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A conceptual model of protein folding in membranes. We use this conceptual model to consider, separately, the various fundamental interactions that drive the folding of proteins in membranes. Although a number of toxins may fold in membranes along a pathway similar to this, most integral membrane proteins do not. Nonetheless, the thermodynamics of interfacial binding, secondary structure formation and insertion and folding are ultimately the interactions that determine the thermodynamic stability of proteins in membranes. In the laboratory, some of the work we do is intended to uncover the fundamental principles of folding in membranes through quantitative examination of these experimentally separable classes of interactions. |
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