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The Use of High-Pressure Nuclear Magnetic Resonance to Study Protein Folding

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Protein Folding Protocols

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology™ ((MIMB,volume 350))

Abstract

Recent development of high-pressure cells for a variety of spectroscopic methods has enabled the use of pressure as one of the commonly used perturbations along with temperature and chemical perturbations to study folding/unfolding reactions of proteins. Although various high-pressure spectroscopy techniques have their own significance, high-pressure nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is unique in that it allows one to gain residue-specific and atom-detailed information from proteins under pressure. Furthermore, because of a peculiar volume property of a protein, high-pressure NMR allows one to obtain structural information of a protein in a wide conformational space from the bottom to the upper region of the folding funnel, giving structural reality for the “open” state of a protein proposed from hydrogen exchange. The method allows a link between equilibrium folding intermediates and the kinetic intermediates, and manifests a new view of proteins as dynamic entities amply fluctuating among the folded, intermediate, and unfolded sub ensembles. This chapter briefly summarizes the technique, the principle, and the ways to use high-pressure NMR for studying protein folding.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology “Actin Filament Dynamics” Project, Japan Science and Technology Corporation, Hyogo, Japan

    Michael W. Lassalle

  2. Department of Biotechnological Science, School of Biology-Oriented Science and Technology, Kinki University, Kinokawa City, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan

    Kazuyuki Akasaka

Authors
  1. Michael W. Lassalle
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  2. Kazuyuki Akasaka
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Biochemistry, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD

    Yawen Bai

  2. Center for Cancer Research Nanobiology Program SAIC, National Cancer Institute-Frederick, Frederick, MD

    Ruth Nussinov

  3. Department of Human Genetics, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Ruth Nussinov

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© 2007 Humana Press Inc.

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Lassalle, M.W., Akasaka, K. (2007). The Use of High-Pressure Nuclear Magnetic Resonance to Study Protein Folding. In: Bai, Y., Nussinov, R. (eds) Protein Folding Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology™, vol 350. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59745-189-4:21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59745-189-4:21

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-622-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-189-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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