Programme

P.10 -- Posters, VCTP-51

Date: Tuesday, 4 August 2026

Time: 09:30 - 10:30

Investigating the role of protein folding in G6PD deficiency

Nhung T. T. Nguyen (1), Duy Manh Le (2), Phong H. Le (1), and Trinh Xuan Hoang (1)

(1) Institute of Physics, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 10 Dao Tan, Giang Vo, Hanoi 11108, Vietnam (2) Institute for Advanced Study in Technology, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

G6PD deficiency is a widespread inherited disorder characterized by reduced activity of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), leading to hemolytic anemia. Apart from the enzyme’s reduced thermosta-bility and diminished catalytic activity, there are indications that the deficiency can also result from impaired protein folding. In this work, we investigate the latter possibility by studying the folding of monomeric G6PD using the structure-based Go-like model. It is shown that G6PD is a three-state folder with an intermediate in which the N-terminal domain containing the NADP+ binding site is largely unfolded. The simulations also show that putative mutations at pathogenic mutation sites significantly slow down the folding process. The results support the hypothesis that the reduced enzymatic activity of certain G6PD mutants may be linked to impaired protein folding.

Presenter: Trinh Xuan Hoang