The secondary structure of pressure- and temperature-induced aggregates of equine serum albumin studied by FT-IR spectroscopy

The protein aggregation is divided into amyloid fibrils and amorphous aggregates. Amyloid fibrils are composed of the 3-dimensional ordered structure and are bound to thioflavin T and Congo red dyes. The amorphous aggregates with the disordered structure do not bind to these dyes. We have investigated the pressure- and heat-induced aggregates of equine serum albumin (ESA) from the secondary structural viewpoint using FT-IR spectroscopy. We show the secondary structural differences between heat- and pressure-induced aggregates of ESA. The heat-induced irreversible aggregates of ESA are composed of the intermolecular β-sheet structure without binding thioflavie T and Congo red to be amorphous form. On the other hand, the pressure-induced reversible aggregates are composed of the random structure to be also amorphous form. From the comparison of pressure effects on ESA in native and reducing conditions of disulfide bridges, we demonstrate that the restriction of structural flexibility by disulfide bridges is an important factor for the reversibility of the pressure-induced aggregation.