Home > Press > Scientists program proteins to pair exactly: Technique paves the way for the creation of protein nanomachines and for the engineering of new cell functions
Proteins designed in the lab can now zip together in much the same way that DNA molecules zip up to form a double helix. The technique could enable the design of protein nanomachines that can potentially help diagnose and treat disease, allow for the more exact engineering of cells and perform a wide variety of other tasks. This technique provides scientists a precise, programmable way to control how protein machines interact. CREDIT Institute for Protein Design |
Abstract:
Proteins have now been designed in the lab to zip together in much the same way that DNA molecules zip up to form a double helix. The technique, whose development was led by University of Washington School of Medicine scientists, could enable the design of protein nanomachines that can potentially help diagnose and treat disease, allow for the more exact engineering of cells and perform a wide variety of other tasks.
"For any machine to work, its parts must come together precisely," said Zibo Chen, the lead author of the paper and a UW graduate student in biochemistry. "This technique makes it possible for you to design proteins so they come together exactly how you want them to."
The research was performed at UW Medicine's Institute of Protein Design, directed by David Baker, professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington School of Medicine and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. The researchers report their findings in the Dec. 19 issue of the journal Nature.
In the past, researchers interested in designing biomolecular nanomachines have often used DNA as a major component. This is because DNA strands come together and form hydrogen bonds to create DNA's double helix, but only if their sequences are complementary.
The team developed new protein design algorithms that produce complementary proteins that precisely pair with each other using the same chemical language of DNA.
"This is a first-of-its-kind breakthrough," Chen said. "What we're doing is computationally designing these hydrogen-bond networks so that each protein pair has a unique complementary sequence. There is only one way for them to come together and they do not cross-react with proteins from other pairs."
"Engineering cells to do new tasks is the future of medicine and biotechnology, whether that's engineering bacteria to make energy or clean up toxic waste or creating immune cells that attack cancers," said Scott Boyken, another author of the paper and postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Protein Design. "This technique provides scientists a precise, programmable way to control how protein machines interact, a key step towards achieving these new tasks. We have opened a major door to protein nanomaterial design."
In their study, researchers used a computer program developed in the Baker lab called Rosetta. The program takes advantage of the fact that the shape an amino acid chain will assume is driven by the forces of attraction and repulsion between the amino acids of the chain and the fluid in which the chain is immersed. By calculating the shape that best balances out these forces so that the chain achieves its lowest overall energy level, the program can predict the shape a given amino acid chain will likely take.
###
This work was done in collaboration with researchers led by Vicki Wysocki at Ohio State University and by Nikolaos Sgourakis at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Walter Neary
253-389-0736
Copyright © University of Washington Health Sciences/UW Medicine
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related Links |
Related News Press |
News and information
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
Nanofabrication
New chip opens door to AI computing at light speed February 16th, 2024
Researchers develop technique to synthesize water-soluble alloy nanoclusters January 12th, 2024
Cancer
Super-efficient laser light-induced detection of cancer cell-derived nanoparticles: Skipping ultracentrifugation, detection time reduced from hours to minutes! October 6th, 2023
The medicine of the future could be artificial life forms October 6th, 2023
Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy
What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024
Researchers’ approach may protect quantum computers from attacks March 8th, 2024
Optically trapped quantum droplets of light can bind together to form macroscopic complexes March 8th, 2024
Possible Futures
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Nanomedicine
High-tech 'paint' could spare patients repeated surgeries March 8th, 2024
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
Discoveries
What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024
Researchers’ approach may protect quantum computers from attacks March 8th, 2024
High-tech 'paint' could spare patients repeated surgeries March 8th, 2024
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Announcements
What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Grants/Sponsored Research/Awards/Scholarships/Gifts/Contests/Honors/Records
'Sudden death' of quantum fluctuations defies current theories of superconductivity: Study challenges the conventional wisdom of superconducting quantum transitions January 12th, 2024
Nanobiotechnology
High-tech 'paint' could spare patients repeated surgeries March 8th, 2024
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
Research partnerships
Researchers’ approach may protect quantum computers from attacks March 8th, 2024
'Sudden death' of quantum fluctuations defies current theories of superconductivity: Study challenges the conventional wisdom of superconducting quantum transitions January 12th, 2024
Development of zinc oxide nanopagoda array photoelectrode: photoelectrochemical water-splitting hydrogen production January 12th, 2024
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
Premium Products | ||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||