A Study of the Factors Influencing the Rate and Extent of Enzymic Reactivation during Reoxidation of Reduced Ribonucelase

In this article, Anfinsen, Epstein, Goldberger, and Young reported their findings of the rate and extent of return of enzymatic activity during oxidation of the sulfhydryl groups of reduced ribonuclease that they studied under a variety of conditions. They found that the rate of reactivation was inversely proportional to the concentration of the reduced portion of ribonuclease. Because of this, these results were inconsistent with the then-prevailing hypothesis that information necessary for the conversion of a newly synthesized polypeptide chain to the native form of the protein resided in the amino acid sequence and did not involve a genetically determined template.