The prosegment–subtilisin BPN′ complex: crystal structure of a specific ‘foldase’

Background: The folding of the bacterial protease subtilisin BPN′ (SBT) is dependent on its 77-residue prosegment, which is then autocatalytically removed to give the mature enzyme. Mature subtilisin represents a class of proteins that lacks an efficient folding pathway. Refolding of mature SBT is extremely slow unless catalyzed by the independently expressed prosegment, leading to a bimolecular complex.Results We report the crystal structure at...