AbstractThe effect of the folded conformation of a protein on the rate of deamidation of a specific asparaginyl residue has been determine. Native and unfolded ribonuclease A (RNase A) could be compared under identical conditions, because stable unfolded protein was generated by breaking irreversibly the protein disulfide bonds.Deamidation of the labile Asn‐67 residue of RNase A was followedelectrophoretically and chromatographically. At 80°C, similar rates of deamidation were observed for the disulfidebonded form, which is thermally unfolded, and the reduced form. At 37°C and pH 8, however, the rate of deamidation of native RNase A was negligible, and was more than 30‐fold slower than that of reduced, unfolded RNase A. This demonstrates that the Asn‐67 residue is located in a local conformation in the native protein that greatly inhibits deamidation. This conformation is the β‐turn of resi