Yeast frataxin is stabilized by low salt concentrations: cold denaturation disentangles ionic strength effects from specific interactions.

ABSTRACT: Frataxins are a family of metal binding proteins associated with the human Friedreich's ataxia disease. Here, we have addressed the effect of non-specifically binding salts on the stability of the yeast ortholog Yfh1. This protein is a sensitive model since its stability is strongly dependent on the environment, in particular on ionic strength. Yfh1 also offers the unique advantage that its cold denaturation can be observed above the freezing point of water, thus allowing the facile construction of the whole protein stability curve and hence the measurement of accurate thermodynamic parameters for unfolding. We systematically measured the effect of several cations and, as a control, of different anions. We show that, while strongly susceptible to ionic strength, as it would be in the cellu

SUBMITTER: Sanfelice D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4011691 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature