A novel method to determine thermal transition curves of disulfide-containing proteins and their structured folding intermediates

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2003 Nov 14;311(2):514-7. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2003.10.039.

Abstract

The stability of a protein or of its folding intermediates is frequently characterized by its resistance to chemical and/or thermal denaturation. The folding/unfolding process is generally followed by spectroscopic methods such as absorbance, fluorescence, circular dichroism spectroscopy, etc. Here, we demonstrate a new method, by using HPLC, for determining the thermal unfolding transitions of disulfide-containing proteins and their structured folding intermediates. The thermal transitions of a model protein, ribonuclease A (RNase A), and a recently found unfolding intermediate of onconase (ONC), des [30-75], have been estimated by this method. Finally, the advantages of this method over traditional techniques are discussed by providing specific examples.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / methods*
  • Disulfides / chemistry*
  • Protein Denaturation*
  • Protein Folding*
  • Proteins / chemistry*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Ribonuclease, Pancreatic / chemistry*
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Transition Temperature*

Substances

  • Disulfides
  • Proteins
  • Ribonuclease, Pancreatic