How a polypeptide chain folds into a stable and functional protein is probably the most important question in present-day molecular biology. Reliably predicting the folding process allows to deduce protein function from genomic information alone and will bring about a revolution in structural genomics. Understanding the way in which proper protein folding is controlled by the cell is required to find a cure for Alzheimer's and other diseases caused by misfolded proteins. This unique handbook contains the expertise from more than 60 research groups, covering the entire range of topics in protein folding - from biophysics to molecular medicine. The first part explains the principles and factors governing protein stability, and how this knowledge may be used to predict folding pathways. It also surveys important techniques used to study the protein folding process, including spectroscopic, chemical and biological techniques. The second part is devoted to protein folding, unfolding, and misfolding in the cellular context, introducing chaperones and other enzymes involved in protein folding, as well as a study of the pathophysiology of misfolded proteins in amyloid and other disease states. The whole is rounded off by a discussion of the possibility of interfering with the protein folding process by genetic engineering. The comprehensiveness and outstanding quality of the carefully selected contents make this the ultimate reference for every scientist with an interest in protein folding.
About the Author
Johannes Buchner holds the chair of Biotechnology at the Technical University of Munich (Germany). He studied Biology at the University of Regensburg and afterwards joined the group of Ira Pastan at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda (United States). Returning to Germany, he took a up junior group leader position at Regensburg before becoming full professor at Munich in 1998. Professor Buchner's research is centered on the folding process of proteins and its efficiency in vitro and in vivo. To improve the efficiency of protein production, he has pioneered the biotechnological use of chaperones and holds several patents in this area of research.
Thomas Kiefhaber is Professor of Biophysical Chemistry at the Biozentrum, University of Basel (Switzerland). He studied Biology at the University of Regensburg (Germany) and, after completing his PhD in Biophysical Chemistry, spent two years as a post-doc with R. L. Baldwin at Stanford University. Since 1993 he is a member of the faculty of Basel University and was named professor for Biophysical Chemistry in 1999. Professor Kiefhaber's research is centered on the investigation of kinetics and mechanism of protein folding with biophysical methods.
