In this video, we're going to introduce denatured proteins and chaperones. It's important for you all to note that a protein's structure and shape are critical for its proper function. This means that a protein will not be able to properly function or work if it loses or changes its structure and shape. It's really the structure and shape that dictates the protein's function. This idea leads us directly to the term denatured protein, which is a protein that is nonfunctional, a nonfunctional protein that has altered its shape.

By altering or changing the shape of a protein, that will change its function and make it nonfunctional. Denatured proteins can result from changes in the environment. Examples of changes in the environment that could lead to a denatured protein include changes in the pH of the solution, changes in the temperature of the environment, or changes in the salt concentration of the environment as well. All of these factors can lead to the change of a protein's shape and therefore lead to a nonfunctional protein, a denatured protein. On the other hand, proteins that have lost their shape can sometimes regain their original shape with the help of what are known as chaperone proteins.

Chaperone proteins are proteins themselves that help other proteins reform their original shapes or renature. Let's take a look at our example image below to get a better understanding of denatured proteins and chaperone proteins. Notice that we're starting with a functional protein on the left hand side, represented by a red structure with a very specific shape. However, if the functional protein is heated, which is just one of the changes in the environment that can cause a functional protein to denature and lose its shape, its shape will change. Notice here, the protein has changed its shape in comparison to the functional form of the protein. As a result, we have a denatured protein here that has lost its shape and therefore lost its function. It will no longer work when it's lost its shape.

However, proteins can regain their shapes with the help of other proteins called chaperone proteins. The structure you see represents the chaperone protein. The chaperone protein can take the denatured protein and help it reform its original structure. Once the protein has regained its original shape and structure, it becomes a functional protein once again. Chaperone proteins are beneficial for cells to ensure that their proteins are properly folded. This concludes our introduction to denatured proteins and chaperones, and we'll be able to get a little bit of practice applying these concepts as we move forward in our course.

So I'll see you all in our next video.