Protein Folding and Misfolding
By Jonathan King, Cameron Haase-Pettingell
The exquisite three-dimensional structures of proteins allow their diverse functions, but exactly how proteins fold remains a puzzle
This Article From Issue
September-October 2002
Volume 90, Number 5
Page 445
DOI: 10.1511/2002.33.445
Proteins begin to fold, creating the intricate three-dimensional shapes crucial to their function, even before they are completely pieced together. Living cells need thousands of different kinds of protein molecules, each consisting of a different sequence of amino acids. Within cells, these proteins are formed by ribosomes stringing together amino acids at a furious pace, about 20 per second in bacteria; closer to 5 to 10 amino acids per second in human cells.
Courtesy of G. W. Moorman, The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Plant Pathology.
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