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Free keywords:
Adenosine Triphosphate/metabolism
Bacterial Proteins/*pharmacology
Chaperonin 60
Heat-Shock Proteins/*pharmacology
Hydrolysis
Protein Conformation/*drug effects
Tetrahydrofolate Dehydrogenase/chemistry
Thiosulfate Sulfurtransferase/chemistry
Abstract:
Folding of two monomeric enzymes mediated by groE has been reconstituted in vitro. The groEL protein stabilizes the polypeptides in a conformation resembling the 'molten globule' state. Mg-ATP and groES then promote the acquisition of ordered tertiary structure at the surface of groEL. Folding requires the hydrolysis of about 100 ATP molecules per protein monomer. This active process of surface-mediated chain folding might represent a general mechanism for the formation of protein structure in vivo.