Cold Denaturation of the HIV-1 Protease Monomer

The human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) protease is a complex protein that in its active form adopts a homodimer dominated by β-sheet structures. We have discovered a cold-denatured state of the monomeric subunit of HIV-1 protease that is populated above 0 °C and therefore directly accessible to various spectroscopic approaches. Using nuclear magnetic resonance secondary chemical shifts, temperature coefficients, and protein dynamics, we suggest that the cold-denatured state populates a compact wet globule containing transient non-native-like α-helical elements. From the linearity of the temperature coefficients and the hydrodynamic radii, we propose that the overall architecture of the cold-denatured state is maintained over the temperature range studied.