Two new structured intermediates in the oxidative folding of RNase A

Two new three-disulfide intermediates have been found to be populated in the oxidative folding pathway of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A at a low temperature (15 degrees C). These intermediates, des-[26-84] and des-[58-110], possess all but one of the four native disulfide bonds and have a stable tertiary structure, similar to the two previously observed intermediates, des-[65-72] and des-[40-95]. While the latter two des species each lack one surface-exposed disulfide bond, the newly discovered intermediates each lack one buried disulfide bond. The possible involvement of these species in the rate-determining steps during the oxidative folding of RNase A is discussed and a specific role for such species during oxidative folding is suggested.     

Folding of a disulfide-bonded protein species with free thiol(s): competition between conformational folding and disulfide reshuffling in an intermediate of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A.

The conformational folding of the nativelike intermediate des-[40-95] on the major oxidative folding pathway of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A (RNase A) has been examined at various pHs and temperatures in the absence of a redox reagent. Des-[40-95] has three of the four disulfide bonds of native RNase A and lacks the bond between Cys40 and Cys95. This three-disulfide species was unfolded at low pH to inhibit any disulfide reshuffling and was refolded at higher pH, allowing both conformational folding and disulfide-reshuffling reactions to take place. As a result of this competition, 15-85% of des-[40-95], depending on the experimental conditions, undergoes intramolecular disulfide-reshuffling reactions. That portion of the des-[40-95] population which has native isomers of essential proline residues appears to fold faster than the disulfide reaction can occur. However, when the folding is retarded, conceivably by the presence of non-native isomers of essential proline residues, des-[40-95] may reshuffle before completing the conformational folding process. These results enable us to distinguish among current models for the critical structure-forming step in oxidative folding and reveal a new model for coupling proline isomerization to disulfide-bond formation. These experiments also demonstrate that the reshuffling-folding competition assay is a useful tool for detecting structured populations in conformational folding intermediates.     

Effect of protein disulfide isomerase on the regeneration of bovine ribonuclease A with dithiothreitol.

The role of protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) in the regeneration of ribonuclease A with dithiothreitol (DTT) was investigated at three different temperatures. The rates of formation of the native protein were markedly increased in the presence of PDI, 9-fold at 15 degrees C, 6-fold at 25 degrees C and 62-fold at 37 degrees C, respectively. In the presence of PDI, major changes were found in the distribution of intermediates in the three-disulfide region at 25 and 15 degrees C and also in the one-disulfide region at 15 degrees C, with the fast accumulation of the two native-like species des-[65-72] and des-[40-95]. The present results indicate that PDI does not alter the two major parallel pathways involving des-[65-72] and des-[40-95] in the regeneration of ribonuclease A with DTT.     

Catalysis of the oxidative folding of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A by protein disulfide isomerase

The major oxidative folding pathways of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A at pH 8.0 and 25 degrees C involve a pre-equilibrium steady state among ensembles of intermediates with zero, one, two, three and four disulfide bonds. The rate-determining steps are the reshuffling of the unstructured three-disulfide ensemble to two native-like three-disulfide species, des-[65-72] and des-[40-95], that convert to the native structure during oxidative formation of the fourth disulfide bond. Under the same regeneration conditions, with oxidized and reduced DTT, used previously for kinetic oxidative-folding studies of this protein, the addition of 4 microM protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) was found to lead to catalysis of each disulfide-formation step, including the rate-limiting rearrangement steps in which the native-like intermediates des-[65-72] and des-[40-95] are formed. The changes in the distribution of intermediates were also determined in the presence and absence of PDI at three different temperatures (with the DTT redox system) as well as at 25 degrees C (with the glutathione redox system). The results indicate that the acceleration of the formation of native protein by PDI, which we observed earlier, is due to PDI catalysis of each of the intermediate steps without changing the overall pathways or folding mechanism.     

Effect of mutation of proline 93 on redox unfolding/folding of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A.

Both the reductive unfolding and oxidative regeneration of a P93A mutant and wild-type RNase A have been studied at 15 degrees C and pH 8.0. The rate of reduction of the 40--95 disulfide bond is accelerated about 120-fold by the P93A mutation, while the reduction of the 65--72 disulfide bond is not accelerated by this mutation (within the experimental error). Moreover, the reduction of native P93A to des[40--95] is about 10 times faster than the further reduction of the same des[40--95] species. These results demonstrate that the reduction of the mutant proceeds through a local unfolding event and provides strong support for our model in which the reduction of wild-type RNase A to the des species proceeds through two independent local conformational unfolding events. The oxidative regeneration rate of the P93A mutant is comparable to that of wild-type RNase A, suggesting that a cis 92--93 peptide group that is present in native wild-type RNase A and in native des[40--95], is not obligatory for the formation of the third (final) native disulfide bond of des[40--95] by reshuffling from an unstructured 3S precursor. Thus, the trans to cis isomerization of the Tyr92-Pro93 peptide group during the regeneration of wild-type RNase A may occur after the formation of the third native disulfide bond.     

Conformational unfolding studies of three-disulfide mutants of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A and the coupling of proline isomerization to disulfide redox reactions

The equilibrium stability and conformational unfolding kinetics of the [C40A, C95A] and [C65S, C72S] mutants of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A (RNase A) have been studied. These mutants are analogues of two nativelike intermediates, des[40-95] and des[65-72], whose formation is rate-limiting for oxidative folding and reductive unfolding at 25 degrees C and pH 8.0. Upon addition of guanidine hydrochloride, both mutants exhibit a fast conformational unfolding phase when monitored by absorbance and fluorescence, as well as a slow phase detected only by fluorescence which corresponds to the isomerizations of Pro93 and Pro114. The amplitudes of the slow phase indicate that the two prolines, Pro93 and Pro114, are fully cis in the folded state of the mutants and furthermore that the 40-95 disulfide bond is not responsible for the quenching of Tyr92 fluorescence observed in the slow unfolding phase, contrary to an earlier proposal [Rehage, A., and Schmid, F. X. (1982) Biochemistry 21, 1499-1505]. The ratio of the kinetic unfolding m value to the equilibrium m value indicates that the transition state for conformational unfolding in the mutants exposes little solvent-accessible area, as in the wild-type protein, indicating that the unfolding pathway is not dramatically altered by the reduction of the 40-95 or 65-72 disulfide bond. The stabilities of the folded mutants are compared to that of wild-type RNase A. These stabilities indicate that the reduction of des[40-95] to the 2S species is rate-limited by global conformational unfolding, whereas that of des[65-72] is rate-limited by local conformational unfolding. The isomerization of Pro93 may be rate-limiting for the reduction of the 40-95 disulfide bond in the native protein and in the des[65-72] intermediate.     

Slow folding of three-fingered toxins is associated with the accumulation of native disulfide-bonded intermediates.

Snake neurotoxins are short all-beta proteins that display a complex organization of the disulfide bonds: two bonds connect consecutive cysteine residues (C43-C54, C55-C60), and two bonds intersect when bridging (C3-C24, C17-C41) to form a particular structure classified as "disulfide beta-cross". We investigated the oxidative folding of a neurotoxin variant, named alpha62, to define the chemical nature of the three-disulfide intermediates that accumulate during the process in order to describe in detail its folding pathway. These folding intermediates were separated by reverse-phase HPLC, and their disulfide bonds were identified using a combination of tryptic hydrolysis, manual Edman degradation, and mass spectrometry. Two dominant intermediates containing three native disulfide bonds were identified, lacking the C43-C54 and C17-C41 pairing and therefore named des-[43-54] and des-[17-41], respectively. Both species were individually allowed to reoxidize under folding conditions, showing that des-[17-41] was a fast-forming nonproductive intermediate that had to interconvert into the des-[43-54] isomer before forming the native protein. Conversely, the des-[43-54] intermediate appeared to be the immediate precursor of the oxidized neurotoxin. A kinetic model for the folding of neurotoxin alpha62 which fits with the observed time-course accumulation of des-[17-41] and des-[43-54] is proposed. The effect of turn 2, located between residues 17 and 24, on the overall kinetics is discussed in view of this model.     

Crystal structures of two mutants that have implications for the folding of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A.

The Tyr92-Pro93 peptide group of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A (RNase A) exists in the cis conformation in the native state. From unfolding/refolding kinetic studies of the disulfide-intact wild-type protein and of a variant in which Pro93 had been replaced by Ala, it had been suggested that the Tyr92-Ala93 peptide group also exists in the cis conformation in the native state. Here, we report the crystal structure of the P93A variant. Although there is disorder in the region of residues 92 and 93, the best structural model contains a cis peptide at this position, lending support to the results of the kinetics experiments. We also report the crystal structure of the C[40, 95]A variant, which is an analog of the major rate-determining three-disulfide intermediate in the oxidative folding of RNase A, missing the 40-95 disulfide bond. As had been detected by NMR spectroscopy, the crystal structure of this analog shows disorder in the region surrounding the missing disulfide. However, the global chain fold of the remainder of the protein, including the disulfide bond between Cys65 and Cys72, appears to be unaffected by the mutation.     

Oxidative folding of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A: insight into the overall catalysis of the refolding pathway by phosphate

The effects of the strong stabilizing anion, phosphate, on the oxidative folding of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A were examined. Phosphate was found to catalyze several steps involved in the oxidative folding process at pH 8.0 and 25°C, resulting in an increase in the rate of pre-equilibration of unstructured species on the folding pathway. In the presence of 400 mM phosphate, the overall increase in the rate of regeneration of native protein was caused primarily by the increased formation and stabilization of tertiary structure in the nativelike intermediates, des-[40-95] and des-[65-72], involved in the rate-determining step. Based on the regeneration of native protein and the stability of Cys Ala substituted mutant analogs of the des-species, (C40A, C95A) and (C65A, C72A), it is suggested that the primary role of phosphate is to catalyze the overall regeneration of native protein through nonspecific electrostatic and hydrogen-bonding effects on the protein and solvent.     

Impact of an easily reducible disulfide bond on the oxidative folding rate of multi-disulfide-containing proteins.

The burial of native disulfide bonds, formed within stable structure in the regeneration of multi-disulfide-containing proteins from their fully reduced states, is a key step in the folding process, as the burial greatly accelerates the oxidative folding rate of the protein by sequestering the native disulfide bonds from thiol-disulfide exchange reactions. Nevertheless, several proteins retain solvent-exposed disulfide bonds in their native structures. Here, we have examined the impact of an easily reducible native disulfide bond on the oxidative folding rate of a protein. Our studies reveal that the susceptibility of the (40-95) disulfide bond of Y92G bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A (RNase A) to reduction results in a reduced rate of oxidative regeneration, compared with wild-type RNase A. In the native state of RNase A, Tyr 92 lies atop its (40-95) disulfide bond, effectively shielding this bond from the reducing agent, thereby promoting protein oxidative regeneration. Our work sheds light on the unique contribution of a local structural element in promoting the oxidative folding of a multi-disulfide-containing protein.     

Contribution of disulfide bonds to the conformational stability and catalytic activity of ribonuclease A.

Disulfide bonds between the side chains of cysteine residues are the only common crosslinks in proteins. Bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A (RNase A) is a 124-residue enzyme that contains four interweaving disulfide bonds (Cys26-Cys84, Cys40-Cys95, Cys58-Cys110, and Cys65-Cys72) and catalyzes the cleavage of RNA. The contribution of each disulfide bond to the conformational stability and catalytic activity of RNase A has been determined by using variants in which each cystine is replaced independently with a pair of alanine residues. Thermal unfolding experiments monitored by ultraviolet spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry reveal that wild-type RNase A and each disulfide variant unfold in a two-state process and that each disulfide bond contributes substantially to conformational stability. The two terminal disulfide bonds in the amino-acid sequence (Cys26-Cys84 and Cys58-Cys110) enhance stability more than do the two embedded ones (Cys40-Cys95 and Cys65-Cys72). Removing either one of the terminal disulfide bonds liberates a similar number of residues and has a similar effect on conformational stability, decreasing the midpoint of the thermal transition by almost 40 degrees C. The disulfide variants catalyze the cleavage of poly(cytidylic acid) with values of kcat/Km that are 2- to 40-fold less than that of wild-type RNase A. The two embedded disulfide bonds, which are least important to conformational stability, are most important to catalytic activity. These embedded disulfide bonds likely contribute to the proper alignment of residues (such as Lys41 and Lys66) that are necessary for efficient catalysis of RNA cleavage.     

Role of the [65-72] disulfide bond in oxidative folding of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A

To assess the role of the [65-72] disulfide bond in the oxidative folding of RNase A, use has been made of [C65S, C72S], a three-disulfide-containing mutant of RNase A which regenerates from its two-disulfide precursor in an oxidation and conformational folding-coupled rate-determining step. The distribution of disulfide bonds in the one-disulfide-containing ensemble of this mutant has been characterized. In general, the disulfide-bond distribution in its 1S ensemble agrees relatively well with the corresponding distribution in wt-RNase A and with distributions based on calculations of loop entropy, except for the absence of the [65-72] disulfide bond. There is no bias (over the entropic influence) for the three native disulfide bonds, [26-84], [40-95], and [58-110]. Previous oxidative folding results for wt-RNase A indicated the predominance of the des [40-95] intermediate over des [65-72] after the rate-determining step in the regeneration process. Considering that there is no preferential distribution of disulfides in the 1S ensemble of [C65S, C72S], in contrast to the preferential population of the [65-72] disulfide bond in wt-RNase A, these results indicate a critical role for the [65-72] disulfide bond in the regeneration of wt-RNase A. Furthermore, analysis of the disulfide distribution of the 1S intermediates of [C65S, C72S] compared to that of wt-RNase A lends support for a physicochemical basis for the previously observed slow folding rate of this mutant, compared to its analogue (des [65-72]) of wt-RNase A.     

Determinants of protein hyperthermostability: purification and amino acid sequence of rubredoxin from the hyperthermophilic archaebacterium Pyrococcus furiosus and secondary structure of the zinc adduct by NMR

The purification, amino acid sequence, and two-dimensional 1H NMR results are reported for the rubredoxin (Rd) from the hyperthermophilic archaebacterium Pyrococcus furiosus, an organism that grows optimally at 100 degrees C. The molecular mass (5397 Da), iron content (1.2 +/- 0.2 g-atom of Fe/mol), UV-vis spectrophotometric properties, and amino acid sequence (60% sequence identity with Clostridium pasteurianum Rd) are found to be typical of this class of redox protein. However, P. furiosus Rd is remarkably thermostable, being unaffected after incubation for 24 h at 95 degrees C. One- and two-dimensional 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of the oxidized [Fe(III)Rd] and reduced [Fe(II)Rd] forms of P. furiosus Rd exhibited substantial paramagnetic line broadening, and this precluded detailed 3D structural studies. The apoprotein was not readily amenable to NMR studies due to apparent protein oxidation involving the free cysteine sulfhydryls. However, high-quality NMR spectra were obtained for the Zn-substituted protein, Zn(Rd), enabling detailed NMR signal assignment for all backbone amide and alpha and most side-chain protons. Secondary structural elements were determined from qualitative analysis of 2D Overhauser effect spectra. Residues A1-K6, Y10-E14, and F48-E51 form a three-strand antiparallel beta-sheet, which comprises ca. 30% of the primary sequence. Residues C5-Y10 and C38-A43 form types I and II amide-sulfur tight turns common to iron-sulfur proteins. These structural elements are similar to those observed by X-ray crystallography for native Rd from the mesophile C. pasteurianum. However, the beta-sheet domain in P. furiosus Rd is larger than that in C. pasteurianum Rd and appears to begin at the N-terminal residue. From analysis of the secondary structure, potentially stabilizing electrostatic interactions involving the charged groups of residues Ala(1), Glu(14), and Glu(52) are proposed. These interactions, which are not present in rubredoxins from mesophilic organisms, may prevent the beta-sheet from "unzipping" at elevated temperatures.     

Secondary structure and thermostability of the phage P22 tailspike. XX. Analysis by Raman spectroscopy of the wild-type protein and a temperature-sensitive folding mutant

The thermostable tailspike endorhamnosidase of bacteriophage P22 has been investigated by laser Raman spectroscopy to determine the protein's secondary structure and the basis of its thermostability. The conformation of the native tailspike, determined by Raman amide I and amide III band analyses, is 52 to 61% beta-sheet, 24 to 27% alpha-helix, 15 to 21% beta-turn and 0 to 10% other structure types. The secondary structure of the wild-type tailspike, as monitored by the conformation-sensitive Raman amide bands, was stable to 80 degrees C, denatured reversibly between 80 and 90 degrees C, and irreversibly above 90 degrees C. The purified native form of a temperature-sensitive folding mutant (tsU38) contains secondary structures virtually identical to those in the wild-type in aqueous solution at physiological conditions (0.05 M-Na+ (pH 7.5], at both permissive (20 degrees C) and restrictive (40 degrees C) temperatures. This supports previous results showing that the mutational defect at 40 degrees C affects intermediates in the folding pathway rather than the native structure. At temperatures above 60 degrees C the wild-type and mutant forms were distinguishable: the reversible and irreversible denaturation thresholds were approximately 15 to 20 degrees C lower in the mutant than in the wild-type protein. The irreversible denaturation of the mutant tailspikes led to different aggregation/polymerization products from the wild-type, indicating that the mutation altered the unfolding pathway. In both cases only a small percentage of the native secondary structure was altered by irreversible thermal denaturation, indicating that the aggregated states retain considerable native structure.     

Extremely fast hydrogen exchange of ribonuclease-(1-118) as compared with native RNase A and its implication for the conformational energy state

RNase-(1-118) containing native disulfide bonds is similar in fold to native RNase A but not of lowest Gibbs energy as compared with the isomers containing non-native disulfide bonds. The present n.m.r. studies have indicated a dramatic increase in the exchange rate of all of the 'protected' amide protons of RNase-(1-118) over RNase A. A calculation shows a large increase in the rate of 'opening' of the structure. The exchange rate of the protected amide protons of RNase-(1-120) is slower than RNase-(1-118) but much faster than RNase A. Binding with a synthetic complementing fragment (114-124) markedly reduces the exchange rate of 20 to 25 amide protons of RNase-(1-118). It has previously been shown that binding with a complementing fragment of RNase-(1-118) generates a lowest Gibbs energy state. Thus, using available thermodynamic information for interpretation, we suggest that a) removal of six carboxy terminal residues of RNase A would disrupt coupling between these residues and those distant in the structure (loss of extra stabilizing energy), b) this would, in turn, alter the enthalpy-entropy compensation in such a way that the magnitude of Gibbs energy change favoring folding is significantly reduced without a large change of fold and c) in this activated state the molecule would be highly motile.     

Effect of protein conformation on rate of deamidation: ribonuclease A

The effect of the folded conformation of a protein on the rate of deamidation of a specific asparaginyl residue has been determined. Native and unfolded ribonuclease A (RNase A) could be compared under identical conditions, because stable unfolded protein was generated by breaking irreversibly the protein disulfide bonds. Deamidation of the labile Asn-67 residue of RNase A was followed electrophoretically and chromatographically. At 80 degrees C, similar rates of deamidation were observed for the disulfide-bonded form, which is thermally unfolded, and the reduced form. At 37 degrees C and pH 8, however, the rate of deamidation of native RNase A was negligible, and was more than 30-fold slower than that of reduced, unfolded RNase A. This demonstrates that the Asn-67 residue is located in a local conformation in the native protein that greatly inhibits deamidation. This conformation is the beta-turn of residues 66-68.     

Contribution of individual disulfide bonds to the oxidative folding of ribonuclease A

The eight cysteine residues of ribonuclease A form four disulfide bonds in the native protein. We have analyzed the folding of three double RNase A mutants (C65A/C72A, C58A/C110A, and C26A/C84A, lacking the C65-C72, C58-C110, and C26-C84 disulfide bonds, respectively) and two single mutants (C110A and C26A), in which a single cysteine is replaced with an alanine and the paired cysteine is present in the reduced form. The folding of these mutants was carried out in the presence of oxidized and reduced glutathione, which constitute the main redox agents present within the ER. The use of mass spectrometry in the analysis of the folding processes allowed us (i) to follow the formation of intermediates and thus the pathway of folding of the RNase A mutants, (ii) to quantitate the intermediates that formed, and (iii) to compare the rates of formation of intermediates. By comparison of the folding kinetics of the mutants with that of wild-type RNase A, the contribution of each disulfide bond to the folding process has been evaluated. In particular, we have found that the folding of the C65A/C72A mutant occurs on the same time scale as that of the wild-type protein, thus suggesting that the removal of the C65-C72 disulfide bond has no effect on the kinetics of RNase A folding. Conversely, the C58A/C110A and C26A/C84A mutants fold much more slowly than the wild-type protein. The removal of the C58-C110 and C26-C84 disulfide bonds has a dramatic effect on the kinetics of RNase A folding. Results described in this paper provide specific information about conformational folding events in the regions involving the mutated cysteine residues, thus contributing to a better understanding of the complex mechanism of oxidative folding.     

Conformational propensities of protein folding intermediates: distribution of species in the 1S, 2S, and 3S ensembles of the [C40A,C95A] mutant of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A

A key problem in experimental protein folding is that of characterizing the conformational ensemble of denatured proteins under folding conditions. We address this problem by studying the conformational propensities of reductively unfolded RNase A under folding conditions, since earlier work has indicated that the equilibrium conformational ensemble of fully reduced RNase A resembles the transient conformational ensemble of a burst-phase folding intermediate of disulfide-intact RNase A. To assess these propensities, the relative disulfide-bond populations of the 1S, 2S, and 3S ensembles of the [C40A,C95A] mutant of RNase A were measured. Thirteen of the fifteen possible disulfide bonds are observed, consistent with earlier results and with the rapid reshuffling and lack of stable tertiary structure in these ensembles. This broad distribution contradicts recent observations by another group, but rigorous cross-checks show unambiguously that our data are self-consistent whereas their data are not. The distributions of disulfide bonds in the wild-type and mutant proteins show a power-law dependence on loop length, with an exponent that is significantly smaller than the exponents of either ideal or excluded-volume polymers. The 65-72 disulfide bond is much more strongly favored than would be predicted by this power law, consistent with earlier peptide studies and the disulfide-bond distributions of the 1S and 2S ensembles in wild-type RNase A. Experimental evidence suggests that this preference results from conformational biases in the backbone, rather than from differing accessibilities or reactivities of the two cysteine residues. In general, the other disulfide species do not deviate significantly from the power-law dependence, indicating that the conformational biases are relatively weak.     

Thermally induced structural changes in glycinin,the 11S globulin of soya bean (Glycine max)--an in situ spectroscopic study

The thermal denaturation behaviour of glycinin solutions has been studied in situ as a function of ionic strength using various spectroscopic methods. Changes in secondary structure occurred at temperatures above 60 degrees C, well before the onset of gelation. Even after heating to 95 degrees C, much of the native beta-sheet structure of glycinin was retained, as indicated by the amide I peak maximum at 1635 cm(-1) in the Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR) spectrum. This was accompanied by an increase in the 1625 cm(-1) band, indicative of the formation of intermolecular beta-sheet associated with protein aggregation. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy confirmed the presence of highly mobile regions in glycinin comprising predominantly of Gln and Glu residues, corresponding to mobile regions previously identified by crystallographic studies. There was also evidence of a hydrogen-bonded structure within this mobile region, which may correspond to an alpha-helical region from Pro(256) to (or just before) Pro(269) in proglycinin. This structure disappeared at 95 degrees C, when heat-set gel formation occurred, as indicated by a sudden broadening and weakening of the NMR signal. Otherwise the NMR spectrum changed little during heating, emphasising the remarkable thermal stability of glycinin. It is proposed that during heating the core beta-barrel structure remains intact, but that the interface between the beta-domains melts, revealing hydrophobic faces which may then form new structures in a gel-network. As Cys(45), which forms the disulfide with Cys(12) linking the acidic and basic polypeptides, is found in this interface, such a rearrangement of the individual beta-domains could be accompanied by cleavage of this disulfide bond, as is observed experimentally. Such information contributes to our understanding the aggregative behaviour of proteins, and hence develops knowledge-based strategies for controlling and manipulating it.     

Characterization of the fast-forming intermediate, des [30-75], in the reductive unfolding of onconase

A fast-forming intermediate in the reductive unfolding of frog onconase (ONC), des [30-75], analogous to the des [40-95] intermediate found in the reductive unfolding of its structural homologue, bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A (RNase A), has been isolated and characterized. The midpoints of the thermal transition and chemical denaturing curves (representing global unfolding) indicate that the conformation of des [30-75] is considerably less stable than that of the parent molecule, suggesting that the (30-75) disulfide bond plays a significant role in the conformational stability of ONC. While des [30-75] is formed very quickly by a partial reduction of the parent molecule in a local unfolding step, it is not as easily susceptible to further reduction, indicating that its three disulfides are much more buried compared to the (30-75) disulfide bond in the parent protein. The nature of des [30-75] is similar to that of des [40-95] RNase A, in that des [30-75] ONC is also a disulfide-secure species. In addition, based on the resistance to mild reducing conditions, structured des species appear to form in ONC from unstructured three-disulfide-containing ensembles. This step is key in the oxidative folding of RNaseA, and is much faster in ONC than the formation of the structured des [40-95] species in RNase A.