Strange kinetic phase in the extremely early folding process of beta-lactoglobulin

FEBS Lett. 2007 Sep 18;581(23):4463-7. doi: 10.1016/j.febslet.2007.08.023. Epub 2007 Aug 21.

Abstract

A continuous-wave probed laser-induced temperature jump system was constructed and applied to monitor the changes in tryptophan fluorescence of the beta-lactoglobulin during its folding; the kinetic phases were traced from 300 ns to 10 ms after a temperature jump. Notably, an early phase with typical squeezed-exponential characteristics, [exp[-(kt)(beta)], beta>1.0], was observed around several tens of microseconds after the temperature jump, which is actually the earliest phase ever observed for beta-lactoglobulin. This process can be explained by conformational shift occurring within the unfolded ensemble (U-->U'), which is followed by the non-native intermediate (I) formation of this protein.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Kinetics
  • Lactoglobulins / chemistry*
  • Protein Folding*
  • Spectrometry, Fluorescence / methods
  • Temperature
  • Tryptophan / chemistry*

Substances

  • Lactoglobulins
  • Tryptophan