News & Events

De novo design of ligand-binding proteins

Date: 
Thursday, March 18, 2021 - 12:30 to 13:30
Speaker: 
Dr. Nicholas Polizzi
Affiliation: 
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco
Event Category: 
Special Seminar
Location: 
Connect via Zoom

Zoom link sent out to the department mailing list. For access to the link, please contact  .

Abstract:

If we understand how proteins work, then we should be able to design proteins that work.  While the design of proteins that fold to desired structures is a mature field, the design of proteins that perform desired functions has met with limited success.  Most proteins function by first binding a substrate or cofactor, often with exquisite selectivity.  Thus, to advance and test our understanding of protein function, we must first understand how proteins recognize small molecules.  In this talk, I will discuss my approach toward understanding molecular recognition through the design of small-molecule–binding proteins from scratch.  By analyzing thousands of protein structures in the Protein Data Bank, I discovered a structural “code” used by proteins to preferentially bind the chemical groups commonly found in small molecules.  I developed a design algorithm called COMBS that uses this code to create ligand-binding proteins from scratch; and I demonstrated its utility by the design of a de novo protein that specifically binds the antithrombotic drug, apixaban.  This work sets the stage for the design of custom ligand-binding proteins as antidotes, drug carriers, allosteric switches, and catalysts, as well as a new route to the discovery of protein-binding ligands.