GoKawiil
Tech News
Researchers used AI protein-design tools to build new enzymes by keeping the catalytic core from two existing protease types and replacing the surrounding protein structure. The engineered enzymes can be tuned to cleave particular target proteins, and the team tested this by using them to cut proteins linked to neurological diseases.
Scientists reported designing new enzymes capable of cleaving peptide bonds using an activated cysteine nucleophile, achieving success in 13 of 69 designs. The engineered proteases, whose structures differ substantially from natural proteases, accelerated the cutting reaction by up to 30 million times over background rates, and six crystal structures closely matched computational design models. The enzymes also functioned effectively when tested inside mammalian cells.