Protease power strokes force proteins to unfold.

Alegre-Cebollada, Jorge; Kosuri, Pallav; Fernández, Julio M · Cell · 2011

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

ATP-dependent proteases degrade proteins in the cytosol of cells. Two recent articles, by Aubin-Tam et al. (2011) and Maillard et al. (2011 [this issue]), use single-molecule optical tweezers to show directly that these molecular machines use the energy derived from ATP hydrolysis to mechanically unfold and translocate its substrates into the proteolytic chamber.