title: Protein stabilization in a highly knotted protein polymer.
abstract: The polypeptide backbones of a few proteins are tied in a knot. The biophysical effects and potential biological roles of knots are not well understood. Here, we test the consequences of protein knotting by taking a monomeric protein, carbonic anhydrase II, whose native structure contains a shallow knot, and polymerizing it end-to-end to form a deeply and multiply knotted polymeric filament. Thermal stability experiments show that the polymer is stabilized against loss of structure and aggregation by the presence of deep knots.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Tobias C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Sayre
authors.forename: Toni M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Neil P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Todd O
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: Yeates
mesh_terms: D024402:Carbonic Anhydrase II / Q000737:chemistry*; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D004220:Disulfides / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D058105:Polymerization; D011487:Protein Conformation; D055550:Protein Stability; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D004220:Disulfides; D024402:Carbonic Anhydrase II