Phase diagram for acidic conformational states of apomyoglobin.

The conformation of apomyoglobin under acidic conditions depends on both pH and salt conditions. Using KCl and HCl, a phase diagram for the pH and ionic strength-dependent conformational states was constructed based on the change in the far-ultraviolet circular dichroism. Acid-denatured apomyoglobin consists of two conformational states, the largely unfolded state (UA) and the relatively compact, acidic intermediate state (A). The UA state is stable below pH 3 and at low ionic strength. High ionic strength favors the A state. Because the minimal ionic strength increases significantly with a decrease in pH below 2, the UA state is limited to only a small region between pH 1 and 3.