In this video, we're going to introduce denatured proteins and chaperones. And so what's important for you all to note is that a protein's structure and shape is actually really critical for its proper function. And so what this means is that a protein will not be able to properly function or properly work if it loses or changes its structure and shape. And so it's really the structure and shape that dictates the protein's function. And this idea leads us directly to the term denatured protein, and that is because a denatured protein is a protein that is nonfunctional, a nonfunctional protein that has altered its shape. And so once again, by altering or changing the shape of a protein, that will change its function and make it nonfunctional. Now denatured proteins can result from changes to the environment. And so examples of changes in the environment that could lead to a denatured protein include, examples such as 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 things can lead to the change of a protein shape and therefore lead to a nonfunctional protein, a denatured protein.
Now on the other hand, proteins that have lost their shape can sometimes regain their original shape by the help of what are known as chaperone proteins. Chaperone proteins are proteins themselves that help other proteins reform their original shapes or renature, if you will. And so let's take a look at our example image down below to get a better understanding of denatured proteins and chaperone proteins. And so what you'll need to notice is over here on the left hand side, we're starting with a functional protein, which is this shape right here, this red structure. And what's important to note is that it has a very, very specific shape. However, if the functional protein is heated, if the temperature changes in the environment, recall that the temperature is just one of the changes in the environment that can cause a functional protein to denature and lose its shape. And so if we heat up the protein, that can change the shape of the protein. And so notice here, the protein has changed its shape in comparison to the functional form of the protein. And so what this means is, of course, 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 that we call chaperone proteins. And so this structure that you see here throughout is referring to the chaperone protein. And so the chaperone protein can take the denatured protein and basically help it reform its original structure. And so once the protein has regained its original shape and structure, it becomes a functional protein once again. And so chaperone proteins are good for cells to have to make sure that their proteins are properly folded. And so this here 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.