Proteins Breaking Bad: A Free Energy Perspective

• Published in: The journal of physical chemistry letters Vol. 8; no. 15; pp. 3642 - 3647
• Main Authors: Valle-Orero, Jessica, Tapia-Rojo, Rafael, Eckels, Edward C, Rivas-Pardo, Jaime Andrés, Popa, Ionel, Fernández, Julio M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 03.08.2017

Protein aging may manifest as a mechanical disease that compromises tissue elasticity. As proved recently, while proteins respond to changes in force with an instantaneous elastic recoil followed by a folding contraction, aged proteins break bad, becoming unstructured polymers. Here, we explain this...