Question

While most proteins fold correctly spontaneously, some do not. Pick a protein associated with a disease that causes health problems by not being in the correct tertiary conformation

Answer 1

Answer: Protein folding depends on the order and sequence of amino acids in a protein molecule. Secondary and then finally to tertiary conformation is acquired by the differential hydrogen bonding of the chemical elements. Protein folding is, therefore, a spontaneous process. But many times protein do not fold spontaneously that could be due to changes in the type and order of the amino acids or due to unfavourable environmental conditions.  

A protein associated with a disease that causes health problems by not being in the correct tertiary conformation is a prion protein. This protein has a relative molecular mass of 28,000. This protein is normal protein in the brain tissue of mammals. The disease occurs in its altered conformation. The disease associated with the incorrect tertiary conformation prion protein is bovine spongiform encephalopathy or as mas cow disease. In this disease, the brain used to have holes. Deterioration of the brain causes many neurological disorders. Mutation in the gene coding prion proteins makes a change in one amino acid residue leading to altered conformation.  The -helix domains in this case is changed to - sheet domains leading to altered conformation.