Protein denaturation at the air-water interface and how to prevent it.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30932812.
- Also identified by DOI 10.7554/eLife.42747 and PMC identifier 6443348.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Electron cryo-microscopy analyzes the structure of proteins and protein complexes in vitrified solution. Proteins tend to adsorb to the air-water interface in unsupported films of aqueous solution, which can result in partial or complete denaturation. We investigated the structure of yeast fatty acid synthase at the air-water interface by electron cryo-tomography and single-particle image processing. Around 90% of complexes adsorbed to the air-water interface are partly denatured. We show that the unfolded regions face the air-water interface. Denaturation by contact with air may happen at any stage of specimen preparation. Denaturation at the air-water interface is completely avoided when the complex is plunge-frozen on a substrate of hydrophilized graphene.
Medical subject headings
- Air
- Fatty Acid Synthases
- Protein Denaturation
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins
- Water