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Protein before and after folding Results of protein folding. Protein folding is the physical process by which a protein, after synthesis by a ribosome as a linear chain of amino acids, changes from an unstable random coil into a more ordered three-dimensional structure. This structure permits the protein to become biologically functional. [1]
However, the structure of a protein gives much more insight in the function of the protein than its sequence. Therefore, a number of methods for the computational prediction of protein structure from its sequence have been developed. [39] Ab initio prediction methods use just the sequence of the protein.
The shape into which a protein naturally folds is known as its native conformation. [30]: 36 Although many proteins can fold unassisted, simply through the chemical properties of their amino acids, others require the aid of molecular chaperones to fold into their native states.
Biomolecular structure is the intricate folded, three-dimensional shape that is formed by a molecule of protein, DNA, or RNA, and that is important to its function.The structure of these molecules may be considered at any of several length scales ranging from the level of individual atoms to the relationships among entire protein subunits.
Globular proteins are somewhat water-soluble (forming colloids in water), unlike the fibrous or membrane proteins. [1] There are multiple fold classes of globular proteins, since there are many different architectures that can fold into a roughly spherical shape. The term globin can refer more specifically to proteins including the globin fold. [2]
The diagram sketches how proteins fold into their native structures by minimizing their free energy. The folding funnel hypothesis is a specific version of the energy landscape theory of protein folding, which assumes that a protein's native state corresponds to its free energy minimum under the solution conditions usually encountered in cells.
Protein chaperones within the cytoplasm of a cell assist a newly synthesised polypeptide to attain its native state. Some chaperone proteins are highly specific in their function, for example, protein disulfide isomerase; others are general in their function and may assist most globular proteins, for example, the prokaryotic GroEL/GroES system ...
Proteins are often synthesized in an inactive precursor form; typically, an N-terminal or C-terminal segment blocks the active site of the protein, inhibiting its function. The protein is activated by cleaving off the inhibitory peptide. Some proteins even have the power to cleave themselves.