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Related Experiment Videos

High concentrations of viscogens decrease the protein folding rate constant by prematurely collapsing the coil.

Maria Silow1, Mikael Oliveberg

  • 1Department of Biochemistry, Umeå University, S-901 87, Umeå, Sweden.

Journal of Molecular Biology
|January 28, 2003
PubMed
Summary
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Viscous osmolytes can unexpectedly slow protein folding by causing premature coil collapse at high concentrations. This non-native collapse impacts protein folding kinetics, differing based on the specific osmolyte used.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Chemical Physics
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Viscous osmolytes are known to affect protein folding kinetics.
  • Previous hypotheses suggested osmolytes decrease folding rates by slowing polypeptide motion.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mechanism by which osmolytes influence protein folding rates.
  • To determine if osmolytes can alter protein folding through premature coil collapse.

Main Methods:

  • Studied the folding kinetics of the two-state protein Chymotrypsin Inhibitor 2 (CI2).
  • Utilized varying concentrations of different osmolytes in refolding experiments.
  • Analyzed the impact of osmolyte concentration on folding rate constants.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • At low to moderate osmolyte concentrations (<30%), protein folding accelerated with increasing osmolyte levels, indicating kinetics governed by protein stability.
  • At higher osmolyte concentrations, premature collapse of the polypeptide coil occurred within the experimental dead-time.
  • This premature collapse led to a significant decrease in the observed protein folding rate.
  • The non-native collapsed state induced by osmolytes varied depending on the specific osmolyte employed.

Conclusions:

  • Osmolytes can inhibit protein folding not only by slowing solvent motion but also by inducing premature coil collapse.
  • High osmolyte concentrations lead to a non-native collapsed state that dramatically reduces folding rates.
  • The specific nature of the osmolyte influences the characteristics of this collapsed state.