These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Energetic and structural consequences of desolvation/solvation barriers to protein folding/unfolding assessed from experimental unfolding rates.
    Author: Rodriguez-Larrea D, Ibarra-Molero B, Sanchez-Ruiz JM.
    Journal: Biophys J; 2006 Sep 01; 91(5):L48-50. PubMed ID: 16798814.
    Abstract:
    Theoretical work has suggested the existence of solvation/desolvation barriers in protein folding/unfolding processes. We propose that the energetic and structural consequences of such barriers for the folding transition state can be assessed from experimental unfolding rates using well-established structure-energetics relationships. For a set of proteins of size within the 60-130 number-of-residues range, we find energetic effects associated to solvation/desolvation on the order of 10(2) kJ/mol. This supports that the folding transition states may be characterized by large networks of water-unsatisfied, broken internal contacts. In terms of buried surface, we estimate the typical network size to be on the order of several thousands of A2, or approximately 50% of the total change in accessible surface area upon unfolding. The analyses reported here thus suggest a clear structural picture for the different energetic balance of native and folding transition states.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]