Structural metamorphism and polymorphism in proteins on the brink of thermodynamic stability.

ABSTRACT: The classical view of the structure-function paradigm advanced by Anfinsen in the 1960s is that a protein's function is inextricably linked to its three-dimensional structure and is encrypted in its amino acid sequence. However, it is now known that a significant fraction of the proteome consists of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). These proteins populate a polymorphic ensemble of conformations rather than a unique structure but are still capable of performing biological functions. At the boundary, between well-ordered and inherently disordered states are proteins that are on the brink of stability, either weakly stable ordered systems or disordered but on the verge of being stable. In such marginal states, even relatively minor changes can significantly alter the energy landscape

SUBMITTER: Kulkarni P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6194243 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature