Does protein unfolding play a functional role in vivo?

• Published in: The FEBS journal Vol. 288; no. 6; pp. 1742 - 1758
• Main Authors: Sharma, Sabita, Subramani, Smrithika, Popa, Ionel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2021
• Subjects: Antibiotics; bacterial adhesion; batteries; cellular mechanotransduction; Contraction; Dystrophy; energy landscape; force spectroscopy; gain-of-function mutation; Mechanotransduction; Muscle contraction; muscular contraction; Muscular dystrophy; Protein folding; protein unfolding; Proteins; Structure-function relationships; cellular mechanotransduction; energy landscape; force spectroscopy; protein unfolding; bacterial adhesion; muscular contraction

How mechanical unfolding of proteins has a functional role in vivo is still poorly understood. In this review, we distill the main biophysical characteristics of multidomain proteins functioning under force as binary molecular computational units and examine them as part of several biological proces...