The Effect of Osmolytes on Protein Folding

Authors

Ellie Carlson, DePauw University
Quan Khuc, DePauw University

Files

Document Type

Abstract

Publication Date

10-2-2019

Abstract

Protein function is determined by the way that it folds. By studying how a protein folds we are able to examine how a protein interacts with its normal and abnormal environment. Because of the many different environmental conditions that exist within our bodies, proteins have developed a way to counteract stress conditions that may result in misfolding. This mechanism is the consumption of osmolytes. Osmolytes are known to stabilize protein structure so that aggregation or other consequences of misfolding do not occur. Although research has been done to show that osmolytes are stabilizing proteins, there are many ambiguities regarding the mechanisms of stabilization in terms of protein kinetics and thermodynamics. Therefore, we hypothesized that osmolytes help cells adapt to stress conditions by altering protein energy landscapes to prevent aggregation. Osmolytes are small organic solutes produced by cells in high stress situations to stabilize their macromolecules. In this study, we studied the effects of osmolytes on the rate of protein folding with chosen denaturant GdmCl and osmolyte Glycine Betaine (GB). A single domain protein SH3 was chosen because of its simple folding mechanism, which only has two steps – the least number of steps that protein folding process undertakes. Buffers were made with an increasing concentration of GB, starting with 1M GB, to stimulate different environments in which the designated protein unfolds and refolds. The results show that increasing concentration of GB in buffers helps to stabilize the protein. The cause of this behavior might include the crowding effect between GB and the protein and the effect of charges on GB. The crowding effect reduces spaces for protein to unfold. The charge effect potentially stabilizes charges on the protein. The results obtained in this study open new directions for future research into how concentration of osmolytes affects the rate of protein folding.

Project Mentor

Prof. E. Guinn, PhD

Funding and Acknowledgements

Funding: Science Research Fellows Program, Asher Fund

Recommended Citation

Carlson, Ellie and Khuc, Quan, "The Effect of Osmolytes on Protein Folding" (2019). Annual Student Research Poster Session. 174.
https://scholarship.depauw.edu/srfposters/174