Molten globule and protein folding.

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the present state of the studies of the molten globule state and its role in protein folding and physiological processes. Recent data on the intermediates (equilibrium and kinetic), focusing attention on the molten globule state are discussed in the chapter. The molten globule has a native-like overall architecture (folding pattern) without including the rigid packing of side chains. It is separated by first-order phase transitions from both the native and the unfolded states and represents a third thermodynamic state of protein molecules. It is a universal kinetic intermediate in protein folding; the structure of this intermediate is similar to the structure of the equilibrium molten globule. It is predicted and confirmed experimentally that the molten globule state can exist in a living cell and plays an important role in a number of physiological processes.