A structural ensemble of a ribosome-nascent chain complex during cotranslational protein folding

作者:Cabrita Lisa D; Cassaignau Anais M E; Launay Helene M M; Waudby Christopher A; Wlodarski Tomasz; Camilloni Carlo; Karyadi Maria Evangelia; Robertson Amy L; Wang Xiaolin; Wentink Anne S; Goodsell Luke S; Woolhead Cheryl A; Vendruscolo Michele; Dobson Christopher M; Christodoulou John*
来源:Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, 2016, 23(4): 278-285.
DOI:10.1038/nsmb.3182

摘要

Although detailed pictures of ribosome structures are emerging, little is known about the structural and cotranslational folding properties of nascent polypeptide chains at the atomic level. Here we used solution-state NMR spectroscopy to define a structural ensemble of a ribosome-nascent chain complex (RNC) formed during protein biosynthesis in Escherichia coli, in which a pair of immunoglobulin-like domains adopts a folded N-terminal domain (FLN5) and a disordered but compact C-terminal domain (FLN6). To study how FLN5 acquires its native structure cotranslationally, we progressively shortened the RNC constructs. We found that the ribosome modulates the folding process, because the complete sequence of FLN5 emerged well beyond the tunnel before acquiring native structure, whereas FLN5 in isolation folded spontaneously, even when truncated. This finding suggests that regulating structure acquisition during biosynthesis can reduce the probability of misfolding, particularly of homologous domains.

  • 出版日期2016-4