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High-pressure NMR reveals close similarity between cold and alcohol protein denaturation in ubiquitin

Vajpai, Navratna and Nisius, Lydia and Wiktor, Maciej and Grzesiek, Stephan. (2013) High-pressure NMR reveals close similarity between cold and alcohol protein denaturation in ubiquitin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 110, H. 5 , E368-376.

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Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A6070332

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Abstract

Proteins denature not only at high, but also at low temperature as well as high pressure. These denatured states are not easily accessible for experiment, because usually heat denaturation causes aggregation, whereas cold or pressure denaturation occurs at temperatures well below the freezing point of water or pressures above 5 kbar, respectively. Here we have obtained atomic details of the pressure-assisted, cold-denatured state of ubiquitin at 2,500 bar and 258 K by high-resolution NMR techniques. Under these conditions, a folded, native-like and a disordered state exist in slow exchange. Secondary chemical shifts show that the disordered state has structural propensities for a native-like N-terminal β-hairpin and α-helix and a nonnative C-terminal α-helix. These propensities are very similar to the previously described alcohol-denatured (A-)state. Similar to the A-state, (15)N relaxation data indicate that the secondary structure elements move as independent segments. The close similarity of pressure-assisted, cold-denatured, and alcohol-denatured states with native and nonnative secondary elements supports a hierarchical mechanism of folding and supports the notion that similar to alcohol, pressure and cold reduce the hydrophobic effect. Indeed, at nondenaturing concentrations of methanol, a complete transition from the native to the A-state can be achieved at ambient temperature by varying the pressure from 1 to 2,500 bar. The methanol-assisted pressure transition is completely reversible and can also be induced in protein G. This method should allow highly detailed studies of protein-folding transitions in a continuous and reversible manner.
Faculties and Departments:05 Faculty of Science > Departement Biozentrum > Structural Biology & Biophysics > Structural Biology (Grzesiek)
UniBasel Contributors:Grzesiek, Stephan
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:National Academy of Sciences
ISSN:0027-8424
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
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Last Modified:13 Sep 2013 07:52
Deposited On:01 Mar 2013 11:09

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