Cell Language Theory, The: Connecting Mind And Matter

Key Terms and Concepts 25

“6x9” b2861 The Cell Language Theory: Connecting Mind and Matter

conformations. To be specific, when Anfinsen denatured ribonuclease by

adding 2­mercaptoethanol (2ME) and urea and allowed the denatured

protein to refold under two different environmental conditions, i.e.,

A (removing urea before 2ME) and B (removing 2ME before urea), the

enzyme refolded into the native conformation under the condition of A but

not under that of B.

Thus, it is logical to conclude that

The Anfinsen dogma is upheld when the refolding experiment is

performed under the experimental condition A and disproved when it

is carried out under the experimental condition B.

In other words,

The Anfinsen dogma can be experimentally proven or disproven,

depending on which of the two possible environmental conditions of

the experiment is selected.

One corollary of Statements (2.14) and (2.15) is that

The native folding of proteins is determined not only by their amino

acid sequences but also by the environmental condition under which

proteins fold.

One clear evidence to support Statement (2.16) is provided by the

f inding that a prion (“proteinaceous infectious particle”), having an identi­

cal amino acid sequence, can fold in two distinct ways to generate PrPC

(cellular prion protein) and PrPSC (scrapie prion protein) isoforms (or iso­

conformers), the former having normal physiological functions and the

latter causing transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) [519].

The concept of the “environment” of a system is synonymous with the

term “boundary condition” of a system. There are two kinds of boundary

conditions — “stationary boundary condition” (SBC) and “moving

boundary condition” (MBC). A boundary condition of a system can

“move” or “change” in space, in time, or in both. An example of a system

with a boundary condition (the combination of which is here conveniently

referred to as a “systome”; see below) that moves is the combination of a

(2.14)

(2.15)

(2.16)

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