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Membrane proteins can have high kinetic stability.

Authors :
Jefferson RE
Blois TM
Bowie JU
Source :
Journal of the American Chemical Society [J Am Chem Soc] 2013 Oct 09; Vol. 135 (40), pp. 15183-90. Date of Electronic Publication: 2013 Sep 27.
Publication Year :
2013

Abstract

Approximately 10% of water-soluble proteins are considered kinetically stable with unfolding half-lives in the range of weeks to millenia. These proteins only rarely sample the unfolded state and may never unfold on their respective biological time scales. It is still not known whether membrane proteins can be kinetically stable, however. Here we examine the subunit dissociation rate of the trimeric membrane enzyme, diacylglycerol kinase, from Escherichia coli as a proxy for complete unfolding. We find that dissociation occurs with a half-life of at least several weeks, demonstrating that membrane proteins can remain locked in a folded state for long periods of time. These results reveal that evolution can use kinetic stability to regulate the biological function of membrane proteins, as it can for soluble proteins. Moreover, it appears that the generation of kinetic stability could be a viable target for membrane protein engineering efforts.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1520-5126
Volume :
135
Issue :
40
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Journal of the American Chemical Society
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
24032628
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1021/ja407232b