Oxidation-Induced Conformational Change of a Prokaryotic Molecular Chaperone, Hsp33, Monitored by Selective Isotope Labeling

Hsp33, a prokaryotic molecular chaperone, exerts holdase activity in response to oxidative stress. In this study, the stepwise conformational change of Hsp33 upon oxidation was monitored by NMR. In order to overcome its high molecular weight (33 kDa as a monomer and 66 kDa as a dimer), spectra were simplified using a selectively ( 15 N)His-labeled protein. All of the eight histidines were observed in the TROSY spectrum of the reduced Hsp33. Among them, three peaks showed dramatic resonance shifts dependent on the stepwise oxidation, indicating a remarkable conformational change. The results suggest that unfolding of the linker domain is associated with dimerization, but not entire region of the linker domain is unfolded.