Némethy G, Scheraga H A
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Dec;76(12):6050-4. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.12.6050.
A theoretical pathway for the folding of RNase into its native conformation is derived from the contact map computed from crystallographic coordinates. The pathway is based on the hypothesis of Tanaka and Scheraga, according to which localized conformations stabilized by short- and medium-range interactions form before those conformational features that are stabilized primarily by long-range interactions. The pathway deduced from the contact map agrees with experimental information on intermediates detected in the thermal unfolding of RNase and in immunochemical studies on the formation of stable antigenic sites when deduced RNase is oxidized with glutathione. Ambiguities in the interpretation of the contact map are resolved by the combination of structural information contained in the contact map and experimental information.
从晶体学坐标计算出的接触图推导出核糖核酸酶折叠成其天然构象的理论途径。该途径基于田中（Tanaka）和谢拉加（Scheraga）的假说，根据该假说，由短程和中程相互作用稳定的局部构象先于主要由长程相互作用稳定的构象特征形成。从接触图推导的途径与核糖核酸酶热解折叠过程中检测到的中间体的实验信息以及用谷胱甘肽氧化推导的核糖核酸酶时稳定抗原位点形成的免疫化学研究结果一致。通过结合接触图中包含的结构信息和实验信息，解决了接触图解释中的模糊性问题。
