Protein folding kinetics exhibit an Arrhenius temperature dependence when corrected for the temperature dependence of protein stability

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1997 Sep 30;94(20):10636-40. doi: 10.1073/pnas.94.20.10636.

Abstract

The anomalous temperature dependence of protein folding has received considerable attention. Here we show that the temperature dependence of the folding of protein L becomes extremely simple when the effects of temperature on protein stability are corrected for; the logarithm of the folding rate is a linear function of 1/T on constant stability contours in the temperature-denaturant plane. This convincingly demonstrates that the anomalous temperature dependence of folding derives from the temperature dependence of the interactions that stabilize proteins, rather than from the super Arrhenius temperature dependence predicted for the configurational diffusion constant on a rough energy landscape. However, because of the limited temperature range accessible to experiment, the results do not rule out models with higher order temperature dependences. The significance of the slope of the stability-corrected Arrhenius plots is discussed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Kinetics
  • Protein Denaturation
  • Protein Folding*
  • Proteins / chemistry*
  • Temperature
  • Thermodynamics

Substances

  • Proteins