A principal component analysis and two-dimensional correlation infrared spectroscopy study on the thermal unfolding of ribonuclease A under reducing conditions

The analysis of protein unfolding pathways and the identification of specific conformational changes under perturbation are of fundamental importance for protein folding. In this study, thermally induced early unfolding events of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A (RNase A) in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol are evidenced successfully by principal component analysis and two-dimensional correlation infrared spectroscopy. The analyses of secondary structural changes in different stages have clearly distinguished the early events from the main unfolding in the temperature course of RNase A. It is revealed that in the early stage of the thermal unfolding subtle structural changes of the more temperature-sensitive β-sheet in RNase A dominates this process; while the main unfolding of RNase A is initiated with the structural changes of the more temperature-sensitive β-sheet, random coils and β-turns, followed by the less temperature-sensitive β-sheet component and the formation of a β-sheet-rich aggregate. The quantitative analysis of the power spectra reveals that the intensity variations from early stages are almost same in the scale, and each accounts for less than 1% that of the main unfolding. These findings demonstrate that the utilization of 2D IR spectrum and its power spectrum is powerful in exploring the minor early events and closely related structural changes of protein.