These questions are at the forefront of current research seeking to understand basic protein biology and the diseases that result when protein folding goes awry.
The wide world of proteins, with its great assortment of shapes, bestows cells with capabilities that allow for life to exist and allow for its diversity e. Dear Dr. Kerry, Just to remind you that the induced fit hypothesis is currently the accepted one not lock and key, thank you.
How do newly formed protein fold so fast knowing that if we rely on all forces govern the process of the n amino acids in any protein will not be possible even at speed of light. Thanks so much, great article, I just have one question. I believe that this is because of protective mechanisms that the body has against misfolded proteins. For example, the protease, a complex that destroys proteins can destroy prions. If a chaperone protein were to be converted into a prion, other proteins could ship it to the protease to be destroyed.
In addition, another cellular mechanism that could explain this is apoptosis. This is the process in which cells will kill themselves for certain reasons. One of the biggest reasons for this is if DNA becomes damaged to the point of no repair, in which the cell will commit apoptosis to prevent any bad dna from replicating, which could lead to cancer.
Perhaps if there is a prion present in the cell, the cell will commit apoptosis in order to stop the prion from mis-folding other proteins. I hope I answered your question, even though I might be a few years late. Actually my concern is more pertinent than it was then.
Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my question AJ. What causes a process protein folding to go from chance interactions to guided interactions?
What primitives need to be in place for this to happen? Most of the online articles are full of jargon and, I, despite being interested in cell biology, could not understand the mechanism.
But I loved how you showed the example of candy which helped me better visualize the scenario. I agree. There are lots of helpful videos that help you understand college-level molecular biology. Very good article simple and clean language just read it and you understand the whole thing keep it up. I have read many very informative articles on the operation of ribosomes and I am amazed at how little space is allotted to the importance of protein folding!!
This article was super helpful and I could understand it even without having a biology background. Thank you! My sister recently diagnosed with cancer. I had heard about unfolding and folding proteins and how learning about them could unlock possible cures. This type of variant can cause the resulting protein to function improperly. Other chapters in Help Me Understand Genetics.
Genetics Home Reference has merged with MedlinePlus. Learn more. The information on this site should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care or advice. Contact a health care provider if you have questions about your health. What kinds of gene variants are possible? From Genetics Home Reference. Variant types include the following: Substitution This type of variant replaces one DNA building block nucleotide with another. Missense : A missense variant is a type of substitution in which the nucleotide change results in the replacement of one protein building block amino acid with another in the protein made from the gene.
The amino acid change may alter the function of the protein. Nonsense : A nonsense variant is another type of substitution. Instead of causing a change in one amino acid, however, the altered DNA sequence results in a stop signal that prematurely signals the cell to stop building a protein. This type of variant results in a shortened protein that may function improperly, be nonfunctional, or get broken down. A missense mutation is when the change of a single base pair causes the substitution of a different amino acid in the resulting protein.
This amino acid substitution may have no effect, or it may render the protein nonfunctional. A missense mutation is a mistake in the DNA which results in the wrong amino acid being incorporated into a protein because of change, that single DNA sequence change, results in a different amino acid codon which the ribosome recognizes.
Analyzing Regulatory Networks in Bacteria. Aging and Cell Division. Calreticulin: a Multifaceted Protein. Enzyme Catalysis: The Serine Proteases. Germ Cells and Epigenetics. MicroRNAs in Arabidopsis. Protein Misfolding and Degenerative Diseases. Systems Biology of the Cell. Citation: Reynaud, E.
Nature Education 3 9 An error in protein conformation can lead to disease. What are the genetic and molecular causes for incorrectly formed proteins? Aa Aa Aa. Protein Function and Three-Dimensional Structure.
The Energetic Funnel. Figure 2: The energetic funnel. Proteins fold into their correct minimal-energy configuration because of the physicochemical properties of their amino acid sequence.
Stable and Unstable Proteins. Protein Conformation and the Concept of Misfolding. Figure 3. Figure Detail. Infectious Proteins. Misfolded Proteins and Neurodegenerative Diseases. Figure 4. Misfolding in Nonneurological Diseases. Function unknown. Degrades denatured proteins within mitochondria. Degrades inhibitor of apoptosis proteins and promotes apoptosis if released into the cytosol Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis SOD1 Converts superoxide to hydrogen peroxide.
Disease-causing mutations seem to confer a toxic gain of function Huntington's disease Huntingtin Function unknown. Disease-associated mutations produce expanded polyglutamine repeats Lin, M. Looking Forward. References and Recommended Reading Alper, T. Nature , — Anfinsen, C. Biochemical Journal , — Beadle, G. Annual Review of Biochemistry 75 , — Dill, K. Nature Structural Biology 4 , 10—19 Dobson, C.
Science , — Gamow, G. Self-replication and scrapie. Nature , — Kaufman, R. Nature , — Nirenberg, M. Science , — Smith, M. Article History Close. Share Cancel. Revoke Cancel. Keywords Keywords for this Article. Save Cancel. Flag Inappropriate The Content is: Objectionable. Flag Content Cancel.
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