary cause of a wide range of diseases. Protein folding has been investigated with time-averaged methods and time-resolved spectroscopy, but observing the structural dynamics of the unfolding process in real-time is challenging. Here, we demonstrate an approach to directly reveal the structural changes in the unfolding reaction. We use nano- to millisecond time-resolved x-ray solution scattering to probe the unfolding of apomyoglobin. The unfolding reaction was triggered using a temperature jump, which was induced by a nanosecond laser pulse. We demonstrate a new strategy to interpret time-resolved x-ray solution scattering data, which evaluates ensembles of structures obtained from molecular dynamics simulations. We find that apomyoglobin passes three states when unfolding, which we characterize as native, molten globule, and unfolded. The molten globule dominates the population under the conditions investigated herein, whereas native and unfolded structures primarily contribute before the laser jump and 30 μs after it, respectively. The molten globule retains much of the native structure but shows a dynamic pattern of inter-residue contacts. Our study demonstrates a new strategy to directly observe structural changes over the cause of the unfolding reaction, providing time- and spatially resolved atomic details of the folding mechanism of globular proteins.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Contributing Organization:
Advanced Photon Source (APS), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (US)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
2565523
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1664547
OSTI ID: 1673793
Journal Information:
Structural Dynamics, Journal Name: Structural Dynamics Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 7; ISSN 2329-7778
Publisher:
American Institute of PhysicsCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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